REVIEWS

Portsmouth * March 15 * Second gig of the tour.

 

Pictures by Mike Taylor

By John Perry

An absolutely fantastic night ! Great to hear Return to Fantasy again - the "old" tracks fit so well with the new that it's only possible to tell the "vintage" of a song by trawling thro' your memory...the newer stuff more than stands its ground alongside classics such as July Morning and Stealin'...particular highlights were Universal Wheels and an emotional 'Come Away Melinda' from the 'Future Echoes of the Past' collection. 
Bernie Shaw is a great front-man, aswell as an excellent vocalist and made sure the high adrenalin-level was maintained throughout. The only disappointment was the 11.00pm curfew imposed by the venue. When the end came, it was inevitably too soon...Three bands for eleven quid ? Excellent value for money, with the headliners' "legendary" status as a truly great live-act enhanced still further. JP. 27/3/01.

By Mike Taylor: 

Anyway the gig was as usual stupendous but with a massive injection of atmosphere this Portsmouth gig was in the A++++ class. The Pyramids centre is only a small venue but was pretty full with probably about 1000 people. Stray did about 35 mins and were excellent. They are certainly a band I'd like to see do a full set. Nazareth were great entertainment, playing just over an hour. Dan McCafferty's voice still sounds the same....you know...like he's swallowed a couple of razor blades. 
Pete Agnew acted the clown but his bass playing was great. They played most of their hits and got a great reception. It was great hearing Heep play some different numbers. Return to Fantasy was last played in about 75 or 76 and I would imagine Come away Melinda hasn't been in the regular set since 1970. It was also great to have July Morning back, oh.. yes, and also Traveller in Time. The crowd were fantastic and Heep rose to the occasion. It was a great performance. I took our 15 year old foster girl and she met up with one of her friends over from the Island on her own and they both made for the front and loved every minute of it.
 I met a couple in the queue to get in who hadn't seen Heep since 1975 and another guy after who has been a fan since 1970 but this was the 1st time he'd seen them live. They are starting to reappear......the future looks rosey. Anyway looking forward to seeing you next friday for a good one. If it's half as good as last night at Portsmouth it will be fantastic.

Mike Taylor

By Pete Wharton

OK it won't be a surprise now to those who've read the review of the Folkestone gig, so I don't mind telling you about the surprises in the Heep set. I saw them at Portsmouth last night and I'd been warned about surprises but I did not expect them to start with Return to Fantasy. Fantastic, marvellous. Really got the show off to a flyer. I should have done some warm up exercises on my neck cause it's really sore after going straight into headbanging. I can't remember the exact set (Mike, I'll leave that to your memory) but it was something like from RTF to Bird of Prey to Universal Wheels to B2W to I Hear Voices before there was even any chance to think of a pause for breath. It was absolutely exhilarating. Then there was just a short break for a quieter section and we're off and pounding again. RTF wasn't the only surprise though, oh no sir. Come Away Melinda was only a half surprise but it was brilliantly done by Bernie, though Mick didn't appear to get the start quite right. 

OK it's heresy time again but I really think Bernie is doing this better than David. Then there was an absolute treat for me. Traveller in Time was back in the set. Now I know it's probably down to the position I was standing, that is in front of the speakers on Bernie's side, but it seemed more bass dominated than keyboard which to me is just the way it should always have been anyway. A real classic thumping bass line that Heep never really fully exploited. Now I just need to talk to Mr Bolder and tell him to pump it up even more! Mike Taylor was there with me so I'll leave it up to his technical knowledge but to this 'umble Heepster, Trevor just keeps getting better and better. I thought his soloing and runs in Love in Silence and July Morning were just amazing.

Yes, July Morning was back in there as well. Seemed to be some hitch with Phil's keys at the start though cause it wasn't spot on sound wise at all. Apparently the venue is pretty tight on their sound curfew so the only encore was Easy Living. Hmm I was so carried away I can't remember them doing Lady in Black now. Do you Mike? I spoke to Lee very briefly just before I left and we can expect some more "surprises" as they get longer on stage at the end of the tour. With Ian Anderson guesting, I wonder what they might be! Anyway to sum up (and Louis you can quote me for this on the web page) if you are planning to go and see one of these gigs, make sure you are wearing plenty of socks because Heep are going to rock them off you! I can hardly wait for Wolverhampton on Monday! It's worth another 200+ mile round trip. Young Mr Gitlin is supposed to be there as well. Pete

Paul Sims Comments: Went to Portsmouth for last night's gig. What a time. Only problem - not enough Heep! I enjoyed Stray and Naz, but would happily have swopped both their sets for (say) 'Look at Yourself'. I could tell from Bernie's comment at the end and from 'Future Echoes' that they could've gone on for ages, but the curfew hit! Please, please, please, guys, come again soon - and next time, come alone 

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