The Strawbs - Stanley Theatre Liverpool

I'm not very up on my Strawbs, this I will freely confess. I had a best of compilation and the BBC Sessions CDs and that was it until I went to this gig. Since then I have been investigating and investing in further releases.

With the above in mind, the distinction that this was the electric Strawbs and that they would be performing an album in its entirety in the second half didn't really mean very much to me.

Playing to a small but very appreciative audience in a small, rather chilly venue, it was obvious that this was a band enjoying what they do. The opened with New World and, well, then I get a bit lost. I did recognise quite a few numbers but not enough to list the titles.

The sound was rather thunderous for a small venue. This isn't a complaint, I quite like it when bass notes cause my jeans to vibrate!

In the interval a couple of the band members were to be found mingling in the bar area at the back of the room.  Oh! Note to the Stanley Theatre - sometimes the audience for the shows aren't your lager drinking student types, any chance you can occasionally open the bigger bar or at least get some bitter in to the little one? Cheers!

The second half saw the band perform the album Hero And Heroine in full. I knew some of the tracks and enjoyed the whole thing enough to have ordered the CD after I got home.


The encore was Lay Down, a track that has been a constant earworm since the first moment I heard it.

I came away from the gig feeling like I had been given a bloody good fix of music and felt all the better for it too. Should the opportunity arise I would certainly go to see them again!