Status Quo rockin' all over Beaufort Castle

By Patrick Cameron

Having rocked all over the world it was time for Status Quo to bring the show back to Luxembourg.

Veteran denim clad rockers Status Quo brought the heat to a cold summers evening at Beaufort castle on Monday night.

Having been on stage together for some 50 years Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt know the way around the stage. They’ve gone from chart toppers to the butt of jokes, reminiscent of Spinal Tap over the years. But they have always kept themselves in the public psyche. Now they have come full circle and there seems to be genuine warmth toward the Quo who have become somewhat of a British institution.

It was an unseasonably cold summers night on Monday evening and with the flag fluttering away at the top of Beaufort Castle we knew we needed some high-octane Status Quo riffs to warm us up.

It didn’t take long as the riff to ‘Pictures of Matchstick Men’ blared out of the PA, the band all wearing shiny white new trainers entered and plugged in. Parfitt positioned himself in the middle of a row of five Marshall amps. Then the unmistakable guitars of Rossi & Parfitt kick into ‘Caroline’. If there is a band that has a sound more head bop inducing, I don’t think I’ve heard them.

With years on the stage come well-polished stage routines. With ‘Little Lady’, they throwback to a 50s Chuck Berry sound that the Quo do so well. Parfitt stood legs apart at the front of the stage with the guitar strap around his neck and the guitar dangling evocatively around his crotch. I suppose if you’ve done it since you were in your teens then why change a habit of a lifetime. Although it probably got more screams when he was at the peak of his powers and his hair was fuller, but rock poses are the make up of a good show.

Much loved tracks now came thick and fast with ‘Hold You Back’, ‘What You’re Proposing’&‘Creepin’ Up On You’, where Rossi & Parfitt came together to do a synchronised boogie guitar shuffle, cue the camera phones for that shot.

As you’d expect with the Quo the set was upbeat and energetic. At times it left Rossi looking out of breath, which he quipped with his very amusing self deprecating chat about his and the audiences’ age.

Of course the real big hitters were left to the end with ‘Down Down’, ‘Wherever You Want’ and ‘Rockn’ All Over The World’. If you can’t bop away to these then what can you? They sent us on our way with Chuck Berry’s ‘Bye Bye Johnny’.

It was a cold evening and one that could’ve turned quite miserable if we hadn’t have had the upbeat enthusiasm of Status Quo to keep us bopping along and warm.

Do not miss the news - sign up to receive the wort.lu newsletter in English delivered to your inbox six days a week.