COLES CORPORATE GIG, MELBOURNE (For “Down Down” Promotion) 2nd July 2010

Hi Steve,

It was a pleasure looking after you all on Friday and what a great day it was.

Your band’s appearance really topped off a very successful fun day and the feedback about the band has been fantastic.  (Everyone wanted more).

All the best for future and you never know we may see you all again sometime.

Kind regards,

Melissa Purnell
Executive Assistant to GM Relationship Marketing

REVIEW of HARD ROCK CAFE GIG ~ By Lee Hawkins ~ 11 JUNE 2011

 

The scene was set – an iconic venue in the shape of the Hard Rock Cafe in Surfers Paradise, a long holiday weekend, and a killer British Invasion ticket of Statoz Quo and the Rolling Stones Experience. Despite last-minute flight cancellations, the Rock Doctor made it to the Gold Coast on Friday evening in readiness for a great weekend (or perhaps longer…).
A cool and showery Saturday saw the famous Surfers main beach largely deserted but for a few diehard surfers. An early load-in to the Hard Rock was a slow process thanks to the small lift, but once the gear was in the band soon set up and the lengthy process of getting the sound ready for soundcheck could begin. The diners were in for a shock (an eruption of sound, see volcano theme later!) when soundcheck started proper with the band belting out “Don’t Waste My Time” and “Creepin’ Up On You”, even earning some applause as they went! Fulfilling a dream for a friend, Gary stood aside on drums while they played through “Rockin’ All Over The World” and “Whatever You Want”, that marking the end of a powerful and impressive soundcheck.
It would be a long wait before Statoz took the stage again, after the main dinner sitting and once the music revellers had taken over, so cue a slightly late start at 10.40pm.
The band kicked off by tricking us with the familiar opening riff of Status Quo’s “Caroline” then morphing into “Paper Plane” (a la Status Quo, circa 1997). Always a ripper live song, Statoz did it proud and immediately got the Hard Rock crowd on side and dancing around the circular bar. Sticking with the popularist material, next up was “Something ‘Bout You Baby I Like” before Steve took centre stage to crank out the note-perfect opening to “Don’t Waste My Time”. The band had really hit their stride by now and the knowledgeable audience lapped up this well-played Quo gem.
A surprisingly inclusion next, in the shape of “Again and Again”, saw Dave stepping up for a belting performance before going into the crowd-pleasing boogie classic of “Slow Train”. Keeping the harder rock theme going, “Roll Over Lay Down” played to the band’s strengths, with a thumping bass performance from Tony, great drumming from Gary, the dueling guitars of Dave and Steve, and top keyboard work from Paul – while the inclusion of Steve’s “Advance Australia Fair” solo roused the massed rabble even more! It was becoming a Quoverdose of top tunes when the band insisted on following up with “Softer Ride” with the crowd lapping up the idea of not working any more (especially on a holiday weekend!).
A brief moment of respite with a talky bit before the onslaught continued with a quality reproduction of “Down Down” and into a popular “Hold You Back” with some inspired jig action from the front row! Tony took the mic to talk up the impending “Big Fat Mama” but the band preferred to let the song do the talking and this song was a highlight of the night, played with real drive and appreciated by the fans and regulars – this was hard rock at the Hard Rock!
Fast-forwarding thirty years, the much less familiar “Creepin’ Up On You” took a while to find its crowd, but the pumping relentless rhythm was always going to win them over in the end and the whole band worked hard on this one to produce a faithful version of this great example of modern Quo. Just as quickly, the time machine was sent back thirty years and landed upon the magnificent boogie masterpiece that is “Don’t Think It Matters”. This was an inspired choice and the band played it splendidly, being rewarded with great audience participation and rewarding themselves with broad smiles all the way through – we got the impression that this was a fun song to play!
Nice work from Dave saw us into “Whatever You Want” to keep the crowd on the boil, before a cringeworthy recording that transcends its cringe when performed live in “The Anniversary Waltz”. This gave the whole band room to shine and Paul on keys continued to show his great skills here, while the audience simply loved it! If it’s the place to go for a “real good time”, it should really be renamed “Hard Rock Blues” but, no, it was “Roadhouse Blues” and this stonking number was well crafted by Statoz and given some serious bottom end by Tony. Paul did the honours in setting up the final song in the shape of “Rockin’ All Over The World”. This one got the crowd excited as always with some great singalong to mark the end of the set.
The noisy mob calling themselves the audience showed no signs of wanting to leave so the band were soon back on stage with Dave leading us off into the heaven they call “Caroline” – and suddenly the place was humming again! Dave tried to fool us with some spiel about a new number, only to start playing “Living Doll” (a la Status Quo, circa 1998), before storming into “Rock ‘n’ Roll Music” and, judging by the audience reaction, that was more like it! Of course, this meant that “Bye Bye Johnny” couldn’t be far away and so, after some excellent audience interaction to bid them farewell, it was all over… and it was only 1.15am!
The sizeable audience at the Hard Rock enjoyed a quality performance from Statoz Quo and the band’s energy, enthusiasm and obvious enjoyment of what they do came across well. The beaming smiles as they left the stage said it all, job done. Having not seen the band for over a year, they have tightened up considerably and are now playing with both fun and passion – and are a credit to the Quo brand. Look out for more gigs at the Hard Rock Cafe coming soon!

 

 

I have engaged Statoz Quo to perform on various occasions, typically being special events with large numbers of important corporate guests.

I first used Statoz Quo in 2002 and the fact they are still going strong is testament itself to the quality of their product. They are a fabulous Status Quo

covers band who emulate the sound, style and live experience of the real thing.

Equally importantly they are a stable, reliable and professional outfit who are easy to work with.

Chris White

For General Manager, Australia

Nestle-Peters

 

MOE, VICTORIA, 2011 ~ REVIEW by Lee Hawkins

Statoz Quo’s first venture onto Victorian soil would see them sampling the maifold delights of the Gippsland county town of Mewo on the 19th November 2011.

Despite some inclement weather, the band all arrived safely and were soundchecking by the time we arrived at the Moe RSL at about 4pm. The large room with a decent stage

looked promising but, more importantly, the band sounded promising too. With a competent sound guy, a few tweaks through renditions of “Something ‘Bout You Baby I Like”, “Little Lady” and “Don’t Waste My Time” led to a loud & rockin’ full version of “Creepin’ Up On You” with the sound deemed to be spot on by the Quo fans handily placed to provide advice on the subject!

After some brief respite from the cosy confines of the RSL, we were soon back to indulge in some typical RSL dinner fare – with the exception of those patrons who’d gone for the “dinner and show” package, who were treated to a one-off special menu dedicated to Quo! Main options included the “Roll Over Lay Down” and “Whatever You Want” while desserts on offer included “Paper Plane” and “Down Down”! This was a nice touch by the venue and indicative of the friendliness we would all encounter at the Moe RSL during the event.

The band took the stage at about 8.30 for their first set and received a warm welcome from the travelling Victorian fans up front (numbering about a dozen) as well as some locals opting for safety a little further away from the obligatory Vox wall of death. Showing no signs of fatigue after their recent run of gigs in NSW and WA, Statoz started well and got better and better as the evening went on. Some unfortunate technical issues plagued their sound (remedied during the break between sets) but no-one seemed to mind as the band belted out hit after hit. Kicking off with “Paper Plane” (with the trick “Caroline” intro), it was big songs all the way including classics like “Don’t Waste My Time” , “Down Down”, “Hold You Back” and “Rain”. Despite the chronologically-challenged introductions by the bass player (note to Mr Lingard, not every Quo song was released in 1975!), this first set was very enjoyable and the band’s more regular gig schedule has done wonders for their tightness. Steve’s leads were excellent, Dave’s rhythm and Gary’s drums a well-oiled engine room, and Tony’s thumping bass was thankfully of a better standard than his memory of release dates! Rounding out the first set was a treat for the diehards in the shape of “Big Fat Mama”, a rocking rendition leaving the front row air guitar crew in need of a cold one (or two) before the next set.

A decent length break gave the Vic fans a good opportunity to catch up while the band caught their breath and mingled with the appreciate mob calling themselves the Moe crowd. The second set saw the technical issues with sound resolved (no more ’snap, crackle and pop’ thanks!) and Statoz could focus on rocking us out for another hour or so. They threw in a few treats along the way, including a stunning “Backwater”, the riff classic “Don’t Think It Matters”, a surprising “Gerdundula” (devoid of any guitar neck swapping shenanigans) and even a rendition of “Happy Birthday” for the 42nd (more chronological inaccuracy!) birthday for my good self. Good on ya, guys! Crowd-pleasing singalongs with the likes of “Anniversary Waltz”, “Rockin’ All Over The World” and “Bye Bye Johnny” finished us off, rounding out a top night’s entertainment from the Queenslanders.

The band played as well as I’ve seen them and seemed to feed off the air guitar exploits of the diehard nutters down the front, lapping up their moments of live Quo. The band are in good form, the more regular gigging is of great benefit to them, and they’re a worthy tribute to our favourite band in Australia (not sure what the band themselves would make of the Aussie national anthem chucked in along the way though!). On behalf of the Victorian fans, I’d also like to say a huge thank you for putting us on your tour schedule, it was a big effort for one gig down South and we really did appreciate it.