May 2001 - Zagreb – Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings

Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings
Zagreb (review by Jure Plahutnik)

"What a night! It definitly goes down to book. Being a huge Rolling Stones fan & bass player for a couple of years now, I just could't miss The Rhythm Kings concert in Zagreb. Me & two friends of mine took a long drive from Ljubljana (Slovenia) to Zagreb (Croatia) to see Bill playing live for the
first time. The night supposed to be special since live web broadcast of the concert was announced a few days before. And indeed it was!!!

After the support act finished the job, temperature on the spot rose every minute. And suddenly they were on, eleven musicians on the stage, including a master of the bass guitar. Bill addressed the audiance, stressed, that he had been at the very same place 25 years ago as a member of the Stones, & everybody just went crazy. Let the good times roll!

The good thing was, that there were no seats on the main floor, so people were swinging & dancing all the way... Bill looked great with his cool violet shirt & sun-glasses in the very same colour, very calm & concentrated on the rhythm & everything else, that was going on around the stage. What I like in his playing is the simplicity of his style, no jerking around, soloing or extra poseing. I also like his warm bottom bass sound, at low volume, but all over the place at the same time.

The band was great. Besides Bill, I especially liked the new guy Mike Sanchez. His incredible performance in the style of Jerry Lee Lewis & Litte Richard made everybody on the floor crazy. The guy puts so much energy in it, it's unbelievable. Beverly was sexy & hot, as was Albert Lee's guitar playing & singing on "I'm Ready".

The five cameras didn't seem to bother them at all. The band returned to the stage after receiving standing ovations & Bill thanked the audiance for one last time. After the show we met the band outside the hall & even took a photo with Bill & Albert Lee. At that moment everybody wanted to be on the picture, so there was nobody to take one. Bill then asked Terry Taylor to take one, which (thanks God) he did. Thank you very much for that Terry! I promised Bill & Mr Panico I'll come the next day to the Austrian gig in Graz, which I did & was strucked!

Best viewed at 1024x768 || All content © Mike Sanchez 2007, unless otherwise noted.