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I've been lucky enough to see Francis perform live 4 times over the past 11 years, from his first
solo tour in 1995, right up to last year.
Manchester Jan 27th 1995
Paddy, who was at uni in Manchester at the time rang me witht he news
francis dunnery was doing a show at the uni at the end of January.
So to cut a long story short, he agreed to pick up my ticket and one for
Phil who would also be going over £7 for the concert ticket £111 for the flight.
We arrived on the Friday afternoon, it was about noon, to be met
by Paddy who escorted us to the Students Union for some Boddingtons on tap, mmmmmhhhh!!!
Skip forward a few hours showtime, the support band denzil were not my
cup of tea, I was there for 1 reason. Francis wandered onto the stage looking stunned. On stage there were 2 stools 2 mikes
and a table with a kettle.
more to follow.....
Tin angel Philadelphia August 1998
Having seen Francis in
Manchester in 95 & not getting to meet him I found out he was playing in the tin angel when I was out on my holidays in
98, i got my brother to get the tickets for me my wife ,him & his then future wife, arriving at the tin angel for my first
time I soon discovered that the enterance to the venue is a side door leading upstairs. filing in we were first in the cue,
3 steps from the top i heard a few chords, and bounded in to see fd soundchecking, I have to admit I stood in awe, just us
4 fd & the sound guy in the room, I was transfixed I stood for about 5 mins until a staff member made us wait outside.
ha but it doesn't end there! being first in the cue we got seats at the right hand side of th stage-the seats in front were
reserved, during the support act frankie slipped from the stage door to the loo(restroom) when he came out & went to nip
backstage I rugby tackled him did a quick armlock... sorry I shouted to him, he didn't hear me the first time,
but i was damn sure I made him hear the second one, he turned around & smiled and came over to me, at this point my brother
issnapping away, all I remember is telling him i was from ireland spelling may name for him to autograph a single for me ,
shaking hishand and shaking like a leaf, my brothers recollection is slightly different, after I roared at fd he said I started
muttering I was a big fan, i have all you stuff, I'm over from ireland sign this mutter mutter mutter, whilst my
brother was muttering if this photo doesn't come out he'll bloody well kill me.A memorable gig, a memorable night. I must
also confess, yes I did steal the setlist off the stage at the end of the night (i'll stick a picture up of that one)
Lomax Liverpool Nov 14th 2001
The Arches Glasgow oct 18th 2005
John & Wayne as support were excellent I have 'nearly killed' and it does get a regular spin, its a great morning
album, a sort of folk pop look at life with lashings of humour, they played a few new songs which went down well and had a
great rapport with the audience. I would go out of my way to see them again. I hope their recognition goes way beyond reading!
the
main event, 5 years and 1 cancelled dublin show later I finally got to see Francis again, I was, and still am on cloud 9,
And before I go any further I do have to thank a few people who not only by their presence there made the gig one of the most
memorable events I was ever at but also for their generosity, goodwill & kind heartedness.
My good friends
& partners in crime John L & Kev, Mark Andrews, who did produce his wallet! and is one sound bloke who spent the evening
with us having some craic, Mark not only secured me a seat right at the front but was involved in a certain thing that was
the icing on the cake(more on that in a minute). Faye Dunnery, an absolute lady who ensured I was well looked after but took
loads of time with us. I have to tell this before the gig John, Kev & i went to the arches to
collect our tickets we
went round to the door for the hall, when a girl with an English accent said, 'is that you Feargal? hello I'm
Faye, Franks
sister', I was gobsmacked. Still am!!!! faye was
fantastic and really made me/us welcome, introduced me to some other members
of the Dunnery clan and some of her friends.
I feel like Miss world with this thanks list, I'd like to thank the
king
of sweden... Steve Rowe, after so many years it was great
to finally be able to shake his hand and thank him for his help over the years, and also Jon Webster who took a minute to
say hello. These people all made my night that bit more special. did i mention some guy called francis was there too!
ok
now the gig, without giving too much away for those who have yet to get to one of the shows. As John L said the debate on
whether Francis was still as great a guitarist as ever, was that for real??????? seeing is believeing, not that i ever had
any doubt! musican, singer raconteur Francis Dunnery cant be equalled simple as that and what a show, david sancious is stunning
to watch/listen to with fingers like lightning his virtuosic performance was fantastic,the interplay between him & Francis
is something else. Dorie jackson was also on fine form and performed a new track that will be on her much anticipated solo
album if thats anything to go by
we'll have another corker release from aquarian nation.
if I was to find fault
with the gig it would be that Francis didnt
play a 7 hour set, but hey I can live in hope ;o)
The band were brilliant
and the glasgow chorus gave an added lift to the proceedings. I will be writng a detailed gig review for a local music website,
but wont have it online for a few days, i'll link to it here. i really dont want to give anything away. But if you havent
a ticket yet and still can, give your aural senses an early christmas present.
afterwards francis & the band spent
time with everyone signing stuff, posing for photos and much to my delight Francis came over spoke to me by name and gave
me a huge hug, before taking some time to chat to me and pose for a few photos. How can you top that for a night?
well
as I mentioned there was some icing on the cake, during the gig Francis was reading out a note from a guy for his girlfriends
23rd birthday when he suddenly said theres also a guy who travelled from ireland for the show, he gave me a name check along
with a fellow who had travelled from sweden before dedicating a song to us.
how can you top that? to me you cant! and
I wont leave it so long again, I dont think I could handle not being at another Francis gig for 5 years.
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| Francis & I Glasgow |
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| John Lynn, Mark Andrews, Myself & Faye Dunnery |
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| Mark Kev, John & Feargal Glasgow 05 |
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