Black Stone Cherry Live at Royal Albert Hall Review

One and talk Hello, okay, I see it good. What

do you mean? Hello? Don't do that What's wrong

with you? Don't give me a heart attack, please

like hi, this is Tom bridge Ron, you know what

you're doing. You're listening to the geek cast

radio network and you see your heroes playing

places and then all of a sudden you find your

big ass sitting on the stage it's uh it's pretty

emotional we're gonna royally rock this motherfucker

this evening you better believe that this is

geek cast radio episode 306 i'm of course steve

joe and mike joining me once again For another

Blackstone Cherry episode is my good friend in

great music. It's Mr. Terry Smith from Music

Talks Podcast. Hi, Terry. How are you? I know

that's a loaded question at the current. I am

good, Mike. And as always, it's a delight to

be talking to you. Absolutely. Today, we're going

to be reliving the concert that Blackstone Cherry

did in London at the famous Royal Albert Hall,

y 'all. We'll get some facts on that a little

bit from Terry, but before we get all of that.

If you marry, because Mike and Terry is Mary,

that's the only interesting way I can combine

our names. Facts for everyone. December 3rd of

2019 was my first episode of Music Talks podcast

where Terry basically grilled me on my musical

history. December 6th of 2019, I flipped the

script on him and made him redo his episode of

Music Talks podcast here on GeekCast Radio. December

13th of 2019. I basically made his brain explode

when I said I can take one band and put it from

the sixties to today with Blackstone Cherry.

December 6th of 2021, last year we did the Human

Condition album review. And now October 7th of

2022, as I said, we're going to be discussing

the the DVD, the video performance that Blackstone

Cherry did at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

So we have done five podcasts in three years,

Terry. And clearly we should have waited till

December because we always do them. I know. I'll

be back in two months. Not after all the technical

difficulties. Oh, don't, don't. Yes, I know.

Yeah, this has all been amazing and, and it's

all thanks to Jesse. Cause like I said, Jesse

was like, here, I'm going to invite you to like

this. This was like a couple of years ago now.

Wait, you like this page? I'm like, okay, I'll

like it and then I'll listen to it. And I've

listened to everything since. Thank you. Since

I found it. And for those that don't know, Terry

Smith is the. Creator and owner and everything

with with music talks podcast which was started

june twenty fifth. Twenty nineteen and as of

this recording he just released episode seventy

seven parts one and two with the and rogers on

september twenty second and twenty ninth respectively.

You are technically twenty three episodes away

from music talks having one hundred episodes.

But enough about all that. We're here to talk

about it live at the Royal Albert. Well, you

know, I've, as someone who has reached that milestone

on multiple podcasts, I can tell you it takes,

it takes time, but you approach podcasting differently

than I do. You, you and everyone else in the

world approach it as a hobby, which is fine.

That's that's I'm like, this is my I am a machine.

This is my job. Yeah, I mean, you you and Jesse

just turn out ridiculous of episodes and now

Jesse's decided I know you already have multiple

he's decided he's gonna have a John Hyatt podcast

as well. So I don't know how you do it. I move

a lot slower over here, Mike. Yeah, but that's

okay. That's okay. So the Blackstone Cherry Royal

Albert Hall y 'all, this was their 2021 UK tour.

Did Royal Albert Hall on September 29th of 2021.

And the funny thing is I remember when they announced

this tour, the UK tour back in 2021, I messaged

you and said, they're going to be in Glasgow

on September 20th, on September 17th. You need

to go. I didn't. I wish I had. But yeah, and

I have actually seen them live once it was on

March 29th of 2018 Karen and I had gone and we

got to see at that time They were just releasing

family tree the sixth album I think and I got

we we got to see the live debut of bad habit

the live debut of burning and the live debut

of Carry me on down the road plus other Blackstone

cherry hits so that that was awesome, but this

royal Albert Hall Episode. Wow. So you have some

things you want to go through. So let's let let's

hit your bullet points, sir. Where do you want

to start? Well, let's start. And then I can tell

you about the Royal Albert Hall. So obviously,

it's been a big few weeks for the Royal Family

in the UK. Yes, it has with the passing of And

I'm determined I won't turn this into a history

lesson for your American listeners, not least

of which I'm not great on British history, but

it gets very complicated. So if I was in England,

I would say the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.

I live in Scotland and Scotland never recognized

Queen Elizabeth I. Oh, no. So that is actually

always a bone of contention. And you can tell

who's got a Scottish background and who's got

an English background, whether they use Elizabeth

II. But the reality is whatever you think of

the royal family, we all loved Liz. So whatever

you think of the monarchy, talk about dedication

and service. So she was our queen for 70 years

and seven months, and became the longest serving

I think actual female monarch in the world ever,

but certainly the longest serving British monarch.

And she beat Queen Victoria, who was on the throne

for 63 years and seven months from 1837, just

into the new century, then the 20th century into

1901. Wow. So in a male dominated world, it's

ironic to think that, you know, for the past

100 and almost 200 years, harmonics normally

being a female, which is great. So Victoria was

an interesting character. And you know, the Victorian

age is viewed as being very, I guess, probably

the view of the British in some ways justified

of very stitched up, very moral and all of that.

But the irony is that she was madly in love with

her husband. It was a great romance. And surprise,

surprise, he was called Albert. So what is now

the Royal Albert Hall was actually supposed to

be the Central Hall of Arts and Sciences. But

Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone in 1867.

And of course, particularly in those days being

the Queen, she then said, you need to call this

the Royal Albert Hall. And its full name to this

day is the Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences.

So it's basically, it was a memorial to Albert

who was at Prince's concert. And it's part of

a bigger, so if anybody ever visits the Albert

Hall, then also there is the Albert Memorial

in Kensington Gardens next door. So that whole

thing was her basically saying, this is for my

husband who I love the bones off. So that's why

it's called the Royal Albert Hall. It is run

by a charity. It gets no government funding and

its capacity is 5 ,272. And if people don't know

about it, it's also round. And that is significant

when we come to talk about music and who's played

there and all of that. But there's the background

on the hall. All right. So let me ask you this.

Should it have government funding? I say it hasn't

got government funding because I think the way

it's viewed, certainly by the British population,

so it is one of those people get nostalgic about

the Albert Hall, even if they haven't been there.

The phrase iconic, I think, is overused these

days, but it is iconic. You have something called

The Proms in the summer, which is a, I think,

month -long music festival, but classical music

festival. It's run since 1941. It's always broadcast

on the BBC. The Last Night of the Proms is a

massive sing -along, and we'll keep coming back

to this. The fact that the Albert Hall is round,

it's really good for a sing -along. Yeah, it's

not good for other things, but it's good for

single. So I think most, I think most people

in the UK would be surprised that the Royal Albert

Hall isn't government funded, but it doesn't

need to be. I mean, it's, it's, it's successful.

You know, it's always got events on it's done

a massive sort of refurbishment and modernization

over the last 20, 25 years. Um, so Chris Robertson

says, In the, in, in the performance, like, is

they have these interstitials because live at

the Royal Albert Hall y 'all plays, like, even

though it's a concert DVD, it plays like it's

a movie with clips cut interstitially. And he

says, he doesn't get nervous in, you know, in

front of the stage. He's at home on the stage,

but being at the Royal Albert Hall, it's just

fucking overwhelming. Like he says. And here's

the thing about it. So, you know, if, if anybody

is in London. and visiting and there is something

on at the Albert Hall. You should go because

it is a unique building. It's the only venue

that I've been to that does whole rock concerts

that has that much red velvet. I mean, literally,

there's booths all the way around. There's red

velvet. It's the most unrock and roll venue there

is. So here's my sort of travel advice, which

is if you're in town and you're visiting, then

do this. One, if you happen to be driving, get

there for six o 'clock because there's actually

free parking after six around there, believe

it or not, that part of London. Two, the Albert

Hall now has a couple of restaurants and given

the venue that it is, they're actually remarkably

good value. So it means you get in early, you

can wander around and I will tell you one story.

We went to see crowded house there. Oh, wow.

So we arrived at six o 'clock. We're walking

along the corridors, which of course are circular

and suddenly we can hear music. So we stop and

we go into one, you know, we go through the red

velvet curtains and into one of the booths because

of course it was originally set up for opera.

I'm crowded house on stage doing the sound check

so we sat there for twenty twenty five minutes

and just watch them do the sound check from one

of the boots which was brilliant. I'm just to

finish that story what it was actually the last

night of the world tour that been turning for

eighteen months and what they did on one song

was they said you know we've had this road crew

for eighteen months and they've been fantastic

and that and what we saw in the sound check with

some of the road crew. Playing so they invited

the road they started the song and then they

invited the road crew on to take over. At which

point they disappeared off stage and at the end

of the road crew playing the song the spotlight

then went on and they were sat up in one of the

booths we've been in. So yeah it's a it's a fascinating

venue but as i say it's. It's not very rock and

roll which was why i was surprised that blackstone

check but i get why people. See it's such an

iconic venue when you look at the number of live

albums that have taken place in all of that.

Yeah. And you said it's just live at their live

at the royal albert hall is just one of thirty

albums that were well i got that data runs up

to more research it's actually one of fifty five.

Oh, interesting. I'm not going to read all 55,

but how about this is some of the other people.

Hendrix, The Who, Moody Blues, Adele, Emerson,

Lake and Palmer, Nick Cave, Paul Weller, twice,

Joe Bonamassa, twice, The Killers, John Fogarty,

Deep Purple, Cowboy Junkies, Super Trump, The

Birds, Cream, Frank Sinatra, George Michael,

and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Those are all

bands that you wouldn't think that all bands

and artists that you wouldn't think go together,

but because of what this building is, it brings

people. It's just like, honestly, it's just like

your podcast. You're bringing people together.

You have people on music talks that tell their

stories. Every story in all 77 episodes is so

different. Yeah. And it's, it's just. As I say

it is iconic and the thing is if you look at

the history of it in terms of bands playing there

so it really first became famous in the late

60s when Cream the Cream live album was a real

turning point. Yeah, but if you look at it, I

mean in the late 60s Cream Hendrix Led Zeppelin

Pink Floyd anybody who was anybody played the

Albert Hall and that And that hadn't happened

before, and there was a couple of reasons for

that. One, obviously, it was the late 60s where

bands actually started to have at least something

resembling a decent PA system, you know, and

but also there was this big thing of it was two

fingers up to the establishment. So how about

this is an example, which is this is in the wiki.

One notable event was a Pink Floyd concert held

on the 26th of June, 1969, 1969. That was the

night they were banned forever from playing the

hall after shooting cannons, nailing things to

the stage and having a man in a gorilla suit

roam the audience. It sounds like they filmed

the movie Trading Places there really is what

it sounds like. And by the way, the irony is

that Dave Gilmour has played the album all about

10 times since then. I think he's actually also

done a live album. So it was very much about

this was rock music, storming the bastion of

the classical establishment. The other reason

it started to happen in the late 60s and specifically

in 1969 is, and let me get my notes right, get

my numbers right, but I think it was that they

installed 135 mushrooms in the Albert Hall because

I mentioned that it's circular, it's round. So

the line used to be The great thing about hearing

your music played at the Albert Hall is you get

to hear it twice, because there was a massive

echo in the dome. I actually haven't gone back

and rewatched the Blackstone Cherry to see if

you can see, but if people look online, so literally

in the dome, there was 135 mushrooms put in in

the late 60s. They then redid it in 2001 and

they took 50 out and made the other 85 bigger.

Because basically if you put a rock band in there

before 1969, all you got was a cacophony. Now

I have to say to this day, the acoustics aren't

brilliant. However, and this is a bit that confuses

me about the DVD, the thing I mentioned before,

the thing that is brilliant is when the audience

sing, it's really loud. And that doesn't come

across in the DVD. or on the album. So I think

whoever, if I may, whoever mixed it wants shooting.

Because that's the only thing that's missing

for me is, and they do a great, great job of

working the crowd. Oh, yeah. It's like what?

What? No, it might also be London audiences,

because they don't sing as well as Scottish audiences.

Yeah, it's just one of those things where I,

you know, getting into the, to the DVD, it's

like, Chris is just a great front man and he

will, he will, he will basically take his, his

own lines from white trash millionaire, you know,

count your cash and kiss my ass, you know, and

all that. And it's like, he's going to get them

up and like, He's just gonna get him up and get

him going and whether you hear it or not in the

mix or whatever And you're right it because I've

watched since they released it this year I think

I've watched it like ten times like I just finished

watching it right before this just to make sure

I had it clear in my mind and I have The album

on Spotify, so I listened to a lot of the tracks

just for the tracks themselves But like I'm watching

the actual event. It's like Holy crap. Yeah.

Do you want me to tell you what I thought? Yeah.

Yeah. Well before, before we did just one final

thing on the album. Oh, by the way. Um, and I

probably missed him on that list, but somebody

else who's done a live album is Clapton and his

live album was called 24 nights, which was taken

from 42 shows he did because For years early

90s and then the noughties he would do like a

season and typically sort of January February

He would do a season at the Royal Albert Hall

and the thing I love was and each night would

be different He'd do a blues and I and then he'd

do a band night, but his great phrase was My

latest season in my North London sitting room

And seriously if you went that's how it felt

You know, like, I mean, obviously he didn't have

to sound check or anything, cause that was set

up and he was doing 20 nights and he'd like sort

of wandering at half seven, one stage say, hi,

uh, this is what I'm going to play tonight. So

that was good. But in terms of the DVD, here's

the story, Mike, cause obviously you were good

enough to ask me to do this. And as you say,

it's one of a sort of ongoing series. Yeah. And

a couple of weeks ago, Laura was over at a moment.

So I had the house to myself, I had the night

to myself. And if I'm completely honest, and

I thought, oh, that's when I'll watch the Blackstone

Cherry DVD. I sat down and I thought, when was

the last time I was able to do this? Yeah. And

I then thought, with all respect, Mike, there's

probably a dozen DVDs and streams that I'd rather

be looking at tonight than Blackstone Cherry.

However, I don't think, let me just interrupt

really quickly. I don't think you listen to it,

but. The end of episode 303 with Jesse and I

talking about Darrell Hall and John Oates' H2O

album, because that album is about to turn 40

years old this year. At the end of the podcast,

I said, coming up, and it didn't come up next

because we're doing this now. We've had a couple

episodes since episode 303. I said, and coming

up next, it's Terry Smith joining me once again

to talk about Blackstone Cherry. Something that

he's told me is not really his thing, but because

it's me, he'll do it anyway. Well, you got it.

You got it. I appreciate that. I'm sat down on

a Tuesday evening or whatever it was with a glass

of wine thinking, God, let's do a list of things

I'd actually like to be watching. I have to say

genuinely, and this is not because it's you.

They won me over. And I'll tell you what was

so many things. What was fascinating, and this

only actually occurred to me a couple of days

ago, was that when, and I'm never sure that live

DVDs really work. You know what I mean? We had

it in lockdown. There's something strange about

sitting in your living room watching, but typically

the DVDs I watch or the streams I watch are artists

I know really well that I love. And therefore

you sort of know what you're going to get. Well,

I didn't with this. So it was much more like

a genuine concert experience. Yeah. And I use

that phrase. They won me over in the sense that

one and Hey, we all know it's a, it's a film

and they're artists and they've got to portray

an image in that. They just, I get why people,

I get why you like them. I get why so many people

like them. They just seem like a bunch of great

guys. I mean, they really do. I think Chris,

as you said, I think there's actually not that

many people who can command a stage, who can

work an audience and look comfortable doing it.

And I think he did, he does a great job of that.

I think the guitarist is magnificent. There was

so much. Energy and again i don't typically get

that off of dvd so you know the words i wrote

down was energy. Authenticity and the other thing

i winter on to laura if she'll listen is pacing

there's so many bands who don't know how to put

a set list together. Yeah i don't know how to

keep a show moving you know there was light and

shade in there. So i have to say. I wish I now

it wouldn't have happened because the other thing

and they reference it in the DVD was, you know,

COVID was still a very real issue when they were

here. And by the way, Barrowlands is, it's a

fantastic venue. But one of the reasons it's

a fantastic venue is that the alcohol consumption

per attendee is higher than any other venue in

Britain. It's a 30s, basically used to be a massive

dance hall. So the, the, um, the floor still

bounces. So if you can, any band that plays there

who's any good, basically you end up in this

bouncing mosh pit, even if it's not a band that

has a mosh pit. If we got anybody in the pit,

if you knock somebody down, please pick them

up. But, you know, next time they're touring,

if they're playing or they're playing Edinburgh

or they're playing Barrelands, I will probably

get in my car and go and see them because I thought

it was. They clearly put on a great show. Yeah.

Yeah, absolutely. And as someone who has seen

them live at Joe's Live Rosemont in Illinois,

you know, in 2018, that was the first concert

I had been to in a long time. I don't go to concerts.

I just, it's not one of the things that I do.

It's not, and you and I kind of have the same

feeling. We've, you know, ever since we've started,

you know, talking and interacting, like we're

not, yes, we, we believe in going to the event

and experiencing it. But like you were saying

earlier about the live DVD, about watching a

live performance kind of thing. We're not those

kinds of people. We would rather hear the album

version or whatever, because the live music experience

should be experienced at that moment. Yes. However,

I will say I felt like I was there watching this

every time. Every time I've watched this thing,

I felt like I was in the audience because these

guys and the band kind of has changed a little

bit. So John Lahan, who was the other bassist.

He decided to retire or whatever, and now they

have Steve Jewell Jr., which is awesome and great.

But so it's changed a little bit, but overall

you can tell that they're still doing what they've

done on the albums, but they're doing it in a

live setting and everything else. And what I

noticed in this performance is when I saw them

live in 2018, I was focusing on Chris and I was

focusing on John Fred Young, the drummer. But

you can't help but focus on Ben Wells because

man, that dude just bounces. He'll bounce from

one side of the stage, the other side of the

stage in like 10 seconds. Yep. But what I noticed

here, and I don't always notice this in albums

or in live recordings, I rarely notice the backing

vocals. You always hear about, oh, this person

did backing vocals on this or this person. I

never, I actually heard the first time I watched

this when it came out this year. I watched it,

I sat down and I was watching it just to enjoy

it, to, you know, experience it and whatever

else. I actually heard Ben Wells and I'm like,

Oh my God, there it's not. It is obviously Chris

Robertson, the lead singer, but I'm like, wow,

I actually heard the backing vocals. That's awesome.

Yeah. No, I would, I would agree. And you know,

one of my standard lines about any great show

is they weren't dialing it in clearly. You know,

that is a band who love and obviously there was

the extra impetus if it was first tour back and

all of that, but that's a band who love playing

live. Now they've obviously got a massive fan

base in the UK because there's a live album from

Birmingham, isn't it? Yep. That was a number

of years ago. Yeah. And that's Birmingham, UK,

not Birmingham. Yeah. So yeah, I hadn't realized

how big they were over here, but yeah, I was,

as I say, pleasantly surprised and I was won

over. Thank you. I had low expectations and they

were more than met. More than met. What is the

OVO Hydro? OVO is an energy company and the Hydro

is a venue that is, going back to the Albert

Hall, ironically, is also circular. Guess what?

You gotta go see Blackstone cherry January 30th,

2023. It's a Monday night. They will be in Glasgow.

Oh, wow. Okay. It's a shame they're not playing

Barrett. Well, but also that says that shows

the popularity them because Barrowlands let me

check. But I think Barrowlands will be just a

couple of thousands. The other thing while I'm

looking for that you need to know about Barrelands

is that it's in one of the rougher areas of Glasgow

and there is a Scottish performer called Katie

Tunstall and we saw her not long before lockdown.

Let's see what it says. Yeah, 1900 Barrelands

whereas the hydro is 12 ,000. Oh, wow. So that's

a big leap. But yeah, Katie Tunstall, when we

saw her at Barrowlands, and she's I say she's

a Scottish girl, she got Glasgow girl. And she

said, and Barrowlands has have a look online,

but it's got this great 30s, you know, glitzy

sign. Yeah. And she said it was fantastic this

morning. She said, and she lives in the States

now. She said, I wake up on the bus, I look out

the left window and There's the barrel and sign

and I'm thinking, I'm back home tonight. We'll

be playing my favorite venue in the world. She

said, and I got that warm glow. She said, I then

turned over, looked out the right window and

saw the equally large sign for the sex shop and

thought I'm back home. So I am, I am looking

at, at the, the hydro and yeah, you guys got

to go. They are 46. 0 .05 pounds per ticket.

All right, I will. I will book my ticket. I suspect

Laura will decline, but you have my commitment

that I will be there. As long as they don't start

doing dynamic pricing like Bruce, I'll be fine.

Oh God, that stupid ticket gate. Seriously, I

will go. But yeah, Blackstone cherry Royal Albert

Hall y 'all it. It was so good and. Every time

I listen to it, it's like, or I watch it, it's

like, it's just so good. And you see the story

of them as kids and you hear them talk about

how, you know, they wanted to play this place

since 2007, right after their, their debut album

released and, and, and all that. And it's just,

and you know, it's like Chris says in the DVD,

it's not if, but when, you know, and man, I.

This is one hell of a concert. Even if you weren't

there just watching this, like I said, it makes

you feel like you are there. Yep. So what was

your, what, what's your favorite songs? What's

your favorite moments? There are too many. So

normally I am not someone who does the whole

like drum solo fit. Like, yes, I watched it.

I saw John Fred's, I know how amazing John for

John Fred Young is, but normally I'm not someone

who is like, I want to hear the songs and whatever

else. But when they did the second part on in

my blood, because what they did was they did

in my blood slash Island Jam. Oh, I'm like, I'm

not normally into reggae, but Blackstone cherry.

I'm telling you this band, if they can cover

Tracy Chapman, you know, give me one reason they

can do anything. You should... And it's like,

Oh, wow. I'm digging this. I, I feel, I don't,

I, I'm a crusty old white guy that doesn't have

dreadlocks, but I feel like I have dreadlocks

on my head. I'm listening to that Island part

of the end of the song. I love the, like you

said, the way they, they transition. And when

they did cheaper to drink alone, that's the point

where they. introduce the band. And it's just

so fun. I agree. And you know, band into it goes

back to again, crispy and a great frontman band

introductions can be a real pain. Or they can

be great fun if you're there, but watching it

again and listening back. He does a great job.

That was one of the highlights for me. Get to

know each other a little bit better, right? So

ladies and gentlemen, on my right, playing the

guitar, wearing that scarf, singing his ass off

for you. All the way from Glasgow, Kentucky,

baby. My brother, your best friend, the one and

only, Mr. Benjamin Daniels. Now, to my left,

the newest face, the newest member of Blackstone's

chair, ladies and gentlemen. So when I introduce

him, I want one big ass roll out from time to

time to that array. Drum check because it is

extraordinary. In case you didn't know, world

famous movie actor, baby. Concerned old looking

over to himself. I salute you, sir. talent show

at the end of the school year and i can firmly

stand here today and say had he not played that

talent show and brought his drums black soul

jerry wouldn't be here today man because at that

same day i looked at john fran said man let's

start a band let's see what happens and now we

here now what i want when we come back into this

thing because we are I also, being the soppy

sentimentalist I am, I love the things my father

said in love with the pain. For all sorts of

reasons, I love the contrast. And again, I think

it takes real talent and real balls to stand

in front of 5 ,000 people and sing a song like

that. So yeah, I thought that was great. Yeah,

at the time they did this, because like I said,

they were at Royal Albert, September 29th of

2021. His dad just passed on June 30th of that

year, and he brought the guitar that his dad

and everything else and all. Yeah, but he says

in the DVD that that song means he never knew

what it meant to him until obviously now. With

me, it doesn't really apply, but there are certain

lines and things my father said that I kind of...

What happened? No i'm saying absolutely that

mentions. Yeah there's certain lines in that

song that even though it's about his dad it's

like you know the the last goodbye part it's

like oh god cuz i lost care in twenty twenty

one and it's like. I mean the song is already

emotional the song is already gonna get you thinking

about your father whatever you're gonna cry anyway

it's an emotional song and it just makes you

think you're right he's like at the end of it

is like. You know, he's like, Oh, my dad would

be like, I quit the cry and get to back playing

rock and roll. And he just rolls right into it.

Love with the pain. And I, one of the reasons

why I love in love with the pain is because it

reminds me so much of Massachusetts because that's

where they filmed the video. So at me being originally

from Massachusetts, like, I don't even remember

the last time I was home. Was 2012 so it's been

a decade since I've ever set foot in Massachusetts

the last time was December 4th of 2012 and it

just it's just so good in the way that they mixed

this the setlist it just flows No, I agree great

job. So I scored it. Okay Cause I love, by the

way, I love your scoring system. I think that's

great. I, and I'm a hard marker, as you know.

So I scored it a four and the only things I would

change one is in all seriousness, you know, remake

remix the audience and get them louder. Cause

they look on the, on the DVD like having a great

time. It just doesn't sound like they are. Yeah.

And also you asked about. fans and I thought

it was good I thought the fan interviews were

good I actually think they could have had short

you know like little sound bites from more fans

yeah it's weird it's something different it's

the variation of songs it's not all the same

it's not always bang bang bang and there's a

lot of soul and heart that goes on soul that

goes into the music just mixes it up so you can

go through the emotions You can rock out and

then next minute you're crying your eyes out.

I think it's because it's from the heart and

they've had the same experience as you, as I've

had, you know, especially Chris and his experiences.

To actually write about them is amazing. And

to admit them, that's the first thing. People

don't like to admit things. There's loads of

genuine bands out there now, but they tend to

be more the smaller venues. I don't know if it's

a thing about once they get to a certain level

of, you know, we've made it type of thing. But

when they're small bears like those damn crones,

people like that, they hang around the merch.

But when they get to a certain level or certain

fame, they seem to stop doing that. Whereas these

guys, you know, they're always available. But

overall, I thought it was really good and I may

even watch it again. If I was still doing my

flying around the world, it would definitely

be on my PC to watch on a flight. Yeah, my wings

get tired when I fly. Yeah, it's too much work.

But yeah, a little bit better mixing on the crowd.

But again, like I said, that moment when Chris

is like... This is the... I have to put my guitar

down every single night. And, you know, he goes

and he gets them up, even though you can't really

hear it. You can see it in his reaction to what

they're doing. Absolutely. And yeah, anyone that's,

and I understand they only focused on a couple

of people with the fan thing, but Duncan's story

about, you know, he was a taxi operator and was

locked down and with whatever, what he says in

the fan, you know, as he's talking, he's like,

you know. They're just a band that bring people

together. You know, it doesn't matter who you

are, you know, you, you can be up and rocking

with the person next to you. And the next thing

you know, like, like he said, when he, when,

when they play things, my father said, you're

going to look over your other shoulder and there's

going to be somebody else. You don't even know

that's crying just like you are because. Blackstone

cherry. It's like in the, in the official group,

we always say. cherry heads unite and we're just

all united around this band because they put

so much good vibes into everything they do. Yeah.

And that comes across. That comes across. Absolutely.

For me, I see what you're saying about the, the

mix and I do agree. So I was just going to give

it a blanket five on the GCR and rating scale

because I love it so much. I will give it a 4

.5 because it's, and that's not, it's a half

point off, but it's so good. It's like, like

I said, I don't normally listen to live tracks

on Spotify. I have, let me see if it's pulled

up. I have. Like four of them in here out of

it. Yeah, I have in my blood ringing in my head

cheaper to drink alone things My father said

which I promise you take out of there but in

love with the pain and white trash millionaire

Like I listen to those all the time. I listen

to that that live version of in my blood all

the time Right. I will add that to my list as

well. It is just I don't know. I mean it these

people Do so much for their fans and their fans

do so much for them It's like this mutual thing

and you see that with a lot of other artists

and bands and everything else But I don't think

I've seen it the way that it's done with no there

was there was a there's a real connection there

you can see And I didn't get the impression that

there was some marketing person in the background

telling them what to do Well, I mean, yeah, yeah,

no, I mean You know they are on their record

label but you know it's like they put the record

out in twenty twenty and that's that's all well

and good of the tour you know they're they're

doing their stuff and they're doing whatever

the other thing i want to mention really quickly

before we kind of close this out is that. Seeing

how each of them react to each of the band members

like i already mentioned with chris sitting there

you know it's just fucking overwhelming with

ben talking about. the pressure of them, the

crew, the audio, you know, all the, you know,

of this being, I think he said at the time it

was one of the first bands to do a UK tour because

of lockdown and everything else. And you just

see them and you see them talking and you hear

that what they're saying. And it's like, it's

so good because they each had like John Fred

Young, it's like, you know, he's, he's coming

in there and he's the kickass drummer. Steve

Jewell Jr. He's the brand new guy and you know

he's just all excited to be in with this band

that has been around for over 20 years at this

point. And it's just fun seeing their perspective

and like when John Fred walks in, he's like,

oh, I'm with the band and you see the camera.

That was great. Yeah. Well, you see the, you

know, as he's walking in, you see him walking

up the stairs and then it kind of transitions

to bed, but the camera pans over the ceiling.

There have only been, and I'm sure there are

plenty of other places that I just haven't seen.

There have only been two places in my lifetime

that I have seen that are that. Amazing. Obviously

Royal Albert. There's another place called the

palace in Louisville, Kentucky that kind of has

that same feel of, of, of design and of things

and everything else. Well, also the thing that,

you know, when he walks down those corridors

and I should have mentioned earlier is we talked

about the live albums, but everybody has played

the Royal album. So as you walk along the corridor,

it's just covered in pictures of who's played

there. So, but, you know, that moment, and I

did have a guest recently who sort of late in

life got involved in the music industry and he

said, you know, there's that fantastic moment

where you turn up and you go, I'm with the band.

God knows what it feels like when you went, I'm

in the band. But yeah, that's a special moment.

Yeah, absolutely. It really, really is. All right.

Is there anything else we want to say about this

performance or about the band or anything? No,

other than, uh, you know, if, if anybody's listening

and they're not, uh, a Blackstone cherry fan,

give it a go. Cause, uh, I, as I say, I was,

and I don't mean in patronizing. I was really

pleasantly surprised. I will go in January. And

I think you've just got to love, you've got to

love any band who have that committed to. Live

music and also to the fans. So it gave me a nice

warm feeling, Mike. Thank you. Absolutely. Absolutely.

All right, folks, we're gonna go to a quick ad

break. I think I don't know, but we'll be back

after this. I'm Terry Smith, the host of Music

Talks, the podcast where I ask guests a simple

but beguiling question. Choose a song from each

decade of your life and tell me why these songs

mean so much to you. Guests and listeners love

this format, and if you want to find out why,

then take a listen at musictalkspod .buzzsprout

.com or use your favourite podcast app. Just

search on Music Talks, Terry Smith. If you'd

like to be a guest on the show and... Then send

me a tweet at music talks pod. I look forward

to doing some music talking soon Thank you so

much All right, we are back here on geek cast

radio with mr. Terry Smith from music talks podcast

Blackstone cherry live at the Royal Albert Hall

y 'all Go watch it go listen to it Do what you

got to do get into Blackstone cherry because

they are amazing Terry what has recently aired

on music talks podcast and who have you got coming

up? Okay, so a couple of things I point people

at one is I Did what I called a milestone compilation

about a month ago. So we'd hit episode 75 We'd

hit a download target in that but you know, normally

I have a guest who obviously chooses a song from

each decade of their life, milestone combination,

have a different guest for each decade. So if

anyone's not listened and would like a feel for

what they might get, that's a great starting

point. And then the current episode is a two

-parter with a guy called Ian Rogers. Ian spent

a lot of his career around technology and was

a real leader around music on the internet and

streaming. He's also brilliant at name dropping,

but he has worked with some of the biggest names

in the industry. Uh, he's got a fascinating,

fascinating, uh, story. So, uh, do try and take

a listen to that. And then coming up, he, our

good friend, Jesse, uh, another introduction

from Jesse. So a guy called Michael Elliott,

who, um, has a fascinating life story and also

late in life. has also become the author of genuinely

a critically acclaimed biography on John Hyatt

called Have a Little Faith. So that will be coming

out in about 10 days time. And then following

that, I've got a guy called Jeff Sutton, who

I worked with at Microsoft. But for the 20 years

before he joined Microsoft, Jeff was a journalist

on basically every major tabloid in the UK. So

The Sun, The Daily Mail, The Mirror. and host

of fascinating stories, including a story about

chasing Madonna around Hyde Park, which is a

nice connection back to the Royal Albert Hall

and all of that. By the way, he was chasing her

to get a picture and this was in the 80s and

it became a famous picture, but watch out for

that one. Yeah, you don't want to chase stars

and people and. Well, it was different in the

eighties. Well, yeah, you know, that's the thing.

Like, okay, no one else comes in London. Yeah.

Well, except maybe Madonna's security. You never

know. And the funny thing is, is like, I, I say

this a lot and I'm surprised no one's stolen

the idea from me and it's fine, but like. I want

to collaborate with someone where basically we

take everything with the internet now, but it

starts in 1982 and see how forward we get to

2022. If we had the internet in the 80s, folks,

it would be just, I don't even know. We probably

wouldn't have a world right now. That's a whole

rabbit hole to go down. I do like the fact that

Ian Rogers in the latest episode talks about

Sly Stone, who sadly did, to quote Ian's line,

drove off the cliff basically. But he does say,

thank goodness Sly Stone didn't have Twitter

because God knows what he would have been raging

about. Yeah. Yeah. I'm playing in my head what

you just suggested. So that will take up my afternoon.

Oh, good. That means after I stopped the recording,

folks, Terry and I are going to go through. I

don't want to figure this out. Folks, that's

going to do it for us here on Geocast Radio.

I hope you enjoyed the Blackstone Cherry Live

at Royal Albert Hall discussion that Terry and

I just had. Thank you for joining us. If you'd

like to get contact with us to leave feedback

for the show, there are several ways to do so.

This is the website, geekcastradio .com, where

you can listen to and comment on all of our content.

You can also head over to musictalkspod .com.

Is that the current? That is the current, or

you can, if you want to do going back to 80s

and that, if you want to do 90s email, drop me

a line at musictalkspodatoutlook .com. And it's

also on Facebook at musictalkspod. Yeah, absolutely.

So I will have all Terry's links in the show

and any other podcasting client you choose to

use. We're on Twitter at Geocast Radio. I'm at

TF2 and Mike. You can also check out Music Talks

Pod on Twitter and Facebook and all that good

stuff. We are Geocast Radio Network on Facebook.

We hope you enjoyed this episode of GeekCastRay.

I wish you'll join us next time as I'll be talking

about something with somebody. I don't have anything

planned yet. Well, just for you, Terry. Geocast

Radio is the overall network show. We generally

do big things here. We do like, you know, oh,

we're going to, we're going to give a history

of the last 80 years of Batman or whatever kind

of like, it's a, it's an overall, and we don't

normally, but lately I've been doing multiple

episodes on multiple, like I've been doing a

couple of friends had done convention recaps

of conventions that they brought in like Emerald

City and things like that. And it's like, yeah,

I don't have a plan yet. I haven't come up with

a plan yet for this. So. I think with everything

that's going on, Mike, not having a plan is a

great plan. Seriously, that's why I was laughing.

I think that's a great thing. That's this is

very true. So for now, I am TF2 and Mike with

Terry Smith. Thank you for listening until next

time. Unleash the geek in you. I wish I had something

really cool to say, but from the bottom of our

hearts for allowing this to happen and going

through anything you had to do to come in these

doors tonight. Thank you from Blackstone Cherry,

I mean that shit already. I am just this marvelous

guy who lives in Scotland and does this podcast

stuff and loves his music and I'm married to

Laura and I've got two great dogs.