Review & Photography by Ritchie Birnie for MPM
The former Motley Crue, Dead Daisies and The Scream (amongst others) frontman is out doing an acoustic tour and promoting his book Horseshoes and Hand Grenades and we are gifted an incredibly intimate evening full of laughs, insight and some banging tunes.
My first introduction to Mr Corabi was probably the same as most people…Motley Crue. I was a massive Crue fan but I decided rather than jump on the bandwagon of hate I would give him a chance and that self titled album was one of the best of the band’s discography. My biggest regret was that they never toured in the UK.
In fact until The Dead Daisies I never got to see the man at all but since then I have never missed a show and to be honest I am still a bit shocked to see the band part ways with him and Mark as that band was on fire and ripe for a world takeover.
I was going to say enough of the past but that is what tonight is all about I suppose and between the songs we get some amazing stories which I am not going to reveal so either go to a show or buy the book(I can thoroughly recommend it).
The show opens right at the start with the Union song “love(I Don’t Need it anymore)” and irrespective that its incredible I wonder if as a huge part of his set is to do with his interaction with females he should have heeded that earlier message.
It is onto a solo number now in “If I Never Say Goodbye” and do you see where this is going ha. These songs are so much more poignant in this environment and you see and feel the story close at hand.
It is back to John’s past and an influence in Creedance Clearwater Revival’s “Who’ll Stop the Rain” and we will all have this story, the one where music takes you back to a moment in time which you will never forget and the connection in the room grows, even if John cannot understand any of the audience chants but luckily we have an interpreter.
We move onto The Scream and the most country song it seems in “Father, Mother, Son” and another special moment that everyone feels instantly.
Next we move to the part of the set where a few of the younger people here would have came across John for the first time in his Dead Daisies numbers “Revolution”, “Dead and Gone” and a kind of in “Midnight Moses”. The latter obviously a very special number in Glasgow and only earlier in the month did I see Chris Glen and his new band The Outfit do the song so I have been spoilt and these three numbers get the tempo up and the crowd singing along and it is no looking back from here.
Next up is the Motley Crue section and I can confirm from the horses mouth that the rumours of him returning can be completely ignored. We get treated to “Misunderstood” and “Loveshine” and hearing these songs in their purest form for me who never got to see the full show is as good as it gets.
John is so good you wonder just where things could have gone for Crue had he not left…because, lets face it, it was all downhill when Vince came back. The stories in this section are worth the ticket price on their own.
At this point in the show I am lost on stories and incredible performances for each and every song. Seeing this legend just feet away looking so relaxed and happy in his own skin, Just him and his guitar, no group politics, no crazy schedules, nobody to please(except us lucky buggers).
As we come to the closing of the show you really do feel a peace around the man, it is like the prologue from his book, his realisation what really matters and once you get to that point in your life shit don’t matter.
What a way to close out with “Hooligan’s Holiday” The Cars “Drive” (yes…the Live Aid song) and “Man in the Moon”.
John Corabi has had a huge career, he has stood on arena stages and looked out to faces he could barely focus on due to the amount in front of him and as much as that must pump your ego through the roof he is just as happy looking you right in the eyes in a small venue.
We can all do with his peace in our heart and his music in our soul. It is moments like this live show that drain the shit storm that is life right out of your very being and replace it with love and happiness.
