Środa 16 Lip 2008, 19:18
Well it must be over 30 years since I caught the Nuge live and after missing his Astoria show a year or so ago i wasn't expecting him to be back so soon - or to be playing the Indigo (cap 2350) - which was far from being sold-out, though probably slightly fuller than it was for Reo Speedwagon, last month. The Quireboys were the surprise support, but not being my thing at all, I timed my aarrival at the venue so as to miss them completely - and to minimise the number of £4 beers I had to purchase.
Ted Nugent came onstage to the sound of the Stones' Street Fighting Man and was shooting from the mouth from the second he walked on stage. Having him slag us Brits off was to be expected - and fortunately most of us have a sense of humour, but I didn't understand the 'Yes, Uncle Ted', 'Thank You, Uncle Ted' bollocks which only seemed to re-assure the old asshole of his own greatness. However personally I found the unrelenting stream of cusswords and use of the 'N' word a tad tiresome and ultimately quite sickening. I remember his show being quite over the top, but clearly he has disappeared even further up his own asshole and his between song banter certainly took the shine, for me, off what was a really good Rock 'n Roll show with a killer setlist.
He was obviously well clued up with the news on the recent wave of stabbings and knife crime in the UK and his recommended solution (to blast the offenders to kingdom come) - though amusing, was unlikely to win him a role alongside Mayor Boris.
Checking other sources online, his setlist seems to be pretty much the same as he's being playing stateside - and even the banter seems to be pretty much the same. Stormtroopin was excellent, as was Need You Bad. The homage to the (black) greats of Rock'n'Roll was cool - though the repeated exhortations to 'Never forget Bo Diddley!' and the repeated assertion that Nugent and his band-mates were 'N*****s' took some swallowing and would have had the PC-Brigade choking on their drinks. It was fantastic to hear him play Hey Baby (niceley sung by bassist Greg Smith) followed by Cat Scratch Fever (the 2nd best riff ever written) but the best was left for last with an almost note-perfect rendition of Stranglehold (the best riff ever written) in all its Glory.
If he does return to these shores again, I hope that he just shuts up and plays - but I don't think that there's much chance of that happening. Whatever - while I'll continue to listen to his disks, I will not be buying a ticket to any show.
1. Snakeskin Cowboys
2. Wango Tango/You Really Got me (The Kinks)
3. Free For All
4. Stormtroopin'
5. Dog Eat Dog
6. Klstrphnky
7. Rawdogs & Warhogs
8. Need You Bad
9. Weekend Warrior
10. Wang Dang Sweet Poontang/Rock n Roll Medley (Hey Bo Diddley, Johnny Be Goode etc)
11. Love Grenade
12. Baby Please Don't Go / Geronimo & Me
13. I'm a Soulman
14. Hey Baby
15. Cat Scratch Fever
16. Stranglehold
Encore:
17. Great White Buffalo
Journalist Dave Ling of Classic Rock & Metal Hammer magazines wrote an extended entry in his diary for July 15th, covering his thoughts on the same show.
http://www.daveling.co.uk/diary.htm