Status Quo / Bad Influence

Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham on Sun 16th Dec 2012

Status Quo decided to bring a bit of intimacy back on this tour by playing smaller venues, hence why this year they were playing at a sold out Royal Concert Hall for this leg of their Quofestive tour. In previous years they have performed at the Capital FM Arena which is one of the biggest music venues in Nottingham.

Bad Influence were the supporting act for Status Quo. They are a rock and blues band with an incredible song writing prowess. They managed to impress the audience with their intricate guitar melodies and powerful vocals.

Status Quo


After Bad Influence had finished, the stage was set to await the arrival of Status Quo. As per usual the backline was crammed full of Marshall Amplifiers and the drum kit with the letters SQ was positioned centre stage.

This year Rick Parfitt decided to lose the long flowing hair that he used to have for a short clean cut. It has made him look a lot younger, and it took a while to get used to the new fresh looking Rick.

Apart from that visual change with the band it was business as usual and set opener 'Caroline' was delivered with such a high octane pace that Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt could easily give some younger bands a good run for their money in terms of energy.

Some people might criticise Status Quo for being predictable in their setlist, however judging by the reaction of the audience to the setlist they were more than happy to part with nearly £40 for a ticket for the privilege of hearing what some critics would describe as predictable.

Looking around the concert hall, the fans seemed to enjoy all of the classic tracks such as their cover version of 'In The Army Now' as well as the brutally infectious 'Down Down' as well as the awesome 'Whatever You Want', which always ends up with the fans standing up and swaying along pretending to play air guitar.

Status Quo brought the set to an end with 'Rockin' All Over The World'. The band then waited off stage for a few minutes before coming back for the encore. With it being so close to Christmas and the tour being called 'Quofestive' there was only one thing to do for the encore and that was to perform a few Christmas songs such as 'Walking In A Winter Wonderland', 'Rocking Around the Christmas tree' and 'It's Christmas Time'.

They finished the encore with 'Burning Bridges' which left their fans with Cheshire cat smiles as they were leaving the venue.

Once again even after all of the years that Status Quo have been touring, they still manage to perform each show with as much enthusiasm and energy as when I first saw them many years ago and like a fine wine they seem to become even more enjoyable the more they age.

There is no denying that paying nearly £40 for a ticket is expensive, but when it is for a band like Status Quo, you are guaranteed to get an evening of great music and entertainment with a band that seem to genuinely want to be on stage and determined to give their fans a fantastic night out.

As far as live shows go, then Status Quo set the benchmark for live performances.

Status Quo


Setlist:

Caroline
Paper Plane
Hold You Back
Rain
Mystery Song
Rock 'n' Roll 'n' You
Beginning of the End
What You're Proposing / Down The Dustpipe / Wild Side Of Life / Railroad / Again And Again
Big Fat Mama
The Oriental
Creepin' Up On You
Marguerita Time
Living on an Island
In the Army Now
Drum Solo
Roll Over Lay Down
Down Down
Whatever You Want
Rockin' All Over the World

Encore:
Walking in a Winter Wonderland / Rocking Around The Christmas Tree / It's Christmas Time
Burning Bridges

Status Quo

article by: Luke Seagrave

photos by: Luke Seagrave

published: 18/12/2012 15:44



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