Rudy Love Band Live 100 Club London

Went to the film screening first & really enjoyed the event. A bit of a buzz about it, photos being taken, folk milling about, real atmosphere. The cinema was about three quarters full, which was good to see.

Then, the film itself & a Q & A session.The final edit of the film was a lot different to the earlier versions I'd seen in the past. It was slick, flowed well, told a real story and was well edited, though a UK soul fan kept turning up in the footage (mildly disturbing). ANYWAY ... then with a guy name of Ady acting as travel guide, we took a tour thru Soho to reach the 100 Club.

The live show was timed to kick off at 9pm but this slipped a bit. Again the venue was about three quarters full though very few of the normal 100 Club NS crowd appeared to be in attendance. Rudy is showing his age these days, he's a bit overweight & has to walk with a stick ... BUT his vocal powers are still fully intact. The group (his family members) came out first and then Rudy was helped onto stage. 

The ensemble went into full US Soul Review mode and commenced their show. An hour quickly passed, with a mixture of their own songs and covers being performed. Each musician up on stage demonstrated their musical abilities to the full. This was especially astonishing in the case of the female drummer. She revealed (after the show) that she doesn't usually play a full drum kit but just handles congas & percussion ancillaries. A few of their own 70's tracks illustrated the influence that Sly Stone's music had on the Love Family back then (Rudy led Sly's band from around 73 thru to the 80's with other member's of the family also joining the band down the years).

Rudy left the stage for a short period and his son took over on lead vocals, he demonstrated that the family has yet more talent coming along. The band then took a break but returned quite quickly as the time was passing and lots had public transport to catch. I managed to get into the dressing room to pass along that the Northampton crowd wanted to know if they would be performing "Housewife Blues". Rudy said it wasn't in the show but they'd add it in. So back for their 2nd set, they did most of "Housewife Blues"and then "Suffering Wrath" plus a number of other songs ("Good Morning Little School Girl" included). All in all then, a very unique show for a UK venue and they went down really really well.  A truly memorable and enjoyable night.

Fabulous insight into the work of Rudy Love with the bonus of the Live performance  in the intimate setting of the hallowed 100 club .

Film is also shown again today _ not to be missed  !