Squeeze – 1 August 1996 – live at The Strand, Providence Ri

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packetofthree says:

24 November 2014 at 11:14 am

Chris Difford’s Tour Diary:

Sunday 4 August
Silver Bird
Sunday is a travel day, time to read a review from last week…

New York Newsday, 8/1:
“The Band Is Squeezed, But the Juice Remains”
by Stephen Williams
On stage, Glenn Tilbrook played some of the more inspired guitar of his career. To his left, Chris Difford, fresh-faced and looking younger than a decade ago, nearly crooned the lyrics that he used to crunch.

Squeeze was up and running at the Supper Club, but I missed the band.

This season’s version of the group that was Britpop before there was Britpop came attired for acoustic: no drums, no bass, no keyboards. Except for some very able support from guitarist Nick Harper, nothing stood between Difford and Tilbrook and an adoring (if often noisy) crowd but mikestands and amplified acoustic guitars.

Streamlined this way, this prolific songwriting team – about 1,000 compositions, as of a few hours ago – didn’t bother with frills as it passed through the stages of Squeeze: from mid-’70s classics like “Goodbye Girl” and “Cool for Cats” through ’80s gems including “Annie Get Your Gun” and that romantic love song, “Slaughtered, Gutted and Heartbroken”, and up to date with the latest disc, “Ridiculous”, and its natural singles, “This Summer” and “Electric Trains”.

Difford, Tilbrook and their various bandmates – Paul Carrack, Julian Holland and Pete Thomas are Squeeze alumni – have gone round and round with labels through the years, and “Ridiculous” has landed on a label that’s landed in the toilet. For reasons that aren’t clear, I.R.S. Records – “Labels for Less”, Difford quipped – is no longer in business, leaving distribution of this terrific collection up in the air, although it’s still on the racks.

Many of the tunes on “Ridiculous” – “I Want You”, “Temptation for Love” – can be tailored for simple presentation, and it is likely the reason that the duo on this support tour has left out bass player Keith Wilkinson plus others. With Tilbrook’s nearly flawless, honest vocals leading the charge, mini-Squeeze poured in and pulled out every ounce of energy so that “Tough Love”, “Third Rail” and even “Electric Trains” chugged with momentum. But a synthesizer would have drawn that last bit of passion out of “Up the Junction”, and amplified the nutty humor of “Cool for Cats”, and a drummer would have kindled sparks on the brilliantly crafted ode to fun, fun, fun, “This Summer.” Without those elements, the 90-minute show was just a stitch short of a tapestry.

Of course, it would take a concentrated effort to corrupt the poetry – both musical and literal – of the songs: the cynical wit and razor-sharp images of Difford’s Everyman lyrics, the slippery, sometimes surprising maneuvers of Tilbrook’s melodies. Thankfully, these two have matured only a little, it seems: Tilbrooks buzzsaw guitar solo on “Take Me, I’m Yours” would give Billy Corgan pause. Difford’s words find little truths and sorrows that go beyond most transient pop themes.

Those who lack imagination might demand a definition for Squeeze now – a band? A duo? A transition? Whatever it is, I like it a lot.

Well that’s not bad, is it? Ten years younger too…

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packetofthree says:

24 November 2014 at 11:17 am

Chris Difford’s Tour Diary:

Thursday 1 August
Providence, RI
The Strand in Providence seemed a little too large for our show–we only filled a quarter of the hall, but we had a good time. Late shows don’t agree with me and I had to leave to get to my bed soon after the last song. My head hit the pillow and the lights went out.

The highlight of the day was going to see the Monkees, we met them backstage for pictures and magic tricks. The circus had come to town as we took our seats in the round, they appeared and gave their all in a slapstick kind of way. Glenn sat next to me in the pit and like little boys we grinned up at the stage and sung along to all the songs.

Davy was the best. Then Peter, then Micky.

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