Was this a Faces reunion? Can you even have a Faces reunion without Ronnie Lane and Ian McLagan? Well, Mac thought so and spent a good bit of time in recent years trying to get Rod Stewart to rejoin his old muckers on stage. Sadly, Mac died before this could come to pass and maybe Rod finally agreed to Kenney Jones' suggestion that they and Ronnie Wood perform live together out of a sense of guilt that he hadn't made the effort before.
Whatever the motivation, the three surviving Faces appeared at a chilly Hurtwood Park polo club in Surrey to perform a 45 minute set in front of an eager audience of 5,000. They were augmented on stage by two keyboard players, backing vocalists, a horn second and a bass guitarist and second guitar.
But the stars of the show were Rod and Ronnie. They stumbled on stage, the wrinkles deeper but the hairstyles still firmly rooted in the early 1970s, like a couple of overgrown schoolboys bunking off class early to go and hang around the bus stop in order to meet some girls and cadge a cigarette or two. They joked about the lack of rehearsal time before launching into Big Bill Broonzy's I Feel So Good, a song which sounds like it could have been written for the Faces.
They followed this with You Can Make Me Dance, Sing Or Anything, introduced by Ron as one of his favourite songs and with Rod looking to the heavens to thank Lane and McLagan. There might only have been three Faces physically on stage but the spirit of all five were present. The opening bars of You Can Make Me Dance was a real hairs on the back of the neck moment for me - I never thought I'd get to hear this song live.
Ooh La La followed and then I'd Rather Go Blind, the Etta James song that appeared on a Rod solo album as recorded by the Faces.
Then it was (I Know) I'm Losing You, the Temptations song which tonight featured an unduly long Kenney Jones drum solo. But in Kenney's defence he pulled the event together and so could perhaps be permitted his three or four minutes in the spotlight.
They finished with a glorious Stay With Me, the audience singing along, and Sweet Little Rock'n'Roller including a false start and then they were gone. Only seven songs but forty five minutes of rock'n'roll magic.
Was it a Faces reunion? I don't know, but a good time was had by all. Will they do it again? Well, Rod seemed keen to get off that stage as soon as it was over so I wouldn't put money on it. Were they worth the price of admission? Absolutely. Ronnie Wood looked like he was having far more fun that he ever does playing with the Rolling Stones.
Sing it again, Rod'n'Ron. Sing it again.
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