The Gamblin' ManFriday 4th April 2009
Hammersmith Apollo, London
This is less of a review and more of a chance to flaunt the fact I got to see Kenny Rogers sing ‘The Gambler’. Granted he was 71 when doing so, and slightly lacklustre due to the fact, but most of the audience was the same and it was still damn cool!
I whole-heartedly admit to being a country music fan – being from a country town myself – but it definitely has to fall in the ‘country rock’ genre. None of this Shania Twain, Leanne Rhymes, Taylor Swift malarkey, more of your Johnny Cash, Gram Parsons, Rhythm Aces style country. And until now I would not have placed Mr Rogers near the top of that list, and he’s not exactly rock, but I was astonished at how many songs I knew. ‘Have A Little Faith’, ‘The Gambler’ and ‘Islands In The Stream’ were just a few of the classics he pumped out, as well as covers like ‘You Picked A Fine Time To Leave Me Lucille’, all the while backed by a motley crew of a back up band that weren’t far off his own age and may have been original fixtures. Mind you he has gotten sentimental in his old age, singing a lot of romantic slow tunes whilst projecting images of his family and himself in his hey day on a giant screen behind him, as well as including said family pictures and the like in his reasonably priced £8 program. But they say you become reflective in your autumn years, and hell, he has a lot to reflect upon.
As far as shows go it wasn’t a knock out and I wasn’t blown away like his many adoring fans were – rising to their feet and rushing the stage at times (yes, 50+ year olds, it’s true) – but all the time watching I knew I was watching something special. A lot of my co-workers wouldn’t have been born when most of Kenny’s songs were written but that didn’t stop us having an in-work sing-a-long every now and then. Everyone – mainly the boys – knew ‘The Gambler’, with one very unlikely bar manager admitting he has a spaghetti western fetish. And everyone seemed to know ‘Islands In The Stream’, mainly due to a more recent cover of the tune done by Mia I think. Nevertheless, as I watched singing and dancing along with old, young, black, white, British, Australian and otherwise, I was sure Kenny would be pleased to see those little verses he wrote so long ago were still working their magic today.
I whole-heartedly admit to being a country music fan – being from a country town myself – but it definitely has to fall in the ‘country rock’ genre. None of this Shania Twain, Leanne Rhymes, Taylor Swift malarkey, more of your Johnny Cash, Gram Parsons, Rhythm Aces style country. And until now I would not have placed Mr Rogers near the top of that list, and he’s not exactly rock, but I was astonished at how many songs I knew. ‘Have A Little Faith’, ‘The Gambler’ and ‘Islands In The Stream’ were just a few of the classics he pumped out, as well as covers like ‘You Picked A Fine Time To Leave Me Lucille’, all the while backed by a motley crew of a back up band that weren’t far off his own age and may have been original fixtures. Mind you he has gotten sentimental in his old age, singing a lot of romantic slow tunes whilst projecting images of his family and himself in his hey day on a giant screen behind him, as well as including said family pictures and the like in his reasonably priced £8 program. But they say you become reflective in your autumn years, and hell, he has a lot to reflect upon.
As far as shows go it wasn’t a knock out and I wasn’t blown away like his many adoring fans were – rising to their feet and rushing the stage at times (yes, 50+ year olds, it’s true) – but all the time watching I knew I was watching something special. A lot of my co-workers wouldn’t have been born when most of Kenny’s songs were written but that didn’t stop us having an in-work sing-a-long every now and then. Everyone – mainly the boys – knew ‘The Gambler’, with one very unlikely bar manager admitting he has a spaghetti western fetish. And everyone seemed to know ‘Islands In The Stream’, mainly due to a more recent cover of the tune done by Mia I think. Nevertheless, as I watched singing and dancing along with old, young, black, white, British, Australian and otherwise, I was sure Kenny would be pleased to see those little verses he wrote so long ago were still working their magic today.
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