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Dick Greener
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Updated 6 Jun 2011
This past Saturday evening I attended John Ford's concert at the Pisces Cafe in Babylon, NY. Upon walking into the cafe, my first thought was this place is tiny AND packed. There were several familiar faces there including Lisa and Ken, John's official T-shirt model! Most of the seats were taken, but luckily for my friend Amanda and myself a black leather sofa beside (and practically on) the stage became available before it was time for John to go on.
John went on and did a solo set first, performing four Christmas songs which included covers and originals which can be found on his new album "Whatever Happened to Christmas" He was later joined by his son John Jr. on bass. Together, father and son performed John's original songs from previous albums, some more Christmas songs, and even a few covers which included Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade of Pale," which ALWAYS goes over well with the crowd. They also shared some very comical on stage banter which was even more evident being as close as I was.
Later on in the evening, John and John Jr. were joined on stage by singer/songwriter/guitarist Kevin McLeod, who opened for John, as well as John Hawken, keyboard wizard of the Strawbs on piano. Together they did an outstanding job on "Run Rudolph Run," as well as "Happy Christmas (War is Over)," and "Part of The Union" which got the entire coffee house singing along. (We were singing so loud that the Transit Workers heard us all the way from New York City, chanting "Out, Brothers Out!" and took us seriously!)
As Ken mentioned in his review, it was evident that no one wanted to leave, even after the show came to an end. The friendly atmosphere left everyone chatting away and when it was clear that nobody would be leaving anytime soon, Jill persuaded John to perform a few more songs with John Jr. and they were later rejoined by John Hawken, Kevin McLeod and a tambourine player, who I believe is John's regular drummer.
Although the venue was small, the entertainment was huge! The staff and the food at Pisces were wonderful, and the Christmas Spirit born out of the wonderful music and warm friendship on a cold New York night will be long remembered.
We made it to the Pisces Cafe in Babylon, Long Island, NY.. a sweet oasis of friendly people, great comestibles and great music.
Opening was singer/guitarist Kevin Macleod performing a number of his own compositions. Kevin is a master guitarist with a wide knowledge of chord voicings and finger style guitar. This guy plays! His overall style to me is a mix of Peter Yarrow, Kenny Rankin, and Dave Mathews. He did a very enjoyable hour set.
The little Pisces Cafe was getting packed. Amanda and her very cool dad, Dave arrived with none other than JOHN HAWKEN in tow. WOW!! John Ford up next. He opened with several numbers from his new seasonal "Whatever Happened To Christmas" release, putting everyone in great Christmas spirit. He was then joined by his son John Ford Jr. on bass. John went through a rousing set of his standards including "Kissed By The Sun", "Nice Legs, Shame About The Face" and many others. There was lots of humourous banter from John including his now famous Elvis "My Way" take. John launched into one of my fave's " A Whiter Shade of Pale"
Well, with Hawken in attendence and a piano available "Part of The Union" was given a great delivery with audience clapping and singing loudly along. It was great! Chuck Berry's "Run Rudolf Run" was done with Hawken doing a boogie woogie piano. A word about the piano. It is an old old upright which I thought was a prop! It fit perfectly ! It had the slightly detuned ragtime sound. John commented: "Slightly detuned"? "It's all detuned" !! The piano looked a bit rough but John "Iron Fingers" Hawken was masterful. I had the great thrill of sitting beside John Hawken all night. It was so wonderful for me to chat about Illusion and Mellotrons. John Hawken is the coolest guy on the planet. There was a lot of love in The Pisces. No one wanted to leave.
After John's last song, about an hour passed by and Jill convinced John to take the stage again. Well earlier in the evening Kevin Macleod had joined John for several numbers - this time it was John Hawken, John Jr., Kevin Macleod and John's drummer who showed up with a tambourine. They all played sort of highlights set with again "Part Of The Union" and several Christmas classics. Kevin took the lead guitar spot on "Run Rudolf Run" and we all sang along to Lennon's "So This is Christmas"
A great gig, a great time, we all left happy with more great memories and a cheerful sense of anticipation for new things to come and that we can't wait to do it again with the same great artists and even greater friends!
It's Friday night and the after-work crowd is at the bar, and milling about the restaurant. On stage sits a couple of acoustic guitars, bass and drums. A small but rather enthusiastic crowd is waiting to see who's going to play. It's none other than our own John Ford, who I must say looks and sounds great these days.
The set(s) were typical pub fare, all the while showing John's love for Beatle 'B' sides. Great versions of "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away", and "Imagine" were the high points. John's guitar was work was crisp and rather impeccable throughout. Solid backing by the bass and drums just added to the crispness and professionalism evidenced throughout the set, and the selections from John's two solo CDs were extremely well received by the crowd. All were delivered with punch and enthusiasm, and John and Co. appeared to be having a jolly good time. For us Strawbs fans, we were treated to wonderful versions of "New World", and John's all time classic, "Heavy Disguise". Ah, how we all sang along on those...
Then, suddenly, John is at the mike talking about this wonderful band he was with in the early seventies, and how he co-wrote this little ditty that "was the reason all those Rolls-Royces are outside waiting to take me back to Huntington". That line got a chuckle from everyone present. Then, the familiar chords of "Part Of The Union" rang out, and those of us who knew the song provided the rowdy group vocals that make the song what it is.
What a wonderful time was had by all! Much between set conversation with John occurred, and lots of reminiscing about the Strawbs and how things were then, and how they are now. There is much anticipation of the upcoming Strawbs tour. Indeed, John commented that this being his last gig before the tour begins, he now had to go back and get into 'Strawbs mode' to prepare.
All in all a great evening, and I'm looking forward to seeing John again during the tour, and again in the acoustic setting at Delaneys on 19 May, after we all return from the UK.
Eager anticipation was obvious as fans, many of whom had purchased their tickets in advance, began queuing up outside in the frosty 22-degree air at 6:00 PM, waiting for the doors to open at 6:30. Nearly all the choice seating locations were filled long before John Ford took the stage at 8:30.
The warm applause that greeted his introduction made it plain that there were a great many John Ford/Strawbs fans in attendance; for them he was no mere "opening act" but a major attraction in his own right. John opened up by briefly recalling his days with the Strawbs (more applause) and introducing the show's first two songs, "Heavy Disguise" and "New World" (much more applause). "Heavy Disguise" was done by John with only light backing provided by Vin Fabiano, John's bassman of long standing, with the full band (consisting of the above plus Steve Ward on drums, and Joe Caesar on lead guitar) coming on board as he segued into "New World".
With the connection to his past thus solidly established, he launched into a sampling of his solo material, drawing from all three of his solo CDs: "Love is a Highway", followed by "Strange Universe", and then "Don't Blame Me". He then reached back into the Monks collection with the band doing a spirited rendition of "Suspended Animation".
Next came "Ready to Roll", John's 9/11 commemorative, then "Chameleon". A quick switch to his Telecaster and John was equipped to deliver "I'm a Man, You're a Woman" and "We've Got'em Running". Back in acoustic mode, John and Co. pulled all the stops out for the Monks hit "Nice Legs, Shame About the Face" (which never fails to provoke outbursts of laughter when the lyric reaches the 'punch line'). At this point the show was already running over its allotted time ("Together Apart" was in the original plan but fell victim to time constraints) and the venue staff was giving a 'time's up' signal, but John had already introduced his finale number: "Part of the Union". The enthusiastic audience response led to a reprieve and John was able to close the show with a rousing version of his trademark tune.
Thus ended a splendid performance that could not fail to satisfy a John Ford fan, regardless of which point in his career one was a devotee. For the audience that came drawn by Dave Mason, they were treated to a first act that was far and away more than they were expecting.
