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For two nights only, the UK was treated to a state visit from bona fide Aussie rock royalty in the guise of legendary Cold Chisel guitarist/singer Ian Moss. Before heading down south for a show in London, it was the turn of Glasgow and the much-lauded venue King Tuts Wah Wah Hut to play host to Mossy and his incredible band.
The beginning is always a great place to start, and that’s where Moss elected to start the show; with an enthused run-through of ‘Such a Beautiful Thing’ taken from his 1989 debut solo studio album ‘Matchbook’. Toes are tapping, heads are bobbing. Staying with the debut, Moss breaks into ‘Out of the Fire’ and the 80’s-tinged laidback gem gives punters an early chance to admire Moss’s fret-work, and anytime he launches into a solo; scores of phones light up as every run up the guitar neck is drooled over. Initially known more for his guitar prowess, Moss possesses one hell of a soulful voice, and ‘If Another Day (Love Rewards Its Own)’ is a great example of this. A mixture of slow-burning, soulful tones, and flashes of fast-tempo guitar, it excels.
Those punters who were earlier whipping out their phones every time Moss launched into a solo are now working overtime as the first Cold Chisel song of the evening kicks in with the blues-shuffle of ‘One Long Day’. Moss’s fingers are a blur of motion as he peels off with ease a guitar solo full of emotion and melody, that grows into this fiery beast, while his amazing band – Zoe Hauptmann (bass), Ollie Thorpe (guitar), and Kerry Jacobson (drums) – settle into a killer groove that allows Moss to strut his stuff.
Moss provided lead vocals on Chisel’s 1980 single ‘My Baby’ (one of their poppier moments), when played live it retains some of the pop charms of the original, and Moss’s vocals sound as full of life tonight as they did 40+ years ago when some punters asked “Where’s Barnesy?” upon hearing the album that it was lifted from – ‘East’ – for the first time. While Chisel’s vocalist Glasgow-born Jimmy Barnes (who has also played this venue on a handful of occasions) has a voice best described as just-gargled-with-mouthwash-laced-with-glass, Moss goes with a more soulful, natural silken approach, and, sticking with the ‘East’ album, ‘Never Before’ highlights this approach – Jesus, his guitar solo on this one is sublime. ‘Choirgirl’ saw Barnes at perhaps his most restrained, and with Moss helping out on lead vocals during the bridge, it highlighted how well the two contrasting vocal styles worked within the band. Tonight though, it’s all Moss. And he knocks it out of the park.
Back with the solo material; ‘Telephone Booth’, ‘Tucker’s Daughter’, and ‘Mr. Rain’ were all singles lifted from the 1989 debut, and it’s clear that Moss still enjoys playing them, almost as much as the audience enjoys hearing them. Mixed in amongst these nuggets and forming the majority of the 4-song encore are several covers, including a stunning version of George Harrison’ ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’, and a gorgeous rendition of Ray Charles’ ‘Georgia (On My Mind)’ that would often slip into Chisel’s live set with Moss on vocals and guitar and Don Walker on piano.
Only one song can end an Ian Moss set, which is the Cold Chisel classic ‘Bow River’ and even though “…the money I saved won’t buy my youth again…” it is one hell of a trip down memory lane, complete with Mossy letting rip on that Strat one more time. Superb. Simply, superb.
A well-crafted, masterclass performance that, to be brutally honest, showed many other similar acts exactly how it is done.
Connect with Ian Moss, HERE
Review – Dave
Portrait photo credit – Daniel Boud
The reviewer is not exaggerating at all, Mossy hit the stage running and it only got better from there. The crowd loved the show from start to finish and his superb band only lifted the standard further. It was a long way to come but I guess is the smiles were worth the miles.