Kiefer Sutherland – Chasing The Sun Tour 2024 // Colin Andrew // Live Review // The Cheese & Grain // Frome
It’s 7pm and a huge queue had already formed across the width of the Cheese & Grain car park before the doors had opened on this hot and humid evening. The support tonight was from Colin Andrew, who nonchalantly wanders onto the stage with his acoustic guitar. A welcoming Frome audience applauds him as he launches into ‘Send Me on My Way’ from his 2023 eponymous EP. His style is a mixture of folk, country and rock with heartfelt lyrics, and his banter is warm and jokey with an occasional serious moment as he explains his lyrical motivation.
An occasional thumping bass drum accompaniment is the only augmentation to his superb guitar playing as he runs through a short set of his songs. He gives a kind tribute to Kiefer, his band and crew before the emotional ballad ‘Jurassic’ brings rapturous applause.
“Here’s a song from Somerset” is the shout as Colin begins a cover of Tears for Fears 1985 hit ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’ with an enthusiastic singalong by the crowd. ‘Loving You in Vain’ ends the too-short half-hour set from this talented Irish musician and singer with heaps of potential. It’s apparent that there are some avid fans lining the stage barrier as his set comes to an end. What a magnificent start to the evening and the perfect accompaniment to the star of the night.
During the interval the audience dispersed to the various bars to top up their drinks and to get some fresh air outside on the patio, whilst Kiefer’s crew made last minute changes on the stage. But many stayed put at the front by the barrier to secure a prime spot for this long anticipated set.
After half an hour, Kiefer Sutherland and his band hit the stage with a roaring welcome from a packed crowd, launching into ‘Ole Lonely Life’ with a superb slide solo from Adrian Gautrey. Some of the audience seem utterly awestruck at seeing Kiefer in the flesh as his band segue into ‘Can’t Stay Away’. The sound mix is excellent, and Kiefer introduces “‘A few songs from our new album”, in which he informed the audience that had been recorded at the Cheese & Grain’s very own recording studio here in Frome – a favourite for those who prefer recording their music with analogue equipment. And those fans will already be aware that Kiefer memorably hit the headlines after he was pictured celebrating New Year in a local pub during the time of recording.
The sentimental ballad ‘Goodbye California’; relating to Kiefer’s decision to leave Los Angeles, is accompanied by Gautrey on a 12-string followed by the rousing stomp ‘Come Back Down’. Kiefer is accompanied on this tour by Ash Wilson on guitar with his brother Phil Wilson on drums, Roger Innis on bass and Anna Corcoran on keyboards, also providing some excellent backing vocals, who are all musicians based in the UK.
The heat in the Cheese and Grain is getting to the band and the crowd, as Kiefer asks the packed audience to take care of each other and drink lots of water then announces a pick-up in pace. The guitarists trade licks in the anthemic ‘Chasing the Rain’ play a very impressive Thin Lizzy style dual guitar riff as we are once again regaled with a tale from Kiefer’s always interesting back story as he tells us of his years touring rodeos in the 1990s. ‘‘Reckless was the name of my horse!” as he introduces ‘Reckless in me’ from the 2019 album of the same name. He then introduces ‘American Farmer’, as he explains how ‘big corporate farming’ affects ordinary farming families.
Kiefer bounces around the stage, and at times joins Wilson and Gautrey on guitar for a quick jam. His vigour during the performance is impressive as they play a cover of Tom Petty’s ‘Honey Bee’, then the set once again slows for the stomp ‘Down in a Hole’ from his 2016 album of the same name which featured some excellent solo work and a beautiful Hammond sound from Corcoran on keys. A short but impressive drum break was also included.
Kiefer stows the Les Paul he has been strumming throughout the set and takes off his jacket for ‘Friday Night’ as he leads a clap-along. “Thank you for making a Tuesday feel like a Friday. God bless you”, and with that, the band leaves the stage. An encore is inevitable as the audience shouts for more, and before you could say ‘Lost Boys’, the band are back on the stage, grabbing their instruments for the final part of the night. The audience are then treated to another of Kiefer’s tales about how he saw a fight in a bar at the tender age of fifteen before introducing ‘This is how it’s Done’. And that’s it; the set is over.
For the last night of Kiefer’s tour, it was a superb night of musicianship. He clearly enjoyed performing as he and the band gave the audience their all with an excellent set of country-style rock hits. This sold-out gig will most definitely be putting the Cheese & Grain on the map as Kiefer follows in the footsteps of other legendary performers; Foo Fighters and Sir Paul McCartney to name a few. For those of you who’ve not witnessed Kiefer Sutherland perform in anything other than his films, get yourself along to one of his concerts when he hits the UK again – his talent is endless!
https://ksutherland.lnk.to/bloorstreet
Photography: Emma Painter
Review: Dave Smith Price
