Russ Ballard @ The Robin, Bilston 13th March 2016
Russ Ballard Band – The Robin 2, Bilston 13th March 2016
By The Progmeister (on behalf of Midlands Metalheads)
Sundays at The Robin are usually “Prog night”, but this was far from a typical Prog gig, even though we did get some classics throughout the set, but before the man himself appeared on stage, we were entertained by the voice and acoustic guitar of Mike Surman. During the 45 minute set we were treated to covers of songs by popular bands such as ELO, Rolling Stones and The Beatles, which gave the audience time to warm up their vocal chords ready for the main act, Mr B !!
At the age of 71, you would be hard pushed to tell, the years have been very kind to ol’ Russ, especially with a full head of hair and not a grey one in sight !! I know people 20 years younger who don’t look as good, so well done Russ, nice to see someone who’s weathered the storms of the music industry for the last 50 or so years and come thru’ the other side looking pretty damn good.
Looks aside, this was a class act from a man who’s been there, done it and ate the fucking t-shirt. With such a wealth of material, the set was varied as it was expertly delivered. In fact, although I’ve been a fan (during his Argent days in particular) for many years, even I was not aware of the contribution this man has made to the wonderful world of music. Throughout the set, we had original material (from his latest album – “It’s Good To Be Here”, released in March 2015) plus covers of songs Russ has written for or covered by other bands and artists – Hot Chocolate, Kiss, Rainbow, Argent (of course), Three Dog Night, Colin Blunstone, the list goes on.
With an enthusiastic and devoted audience behind him, the man could do no wrong and between songs there was the odd story, which helped to keep us entertained. Predominately Male, with the 50+ age group well represented, it was nice to see a noticeable Female element for a change (a rare sight at most of the gigs I attend – c’mon Ladies, we need more of you at Prog Gigs to show us how to dance !!), who, despite their best efforts to get us all dancing, were as entranced as the rest of us “Ageing Teenagers” who were there “just for the music” – yea right…..
I must admit, I was expecting some mention of Keith Emerson’s passing, but that’s just me being a fanboy. A very competent band in tow, including the original Argent drummer, Bob Henrit (autobiography available at the merch desk boys ‘n girls, only £20 – signed of course), the guy to the right of the stage was a very accomplished multi-instrumentalist, sax, guitar and keyboards were no problem for this guy. Unfortunately, I didn’t get his name, but all four guys in the band were amazing, we even had a superb organ solo in “Hold Your Head Up” that Rod Argent would have been proud of !! Russ also showed off not only his guitar and vocal skills, but also tinkled the ivories a few times throughout the set, confessing to having cried over his piano keyboard at the time he wrote “I Don’t Believe In Miracles” and why not, it’s such a beautiful song and played with much passion tonight, it’s a wonder there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
The crowd were in good voice for classics such as “Since You’ve Been Gone” and “God Gave Rock ‘n Roll To You” and after a 90 minute set, the band left the stage. There was no encore, but I suspect the baying crowd would have stayed up all night, in fact 2 ladies were still dancing after the house lights came back on, now THAT’S an achievement.
Russ, you are a god-damn legend and with a very happy audience exiting to a cool Sunday evening, I don’t think anyone left dissatisfied. Let’s hope it’s not too long before you decide to go out on the road again, we’ll be holding our heads high when you do, spot on.
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