Joe Brown
Milton Keynes Theatre
January 13, 2016
The loveable Joe Brown played MK Theatre tonight, and things were quickly underway with Joe and the band playing duelling banjos from Deliverance.
Mr Blue Skies, from the ELO camp, was given a new angle. Joe was always being the bloke next door, with his stories and jokes keeping us entertained between numbers.
Tickle My Heart, from the Roger Cook songbook was there, so too Hula Girl and Dylan's I'll Be Your Baby Tonight.
The New Grass Cutters is the name of this band when Joe has time off, and features Pete, Joe's son. Tonight Joe sat in on a great arrangement of The Beach Boys' Good Vibrations.
When I'm Cleaning Windows, the George Formby song, had Joe playing banjolele.
Variety and entertainment is what Joe is all about; Home, a ballad from way back kept things going, while the first set ended with That's What Love Will Do, and What a Crazy World We're Living In, from Joe's own catalogue.
Two more favourites kicked off the second set – with Henry VIII and A Picture of You, his No.2 single from the early days.
Picking up the violin, Joe and the boys did a great take on U2's I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For.
George Harrison's That's The Way It Is and Hendrix' Voodoo Chile followed, the latter had Pete playing the riff...on mandolin.
The instrumental Hava Nagila got us clapping along as the tempo sped up.
Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson, a rockabilly song, has Pete on vocals and as the show came to an end, we were treated to Dark Town Strutters Ball and I'll See You in My Dreams.
A nice ending to a great night.
Nick Jones
