Graham Parker and the Figgs ~ 2010 April 3 ~ Infinity Music Hall, Norfolk, CT
Band personnel: Graham Parker (lead vocals, guitar, harmonica); Mike Gent (backing vocals, guitar, occasional drums); Scott Janovitz (keyboards, occasional guitar); Pete Hayes(drums, percussion); Pete Donnelly (backing vocals, bass)
Setlist
Chloroform - Turn It Into Hate - It's My Party - England's Latest Clown - Hole in the World - Life Gets Better - Weather Report - Broken Skin - You Hit the Spot - My Love's Strong - Black Lincoln Continental - Blue Highways - Bring Me a Heart Again - More Questions Than Answers - Bean Counter - Local Boys - Local Girls ... encore ... Head on Straight - First Responder - Mercury Poisoning ... second encore ... Soul Shoes
The Figgs' opening set is available at Setlist.fm, here.
Review
Two nights after the GP concert at Q Division Concert Going Partner and I traveled to Middle-Of-Nowhere, Connecticut, to see the show at the lovely Infinity Music Hall. Before the show we met up for something to eat with a few friends (Jerry, Mrs. Jerry and Infamous Capgirl). We rejected the $28 meals at Infinity in favor of the local pub next door. The problem was, it was the day before Easter and the local pub next door was going to be closed for three days, and they were letting their food run out. The number of times we each had to order something before they actually had what we ordered was quite amusing. That poor harried waitress. But once we finally got served the food was good and affordable and we were all happy.
This venue, where I have previously seen Geep solo, is an old converted Victorian building with stained glass windows, polished wood floors, chandeliers, and wonderful acoustics. The only thing wrong with the venue is it's reserved seats, so you have to order your ticket early if you care about where you sit. The Figgs took advantage of the brilliant acoustics to play a significantly quieter opening set than usual for them. They were almost acoustic until their big rave-up closing number, "Casino Hayes." By playing this semi-acoustic set they proved their versatility. Everyone knows the Figgs can rock with the best, but they have their sensitive side, too.
GP wore the same clothes and played the same guitar as at the Q Division show, and the set list itself was much the same, with two real improvements. On Thursday they had played "Sugaree" (the Grateful Dead song) which, in my opinion, is a real waste of a precious three minutes (except for the fact that GP played lead guitar on it), and on Saturday they replaced it with the vastly better "You Hit the Spot" (an unexpected treat), on which Geep also played lead guitar. Another improvement in the set list was moving the kazoo song to the opening number of the encore. On Thursday evening it had hurt the show's pacing, and moving it to the opening of the encore was an improvement.
At this show the audience screamed and shouted so much that we were treated to a second encore, "Soul Shoes," with Graham doing the Rock Star moves, without his guitar. It was great!
For me personally the highlight of these two shows was "Local Boys," which is a really great song with some classic GP rhyme schemes ("stay in town, like your sister Joyce, you can't do better than the local boys" ... groan). But what made it so fun was that Pete Donnelly and Mike got to impersonate two of the local boys; each of them got to do a lead vocal on one verse. I really enjoyed that.
In my opinion the real strength of these shows is the Figgs. Their enthusiasm for the material, as well as their own superb opening set, make them the best possible backing band for Graham.
The song "Hole in the World" is an early demo that sounds a lot like "The Raid."
More Chairman
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