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Big Face makes big debut 
Guildford Civic Hall, 1 March 2003

This was an eagerly awaited return to the stage for
Kenney Jones. There had been much talk about this new
band, not least through two extensive Daily Telegraph
pieces and 2002's It's All About the Children single.
As the first gig this was a chance to play together
for the first time and the set consisted primarily of
cover versions, albeit mostly from the former bands of
Big Face members. Strangely, the multitude of Who
tracks were from the pre-Kenney Jones days rather from
It's Hard and Face Dances. 

The first thing to say is that this band is highly
impressive and highly professional. Vocalist Robert
Hart has a great voice and commanding stage presence.
It was a pity he mixed up the lines in Substitute but
the superb rendition of the Who classic meant that he
was forgiven. His vocals on Handbags & Gladrags were
also superb. Kenney's drums were very much to the fore
and drove the band forward. He seemed to be very happy
to be back on stage. Unfortunately, there was only one
Small Faces track, All or Nothing, and the style of
Big Face hinted that a version of a song such as
Rollin' Over or Wham Bam Thank You Mam would work very
well. Hart followed All or Nothing with the claim that
Steve Marriott was the greatest vocalist that Britain
had ever produced. Naturally, this raised a cheer of
agreement. One of the highlights was the new song Mr
Brown that aims to deliver an anti-tax message (hear,
hear). Rick Wills introduced this song as being
popular with the the Conservative Party but not at all
with Labour. Let's hope that it gets a release soon,
hopefully around Budget day so that it has maximum
impact!!

Not surprisingly, such an experienced line-up has an
impressive list of friends. Jim "Nick Nick" Davidson
introduced the group and added to the percussion for
the last two numbers. Damon Hill, former World Formula
1 Champion, proved himself to be a more than competent
guitarist on 5:15, where he took the solo, Won't Get
Fooled Again and All Right Now. The final guest was
John Lodge of the Moody Blues who played guitar on
Chuck Berry's Sweet Little Rock & Roller although one
suspected he would have preferred to have taken over
Rock Wills' bass.

So this was a superb debut from Big Face. Apparently
there is to be a US tour at some point this year and,
hopefully, they will undertake some more UK dates as
soon as possible.

Big Face are:

Vocals/guitar- Robert Hart (Bad Company) 
Guitar- Gary Grainger (Rod Stewart band) 
Bass- Rick Wills (Foreigner, Bad Company, Small Faces
Mk II) 
Drums- Kenney Jones (Small Faces, Faces, The Who) 
Assisted by Steve Smith (Keyboards) and Nick Cook
(Percussion) 
Tracks included:

I Can't Explain 
Maggie May 
Cold As Ice 
Feel Like Making Love 
Handbags and Gladrags 
Substitute 
All or Nothing 
Angel 
Mr Brown 
Stay With Me 
5:15 
Won't Get Fooled Again 
All Right Now 
Sweet Little Rock & Roller


=====
-Brian in Atlanta
The Who This Month!
http://www.thewhothismonth.com
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