Liverpool Philharmonic 16/10/23
Robert and Toya’s Sunday lunch became essential viewing in lockdown 2020. The bombastic pair provided entertainment for the masses whilst we enjoyed the banality of lockdown. I was unsure of what to expect arriving at the Philharmonic in Liverpool last Monday night, the stage is set complete with a white blow up unicorn and excitement built as we neared the start of the show.
The band arrived on stage, followed by a very sparkly Toya, who got a huge applause from the crowd. Kicking off with one of Toya’s own hits, ‘Thunder in the Mountains’ and at 65, she is just as good as ever!
She introduces the concept of the show, each of the songs performed tonight will be either songs the duo have played on, or songs that have been recorded by friends of theirs. Robert Fripp played on Blondie’s parallel lines album, so next song ‘Heart of Glass’ is a roaring rendition and I loved it!
What follows is a spectacular setlist of songs and interactions that had me laughing out loud. Toya played on her dyslexia, often mixing up dates with a frustrated Robert yelling ‘noooo’ before correcting her! A couple so madly in love with each other and it so heart-warming to see.
Lenny Kravitz’s ‘Are You Gonna Go My Way’, Soft Cell’s (and Gloria Jones’) ‘Tainted Love’ and Martha and the Muffins’ Echo Beach all fill the first half, and then Toya mentions Tony Iommi as me and Liv my photographer look at each other in delight.
Cue Black Sabbath’s ‘Paranoid’, and what a rendition! I had both horns high in the air and loved every minute. Cream’s ‘Sunshine of Your Love’ followed and then another Toya story; the tale of singing the next song, a Led Zep track, at Cropredy Festival with Robert Plant in the audience and the follow up phone call from Robert the next day, telling Toya how much he enjoyed her rendition. I have to agree with him. Their rendition of Kashmir was incredible and the perfect way to end the first half.
The second half began with Robert and Toya’s take on Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’, a rip roaring rendition which I loved and I at least as I listened and watched in awe was back watching Metallica at Download, horns up, in the mosh pit, even if the rest of the crowd were slightly more sedate! Alice Coopers ‘Schools Out’ follows and then GNR’s ‘Sweet Child of Mine’ was up next, which was another great moment in the show and a journey back to the pit in Hyde Park for me, in fact I think I enjoyed Robert’s version of Slash more than the real thing, at least I could see him clearly!
Toya comments on the number of T shirts in the crowd and suggests there are more Toya fans due to the huge number of Toya shirts on display, but then notices one ‘Fripp’ t shirt; at which point Robert launches into a brief excerpt of ‘Red’ which delighted this particular King Crimson fan.
Toya explained that not all the songs in the Sunday lunch series were just light hearted fun, some had a more serious side to them, like ‘Rocking in the Free World’ which featured in the setlist in Liverpool, dedicated to the people of the world who are suffering, this was a very sobering moment.
The band powered on through and brought the show to a spectacular close, with ‘I love Rock and Roll’ followed by ‘Heroes’. What a night, I left the venue with a huge smile on my face and would urge anyone who is a music fan to see this highly entertaining show! You’ll love it
