News
SMOKIE - WHAT A NIGHT!
Sally Bengtsson / 2009-05-02 14:09:05
The Smokie concert in Mosa Trajectum last Monday evening was one of those events in which the audience felt privileged to be present. The chill evening air was forgotten as soon as one of the longest running bands started singing their well known tracks. The setting was relaxed, in the luxurious Mosa Trojectum main square. A star filled sky was the ideal roof for this unforgettable evening.
Nick Hawkins of the Costa Blanca's favourite radio statio, Exite Radio 89.2 & 93.1fm, introduced the band, to a huge round of applause, and they broke into their instantly recognisable style of singing. Throughout the concert lead singer Mike Craft and bass guitarist Terry Utley chatted to the crowd. “We were in Sweden two days ago…we’ve performed 105 concerts over the past year, travelling on 161 planes.” It was clearly obvious that the band have a passion for what they do, and they look comfortable doing it. As Terry said, “It keeps a roof over our families’ heads and we love performing.”
Life wasn’t always like this for Smokie. “We were playing pubs and clubs for 7 years, touring and trying to make our mark, until we eventually had our first hit record in 1975 with “If you think you know how to love me.” This song is obviously important for both the band and the fans, and as soon as they started to sing it everyone’s arms were swaying in the air, and the crowd joined in with the lyrics.
The whole concert was a huge success, with Smokie playing both new and old songs, slow, melodic hits and rock songs in which they had everyone jumping around the stage. The audience went wild, with everyone standing, unable to keep still. Some strange forms of dancing were spotted throughout the audience, as fans of all ages and nationalities threw caution to the wind and did their stuff to the music.
The open air stage was constantly changing, with atmospheric smoke and multicoloured lights. As the show progressed Smokie appeared to get more and more into the rock mode, with Mike Craft coming right out into the crowd and singing his heart out. “Are you ready to rock n’ roll?” he shouted into the crowd. The audience exploded, with hands clapping and the lyrics filling the air. Had the arena had a roof, it may have been lifted off.
“Living next door to Alice”, which was released in 1976, and became one of the band’s biggest hits, went down very well with the crowd, as did “Lay back in the arms of someone”. “Needles and Pins” and “Have you ever seen the rain” were the last songs they sang before saying, “Goodnight and God Bless”. However, they weren’t off the stage for long. The demand for an encore was so strong that within minutes they were back on, singing “Alice” again, with drummer Steve Pinnell waving a T-shirt in the air which posed the question, “Who the f… is Alice?”
The audience were thanked for being fantastic and sadly the evening ended.
Tags: Exite Radio
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