Reviews
London England
 

 

   
 

 May 6th &  7th 2000

  

Review by Dave White WEBMASTER of Heep.Com

The weekend was so intense...there were about 250 people packed in a room
about the size of the 1997 HV at the Cheshire at St. Louis.

People have been writing about the performances of the x-members, of
Gunhill and of the Hensley Lawton band. I think I can say with pretty good
feeling that if you have never seen Uriah Heep live, that this is about as
close as it gets.

The HOTW and other players of there had fun, the Gunhil band was simply
excellent. It was a wall of sound when they were going full bore. John has a
voice that rips your heart out. CD's and recordings to not do this man justice.

The addition of Roger Wilson on the keyboards completes their sound to the
point that they probably are (along with Easy Livin) the two premier "Heep
Cover Bands" in all the world. It was amazing to hear the songs, really.
Each of the members is a great muso...each talented as you would expect them
to be, but even better then I imagined...it was SO good.

Michael Keuter is a great showman in his own right. What a voice ... He
works the crowd, is a lovely person, and I look very forward to the next
time (if ever) we can meet again.

John and Iris, Graham and Lynn, Alan and Margaret and Dave and Yvonne
were exactly what the doctor ordered. They struggled with a multitude of
"crises" that weekend and pulled it off with style and some innovative quick
revisions to the plan they had established for so long.

The people who made up the various "tribute bands" were in good form. Alex
sounded rehearsed and solid. Bassists Muzzy, Mike Taylor and Mac provided
some great performances, and I think they were pleased with what they were
able to walk away with from the stage. Madman was the drummer for much of
the night and what can I say. He kept it all together didn't miss a beat and
showed that even tho he can live up to his nickname, he is one hell of a
"not so madman" musician. Very detailed and in control. Thanks for the CD of
your band Merrick, will listen to it today. Rich...it was so good to see you
again, and to be able to do July Morning again with you. Wish it could have
been wireless, would have loved to have done the song next to ya. Graham got
up there and alternated between Acoustic and Electric guitar, and bass
depensing on what the song required. He is a pro, no question about it. Dale
was in there belting out his style...sounded fantastic, really fantastic. A
pity "Melinda" was cut.

Louis Rentrop and Alan stole the HOTW) show with "Why Did you Go", and
"There Comes a time". Both of them captivated the crowd with these
performances. There were others as well..one off performaces with an
acoustic guitar, the sax on "There comes a time", the SOT guys, "Come Away
Melinda" by a girl from Georgia, and Trevor Hensley's wife on "The Easy
Road"...or was it "Rain". There were other things as well, but I can't
remember all of it. Eric on Drums, and Egil on the keyboards.

The attendees were just the nicest people you'd ever want to meet. Each
unique in thier own way of course, but we were bonded with the love of the
music and our own memories being forged as we spoke. It wasn't unusual to
see people from five different countries speaking is bits and pieces of
thier native tounge and sparsed with broken English, but we all got through
the conversations just fine. I think that of all the HV's, this was the most
emotionally intense...but I think we say that at each one. It's just the way
they are.

Rumors were abounding about San Diego as the locale for the next one.

The people there were in their element, and I think that it was much more
then just a huge , well constructed, well excecuted, and unforgettable
experience. You could feel it in the air, you cound sense the desire of the
people to extract every feeling capable from the event. Most came a pretty
long way, and it was cool to hear about 30 hour journeys and stories of
thier experiences during thier trips.

The crowd roared at the mention of John and Ken, and roared louder when they
performed.

Iris and Lynn...unbelivable..they WORKED through the entire event, and
handled 50 things at the same time ALL the time, and were ALWAYS smiling,
and so pleasant. I don't think John and Graham would have had a second to
breath with out the contributions of their wives. Alan and Margaret were
right in there as well, doing things and never loosing thier cool.

Graham however...thank you Graham for all you did, and in the way you did
it. There were some tough decisions you had to make there, and I hope you
know that you had the full backing of us all. By the way...you could make a
GREAT announcer ! Cheers on your 2 day performance...

It was very nice to meet all the people I did, and to have so many of them
come up to introduce themselves to me, as I did to them ..it was just the
way it was.."Hi, I'm so and so..who are you"...quick handhake and hug, and
we were the best of friends.

There was a huge, crowded party in a bar on Friday night, and although I
didn't know it at the time, it was indicative of the next 48 hours..it just
never stopped.

Such good times.

Not to gush...but just a very ,very big thank you to all the planners and
people that did whatever they could to help in pulling this off. You kept it
all together amongst some pretty crazy (but happy) people asking a million
questions, and in love with the weekend....

I have to relate just one experience and I am done....

John was singing on a song..maybe "Wise Man", or maybe "Come Back to Me"...I
don't know..and we were simply in awe of his voice, and the sound of the
band, the feeling of it all, and the occasion in general...if was a magic
moment for me...anyway...there was a section at the end of the song, where
John sang the last few words without the band backing him...they stopped and
he put on one of his "trademark" finishes that absolutely sends chills down
your back...

So, there's this song going on, and it's perfect...loud, tight, sounds
great, people singing along and clapping, and all of a sudden, John goes
into his finish, and in 2-3 seconds..it was dead quiet...I mean DEAD
quiet...there was not a SOUND from anywhere...ther bar glasses stopped
clinking...all conversation stopped...no kids were heard, all of us on the
floor were just staring at him, and stunned by the intensitity of it
all....as he sang his last few words, the snare behind him vibrated from the
power of his voice, and his drummer put the switch on the snare drum to turn
it into a Tom Tom, and then placed his hand on the top of the drum so that
now the very last sound except for John was silenced...for me that brought
it all together...250 people in this little room go from 100 miles an hour
to ZERO in 3-4 seconds...

Between the words he sang...there was now, only one sound to be heard, and
only a few of us heard it as we were on that side of the stage.

It was the motor that powered the Leslie cabinet...a slow quiet rumble that
rose and silenced during this few seconds of the finish of the song

How fitting....

Dave