Uriah Heep
Royal
Northern College of Music
Manchester
23rd
February 2013
It is a credit to Uriah Heep that they still have that magic
appeal and pull a good audience on a cold February night in Manchester. The
venue, the rather grand Royal Northern College of Music was packed and if my
eyes were correct I would say the band had a “Sold Out” venue out on their
hands. All the better then for support act Virgil and the Accelerators who did
a great job and did their rather fine thing and prep the crowd for the headline
act. A band to watch with interest methinks and they have an excellent album
out as well
Still led from the front by founder member Mick Box the band
hit the stage at 8:30 and for the next ninety minutes plus, proves beyond a
shadow of doubt that they still have what it takes. Of course with a band like
Uriah Heep they could easily just trot out a Greatest Hits set but in fairness
to them and as Bernie Shaw said “We want to keep on moving”. Uriah Heep never ever
phone in a show they really go for it and opener Against The Odds from the soon
to be reissued Sea Of Light really set the pace and from then on in it was a
good mix of the more recent and the older material. Whilst there were a couple
of technical difficulties with the guitar as Mick explained the pace never
slackened and the band made a great job of working through these problems
The band were in top form and all of the band played
magnificently although I have to single out John “J” Jowitt for special praise
bearing in mind he came into Heep at the last minute and had to learn the whole
set in double quick time in order to cover for Trevor Bolder who is currently
still very much part of Uriah Heep although on sick leave. His bass playing was
superb and his vocals added to the important blend that Uriah Heep have become
known for and again as Bernie Shaw so rightly pointed out This band doesn’t use
tapes or any trickery, what you see is what you get and hear.
What we actually heard was a master class in how to put on a
classic rock concert. Musically the highlights were all too frequent and
included the Heep classics Traveller In Time, Sunrise, All My Life, Stealin’,
Gypsy, Look At Yourself, July Morning, Lady In Black, Free& Easy and of
course Easy Living. With a set list just
containing those classics Heep were onto a winner and July Morning sounded
every bit as good tonight as it did when I first heard it in the seventies.
Bernie Shaw really handles this song as though it was his own but the newer material
including Nail On The Head, I’m Ready and Into The Wild from the band’s last
studio album and songs like Between Two Worlds from 1998’s Sonic Origami still
sound great up against the classic material. This tour of the UK is a prequel
to further European dates and I am sure the reception the band will get there
will be just as enthusiastic as the British dates have been although the band’s
popularity mean that the band have to look for time on the road to get ideas
down for new material for the next album which is now of ever pressing
importance.
For now though catch Uriah Heep live wherever you can you
will not be disappointed and you will most definitely not see a band going
through the motions trotting out the hits. Sure you get the hits and wonderful
they are but this is a living breathing band. For me personally I still get
excited when I see the band and that has remained the case for the last forty
years. In fact whilst the word “Legendary” is sometimes overused; in the case
of Uriah Heep it is the only word that truly sums up the band. As Mick Box
would say, ”Happy Days!” Happy Days indeed.
Jon Kirkman
All Photographs ©Geoff Davies Photography 2013
Set List
Against The Odds
Overload
Traveller In Time
Sunrise
All My Life
I’m Ready
Between Two Worlds
Stealin’
Nail On The Head
Into The Wild
Gypsy
Look At Yourself
July Morning
Lady In Black
Encore
Free & Easy
Easy Living
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