15 February 2017 (gig)
18 February 2017
Leave it to T.Rextasy to transform a dreary February night into a glam-tastic affair. In this case, enigmatic frontman Danielz and his band transformed Glasgow’s grand ole King’s Theatre into the ‘Marc Bolan 40th Commemorative Anniversary’ party and hey, it left many fans happy and dancing!
To put it upfront, it’s never easy to lure punters to come and see a show mid-week, let alone in the bleak mid-winter and at a time when most folks still recover from the financial excesses that Christmas and New Years hold in store. But well, we’re not talking just any show here! We’re talking T.Rextasy – the world’s only official tribute to Marc Bolan and T.Rex. There is no doubt that T.Rextasy enjoy a huge fan base here in Glasgow – all flocked together to celebrate the work of Bolan, who would have turned seventy years old this year. Hard to imagine but true! To commemorate this event and the on-going T.Rex mania since Bolan’s untimely death, Danielz and band delivered a dynamic set that quenched the thirst of any fan in the venue.
Kicking off with ‘RawRamp/Electric Boogie’ (which was swiftly followed by ‘Metal Guru’) you could tell that Danielz was delighted to be back playing in the city that should be Scotland’s capital! The band’s enthusiasm was rewarded by much cheering and clapping. Of course, Glaswegians are known for being a brash audience… consequently there was no shortage of the odd fan shouting, though it mainly consisted of the usual “I love to boogie” while one female admirer in particular expressed her adoration for Danielz by repeatedly shouting “I looove you” to the amusement of everyone. After ‘Telegram Sam’ and ‘Debora’ the band furthermore performed two slightly more eclectic numbers, namely ‘Thunderwing’ from The Slider album and also ‘Sailors of the Highway’. After that, the audience were treated to some wonderfully performed acoustic renditions of ‘Life is Strange’ (ain’t that the truth!), ‘Cosmic Dancer’ and ‘Dreamy Lady’ while ‘Life’s A Gas’ started off in acoustic mode before it burst into electric delights. Danielz knows what the hungry crowd expected and he fed it to them: ‘One Inch Rock’, ‘20th Century Boy’ and ‘Jeepster’ were all among the much-loved staples.
A much deserved 20-min interval allowed punters to get some drinks while the band, well, make that Danielz, changed costume before taking to the stage again sporting a blueish/purple cape and yellow feather boa. The second part of the show started with the whimsical ‘New York City’ and every time I hear that song I imagine what it might be like to actually hold a frog in my hand! As ever, the band’s superb instrumental skills and backing vocals perfectly complimented Danielz’ high-octane delivery and while we’re at it, the band are Neil Cross on rhythm guitar, Rob Butterfield on bass guitar and John Skelton on drums/percussions. Fan favourites such as ‘Children of the Revolution, ‘London Boys’, ‘Teenage Dream’, ‘Zip Gun Boogie’ and ‘Solid Gold’ followed and as ever, the band masterfully cranked it up while at the same time making it look like easy action. In between, Danielz entertained with a bit of banter and reminisced about what Marc would be up to were he still alive, and how Marc always quoted the Glasgow Apollo as one of his favourite Scottish venues.
Next followed ‘The Groover’, ‘Dandy in the Underworld’, ‘Born to Boogie’ and the signature ‘Ride a White Swan’ while the impatient female fan in the back-row finally got her wish when the band once again encouraged everyone to dance while playing ‘I love to Boogie’! Final song was the exhilarating ‘Get in on’ during which Danielz performed his magic not only working that guitar but allowing his tambourine to do the finger-work for him! Of course, hardcore fans knew that it wasn’t really the final song and that there will be an encore. It wasn’t any different on that occasion and after much cheering and demanding “more, more, more” the band took to the stage one more time to blast into ‘Hot Love’ before a chirpy Danielz thanked everyone for coming along.
© Photo by Mary Baillie
(Please read my interview with T.Rextasy in the INTERVIEWS section)
