I rarely go and see two nights of the same tour, but in the 39 years I've been seeing Dan Stuart playing live with Green On Red, Danny & Dusty, Slummers or solo I have rarely been disappointed, the solo shows in recent years have been lots of dark fun, so I managed to see his current re-match with Tom Heyman twice, Both of their previous UK tours in 2016 and 2018 they played at The Islington, but that venue is now a Caribbean restaurant, so for the main gig they chose What's Cooking in Leytonstone and for the overflow show after that sold out they added a "secret" gig at The Bestey Trotwood. I will be reviewing the two shows together reflecting on the differences and what remained the same.
Tom opened both shows solo with his very plangent sounding acoustic guitar singing the song I guessed was Baby It's Alright or alternately Always Been Around but really was most likely Baby My heart either way the slow picked guitar and heartfelt lyrics guaranteed everyone listened intently. We then got the title tune form his latest album the 24Th Street Blues that has cool reflections on the changing nature of Tom's long-time home in the Mission district of San Francisco as the hood gets made over yet still keeps some of its original appeal.
Both the versions of I Belong In The Night gave a good sense of how much Tom was attracted to the night back when he was the doorman at the Make Out Room, this was more pensive at What's Cookin' with more of a bluesy feel at the Betsey.
Tom paid deep tribute to his Mother in law and her battle against Alzheimer's that was prefaced both nights with some heartfelt words about how hard it is to deal with, especially in a country where getting the care you need is super expensive, as the introduction to Barbara Jean with little glints of the moments of magic that come through the befuddlement, as the tribulations threaten to overwhelm everyone caring for her.
One of the few variations in the setlist was that in Leytonstone Tom sang Sunny Jim followed by 24th & Mission two deep takes of life in San Francisco with plenty of drama and at the Betsey he reversed the order.
He then told us two different versions of teenage Tom's forays into being a drug kingpin/small time weed dealer, emphasizing that all his songs are true stories that have been fictionalized or vice versa, the normal pitfalls are in the song, but thankfully Tom survived to be able to hitch across America and end up in San Francisco, a fact that was covered in the delightful No On Rides For Free that at The Betsey was preceded by Tom telling us about his first time hitching to London to see Los Lobos at Dingwalls the club I first saw Green On Red playing at in 1985, while being amazed that no one hitches anymore.
At What's Cooking' Tom then sang a song in tribute to My Old Man and all the things they did together, that had me thinking of the things I did with My Old Man in Leytonstone in the 70's and 80's from record shopping in Woolworths to eating at the nouveau riche french restaurant that didn't like female customers, which is why mum never came along to those dinners.
Tom then told us about hanging out with Roy Loney of The Flaming Groovies before bringing on special guest Sid Griffin at the Betsey and playing it solo at What's Cooking as he played a Flaming Groovies song I didn't recognise about wanting a Store Bought Suit and Stetson, Sid really added some cool licks with his mandolin.
On both nights the set closed with Tom telling us about a terrible fire in an old mixed use building on Mission and how rather than re-build it has ended up as a hole in the ground, waiting for the next modern monstrosity to go up, as an intro to The Mission Is On Fire a great tale of despair and destruction that both times meant Tom left the stage to huge applause.
It was soon enough time for Dan Stuart's sets to begin solo and the main difference in the start of the shows was that at the Betsey Dan began by adlibbing about how he was never going to play the Outlaw Cruise, with a few memories of the late great Mojo Nixon who met his Waterloo on the most recent Outlaw cruise. Both shows opened with Gonna Change that Dan took nice and slowly wringing every bit of pain and emotion he could out of the song.
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Both shows then had stories about Jack Clement with the Betsey also having shout outs for Richard England from Los Santos and Captain Scarlet who used to be in The UK Subs and Conflict as part of the intro to the magnificent The Day William Holden Died that had most of the audience singing along at What's Cookin'.
Dan was then complaining at how hard it was these days to get a Safari Suit that made me try to remember the name of the shop my dad bought his Safari Suits from in Leytonstone in the very late 70's, as Dan launched into a great unadulterated version of Rock & Roll Disease, that had more bite at What's Cooking.
Then at the Betsey Dan gave us his various definitions of hell before playing a rather angry version of Last Century Blues as he celebrated being very much a 20th century man.
This was the point at which Tom Heyman joined Dan onstage as they launched into That's What Dreams Are Made for that both crowds went a little nuts for. Tom then got out his slide for Why I Ever Married You that has such a dark edge to it as this magnificent song slowly unfurls all the pain and betrayal.
At What's Cookin they then got everyone singing and shouting along to a great version of Hair Of The Dog that strangely caused one or two people to walk out, which was most peculiar. While at The Betsey we got tales of the Burnette family and a great rendition of Gravity Talks.
At What's Cookin' Dan told us a harrowing tale of Mr Buggles getting cancer in his dick by way of introduction to Gringo Go Home that was slow and sombre. At The Betsey they guaranteed a sing along to No Free Lunch that had some good pauses in it, as it also did in Leytonstone. At What's Cookin' we then got tales of Dan Penn as they hammed it up on a cooking version of Sweetest thing, While Dan horrified some of us at The Betsey by starting to sing In the Court Of The Crimson King as a way of introducing a rare live outing for Change.
In Leytonstone it was time for Jimmy Boy to light up the room as we heard all about what he got up to, as the two guitars got nicely entangled. While over at the Betsey Dan was telling tales of Dicky Betts and going on after George Jones at Farm Aid 2 by way of introduction of Gringo Go Home that really does seem like a classic now.
What's Cookin' didn't need convincing that Time Ain't Nothing we just wanted the song to go on far longer than it did. While at the Betsey they made everyone smile with a great version of Hair Of The Dawg that just about everyone sang the chorus of.
In Leytonstone they closed the set with a cover of Commander Cody's Down To Seeds And Stems Again Blues that had a few ad libs about how weed is now legal in Tuscon and many other sensible places. Although they didn't leave the stage, they did get an encore and played Tom Heyman's Keep The River On Your Right which in this case meant we would be looking North with the River Roding on our right, it was a col way to end a great set.
Over at The Betsey Dan gave a good shout out to Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham by way of intro into Sweetest Thing that had loads of sadness at it's core, before they invited Sid Griffin up for a closing hoe down version of Time Ain't Nothing that was guaranteed to leave us all very happy indeed.
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