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Title: Pete Solo at the Pheasantry 1st October 2022 Post by Seán Kelly on Today at 11:26 Pete’s first solo gig at the Pheasantry in Chelsea. To be without Simon Wallace was an oddity in the long running set of gigs at this Pizza Express basement venue – but Pete has done hundreds of shows alone so he is an old hand at holding the audience and performing (mostly) the songs he wrote with Clive James. The biggest rail strike in thirty years clearly prevented some of the audience making it to the gig which is a great shame – particularly for them. The other general comment I have is that Pete was fully up to “entertaining Miss Steinway” for the evening (as Philip Jeays once described it!). His piano playing was exceptional. Of course in a sense he had to follow Mr Wallace (or replace him) so the pressure was on – but he fully met the challenge. The Set List : Ice Cream Man – Guitar And we're off - a great start (once Pete plugged his guitar in :) Luck of the Draw - Guitar. Dancing Master –Piano. A great version. My notes say ‘Pete very fluent on the piano tonight’. Frangipani was her Flower. Piano. That shattering final line was as clear a punchline. Rider To The Worlds End – Piano. Again lovely rich Piano. [Admin edit: Seán means Tenderfoot -- see Pete's message below.] Song for Rita – Guitar. In the customary American accent :) A Guitar is a Thief in the Night – Guitar. Lovely I See The Joker – unusually played on Guitar. It worked great on guitar. It’s a tough old song - it would probably work great on marimba! Search and Destroy – Piano. I felt Pete was slightly in danger of over-explaining this one beforehand – but equally you don’t want to lose new listeners in a live situation so you have to give them some bearings. Thirty Year Man – Piano. Terrific. - - Interval - - Rain-Wheels – Piano. Rocking! Segued into: Me To Thank – Piano. My notes say Magnificent. Perfectly executed. An Empty Table. Piano. Great pacing on this song so full of regret. Have You Got A Biro - Guitar. Driving through Mythical America – Guitar. With so many words in it this is a tough song to do live but this was a great version. Before he started Pete expressed the hope that he wouldn’t forget any of the lyrics. He didn’t (as far as I could tell!). At some point fairly early on Pete's guitar amp seemed to become unplugged or switched off – but from where I was sitting anyway the sound from his acoustic was very audible so it was not too noticeable. Afterwards Pete apologised for a few mislaid chords – but no one that I could see had been counting chords! :) Care Charmer Sleep – Piano. Again great pacing on this song. One of Pete’s own favourites. A King at Nightfall – Piano. Pete told us that this is slated for the album of reworked versions that he is currently working on with Simon Wallace. He told us that the version he was about to play would be nothing like the reworked version – he would play the demo version. So I was surprised to hear a significantly different version of the song. Crucially it seemed to me that it has been somewhat slowed and stretched giving it much more gravitas. Instead of singing Pete was so low-key as to be almost speaking the words. The result - for me at least - was like hearing an expert Shakespearean actor draw greater meaning and nuance from a speech that you have heard rushed through on a previous occasion. Pete said that – in his mind at least – the words were previously being spoken by supporters to the King – whereas now the King is quietly speaking them to himself. It worked. It’s an absurd cliché to say it I know – but this performance was easily worth the price of entry on its own. Just for Me (Amy's Blues) Piano. A serious rarity for the hard core :) Master of the Revels – Piano. A great set ender – just as it has proved itself to be a great set opener. I noted that Pete played very impressively on the instrumental sections. ------ Encores: I Will Write my Book. Guitar. A cover version of a song by Joe Henry. Also covered by Sarah Moule on one of her albums (info thanks to Smash Flops website – even though I have that album :)). The song is quite James/Atkin in style I felt :). Very nice and it segued into the last song of the night Girl On The Train – Guitar. No problems at all with this classic :) So a great night out – as always – many thanks to Pete and the Pheasantry team – looking forward to the next one –when maybe Mr A and Mr W can show us the finalised new version of A King At Nightfall :) |
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Title: Re: Pete Solo at the Pheasantry 1st October 2022 Post by Pete Atkin on Today at 12:35 Thank you so much, Sean, not least for your consistently tolerant generosity, which makes me all the sorrier to have to correct one error: it wasn't Rider To The World's End (although on reflection that would have been a geographically appropriate choice - maybe another time) but Tenderfoot. And repeated thanks to you and everyone who braved the transport catastrophes to be there. |
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Title: Re: Pete Solo at the Pheasantry 1st October 2022 Post by Douglas Fergus on Today at 13:21 Excellent and very comprehensive review Sean (even if you had one song wrong! ;) ) Great photographs as always. Many thanks for sharing. |
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Title: Re: Pete Solo at the Pheasantry 1st October 2022 Post by Seán Kelly on Today at 13:31 Ah there goes my cred ! :) Thanks Pete - and Douglas. Too late for me to correct my post - hopefully those future historians (Jan? :-) ) will check these further comments. Thanks again for a great night Pete! |
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Title: Re: Pete Solo at the Pheasantry 1st October 2022 Post by Carole on Today at 18:51 Great report, and photos, Seán! Thank you very much! :) |
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Title: Re: Pete Solo at the Pheasantry 1st October 2022 Post by Seán Kelly on 03.10.22 at 20:02 Cheers Carole :) |
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Title: Re: Pete Solo at the Pheasantry 1st October 2022 Post by Jan on 04.10.22 at 11:56 That's a lovely setlist! We don't often hear Amy's Blues :) Looking forward to hearing the revised AKAN. Thanks Sean - and Pete Jan |
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Title: Re: Pete Solo at the Pheasantry 1st October 2022 Post by Terry_Caster on 08.10.22 at 20:22 Really enjoyed the night. Not quite the same quality of pictures, but here's some from me... https://www.peteatkin.com/userpics/256932(Terry_Caster)Pete A Pheasantry Oct 2022 a.jpg |
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Title: Re: Pete Solo at the Pheasantry 1st October 2022 Post by Terry_Caster on 08.10.22 at 20:27 T'other three... https://www.peteatkin.com/userpics/257142(Terry_Caster)Pete Atkin Pheasantry Oct 2022 b.jpg https://www.peteatkin.com/userpics/257172(Terry_Caster)Pete Atkin Pheasantry Oct 2022 c.jpg https://www.peteatkin.com/userpics/257220(Terry_Caster)Pete Atkin Pheasantry Oct 2022 d.jpg |
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Title: Re: Pete Solo at the Pheasantry 1st October 2022 Post by S J Birkill on 09.10.22 at 02:42 Thank you Terry -- the more images we have, the better. I see you captured fellow shutter-bug Seán in one of your shots. Is that you in his third, above? :) Steve |
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Title: Re: Pete Solo at the Pheasantry 1st October 2022 Post by Terry_Caster on 12.10.22 at 15:12 Yep! Well triangulated :D Glad to make it through the travel shenanigans in both directions with relatively adequate progress. |
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