Simon Rushworth
It’s 20 years since the Quireboys laid waste to America but as the reborn rock n roll heroes celebrate their 30th anniversary in style they’ve headed back to the other side of the Pond.
Throughout the tour guitarist Paul Guerin will be giving RUSHONROCK an exclusive insight into life on the road as the band crisscross the US and Canada – ending up in Ottawa on September 3.
Here’s the first instalment of what promises to be a typically colourful journey. Welcome on board!
I just realised it was 14 years since I had last played in this wonderful city of LA so this was a great way to be returning here – playing the legendary Whisky A Go Go!
I don’t need to tell anyone the history of this place as it’s rock n roll hallowed ground. We drove in all the way along Hollywood blvd through Bel Air and Beverly Hills taking in all the sights.
This is Dave Mcclusky’s first time here so it was extra special for him. We pulled up outside the Whisky and lo’ and behold there’s Spike and Nigel Mogg sharing a joke and a ciggy…just like old times!
Soundcheck done and dusted – and a quick trip to the guitar centre under our belts – we headed for the famous Rainbow Bar and Grill for chicken wings and a frothy quencher. So many friends of the band had traveled from far and wide to catch this show and they had all congregated at the Rainbow. It was great to see them all
I didn’t manage to catch One or The Blessings but we all piled back to the club to catch The Deserters, led by the stunning Angela Bruyere. Their beautifully crafted country rock songs were the perfect complement to the beckoning Quireboys set and it was special in another way. The Deserters also feature Luke Bossendorfer – who I replaced in the Quireboys 10 or so years ago – and Gazz Ivan who is playing bass with us on this tour.
We hit the stage bang on 11’o’clock (well, at least it rhymes with seven o’ clock) and the capacity crowd were well up for it singing their hearts out to every track. The sound onstage was magic so I was very happy and Gazz played a blinder ( no rehearsal!). As usual it all seemed to whizz by too fast.
Nigel Mogg came up and played Seven O’Clock and Sex Party with us which was a lot of fun and then it was back to the Rainbow for a nightcap…..a great night was had by all 🙂
It was Vegas last night and then back to the Whisky for an acoustic show on Sunday.
Tooodaloooo PG
* The Quireboys’ latest album Black Eyed Sons is out now – click here for details.
* The band return to the UK later this year – for full dates go here.