Look at that man – does he look like 72?? It’s Ian Hunter and we love him. Roy introduced me to him back in the 70’s (seems like yesterday). We’ve seen him a number of times over the years but not in a long time. So when we heard he was coming to Boston we didn’t waste any time in buying tickets.
He came to The Paradise a few weeks ago, a rock club with a long history of showcasing some great music. Elvis Costello played his first date in the US at the Paradise. Dire Straits, Tom Petty, Mink Deville, Lou Reed; I could go on and on and we were there to see them all.
But enough about the Paradise; let’s talk about the show at hand. Ian played with The Rant Band and we were there front and center like the old days. The Rant Band smoked and one of the best surprises is that Stuart Elliott, who’s played with everyone from Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel to Paul McCartney, was on the drums; that was a great surprise! Ian didn’t miss a beat. He came out, sat down at the piano and didn’t stop. Two full hours of old and new. Like I said, he’s 72 now but take a look at the picture. Don’t you wish you’ll look like that when you’re 72!
He’s high energy and his voice is strong. It was one of the best shows we’ve seen in a while. My only disappointment is that he didn’t sing Irene Wilde or Michael Picasso but his playlist included everything from the obligatory All the Young Dudes, All the Way to Memphis, Cleveland Rocks to Do you Remember Saturday Night and Alice which he said he hasn’t played since Mott the Hoople days because it was too damed complicated. He even gave a shout out to Peter Wolf who was in the house.
Long live rock and roll!!!
Ya, long live rock and roll. You two are doin’ your part to keep it alive!
Ya, long live rock and roll. You two are doin’ your part to keep it alive!