Manchester Bridgewater Hall – 18/11/23
A Suzi Quatro show is always a good night. I saw her last year celebrate her magnificent career at the Royal Albert Hall, and this time I was watching her celebrate the 50th anniversary of her first number one; ‘Can the Can’!
The Manchester Bridgewater hall is a magnificent building quite fitting for the Queen of rock ‘n’ roll! With no support act, we had Suzi all night long. Kicking the show off with ‘Wild One’, the whole band hit the ground running. You can’t help smile at a Suzi Quatro gig, her energy is infectious. At 73, she shows no signs of slowing down, this girl still has music in her and it’s all coming out tonight. We are told that we will hear songs from her latest album, ‘Face to Face’ which was released earlier this year; the summer of 2023 and we will also hear songs like ‘Can the Can’ which was released 50 years earlier! Talk about a career retrospective.
She introduces her first new song, ‘Shine a Light’ saying ‘find light, let no bastard turn it off!’ – so true! A great mantra to live by. The audience loved the new song, most of them were singing along and I really hope we get a Suzi and K.T Tunstall show next year to really promote the new album. Wouldn’t that be something!? Again, Suzi is really strutting her stuff and delivers time and time again.
‘Stumbling’ In’ follows, with guitarist Tim Smith filling in for Chris Norman, what a great audience singalong moment. We are then treated to ‘No Soul/No Contol’ – from the first album that Suzi recorded with her son, a great song that is quickly followed by ‘The Devil in Me’, which Suzi dedicates to her mother.
‘48 Crash’ follows and then we are treated to a song from her QSP album ‘Slow Down’. ‘Rockin in the Free World’ provides a climatic close to the first half, or so we thought, because it’s at this point Suzi sends all of the band off stage, takes a seat at the piano and closes the first half with ‘Can I Be Your Girl’. Beautiful!
The second-half kicked off with my all-time favourite Suzi Quatro song, ‘Motor City Riders’. A song all about growing up in Detroit, and an explosive start to the second act. This one got the audience really rocking. Suzi is also clad in more familiar attire for the second half, her leather jumpsuit! She explains to the audience that she has a rule, she can only sing a song live, if she’s recorded it. Cue the CCR classic, ‘Bad Moon Rising’. A great rendition with a super fuzzy guitar solo from Tim Smith too.
‘She’s in Love With You’ follows and then it’s time for another song from Shine A Light; ‘Overload’ and this is another of the rockier songs on the Album. Crowd and band are loving it. Then it’s back to the 70s for a string of hits to bring the show to a close. A glorious rendition of ‘Glycerin Queen’ before Suzi takes her place next to the drummer and starts thumping the floor Tom. We all know what’s coming…
Suzi comes back down to the front and gets everyone on their feet, before the crowd, band and Suzi ALL launch into ‘Can the Can’. What a moment. The atmosphere was electric. ‘Devil Gate Drive’ followed and after a brief pause, maybe 30 seconds, the band kicked into the encore. ‘If you can’t give me Love’ and Chuck Berry’s ‘Sweet Little Rock and Roller’ – and you know, she still is!
As with the show at the Albert Hall, Suzi closed with ‘Desperado’. A beautifully intimate moment in an otherwise crazy night of rock and roll! Suzi’s energy is unmatched. She is the ultimate performer and every single person left the venue with a smile on their face. What a show!
