Ricky Byrd came on quite promptly at about 9.30 and played a good set - he even included a couple of new songs too! Some guy started chatting to him during the set which was amusing as he handled it really well.

After a short break, Kasim came on stage to loads of applause! Although it was a bar, there were some chairs (which soon filled up!) placed up to the stage and the rest of us stood around watching. When Kasim first came on stage he decided that the stool was too far to the right (not centre stage) so he moved….which then meant that he wasn’t near his microphone! After he’d moved that too he introduced himself and said “How about that Ricky Byrd…he’s something else!” He then told us that he was in Louisiana this morning and that it was good to now be in Albany! Kasim then blasted into his great Don’t Hold Me Back / Afraid Himself To Be / Sometimes Love Is A Dangerous Thing opening!

Tonight Kasim’s announcement that he “used to be in a band called Utopia” received a great reaction (which is always a good sign!). He joked that he was in the band for about ten year but that it seemed like 30 or 40 at the time! He also explained that some songs take a long time to write but that he wrote Set Me Free very quickly…that it just flowed out!

Kasim said later on stage that he was having trouble with his words tonight (he was obviously very tired and muddled up some of his speaking words) but I noticed that in Alone he started with the second verse. When he got to the second verse, he actually sang a mixture of both verses (“Let me tell you a story, Will you lend me your ear, One about the man who was lost, And I can tell you in one word”)!

Kasim’s two songs from his forthcoming CD Quid Pro Quo, The One Sure Thing and Before She Was Gone, both received a great reaction again tonight (certainly at the gigs where I’ve been doing the mailing lists, I’ve been constantly asked about when Kasim’s CD will be released!). Tonight Doug Kennedy from the band The Isle Of Q joined Kasim on guitar for Before She Was Gone and the majority of the rest of his set.

One of the funniest parts of the show came next as Kasim was having trouble getting out the name of Quid Pro Quo so he explained about how little sleep he’d had in the past 48 hours as he’d flown to Louisiana to play a gig as part of Tommy James and The Shondells last night! As he was saying “I got up at 4.00am” etc, Doug Kennedy kept playing a sympathetic sounding guitar chord!

Next we had the great Utopia / Todd section of the set with There Goes My Inspiration, Cliché (even though he was tired, Kasim sang the words perfectly in that song!), Back On The Street and Libertine! There was a great intro into Back On The Street tonight as Kasim started playing it while Doug switched guitars and then they both played an amazing bit of guitar (a guy who was a Utopia fan there later told me that he never realised that Kasim could play the guitar so well!) before Kasim started singing - I think that most people there didn’t realise which song it was until the first words. Doug Kennedy really excelled in Libertine as Kasim played the rhythm part while Doug added some great extra touches to the tune.

After The Beatles’ I’m Looking Through You, Doug left the stage and young Amy took his place! Kasim first met Amy and her family at the House Of Guitars in Rochester last year and then he gave her a brief guitar lesson before his show that evening. Although Amy looked slightly swamped by Doug’s guitar she didn’t look at all nervous and played the song perfectly! She even came in right on time after the clapping part when Kasim counted her in! When Amy left the stage Kasim said “How about that Amy…she’s something else!”

It was definitely a night of Kasim Sulton and Friends on stage as Ricky Byrd (and tambourine) joined Kasim for his finale Across The Universe which was a nice touch!

Roll on Cambridge on Monday…..!

Video Clips
These are 15 second video clips which will take about 5 minutes each to download on a normal modem. Unfortunately these are the only two I managed to take tonight as, other than when Amy was on stage, the lightening was too dark. When Amy was on stage, Kasim's photographer kept walking across my view so these are the only watchable ones!
Kasim and Amy playing One World
"From ALBANY to New York"!