Leo and Anto from The Saw Doctors and The Waterboys at The Thunderbolt Bristol
Posted on: 2015-06-12
Our rating:
These boys will entertain you, chat to you, make you sing-along and tap your feet. All in all, a great night, great venue, great atmosphere. 4/5
Leo and Anto from The Saw Doctors and The Waterboys played an intimate acoustic gig at The Thunderbolt in Bristol on Thursday 11th June 2015.
It's been 20 years since I first saw The Saw Doctors at Glastonbury Festival on a sunny Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Today the sun is shining once again but the venue is much smaller with a crowd of 100 or so as opposed to 40,000. Leo Moran of the Saw Doctors and Anthony “Anto” Thistlethwaite of The Waterboys are out in the beer garden pre gig getting ready and chatting with fans before their two hour acoustic set at The Thunderbolt in Bristol as part of their 17 leg UK Tour. A small, intimate venue, The Thunderbolt provided the perfect environment for the stripped back, deconstructed Saw Doctors' songs.
Leo’s voice and guitar playing was on fine form and supported with Anto’s sax and harmonica playing as well as Leo giving his voice a rest at times to let Anto have a go. The set opened with The Saw Doctor’s classic, Red Cortina, with Leo singing “First love stays with you forever/you were just about to blossom,” and Anto conducting the audience with a sing-along of “forever and ever” in between the verses.
Throughout the set, Leo regaled the audience with memories, stories and general musings and ramblings, one of the highlights being a tale of seeing Snoop Dogg in Memphis and stealing some of his tricks to rev the crowd up, what followed was the bizarre but funny picture of Leo and Anto strumming away whilst inviting the audience to “put your hands in the mother****ing air”!!
Other anecdotes included tales of Leo’s Gaelic football playing days and the Galway All Ireland wining team of 1998. He hung up his boots back in 1988 but Galway GAA's loss has certainly become Irish musics' gain. It's not all about the past though as we are entertained with stories of FIFA's payment to the Irish FA and the Denis O'Brien 'alleged' shenanigans, both breaking news over the last week. Leo recalled growing up in Ireland and how you were always told to trust and respect those in the big house and not those with nothing. How the tables have turned over the past 40 years, a sentiment those in Bristol are no doubt familiar with!
The night finished off with a communal sing song of Clare Island and encores of the Waterboys classic, Fisherman’s Blues and Saw Doctors N17.
These boys will entertain you, chat to you, make you sing-along and tap your feet. Life is far too short so make sure you catch them when you can. For details of upcoming shows and to book tickets please visit www.leoandanto.com.
All in all, a great night, great venue, great atmosphere. 4/5
Reviewed by Brendan Murphy for 365Bristol - the leading events and entertainment website for Bristol.
Article by:
Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.
