|
Al Kooper:
"I'd
love to help but too many gigs under the bridge at this point. No photos
I know of and no specific memories. So sorry "
Rick Pearce, Friars fan,
recalls the gig:
Anyone who bought an album on CBS in the late 60s early 70s had to
be familiar with Al Kooper. The inner sleeves with their ads for the
CBS catalogue were full of Kooper and Mike Bloomfield collaborations
often involving other rock luminaries. At the time Kooper was
probably best known as the man who played that distinctive organ on
Dylan’s Like A Rolling Stone and for being an integral part
of the Dylan sound up to the notorious motorcycle accident and
beyond. His other credits included being a founder member of brass
rock band Blood Sweat & Tears and session work with Hendrix and the
Stones. Even at this point he was something of a legend.
Support band Hookfoot featuring guitarist Caleb Quaye (brother of
Finlay) who some poor misguided souls believed to be possessed by
the spirit of the recently departed Hendrix (remember, this was
1971), opened the show. Despite their obvious musical accomplishment
they were not overly impressive.
Al Kooper eventually wandered, shyly, on stage, sat at the piano and
played a bum note. This was greeted with laughter and applause and
effectively broke the ice. A visibly more relaxed Al performed a
solo set on piano and guitar featuring a losing your virginity song,
First Time Around, which covered said topic with humour and
sensitivity. After a while Hookfoot trooped back on stage for the
electric section of the set. This climaxed with a massive cover of
the Stones The Last Time with Kooper strapping on a flying V
and duelling with Quaye in a frenzied Johnny Winter/Rick Derringer
style guitar shoot out. Al left the stage to tumultuous applause and
we all went home happy.
One final story comes from this evening. It seems that during his
stay in England Kooper met David Bowie who was hoping to re-launch
his career and was looking for suitable venues to play. Kooper is
believed to have recommended Friars as a club with a friendly, open
minded and hugely receptive audience. The rest, as they say, is
history. |
