18/3/2007 The Edgar Broughton Band @ the 100 Club

Subject	The Edgar Broughton Band @ the 100 Club
PostedDate	3/18/2007
	Not the sort of thing I'd normally go and see, but I was curious as I've known Steve Broughton the drummer for more years than I care to remember since I used to practice with my first band in his local rehearsal studio. I've also known Dave Cox the new guitarist for many years so I wanted to check out this semi-legendary band from the late 60's/early 70's. I arrived at the 100 Club to find it only around half full. There were a few familiar faces from the Barnet scene there, but otherwise most the people there seemed fairly old - not surprising considering how long ago the Edgar Broughton Band were at the height of their popularity. According to the poster on the wall this is the 'original' lineup of the band, but Dave Cox and also the current keyboard player could hardly (if at all) have been born when the band were at their peak. Edgar Broughton fronts the band singing and playing an ancient looking Stratocaster. He looks rather scary in the band's current promo shots, but in the flesh he bears an uncanny resemblance to a toad. I'm sorry but he does. He also chooses to wear onstage a band T-shirt featuring a large picture of himself...  I have to say I didn't enjoy this at all. It just wasn't my sort of thing - not on my wavelength in the slightest. Most the aging hippies in the club seemed to love it, but the band's performance did nothing to connect with me - I just didn't get it.  Maybe you had to be there at the time it was happening for them first time round? I don't remember those days, and all this talk of 'the underground' might as well be about another planet. The band are all good musicians and play well, but they don't really hold my attention - it's just not 'rock 'n' roll' to me. There are three Broughton brothers in the band, on guitar/vox, bass, and drums. Steve is a good drummer and later in the set starts laying into his kit as if he was in Deep Purple! I was told beforehand that the band should on stage for about an hour and forty minutes - what we didn't realise at the time was that about forty minutes of this would be Edgar talking! To be fair, some of his stories were interesting - but I'd rather hear him telling them in conversation in a pub than at a gig. The band seemed to be about three quarters of the way through their set before they really got warmed up and started to rock a bit - and then another long story killed the momentum.  My friends and myself could only name one Edgar Broughton Band song between us (although none of us can remember ever hearing it) and that was 'Out Demons Out'. As this was (apparently) by far their best  known song it was saved for the encore. It was OK, but hardly a classic in my opinion. The fans loved it though. Oh well. I guess I'm glad I finally saw this band and actually heard what their music was like - but I can't see myself enduring it again...