Waterloo Bowling Club. It's not the first place you'd think of for a romantic assignation but, way back in 2000, that's where my then-girlfriend wanted to spend Sunday afternoon.
"There's a really good band playing - I've seen them before; they do all the sort of stuff you like!"
I recall being quite impressed by the turnout and laughing when I heard Journey's "Escape" album being played beforehand. Did this lot really think they should have Journey supporting them?
The band - named "Impossible Dream", or something equally banal - hit the stage to a decent response and proceeded to turn in pretty good versions of a variety of AOR and soft rock classics. To be honest, they weren't that memorable; the singer could hold a tune and the guitarist desperately wanted to be Eddie Van Halen. They should have let him do "Eruption" and get it out of his system, but he had to settle for "Jump".
After an hour or so, the singer announced that they were taking a break and that, later, he'd be joined onstage by some old friends for a reunion of sorts. The buzz picked up.
The band which took the stage in the second half was a different kettle of fish altogether. The chemistry between then was plain to see; a tight, cohesive sound with strong vocal harmonies - now I was sold.
Six and a half years later, Jagged Edge are back at the Waterloo. The crowd's big again, but now the faces are familiar. The setlist is as strong as ever, with the usual numbers from Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Thunder and Pink Floyd jostling for space with more than usual from Journey (as the boys perfect their set for the Journey Convention later this month) and a couple of not-played-in-yonks numbers ("Jump" and "Summer of '69") on which the band were joined by their former bassist (an increasingly regular occurence - there seems to be a never-ending stream of ex-Jaggies!).
The lightshow seemed to work particularly well on this occasion, but the main thing was the sound - absolutely top-drawer; the best I've heard the boys sound in ages (hangovers not withstanding!)
Oh, and that girlfriend? She hasn't been for quite some time. These days I go to gigs with my wife.
Funny, they look a lot alike...
