Munich


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To be honest, I wasn't really aware, that Mick Hucknall ended Simply Red last year. But I'm not sure, whether I just missed out on that, or it was just not announced loudly. It doesn't really matter, does it?! Because if there are Simply Red or just Mick Hucknall is standing up there, doesn't make a difference. . Because Simply Red has always been just Mick Hucknall, got me?! So what it actually different? Well the boss has just released a new album, which is entitled 'Tribute To Bobby'-  - Bobby is Bobby Bland, the black Blues- and Soul Singer, who went to fame with songs like 'Stormy Monday' or 'Midnight Run' and he became an icon. Meanwhile 78 years old Bland still toured with B.B. King in 1990. In 1992 Bland was intoducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and he received the Pioneer Award of the R&B Foundation. He still appeard in sold out arenas in the nineties, and his albums Portrait Of The Blues (1991) und Years Of Tears (1993) got great reviews. 
And.... Bobby Bland has always been a icon for Mick Hucknall. - 'Tribute To Bobby' came out on may 19. and now we got this great music presented by Mr. Hucknall live . Voila`here we go in the only half full venue here, and we wait and see, what it's gonna be like it.....


First of all here are .......
 

And there we have the first problem. Because not many people actually knew, that the Hooters will support Mick Hucknall. Otherwise I'm pretty sure, many more people would have attended the show tonight. 
The band had been here about 6 months ago at our Backstage Werk here in Munich, and it was a brilliant show. These guys still rock a hell of a lot. No surprise all the old fans from the past were immidiately back again, when the group reunited after a long seperation. And the won many new fans as well. Tonight they have only about 40 minutes to play their biggest hits - Johnny B’, ‚All You Zombies’  and the encore 'Satellite'. But it is going down very well.... 

I guess, whoever knows the Hooters and has seen them playing live before on stage, I don't have to say again, what a great liveband the american guys are. And even after 2 decades, they are putting out so much energy and fun to play. Me for myself, the Hooters could have easily played for another 2 hours. It never get's boring. 

http://www.hootersmusic.com/ 


After a bit too long break, first of all a film is shown on a big screen. That one shows a sort of - Making of.... the tribute to Bobby. Whereby the old great Bobby Bland is shown as well. Although the demonstration on the screen is somehow overdone, and some people in the audiance get a bit impatient. But when finally the action on stage starts, it's only the band without the star comes up and plays a 5 minutes intro. First after that, Mick Hucknall appears for the second chapter named 'Cry Cry Cry' and he is receiving big applause. 

No doubt, the english musician owns a huge talent what's up to his voice. A white guy with a black soul voice, that's what it is described. And it is true. Only that way, the songs of Bobby Bland can be performed the right way. Hucknall is returning to his roots with this music, where he started out in the early eighties in Manchester a a fanatic soulfan and founded Simply Red. He begun with coverversions like 'Money's Too Tight To Mention' or If You Don't know Me By Now' and had huge hitsingles.
Later on he dropped into soapy popmusic. Although Hucknall sold more than 50 Mill. units of 12 albums. Now he's probably thought it's enough  after 25 years, and he wants to start again, where he went off in the very beginning - at the R & B and Soul. He doesn't suffer any financiall pressure, so what?! You can feel, that he sings these mainly blues ballads,  with much emotion and passion.  But there is also a jazz element, underlined by a great brass section on stage. 


The whole scenery on stage seems very sophisticated and elegant. Hucknall is acting in understatement, sometimes standing then again sitting. It's his voice which is doing the rest. And yes, we do get one Simply Red Song in the end with 'Money's Too Tight'.- The performance ends with 'Lead On Me' almost exactly at 10 p.m. 
And as we all know all concerts at the yearly - 3 weeks lasting - Tollwood festival have to be finished by this time, according to the town authorities. Shame, because of this fact, the set is much too short. Whereby Mick Hucknall himself has spent only 50 minutes on stage. But that's the only negative aspect you can mention. Apart from that, it has been a first class Soul-, Blues- and Jazz appearance of our most well known redhead of Britains popscene. 

http://www.mickhucknall.com/ 

Oh before I forget.....  Whoever still doesn't know who Bobby Bland was and still is of course........?!?!  His best known Song, which, by the way was not performed by Mick Hucknall tonight, - you know it for sure - I bet.... But you know it from a different band who has covered the track very successfully.
Click on the small pic of Bobby below and listen to a short sample......


.... am I right, or - so what....