Post by BMC on Feb 19, 2006 0:36:52 GMT
Tonight I had the pleasure of seeing Winston 'Mr. Fix It' Francis live for the first time in Amsterdam. The backing band was Rude Rich & The High Notes, a dutch ska-rocksteady-reggae band and I have yet to hear a band playing the old sound better and more tight than they. Truely a great band imo.
Winston, a small man with a big smile, was extremely enthousiastic and was singing, dancing and smiling all the time. The band played great and the vibe in the audience (mainly ska-lovers, since they were the closing act for a ska-festival) was very good too. They had an hour playing time and went through a number of tunes of which I remember:
Love And Affection
Going To Zion
Mr Fix It
Rain From The Skies
I'm Not A King
Turn Your Light Down Low (not the Marley tune, but as far as I can recall this ska tune I guess this is the title)
Redemption Song
Too Experienced
And there were a few more. His voice sounded great and the pleasure he had on stage really worked on the crowd as well. At one point he even jumped off stage in the audience and danced with 'm. Memorable moments! If he comes near you, check him out, it's more than worth it!!
Besides this musical pleasure, I also had the pleasure to shortly meet the man. In the beginning of the evening I was shortly introduced to him by someone I know (who's close to the High Notes and met him the day before when they practised in the studio) and ofcourse I gave him my respect for the great music. Later on during a lousy show of one of the other bands I walked into him again and he greeted me as if I knew him for a long time already and we had a nice conversation for a short while about this tour, what it meant to him and a bit about his music. His main enjoyment of the new exposure for him was to see that many young people showed up and got to see and know Winston Francis. Maybe not interesting for others, but I at least enjoyed this a lot: a very open and friendly man, willing to spend time and talk with the people that love his music, which he appreciates so much! Much respect to him, great artist.
He re-recorded two classics with the High Notes and released 'm on a brand new 12" (just came out a few days ago): Mr. Fix It and I'm Not A King, both with added dubs I've been told. I bought the 12" tonight, but didn't have the chance to listen yet. Will report back about that soon.
All in all, a great evening with a Winston Francis in fine form backed by a very tight band!
Winston, a small man with a big smile, was extremely enthousiastic and was singing, dancing and smiling all the time. The band played great and the vibe in the audience (mainly ska-lovers, since they were the closing act for a ska-festival) was very good too. They had an hour playing time and went through a number of tunes of which I remember:
Love And Affection
Going To Zion
Mr Fix It
Rain From The Skies
I'm Not A King
Turn Your Light Down Low (not the Marley tune, but as far as I can recall this ska tune I guess this is the title)
Redemption Song
Too Experienced
And there were a few more. His voice sounded great and the pleasure he had on stage really worked on the crowd as well. At one point he even jumped off stage in the audience and danced with 'm. Memorable moments! If he comes near you, check him out, it's more than worth it!!
Besides this musical pleasure, I also had the pleasure to shortly meet the man. In the beginning of the evening I was shortly introduced to him by someone I know (who's close to the High Notes and met him the day before when they practised in the studio) and ofcourse I gave him my respect for the great music. Later on during a lousy show of one of the other bands I walked into him again and he greeted me as if I knew him for a long time already and we had a nice conversation for a short while about this tour, what it meant to him and a bit about his music. His main enjoyment of the new exposure for him was to see that many young people showed up and got to see and know Winston Francis. Maybe not interesting for others, but I at least enjoyed this a lot: a very open and friendly man, willing to spend time and talk with the people that love his music, which he appreciates so much! Much respect to him, great artist.
He re-recorded two classics with the High Notes and released 'm on a brand new 12" (just came out a few days ago): Mr. Fix It and I'm Not A King, both with added dubs I've been told. I bought the 12" tonight, but didn't have the chance to listen yet. Will report back about that soon.
All in all, a great evening with a Winston Francis in fine form backed by a very tight band!
