8 posts tagged “ray wilson”

This August, as in every year since 2001, Ray Wilson performs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

He is going to play seven shows this year. I had seen the last three shows last year, so I decided I would attend the first three shows on August 9, 10 and 11 this year. Admittedly, I also had the hope to experience Edinburgh in a nice summer warmth, which should be possible in early August, but temperatures only just reached 20°C (68°F), little sun and the occasional spot of rain. That’s Scotland for you. But then the shows were not outdoors but at the Madogs pub in the city centre. The venue offered room for 100 people, with seats only for some; The pub has recently undergone a makeover, so there was a wee whiff of paint in the air but it was all very fine.

The location is of some historical interest for Ray, too. It was here that he rediscovered his love for music after the end of his depressive phase and Genesis in 2001 when he played a couple of solo shows for the festival. Back then he lacked (musical) self-confidence, as he reminisces during this year’s shows. It is a flaw that definitely has left him.

Ray basically sticks to a fixed setlist this year, and he intends to play that on all full band shows; he added Sunshine & Butterflies for the third show, though. The set is a well-balanced mixture of loud and quiet, aggressive and melancholy, old and new.

The audience was in a good mood and there was the occasional contact between Ray and the folks in the front rows because the space was so tightly packed. Still the applause faded rather quickly before the encores and I was afraid that it would stop altogether; a couple of enthusiasts kept the applause level up until the band returned for the encores.

Ray’s father was among the audience during the third night (as in previous years), but Ray did not mention that. Two years ago his father had joined him on stage for a song.

The shows on August 17 and 18 are acoustic performances. They had not been scheduled as such. Ashley, the drummer, had long before arranged a show for these days with another of his bands who cannot make do without him. It took Ray quite long to find a venue for this August. I guess Ray made the best of it because the set is going to be different for the acoustic shows. His performance on August 11 was on the brink of being cancelled; Wolfgang Niedecken, vocalist of BAP [a very well-known band in Germany] had asked Ray to support them at the final show of their tour on Roncalliplatz in Cologne. Apparently BAP had asked him when they all played at a festival in Neustadt/Holstein in Northern Germany on August 5. After much consideration Ray decided to play Edinburgh instead.

There was also an unexpected bonus for me: Many artists appear in the Fringe Festival programme, but many more also play their music late at night in a pubs or simply sing along to backing tracks. During the first show Ray mentioned that Amanda Lyon, who sung in his band until 2003, would appear at Madogs’ the next night. I did not want to miss that! So I waited patiently until she appeared. She began at a quarter to one in the night and played three sets of 40 minutes. Her voice is still impressive. She now sings popular soul numbers you may know from the radio, but when she sings them they sound at least as good as the originals and it was evident that she enjoyed herself. I talked to her a bit after the first set and she seemed happy to meet a fan from back then, as it were. It was only three weeks since she had begun to do these performances. She does them twice a week after her day job in a shop, but since she has moved to a more expensive flat she needs the money. Actually, Ashley had stayed to meet her, too, and they shared a warm embrace. Ray and the others left, though, and it seems that there has been no contact between Amanda and Ray and the folks since 2003.

Last year I saw Ray’s brother Steve doing such a performance in another pub; he, too, played three 40 minute sets (guitar and vocals to a backing track). This year it’s Amanda. Funny if you consider that both used to play with Ray before they got to know each other too well, as it were. Now they have been reduced to performances like these that can be really frustating when you see how almost nobody cares about the show and they all consider it background muzak.

But that’s the great thing when you go and see Ray at the Fringe Festival – there will be the occasional bonus

Setlists:
9.8.07:
She
Space Oddity
Another Day
Lemon Yellow Sun
Hey Hey
Sarah
Constantly Reminded
In the Air Tonight (solo acoustic)
The Actor (solo acoustic)

(photos & written by Volker W., translated by Martinus)