The Waterboys

I've been a Waterboys-Mike Scott fan for a very long time and I've seen them in concert at least 5 or 6 times over the decades starting with A Pagan Place back in 1984. Regretfully though I have to pan last nights show at The Fillmore in San Francisco. I had heard that the show was going to be an evening with, so no opening band and a longer setlist going back to their earliest albums. Full disclosure, I still consider their first 4 LPs, from the self-titled through Fisherman's Blues their finest and Mike Scott at his most brilliant. Of the first three LPs they played only 3 songs and nothing from what I feel is Scott's most brilliant work, A Pagan Place. When you include Fisherman's Blues (3 songs), that leaves the entire remaining setlist spread out over their last 3 LPs, which I feel have taken the band so far afield of their original "sound", whether The Big Music or the Fisherman's Blues style modern celtic-folk-rock. Basically the band has devolved into a kitchy pop-country style with really lame lyrical content, Disagree? Listen to the lyric of London Mick or Nearest Thing To Hip, two of the worst songs Mike Scott has ever written. Mick Jones was spinning in his grave last night I'm sure as The Waterboys performed a song in his name that represented everything in Rock music that The Clash despised. Were there some high points? Of course there were. A Girl Called Johnny, Medicine Bow, and the show stealer and high point of the evening was We Will Not Be Lovers. Unfortunate that they dropped Old England from the set-list. And the closing encore of Whole of the Moon was energetic and a crowd pleaser but replacing the original horns with the electric violin just ruined the song. Of the material from the last 3 LPs which made up the rest of the show (I'll get to the Rolling Stones cover in a second), the highlights were Morning Came Too Soon, November Tale and Ladbrooke Grove Symphony. I understand the band does not want to live in the past, but they have so much good material from other LPs that were left off the setlist in favor of promoting songs from the last three LPs, which are not full of great songs to say the least. And the songs selected from the last three LPs were not the best from those records. Thank God he did not play the Hip-Hop song from Out Of All This Blue. But let's be positive, here's some tips on a better show for your fans. 1. Why on earth, with your tremendous back catalogue would you play a cover of an obscure country western song by the Rolling Stones 4 songs into your set? Have you lost you freaking mind? Did you not notice the deflated energy in the crowd? 2. If you cannot remember the lyrics to even the songs you have been playing for over 25 years (Fisherman's Blues) you should consider retiring from live performances. With the exception of the older songs he performed at the keyboards, Mike read the lyrics from a teleprompter on the floor the entire set. No eye contact with the audience while performing, and with some songs dense with lyrics, particularly from the recent LPs, the performance was lack luster and seemed staged and stilted, he was reading the lyrics not performing from his gut. 3. Fire your lighting director. I was standing dead center about ten people deep from the stage and the super bright spot light on Mike center stage every time he came to the microphone washed the entire front section in harsh light and reflected off of the kick drum right back into the audience. Furthermore it was way too bright. I could see every grey hair on Mike's head and every wrinkle on his face. And it just made the lyric reading more obvious. Subtle songs that required a quieter mood were ruined by the obnoxious spot light. 4. Stop the yammering and just play for God's sake. Too many long ridiculas banter sessions that were just down right embarrassing to watch. 5. Fire the keyboard player from Memphis. What the hell was that keyboard around his neck stunt, just pure lameness. 6.Limit the jam sessions please. If I wanted to see a jam band I'd go see Wilco. There is no need to take a perfectly good 4-5 minute song and stretch it out to 10 minutes long or more with repeated false endings, again, it came across lame and gimmicky. 7. And finally, pick a song people know for your closing number. My Time On Earth, which closed the second set (before the encore) was not only unfamiliar to most of the fans but recalled the worst of Mike's habit of preaching Christian dogma in his lyrics. I have no problem with the spirituality that has always underscored The Waterboys (Think Whole of the Moon, A Pagan Place, Savage Earth Heart, etc), but ever since Mike found God in the 1990s his has occasionally allowed his syrupy Born Again Christian blather to seep into and take control over some of his musical output and that is a shame, and it was clearly on display last night, especially when he threatened a fan in the front row who "blew pot smoke" at him (probably unintentionally). It was just one lame, awkward moment during a night full of them.

The Waterboys have the knack for blending in Celtic music with rock music, and making it sound like their own unique brand of music.
Mike Scott is the driving force behind the Waterboys’ music. He has the enthusiasm and tenacity of Bruce Springsteen and the literary diction of C.S. Lewis. The Waterboys deliver a highly energetic performance. Mike Scott aggressively strums his electric guitar, playing loud, distorted bar-chords and shredding it up on his intricate guitar solos. They also incorporate interesting instruments into their sound such as the fiddle and keyboards. The fiddle playing adds a strong Celtic sound to the music. Sometimes the band will break into strongly influenced Celtic music with a strong emphasis on the fiddle as well as accompaniment by the flute. During these songs Mike Scott will break into a Celtic dance that you might see portrayed in one of the Lord of the Rings’ movies. The keyboards are also a major part of the sound that creates an angular rhythm and creates a larger sound when the organ is used.
The Waterboys are very energetic on stage, pouring all their enthusiasm into rocking out on their instruments. Their stage theatrics are also quite epic with smoke filling the stage and bright, colorful lights flashing all over. The band members also sometimes wear Celtic type attire including ornate, decorative jackets with unique colors and designs incorporated into the jackets. They also have interesting, mythological artwork and displays presented on stage. The Waterboys music has been very influential amongst the rock and roll scene having influenced many talented musicians such as Eddie Vedder, The Decemberists, and Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead.
The Waterboys’ setlist is sure to impress all their fans. They play hit songs spanning their whole career as well as throwing in some fun Celtic traditional music into their setlist. If given the chance to see these guys live, you definitely should seize the opportunity and witness their unique and inspirational performance.

Folk rock outfit The Waterboys are something of an iconic band in the modern day due to their music and sound having influenced so many modern contemporaries who have gone on to enjoy glittering careers of their own. Having formed over three decades ago, all the musicians onstage are incredibly well practised and have real ability with their instruments.

Fans old and new cheer in unison at the arrival of the band as they step out onto a sparse stage, there are no visuals or decoration to distract from the music tonight and it is exactly how performer and patron would have it. When you have songs as momentous as 'The Whole of the Moon' and 'Fisherman's Song' you really do not need much else to add to the overall emotional gravity of the situation. The band pays homage to their many appearances at the UK's most prolific festival with 'Glastonbury Song' before re-imagining 'Purple Rain' by Prince, perhaps an unlikely cover on the surface but it well and truly works. The whole room is applauding rapturously by the finale to 'How Long Will I Love You?' as this legendary band have really cemented their reputation this evening.

This was the second ‘Out of all this Blue’ tour and the newer tracks are fitting in well to The Waterboys set list. With no support and two sets, there was the opportunity to fit in more early songs as well as a good representation of the last two albums. The first set opened with Medicine Bow,
All The Things She Gave Me, If the Answer Is Yeah, A Girl Called Johnny, We Will Not Be Lovers, Nashville Tennessee, Still a Freak, Man What a Woman, and finished with an epic version of Morning Came Too Soon. The second set up opened with the less played The Christ in You, before When Ye Go Away / Dunford's Fancy, Nearest Thing to Hip, Santa Fe, Too Close to Heaven, The Raggle Taggle Gypsy, Don't Bang the Drum, Long Strange Golden Road. The encore brought out the big favourites of, The Whole of the Moon, How Long Will I Love You?, and Fisherman's Blues.

The band is so great live and what a show at such an historic place. The crowd was not very large and the energy was intimate and positive.

The song list at the forefront was supporting the new record Modern Blues which was fantastic live. I saw them at the Civic in New Orleans not that long ago and maybe 3 to 4 songs were duplicated. It was cool to see such a different show and dynamic from the band. Not only were the shows different but the band's vibe.

THE BEST LIVE CONCERT I have seen this year. The opening act THE BLUEBONNETS were fantastic. Bluesy guitar rifts with a jumping bass and back beat. The Waterboys new material was upbeat and engaging..and PURPLE RAIN during the encore was brilliant. I had shivers the entire evening feeling like I was a part of a musical event that will be referenced for a long time. Love it!

היתה הופעה גרועה ביותר .
סדר השירים השאיר אותנו די משועומממים ואת רוב הקהל .
גם שסוף סוף נהגנו משהוא מוכר זה היה בסוף.
לא מומלץ .
האולם היה נהדר סאונד מצוין .

Excellent sold out show especially as it was an extended set with the band performing as their own support.

Great mix of songs both old and new, Whole of the Moon and Fishermans Blues brought the house down to finish the set.

Can't wait till they are back in town again!

Excellent show with a surprising variety of old material mixed in with current music. Steve Wickham was a whirling dervish onstage and Mike Scott surprised me with his lead work on a couple of extended guitar jams late in the show.

Once again The Waterboys delivered, they were
fantastic, song choice was brilliant,and enjoyed by all the crowd.I just love Steve, his presence is always noticed with his little dance, him and Mike together always steal the show.