Average White Band clears the bar

Tonight we braved the acoustics of the Queens/Queen’s Hall and saw the Average White Band play, as part of the Edinburgh Jazz Festival.  We are very fortunate to have so many festivals in Edinburgh at this time of year.

This is the start of Lindsey and my musical extravaganza this summer.  Still to come are: Neil Innes, Grandaddy, The Beach Boys, and then the big one, Papa Nez.  I don’t think that I could ever imagine a better lineup than that one.  OK, add The Eagles, or even The Dutch Eagles, and it would be perfect.

The acoustics in the Queens Hall are weird, but by the second half the mixer got things right, and the band sounded great and very tight.  This is where I have to admit that the only song I really know by the AWB is Pick Up The Pieces.   Lindsey knows the band’s songs much better, and told me that they were THE band in the late seventies/early eighties, at parties and discos.

Well, where was I when they were being played at such parties?  In the queue for the cludgie?  Looking in the oven for stashed carryouts?  Having a ciggie outside?  In those days you didn’t have to go outside for a smoko, so I have no idea.  But somehow I missed most of that band.

The band tonight were hot.

What I noticed tonight was that women of a certain age were really and totally into their sound.

Women love AWB

From the first song onwards, they were up and jigging.

Most of the attendees were about our age (oldish).  The bar was so heaving when we arrived that I had to use some EFT (extreme flatulence technique) to get near the counter.

The busy bar

But what I noticed when I went for a second drink, half way through the band’s second set, was that the band was so good that they had cleared the bar!

Half way through the second set

Not many bands can do that.

AWB at the Queens Hall

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