Deacon Blue : Echo Arena Liverpool 20th October 2012
Liverpool Live 24th October 2012
There is something very enjoyable and musically intense about a Deacon Blue
concert in Liverpool. Whether it is part of the Liverpool Summer Pops Festival
or as part of a national tour in support of a major anniversary, there is always
a huge appreciative and very vocal audience that welcomes them to the Liverpool
Echo Arena.
Liverpool, unlike almost every city that the Scottish band play in, is possibly
more partisan and incredibly biased about their enthusiasm for the songs of
Ricky Ross and Deacon Blue, always passionate, approving and understandably
knowledgeable about almost every song the group perform. It is this unique
element of the Glasgow working and artistic class that Deacon Blue bring to the
city that makes them such a huge draw for a people that identify very closely
with the ethic and songs.
Deacon Blue came to Liverpool on the back of their latest studio album, The
Hipsters, and proceeded to give a performance that left the band and the packed
out Echo Arena’s audience in fine spirits.
Opening the evening with Here I Am In London Town and the new album’s title
track set the standard incredibly high for the night ahead and as each song was
played out in front of the 5,500 audience, each song that followed became more
of a personal statement and almost every word seemed to be a love note to the
city they were performing in.
In amongst a cracking set that was celebrating the bands 25th anniversary of the
debut release of Raintown, were old favourites from the band's distinguished
career and a couple of new tracks from the latest release. Included in the huge
set list were songs such as That’s What We Can Do Now, Stars, the stunning
Chocolate Girl, Real Gone Kid and Queen of the New Year.
Sometimes a band forgets why they play a certain city on a tour, to some bands
it’s just the concentration of a fan base in which to maximise potential but to
Deacon Blue it has to be said they have never forgotten the people of a city
that others forget and it was immensely touching to see Ricky Ross give a
personal message about the city and the injustice it has had since 1989. This
was further enhanced with a terrific version Twist and Shout during the encores
which alongside Dignity and Wages Day gave the Liverpool crowd an enjoyable end
to a great night of music. Ian D Hall