The ‘Stand-Up & Rock’ tour
Jasper Carrott (comedy patter, guitar, vocals) / Lee Evans (guitars, vocals) / Abby Brant (keyboards, vocals) / Phil Gee (bass, vocals) / Bev Bevan (drums, percussion) / Special Guest – Andy Bennett (guitars, vocals)
Yes, I know that this is a strange combination to write about, but it did work! Carrott brought his renowned comedy stand-up routine to a packed house in Newark and was on the top of his game. “You only play the Newark Palace Theatre twice: once on the way up… Hello again, Newark!”. And who realised that Newark is the only place in Britain which is an anagram for… well, a naughty word. I’ve lived in these parts for over forty years and I hadn’t worked that one out! There was lots of Mansfield bashing – it’s only a few miles away – “I read 50 Shades of Grey during lockdown; it’s a traveller’s guide to Mansfield,” and “Las Vegas and Mansfield are the only places on earth where you can pay for sex with chips.” Not that Newark itself managed to escape: “What you need here is more coffee shops…” Carrott hasn’t changed – developed? – at all over the fifty or so years that he’s been around; the delivery is pretty much the same with the daft gawping and mugging at the audience as his gags unfold. We even got an updated version of his classic ‘motor insurance forms’ routine – brilliant. He did about half an hour’s stand-up at the beginning of each half of the set (which lasted just under an hour and a quarter each) whilst the remainder of each half was then taken up by Bev Bevan’s band. Carrott and Bevan are big mates, going all the way back to secondary school in Solihull and they’ve now forged a good working relationship on the road. Elements of Bevan’s set reflected time spent working within bands (The Move, Black Sabbath, Electric Light Orchestra) but there were also ‘cover’ versions of songs that they simply enjoy playing. The band consisted of Lee Evans and Abby Brant from Bevan’s other band, Quill, and Phil Gee on bass, consummate professionals all (the advertised Geoff Turton of The Rockin’ Berries was not present). After performing ‘Grapevine‘ the band was joined by a special guest, Andy Bennett of Brummie band Ocean Colour Scene who performed vocals and guitar from there onwards. I’m ashamed to say that I do not know the name of the song that he sang first, but I’m guessing that it was an OCS one and I’m simply not familiar with their stuff. Carrott himself came out front late on in the second set, compete with acoustic guitar, to sing Status Quo’s ‘Caroline‘ and all of the remaining songs of the set, and he did an excellent job. There were no flashy lights but there was a projected backdrop giving an insight into the stories behind many of the songs played (during Carrott’s routine it was simply used as a big projection of his act). And of course the band brought the house down and had everybody up and moving to the final two songs, both classics from Bevan’s time with ELO. We even got a Genesis-style ‘I Can’t Dance’ walk off stage at the end. It had been an eclectic mix of comedy and music originally by rock luminaries Queen, Cliff Richard, Marvin Gaye, Ocean Colour Scene, The Beatles, Joe Cocker, Elvis Presley, Bread, The Rolling Stones, and Status Quo, all on top of Bevan’s more usually associated material, so all in all Mrs. P. and I enjoyed a really good evening’s entertainment.
Setlist: Set 1: We Will Rock You; Paranoid; Devil Woman; I Heard It Through The Grapevine; unknown OCS song; Come Together; Drive My Car; California Man / I Can Hear The Grass Grow / Blackberry Way; Set 2: The Letter; Mystery Train / My Baby Left Me / Any Way You Want Me; The Day We Caught The Train; Make It With You; The Last Time; Caroline / Funky Moped / Rockin’ All Over The World; Mr. Blue Sky; Don’t Bring Me Down
Here’s the blurb from the theatre programme/brochure…
Evans, Grant, Gee, Carrott, Bevan
A pre-gig photo of the stage…
Gigs'n'Stuff 