{"id":31929,"date":"2013-09-17T06:55:37","date_gmt":"2013-09-17T11:55:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=31929"},"modified":"2014-02-08T08:21:26","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T13:21:26","slug":"live-manfred-manns-earth-band-concert-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/live-manfred-manns-earth-band-concert-review\/","title":{"rendered":"LIVE! | Manfred Mann\u2019s Earth Band"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alissa Ordabai<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

September 10, 2013 at The Jazz Caf\u00e9 in London, United Kingdom —<\/h3>\n

\"ManfredYou scan the stage trying to spot the legendary star attraction, and for a moment become confused. There is a skinny young chap full of jolting energy behind the stacks of keyboards in the right-hand corner of the stage. And there are two calm, dignified-looking gentlemen straight in the middle. But where is Manfred Mann?<\/p>\n

The first song (\u201cSpirits in the Night\u201d) dispels doubts. Easily mistaken for a freshly recruited conservatoire graduate, Manfred Mann is indeed the man behind the stockpile
\nof keyboards. An electric fan crowns this claviature mound, further obscuring the crowd\u2019s view of him. But the sound emanating from this construction rings clear and instantly recognizable: the layered timbre, the pneumatic grooves, the daydreaming voice of the jazz-inspired impro. Half a minute into the song and you know that the keyboardist is the one who imagines the band\u2019s narratives and breathes life into them.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpirits in the Night\u201d is, of course, a Bruce Springsteen song. And transforming material by other artists into his own adventures remains one of Manfred Mann\u2019s essential specialties. From turning rare Dylan material into uplifting pop hits in the 60s to giving prog makeovers to folk songs in the 70s, Mann always knew how to capture the essence of each era of popular music he lived through.<\/p>\n

But the band\u2019s prog period stays his most exciting and daring, so no wonder it became the focus of tonight\u2019s set list. Classic hit \u201cDavy\u2019s on the Road Again\u201d culminated in a fiery call-and-response exchange between Mann\u2019s keytar and Mick Rogers\u2019s guitar. \u201cFather of Day, Father of Night\u201d \u2013 by contrast \u2013 showed how easily and without pretensions Mann can weave a profound sense of mystery into a simple tune.<\/p>\n

\"Manfred<\/p>\n

Mick Rogers\u2019s guitar solos sound elegantly polished, and his unaccompanied country blues instrumentals \u2013 grittily hung ho, but Mann remains the emotional core of the band. Shaking his fist in the air after a particularly intense solo, or jumping up from his stool when laying a pumping riff line, he engages in the proceedings so completely, it feels as if time has no power over him. And it seems he really does have a special relationship with time \u2013 the way it doesn\u2019t touch him, and the way he could always nail any era\u2019s l\u2019air du temps.<\/p>\n

Closing number \u201cMighty Quinn\u201d (the prog version) performed for the encore-demanding crowd held back a bit in the impro department. But it also summed up Mann\u2019s unique approach to the genre \u2013 accessible, yet with fairy-tale magic peeking out of each chord change and every turn of the solo. How he can transport you and at the same time hook you with the sweetest tune remains an enigma. But then again, Mann is so naturally a musician with such organic feel for music of all ears and genres, had he lived 200 or 300 years ago, you can still imagine him leaving a mark. <\/p>\n

Personnel:
\nManfred Mann \u2013 keyboards, vocals
\nMick Rogers \u2013 guitar
\nRobert Hart \u2013 vocals
\nSteve Kinch \u2013 bass
\nJimmy Copley \u2013 drums <\/p>\n

Set list:
\n1. Spirits in the Night
\n2. Captain Bobby Stout
\n3. Martha\u2019s Madman
\n4. Dancing in the Dark
\n5. You Angel You
\n6. Doh Wah Diddy Diddy
\n7. Father of Day, Father of Night
\n8. For You
\n9. Don\u2019t Kill It Carol
\n10. Blinded by the Light
\n11. Davy\u2019s on the Road Again
\nEncore:
\nMighty Quinn<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alissa Ordabai – Senior Columnist — September 10, 2013 at The Jazz Caf\u00e9 in London, United Kingdom — You scan the stage trying to spot the legendary star attraction, and for a moment become […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":31931,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8804],"tags":[674,164,8069,334],"class_list":{"0":"post-31929","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcconrvw2013","8":"tag-concert","9":"tag-live","10":"tag-manfred-manns-earth-band","11":"tag-review"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31929"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31929\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}