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‘Bye Bye Johnny’ has become the only vague nod to sentiment on this tour, with fans waving Wilko off stage and out of their lives at the end of the gig. Remember that cover shot from ‘Stupidity’? For those who regret Wilko walking out so early on the Feelgoods, this was a welcome reminder of how good he is with a lead singer to bounce off and play to. Long time fan, Alison Moyet (who looked and sounded fantastic) joined Wilko for an electric encore of ‘I Don’t Mind’ and ‘All Through The City’, from Dr Feelgood’s debut ‘Down By The Jetty’. Alongside the trademark lead/rhythm sound that powered the searing ‘She Does It Right’ and ‘Sneaking Suspicion’, we were treated to a subtle, haunting version of ‘Dr Dupree’ that had touches of Hawaiian guitar, swing and jazz, picked out in chiming, crystal clear salvoes, sliding over each other and competing for attention. This under-estimates the unique qualities of Mr Johnson though. Mick Green of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates is cited by Wilko as his great influence and he has described learning to copy that style by slowing down singles to 33 1/3 rpm. There is less brutal riffage underpinning the straight r’n’b of ‘Going Back Home’ these days and instead a more complex rolling six-string rumble played with lighting fast fingers and unerring accuracy. ‘Roxette’ was so sharp you could feel your eyes watering, ‘Back In the Night’ delivered with more dangerous edge than an Alpine precipice. Wilko has maintained the aggression and violence of those mould breaking mid-70’s Dr Feelgood cuts. If some of the intimacy was – quite rightly – sacrificed here, it was easily compensated by a razor sharp, state of the art, decibel heavy PA that emphasised every simultaneous chop, lick and riff to magnificent effect. The natural habitat of Wilko gigs is a sweaty pub or a tiny club where the furious nature of the high octane performance gives an intense experience. Koko is a stunning Victorian music hall of tiered balconies and boxes encased in an opulent gilt and red ceramic skin. Norman Watt-Roy and Dylan Howe gave Johnson all the space he needed and threw down some jaw-dropping interplay of their own.īut some things had changed: the size of the venue, the electric atmosphere and the quality of the sound.
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The standard of the musicianship was its usual dizzyingly high quality. Wilko’s persona was all present and correct: frenetic stalking of the stage, eye-popping mad-man stares and Telecaster strafing of the audience. In terms of the performance, this gig was no different from any of those he has served up at any point in his gnarled career. Contrast those interviews with his gigs since the news broke and you would be hard pushed to detect any note of sentimentality and where communication with the audience has been at its usual minimalist level. His decision to refuse treatment and to go out in a blaze of activity is quite another. His diagnosis of terminal pancreatic cancer is one thing. Wilko has been engagingly gracious, crushingly honest and revealingly open in interviews that mark a spiralling level of media interest in him. The gulf between the guitar-meister’s on-stage persona and his life away from the circuit has never been better emphasised than in the last few months.
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If Wilko had detected any doubts about his ability to deliver a trademark blistering gig then he wouldn’t have turned up. The scope for mental or physical weakness was simply not on the agenda. Wilko Johnson has been a focused, intense and immersed performer for the best part of 40 years. There was never any doubt that this would be a life-affirming gig. Having played here in 2016, Wilko will duck-walk his way back to The Civic Hall to headline the second night of the Cottingham Folk Festival on Friday August 24th.Share the post "Gig review: WILKO JOHNSON Koko, Camden, Wednesday 6th March 2013" Also featuring Dylan Howe on drums, the trio have become one of the most exciting r’n’b bands in the world today. With this economic sound, coupled with that black-suited, scowling look, and the yards he covered across the stage pausing only to twist the guitar lead out from under his feet, Wilko became one of the guitar heroes of the era.įollowing a stint with Ian Dury & The Blockheads in the 80′s he eventually formed The Wilko Johnson Band with ex-Blockhead Norman Watt-Roy on bass.
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This allows for chords and lead to be played at the same time, giving a fluency and a distinctive sound very unlike the cleaner swat of a pick. Heavily influenced by Mick Green, Wilko employs a finger-style, chop-chord strumming action (the ‘stab’, as he describes it). Following Wilko’s cancer recovery, the original Dr Feelgood guitarist has enjoyed a rousing return to the live arena recently, including playing a sold out show at The Royal Albert Hall to mark his 70th birthday.