The Ryan Adams concert at Hammersmith was sold out while I was on holiday, but I did find a ticket on e-bay at about face value. So on Friday evening I made what turned out to be a tortuous journey into London. Two hours by car to Ruislip and then underground was far more than I had estimated. So with a 15 minute queue for the toilets, The Cardinals were hitting their first chords as at 8.30 I groped my way to my seat in the darkened auditorium.
Was it worth it? Just. Ryan was on good form, well behaved and played a set of 2hours 20minutes. I had expected a break after an hour as reported from other concerts on this tour. But it was nearly two hours before he left the stage for 3minutes before coming back for an encore. I was surprised that he never said a word between songs for an hour and a half, and then he wouldn't shut up. But he does put on a good show, of what he calls "good old rock and roll". For me, his songs vary in quality, but the best are top drawer. And a top class performance from the band.
Which is more than can be said of the audience. I may have been unlucky to be five rows above a gangway, but I was amazed at the constant stream of people going to and from the bar. The couple next to me went twice. This is just not what I am used to. And there were a number of uncouth and vocal idiots too.
So it will take a lot for me to go to the Apollo again. Although it did bring back many happy memories of what used to be the Odeon Hammersmith. When I left school, I lived in digs in Riverside Gardens in Barnes, just over the bridge from Hammersmith. So my walk to George Wimpey's offices on Hammersmith Grove took me close to the Odeon every day. So I was lucky to be able to see what were the forthcoming attractions. So from 1963 I went to see Tony Bennett, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Duke Ellington and Woody Herman and the Herd. All fantastic big band performances.
These were followed by a blues concert with Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, and in May 1964 by the best rock and roll show ever with Chuck Berry and Carl Perkins. They were supported by new British groups such as The Nashville Teens (Tobacco Road had not yet entered the charts), The Swinging Blue Jeans and The Animals. Wikipedia confirms they played their version of House of the Rising Sun on their tour with Chuck Berry in May 1964 but did not release a recording until a month later. I can still remember what a great job they did with Alan Price on keyboards.
The most disappointing concert I have ever attended was around this time. Louis Armstrong was a particular favourite, having bought his Hot Five and Hot Seven recordings from 1927 and 1928. So Louis to me was a trumpeter, not a singer. But for the whole concert I wait in vain for a trumpet solo. All the other members of his band played solos, but not Louis. Maybe he was not up to it, but he played with the band, and any short burst on his own would have sufficed.
The last of my 60's memories at the Odeon is the premiere of Thunderball in December 1965. On the day of its release, it was decided to show it at 1 minute past midnight. I must admit that I might have nodded off during the final long underwater sequence, but the music will always wake you up.
The one show I missed was the Beatles. They played 38 shows over 21 nights in late 64/early 65. I had heard that you couldn't hear the music for the screaming and that put me off. But I really should have gone.
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