We built a trip to the UK around this date on Francis's "Tunes & Chat 2023" tour, as I spent almost seven years living in Aberystwyth as a student and the chance to see Francis in the very same room in which I graduated twice back in the 1990s was an opportunity not to be missed!
A couple of uni mates joined us for the show, with me and a mate doing the meet and greet while my wife and another mate opted for standard seats. We arrived very early and it was amazing to see the familiar tour bus parked right outside the Arts Centre. Francis and Andy were soundchecking when we arrived and continued to do so for over an hour. While our attempts to sneak in were thwarted, the soundcheck was clearly audible and most of it was spent riffing on "Roll Over Lay Down" (which didn't make it into the show but is a likely candidate for inclusion during the 2025 tour apparently!).
The meet and greet was scheduled to start at 6pm, so we made sure to start the queue nice and early, holding the first two places. We got our goodie bags (including an exclusive CD and plectrum) and were called in just after 6pm. Lyane greeted us and asked our names so we could be introduced to Francis, which I thought was a nice touch. Francis was seated at the front of the stage with a table and couple of chairs for us, while Andy May (Quo's sound engineer) was tasked with taking photos on our phones. Francis immediately recognised me and we proceeded to chat like old friends, while my uni mate watched on amazed by the whole experience. Being first gave us the chance to get more time than most and Lyane had to force Francis to stop chatting with us so others could take their turns! It was a great experience and Andy May did a great job, taking over 50 photos for us.
The show itself started on time at 8pm (which annoyed Francis as most of these shows kick off at 7.30pm!) and finished up about 10.30pm with a 20-minute break midway through. The first section included more background history chat, while as the show went on, there was more tunes and much less chat. Francis seemed very natural in this format and was both funny and entertaining. While a lot of the stories were familiar to loong-time fans, the packed house gave him a great response whenever he cracked jokes or made witty observations. His interaction with the audience in this more intimate environment was lovely to see. Andy Brook did a fine job alongside Francis when it came to playing the Quo songs acoustically. The electric acoustics made a lovely sound and hearing the various Quo tunes played acoustically in this format demonstrated what the "Aquostic" projects could have been if they'd simply had Francis and Rick doing something similar.
There was an opportunity to submit questions before the show and both me and my mate got our questions answered - is this your first time in Aberystwyth and are you pleased you did "In The Army Now"? The whole experience was fantastic, made extra special by the meaning of the location and the chance to share it with such good friends. Roll on 2025 for more of the same!
It was a fortunate coincidence that we were in the UK at just the right time to slot McVention into our travel plans!
McVention day 1 (Friday 13th October) was a great start to the event. A big crowd gathered early and it was nice to catch up with so many old Quo friends. Jackie Lynton did all of the introing for the bands and was his usual funny self!
The first band up was "Quo No" and they did a decent hour-long and very varied set, including a stab at "Hey Little Woman". This band doesn't take itself too seriously and they did a good job with their opening slot.
Next up came Scotland's own "Status No" and they were considerably more polished, with a broad 75-minute set. The organisers' policy of encouraging bands not to repeat songs is great for us punters.
Locals "Heavy Traffic" did the honours in headlining day 1 and they were superb. Their polish and stage craft is incredible for such a young band and their youth was reflected in their choice of set, especially early on when unheard stuff like "Thinking of You" got a run. It was a nice touch to have John Coghlan join the band on tambourine for the closing songs including "Bye Bye Johnny".
McVention day 2 was a long one, kicking off with a Q&A session with John Coghlan, hosted by Jackie Lynton. There were a few questions for Jackie to run from, but it ended up being fairly free form and was saved by the great comedy timing of Jackie. John's clearly not doing as well as even a couple of years ago and seemed a bit lost on the stage at times, but still cracked a few jokes and told some funny stories. An excellent start to the day's proceedings.
The first band of the day was "Hercules" and they played a very well-received hour-long boogie rock set. It's never easy getting a crowd on side for a set of original material but they played well and got the big crowd on side. This super tight outfit did a fine job of providing something a little different before the Quo onslaught returned.
And what better way to provide the next onslaught than "State of Quo". I have a lot of affection for this band, having seen them many times in their earliest incarnation with John Coghlan back in the mid-90s, helping out with the website, etc. The only remaining member from those days is my old mate Paul Carr and it was lovely to say g'day to him again. The band's own drummer couldn't make it, so it was over to Jay Fitzpatrick to take on drumming duties, a task he performed magnificently. Their set was classic Quo, played hard, and including gems like "Who Asked You" and "4500 Times". The younger bands might be taking over the tribute scene, but State of Quo are still up there with the best in my opinion and this was a stonking 75-minutes.
It was left to "Baz Barry's Spare Parts" to close out the day - and close it out they certainly did! Jay Fitzpatrick was on duty again in this band, this time playing lead guitar - and again, he was brilliant. Baz chooses to play no singles at all and only chooses songs up to about 1976 so there were some very obscure tracks getting a run during this set. John Coghlan guested on drums for "In My Chair" and "April, Spring, Summer and Wednesdays" and Baz spoke very kindly of him. The set ran to almost two hours and included such rarities from the early days as "Little Miss Nothing" and "When My Mind Is Not Live". It was a brilliant display of musicianship and the chance to hear songs never played live by Quo was fantastic.
The final day of McVention 2023 was a big Sunday! Things kicked off at 5.30pm with Ian Hill (State of Quo's frontman) performing a solo set, 45-minutes of Quo-inspired boogie. He was very well received even though his voice was almost shot from the previous night's hard work with State of Quo. Jay once again did some work, taking on guitar duties alongside Ian!
Next up was Baz Barry with his original band, "Predatur". Many fans obviously knew the material and gave it a worthy response. I didn't know the songs but the boogie rhythms and Baz's sharp wit made the 75-minute set an easy listen. Three Quo songs were chucked in for good measure, in the shape of opener "Shy Fly", then "Umleitung" and "Is It Really Me?/Gotta Go Home".
The stage then became an auction room and the lots generally sold well, especially rarer stuff like Francis's waistcoat, an original Rick silver Tele necklace and the chance to have "Heavy Traffic" play a gig anywhere in the UK! It was good to hear that Quo had donated many of the items for the auction. There was also a short video message from Francis, filmed on his "Tunes & Chat" tour recently.
Young Jay Fitzpatrick, co-organizer of McVention and musical genius, got a real surprise when he was presented with a plaque by the previous organizers of Scottish conventions back in the early 2000s. He was clearly touched by the well-deserved recognition and Jay ahd his team certainly put on an excellent event for all of us. Another surprise announcement came next - with the handing over of the convention baton to new people, sponsored by FTMO. The new group (including Jay!) have set a date of March 14-15, 2025 for their "Quovention" and more details will follow at www.quovention.co.uk This news was greeted with rapturous applause!
At 10pm, it was finally time for the headline act to take the stage, Dutch band "Status Quotes". They played an incredible two-hour set of Quo classics, as follows.
Returning from the encore with "4500 Times" nearly killed us, then they brought Jay and a number of other band members back on stage for a raucous finale in "Caroline".
It was great to attend the final McVention and catch up with so many Quo mates. The bands were all of a high standard and it's always a highlight of conventions to hear rare Quo tracks played live. The event was well-organized by Jay and his crew and it's good to know that a new convention will continue the tradition of the fine FTMO and McVention events!
Revisit the October 2023 event list
After getting stranded by storm Babet, we finally managed to escape Pitlochry on Saturday morning when the train services resumed. It still took us almost all day to find our way to Kinross by public transport, though (it's a long story) but we finally got to the Green Hotel at about 5pm. We enjoyed a few drinks with good Quo friends and briefly caught up with Rhino, before making our way out the back of the tired hotel to its "Backstage" venue. Walls plastered with posters, tickets and memorabilia, the venue certainly looked the part and so it was surprising to find that it was seated! (Rhino also mentioned this was a surprise to him when we chatted after the gig.)
With no support band, Rhino's Revenge - currently formed of Rhino, Leon Cave and Craig Joiner (on guitar) took the stage right on time at 9pm and banged out a varied set of material drawn from the Revenge and Quo back catalogues, bolstered by new tunes from the (as yet unfinished) "Just Sayin'" album. The new songs - "Can't Count Me Out", "My Side of the Road", "PC World" and "Primrose" - all sounded good in the live environment and the band's always on a winner closing out with "Paper Plane", to round out a set of about 80 minutes. The room was full but mainly remained seated but for a few rebels dancing in the aisles (and sometimes on stage!) and at the back. The setlist follows.
Rhino, Leon and Craig all lingered in the bar after the gig and were happy to chat, pose for photos and sign items for the fans. The merchandise stall was busy with the most popular item clearly being the limited edition four-track sampler CD for the "Just Sayin'" album. It was great to chat with both Rhino and Leon in this relaxed setting and they both seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves on this tour of small venues.
Steeleye Span and Francis Rossi reunited for a new recording, in the shape of "Hard Times of Old England" which had its first airplay on BBC Radio 2's Folk Show with Mark Radcliff on 25th October.
This new song can be heard at the 25:30 mark here.
Revisit the October 2023 event list
The November 2023 issue of Classic Rock magazine featured a gold cover with the "Hello!" silhouette to mark the 50th anniversary of the album's release.
The nine page article about the album was written by Dave Ling and featured archive interview material from Rick and Alan in 2015 and more currently from Francis and Andy. The choice of images was excellent, all reflecting the period around the album's release. The short interview with Andy Bown was particularly frank and added a different dimension to this article!
Revisit the October 2023 event list
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