Southport Theatre

I have been a fan of Graham for almost 50 years and always enjoy watching him perform, especially since he went 28 years between UK tours with one or more of his old compadres in CSNY. This was another top quality performance - it is always good to hear his classic songs and his voice stands up remarkably well to the advances of time. But, 12 months after seeing him on his previous tour just 20 miles away in Liverpool, I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed that this show was rather too similar to that earlier one. There were a couple of welcome changes to the setlist, with Pre-Road Downs and Right Between the Eyes included, but the format of the gig was practically identical to that in 2018. If it was the same tour and I had gone twice, I couldn't quibble but, for a new tour so soon afterwards and so close geographically to where he visited last time, I had hoped he might shake up the content a little. The anecdotes between songs were practically word for word the same and what came as pleasant surprises a year ago, such as covers of The Beatles' A Day In The Life and Buddy Holly's Everyday, paled a little on repeat. The music, with Graham backed by Shayne Fontayne on guitar and Todd Caldwell on keyboards, was absolutely top notch, but Graham's back catalogue is such that I wish he could include a little more variety and perhaps cut down on the cover versions a little.