Status Quo - Live in Muscat Quo Concert Pictures

Review by Nausher

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The legendary British rock band Status Quo rocked Muscat on 18th May 2006 at the Intercontinental Hotel lawns. The concert was part of their 40th anniversary world tour titled 'The Party Aint Over yet' which is also the title of their new album.

The present line up of Status Quo is Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt, Andrew Bown, John 'Rhino' Edwards and Mathew Letley. This line up hasn't changed since 1986 after Alan Lancaster left the band. I am still reeling back the 2 hours of fabulous rock n roll music earlier heard only on tapes and CD's. The stage was done up very simple but packed. Three stacks of speakers were on either sides of the stage. Then there was the neat looking stack of white marshall quardaple speakers with the amps positioned on top at the stage back drop. Three rows of par lights hung on trusses and spot lights arranged at the rear with smoke machines behind the drum kit. I was curious to see two shacks on either sides of the stage and walked up to explore.What a fantastic sight it was !! Each shack had around 12 to 15 electric guitars on tripods. My attempts to get closer to take some pics were foiled by the security.

The onstage professionalism was evident as every minute detail was taken care of. The roadies were carrying out the last minute checks on the guitars, drums and keyboards with not a single noise to be heard on the speakers . The advancement in wireless technology was visible as there were hardly any cables running on the stage. All the instruments were on wireless units. The roadies were placing towels and filling sip bottles on tripods for each band member before the band came in. In a matter of minutes the soft lights on stage dipped and in came the rockers who have been rock n rolling for the last 4 decades.

These guys are unbelievable. They just walked on stage and the roadies handed over the guitars to each of them as they walked in and they started playing right away. I guess thats what years of experience gives you. The concert opened to a rousing start with one of quos all time classics Caroline. The crowd went bersek. Moi was standing in the front row (like i always do for concerts, not wanting to miss any action happening on stage).

Francis Rossi was wearing a white collarless shirt and black sleeveless jacket, his trademark pony tail and silver ring on his left ear. He looked thinner than as seen in photographs. Rick Parfitt was looking fresh and cheerful in a full sleeve white shirt, his smitten smile and his famous silver guitar pendant (released during the bands 30th anniversary) around his neck. John had his naughty grin all the way throughout the concert. Andrew and Mathew were dressed like mama's boys in neat clothes and white sneakers. 

'I hope we live through this show' humoured Francis after their first song referring to their vintage status and the hot weather that night, which was kinda sultry. The next two hours the veteran rockers dished out a veritable blend of rock n roll playing most of their hit singles All Stand Up, Rolling Home, Something about you baby I like, Rockin all over the world, Forty five hundred times, Down down, Again and again.

The band got the crowd on their toes when they played one of their most successful radio hits 'Whatever you want'. The energy these guys displayed on stage was unbelievable even though one could easily make out that Francis and Rick were on the wrong side of 50's. The summer heat may have made Francis Rossi take off his jacket but never stopped the rockers from enthralling the audience with their rock n roll music.

The song Oriental, which was a poppish quirky number with some amusing lyrics, slowed the pace of the concert from their riffy rock n roll numbers. The song featured a mind boggling drum solo by the bands drummer Mathew. The onstage chemistry between Francis and Rick was a sight to watch as every now and then in between the songs these guys paired up together and went into the classic stance, the bent leg stance made famous by Status Quo in rock n roll history. Quo continued to rock the night away with some of their ever lasting hit singles like Roll Over, Dreamin', Cross that bridge and Paper plane.

I kept wondering why the band did not play some of their most popular numbers like In the army now, Burning Bridges, Red Sky or Margeurita time. Maybe age was after all catching on the veterans which prevented them from belting out their high pitch numbers. In fact on some of the songs they sang that night the pitch was scaled down , i assume because of the over stressed vocal chords of the ageing rockers. The bassist John was very popular with the crowd and he was seen having a terrific time weilding his axe.

It was only when i saw Status Quo live i realised how important the bass was in all their songs as when you hear most of their songs they are built on the tempo of the riffing double rhythms. A slow folkish number Gerundula (me hearing it for the first time) became very popular with the audience. During this song the keyboardist and the bassist left behind their respective instruments and picked up acoustic guitars. It was nice to see all four of them standing in a line in front of the stage and strumming on. The vocal arrangements on this song had similarities to some of the country/blues songs of Crosby,Stills and Nash. Rick Parfitt sang the lead vocals on Rain and few other songs which I had'nt heard before.

The audience, mostly westeners, jived, jumped, threw themselves in the air and were really having a good time. Beer was flowing all over the place and there was a general atmosphere of one big party. The concert lasted for about 2 hours and boy I had one helluva time. The only disappointment was that some of the regular rock music buffs whom I know backed out last minute giving vague excuses like hot weather and 'do they still play good music ! Anyways their loss, what else can i say.

I have to thank my best buddy Harris for introducing me to the music of Status Quo during my college days (better late than never) when I thought their music was not exactly my kinda music. The only song of Status Quo I had heard then was In the Army Now. He handed over a greatest hits collection during one of my college vacations and boy I have been hooked on their music ever since. And now after hearing them live in concert, yeah thatz rock n roll !!. A few photographs that I took during the concert along with a few pictures that appeared in the newspaper are attached.

The dedication Status Quo as a band has towards rock n roll music is admirable and has been the influence and inspiration for hundreds of rock bands around the world. Rick Parfitt had once quoted "I can't imagine life without the group. If it splits up before I peg it, I won't know what to do with myself. It's not a question of money, you do it cause it's your life and it's what you do." Rick Parfitt has had a major heart surgery and a throat tumour and yet that does'nt dampen his rock n roll spirits. Keep going guys.

Some interesting facts about Status Quo 1. They released their first album released in 1968. 2. Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt are the original surviving members of the band. 3. The band has released over 30 albums. 4. Status Quo has over 40 number one hit singles. 5. Francis Rossi has a personal collection of over 600 guitars.