Friday 26th Feb. The Ark - Waterloo Place Edinburgh from 8pm - 1am.

GIG REVIEW

It was cold, it was wet, it snowed, BUT in the ARK there was a really warm welcome for the sizable crowd who journeyed out to see Doogie and La Paz this time.  Firstly The gig was free with donation money being raised on the night for the GART Children’s Charity Supported by the members of LA PAZ. The night comprised 3 bands, and a charity raffle where a lucky person won a Sunburst Stratocaster guitar donated by the gig sponsors Imported Instruments. They also raffled Doogie White's T-Shirt, signed CD's, Posters and a Pink and Yellow Ukulele! The local radio station Leith FM were also in attendance for the show.

First up were Fireproof Match, a female fronted, young, 3 piece band who sounded really great and played a mixture of original and cover versions. They played really well and had a great sound, very tight and focused and the tunes were catchy, modern and up to the minute and all played with huge energy. They were handing out free copies of their EP CD at the show.  Next up was The Last Tree who played a set of entirely original material. The band apparently only had 2 rehearsals, due to last minute changes in personnel and actually shared the drummer from the Fireproof Match band, for this gig! Despite rushed preparations The Last Tree were basically sound and the material was well received, the crowd cheering and being supportive. It was a free gig, so what's to  complain!

Charity raffle followed and with the prizes despatched then it was time for ............

Doogie and LA PAZ take centre stage.

As usual Doogie is the consummate performer and plays to the crowd. His confident relaxed manner comes from the security of knowing he is good at his job and he certainly is extremely good at his job!  The voice of rock. The banter between songs is amiable and informative and Doogie weaves his spell over the audience, till they are all involved in the proceedings.  The atmosphere for this gig was like a cross between a private party and a meeting of old friends,  basically a really pleasant experience.  The Ark is not a large venue, so you could really see and hear Doogie working his magic with the audience. Doogie and the guys in LA PAZ really work well together. It's simply just a great band. It's so obvious these guys know each other well and that whole band really  works. There is not the slightest hint of clashing egos here, which for any rock show has to be a huge achievement. It's clear that they all really enjoy doing this, it's about the music and the fun of playing, not about money here.

So The guys are really rocking, Doogie is singing his pants off and the crowd are in 7th Heaven.

The great songs just keep on coming. The original La PAZ tunes sounding as fresh as ever, the Leisgang White material showing how well Doogie can construct a song, the Rainbow songs, Hunting Humans, Ariel, Black Masquerade, Deep Purple material Burn, Mistreated and Solider of Fortune, Doogie sings them all, even Stargazer, close your eyes and vocally it's easily on a par with the great Dio. The band are tighter than ever. Chic McSherry delivers on guitar for every song and it's wholly convincing, these are not easy songs to play guitar on, after all many were first played by Ritchie Blackmore, a harder act for anyone to follow does not exist. Chic does it all admirably, he even jokes with Doogie while he does it, they enjoy it. The rest of the band are all stand-out players to a man. Andy "The Keys" does the very job you'd expect, precise, accurate, Paul the drummer is spectacular as usual and Alex the bassist worked like a Trojan to lock the engine room down tight.  Tighter than a Yorkshire man's purse strings and that's really saying something!!  Basically this gig was a chance  to see the type of band you'd normally expect to pay big ticket prices for, playing their hearts out, close up and personal and for free.

Absolutely amazing stuff.

At one point Doogie tells us "we're nearly half way through the show" and then they rip in more of the same, the crowd are loving it. I saw lots of camera phones, people standing on chairs to get a better view, people rocking out at the front near the stage and generally appreciating the spectacle. All too soon though and it's over, but not quite, just time for an encore or two, before Doogie finally calls time and announces "I'll see you all at the bar"!  Now this is where it gets more interesting because he means it! Commenting on the weather Doogie tells us "I'm off next week on tour, to Brazil !!", the audience groans,  lucky Brazil, lucky Doogie!

It's one of the other impressive things about Doogie White is he is a regular approachable guy. Here is one of the UK's top rock vocalists, who let's face it has played with and continues to play with some of the best musicians in the world and yet he is extremely pleasant, amiable, friendly and happy to talk and meet with his audience after a show.  How many times have you hoped to catch your favourite rock star after a gig, only to find they left by the fire door and  a fast car ( a favourite exit mode of a certain Mr Blackmore!) Doogie spent a lot of time after the show talking with the people who came up to chat. Just like when I last met him, there's no front, no bull, just a simple "hello how are you", followed by some chat. Excellent stuff!
The same goes for all the  guys in La Paz who happily meet and greet their audience.
Chic McSherry talks passionately about the Charity and the work it's doing and achieving results for the kids of La Paz.

The night raised a fantastic £507for the cause and Chic is pleased with the nights work.

Now the burning question.................

When will LA PAZ and Doogie be back to do it all again ?

Certainly there are a lot of people in Edinburgh who are hoping this will be sooner rather than later.

Always leave them wanting more, the Manic Messiah has done it again!

Thanks to Doogie, Chic, Paul, Andy and Alex for a great night.

As people stumble from the warmth of the Ark, it's out into the Edinburgh streets and a heavy snow blizzard!

Reminded me of their gig in Falkirk last year when it also snowed badly and took hours to get home on the bad roads.

The joys of Scotland in February!

Scorpioxxs 28th February 2010

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Saturday 27th Feb. FVMCC Rally. Private function, not open to the public

No formal gig review but it was neverthelessa memorable occasion starting with a drunk biker in the car park staggering up to Chic when he was trying to park and saying "Is this your f***ing Range Rover?" whereupon receiving the affirmative he began to piss on Chic's front tyre. Being a large gentlemen and surrounded by similar sized individuals sporting an impressive display of leather and tattoos, our glorious leader had to take the matter as a jolly jape. Efforts to find the said biker's bike amongst the throng and return the complement however proved unsuccessful.

The gig itself was great and the band were on form - playing a 2 hour set including 3 encores.

A good nite was had by all and the assembled throng managed to raise a fantastic £500 for our wee kiddies in La Paz, Mexico.

Thanks for your generosity guys - your contribution will make a real difference.

So...over the two nights we raised an astonishing £1007 which translates roughly into $1600 which in turn means that we can sponsor a further 8 kid's school football teams.

This is life changing work: the kids (boys and girls) want to play in the football teams; the rule is they can only join the teams if they go to school; their parents need them to work to earn their keep...so we feed them when they are at school thereby taking the financial pressure off the parents.

It's a win:win and it is simple, like all great ideas.

Thanks to all who contributed.

Due to Paul McManus suffering a broken hand and Doogie White also suffering a snapped Achilles Tendon we have sadly had to cancel the gigs in November. New shows will be scheduled early in 2010 when both are fit and well enough to play and we apologise to those folk who had made arrangements to come see us.

Friday 20th Nov. The Ark - La Paz are cancelled but Strange Brew and Crossfire (Alex Carmichael's band) will still play. Tickets now £5 and available on the door or through ticketmaster. If you've bought La Paz tickets at £8 you can get a full or partial refund from ticketmaster

Saturday 21st Nov. O2 Academy, Glasgow - Cancelled

Thursday 18th June : Zicos, Wishaw

Friday 19th June : Renfrew Ferry, Glasgow

Saturday 20th June : Studio24, Edinburgh

6th February : Zico's, Wishaw.

7th February : Rockers, Glasgow.

8th February : Behind The Wall, Falkirk.

These reviews were abstracted from blogs written by people who went to the gigs and posted on various websites, including Deep Purple and Rainbow fan club sites.

Renfrew Ferry

Friday 19/6/09

Glasgow is spoiled for choice with gig venues,…but I always feel the Renfrew Ferry is easily overlooked by the majority of people as a place they would normally see a gig.

My experiences have always been good ones because the place creates an atmosphere all of its own,..and it usually takes bands by surprise for how good the atmosphere can be there.

This gig was no exception.

No Dice took to their support slot with a serious intention of having a good time and whipping the crowd up to a frenzy by playing a strong selection of classic rock covers, mainly consisting of Whitesnake and AC/DC favourites such as Here I Go Again, and Sin City,…along with a sprinkling of Led Zep and even Motorhead .

With the crowd nicely warmed up,..La Paz hit the stage as if they’d never been away for so long.

Tonight was a follow up to the gig at Rockers recently which was the first time in 20 years the band had played together,..and that  was really a test to see if the vibe was still there,.. more of a Rainbow/Deep Purple tribute night really ,..which was great fun.

Tonight was more about La Paz and their own songs,..and to see if the old magic was still in the original material.

And from the off,..the smiles in the band suggested it was. Dougie looked like he was having a ball,..and Chic’s playing was as sublime as ever.

The melodies in all the songs came across strongly,..and  Dougie’s vocals shone through…..clearly enjoying himself…… It was good to be playing Glasgow again !

The whole band were as tight as a nut,..so the rehearsals had paid off !,..and the overall sound was very good,..only the keyboards were down in the mix..

I’m not sure how many of the audience would have remembered the last time they played, but I’m sure there would have been some new converts …

And they didn't disappoint with the finale of treating us to Stargazer and Burn which were awesome….

All in all, a night to remember,..and here’s to the other gigs going well.

We, as fans,.. look forward to more nights like this as there is clearly a demand for quality music like this being played with the passion and power La Paz have in abundance.

Cheers
Ian Alexander, Rock Radio

"Hi guys, Spent £30 on a taxi home after The Ferry gig thanks to bloody Take That and it didn't bother me ,such was the uplifting phenomenon known as LA PAZ.It was great to here all the old stories and the old songs all of which sounded remarkably fresh. I don't believe (even though you've said so in print) that you guys rehearsed and no-one said "here I've an idea for a new song".Looking forward to the LA PAZ stars falling into alignment once again for a major assault on the album charts££££££££???? GO ON I DARE YOU!!! Hope you and yours are well, cheers Innes Campbell (ACME BOOB HANDLING CO.)1980's van driver"

Studio 24

"Great set last night!

Favourite song was probably Temple of the King. Don't think Dio could sing this any better himself to be honest. Still I'm Sad was a strange choice - a cover of a cover which must be a first. Great version though. The La Paz originals were also very good.

Steve"

"Well another weekend of Gigs ends in Edinburgh for Doogie White and La Paz.

The day began at 3:00pm with an in-store performance at Imported Instruments down at Ocean Terminal in Edinburgh. The store sells musical gear, guitars, amps and so on. Doogie and Chic were at the back of the fairly large store, playing through a small PA and amp. This was absolutely amazing because you could really hear Doogie sing and Chic play. Chic is an excellent player and the interaction, the chemistry, between him and Doogie is superb, you can tell they are good friends, it just really works. Doogie’s vocals in this smaller environment were frankly superb because you could really hear the range and power of his voice. They really weren’t loud, it was almost acoustic, but Chic played an electric had a great sound and Doogie's voice really shone through. People rant about Dio and Bonnet and Glenn Hughes as the voices of Rock………………eh excuse me!! …… try Doogie White as the voice of Rock, he does it all admirably. Without doubt the best Scottish Rock vocalist working today, barr none. This in-store session was a real treat also because after performing Doogie and Chic chatted with the audience. Doogie White, despite having played with some of the Worlds premier rock stars remains a very grounded and natural person. There’s no edge, no front , just a guy who really enjoys his music. Ditto Chic the guitarist, no bull, great guy.

The evening gig at Studio 24 in Edinburgh followed. Studio 24 is a nice venue, but it’s got a strange reputation locally, so attendance wasn’t as good as the band might have hoped for overall. This was unfortunate as the proceeds were going to the La Paz Charity which would benefit from more support. So come-on people, dig deep here and support Doogie White and La Paz in their endeavours. You can download the La Paz songs for just 0.50p per track again all the money going to their charity. I don’t know what’s wrong with the people of Edinburgh, but it seems there is an apathy for most forms of live music here hence the smaller turnout. Ok, so the stage looked fantastic and the lighting was really good. The Band took to the stage around 9:00 and played through to 10:30. I’m never good at set-lists, but it was a mix of La Paz originals, which were really good, and rocked along really well and of course a number of Rainbow and Deep Purple covers as well. The La Paz material was new to me, but the songs are well put together and of course executed really well, it’s their own material, so it sounds natural of course!

The band were as tight as two coats of paint and Doogie was singing his heart out. The range of his vocals and the general timbre is amazing. Doogie is a seriously good singer and entirely professional, he played the show and interacted with the audience brilliantly. Just like last time I saw them, the whole band really clearly enjoy the whole thing, they are playing entirely for their audience and their own enjoyment. The whole band had a more interactive role this time and it really works. I came away feeling I’d been privileged to have been there and that is a pretty rare feeling to get from a gig these days. So all credit to Doogie and Chic and the guys, they have got it entirely right here. It’s all down to chemistry and these guys really have that visibly going on. They played the Rainbow/Purple songs really well, plenty of excitement and lot's of pressure on Chic, but he delivered it all as required, even with StarGazer, which is pretty mammoth song for most guitar players!

It would be interesting to see if La Paz could produce another Album, because their own material, which I believe came from the 80’s, didn’t sound like it came from the 80’s! It had a modern hard rock feel to it and didn’t sound at all dated, the way some music form that period very definitely does. Very well put together, good writing and well worth a listen for sure. Well worth a buy too!

In summary, a great afternoon and another great evening in the company of Doogie, Chic and La Paz, well worth the ticket money and great to hear these songs performed so well. Exciting, invigorating, thrilling, basically everything that a really good hard rock gig should be. Thanks guys, look forward to next time.

Rainbow Fanclan  

Zicos 18th June 09:

Hi Chic / Doogie

Excellent gig last night. The sounds was so much better than at Rockers last time (could actually hear Chic!). It was great to see you doing "A Prayer For The Dying". Any chance of some Cornerstone next time??

John Grogan

Zico's February 09:

Billed as a "Tribute to Deep Purple and Rainbow", this was the first of 3 gigs for the newly reformed La Paz.

A respectable crowd saw (ex Rainbow singer) Dougie White and his band play a covers only set of classic Deep Purple and Rainbow material.

The band themselves were on top form, Paul McManus on drums, Alec Carmichael on bass, Andy Mason on keyboards and Chic McSherry on guitar. Chic McSherry was certainly the surprise of the night and played a blinder, certainly surpassing his level of playing back when La Paz were on the Lanarkshire scene. Overall the band were as tight as the proverbial!

The vocals were fantastic and without a doubt on the Coverdale Deep Purple songs vastly superior to the original.

Overall, this gig was a great success, for both the band and the venue and hopefully after these 3 dates Chic will muster his troops to a more permanent reformation and get Dougie White to rehearse the original material, which might be a better measure of acceptance rather than playing covers to the "part-time" rockers!

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Rockers:

When I stepped into Rockers last night I wasn’t sure what to expect. The last time I’d seen these guys play was 25 years ago in Hamilton when ankle warmers, string vests and skin tight jeans were considered acceptable stage gear. Last night they mustered on stage looking relaxed and thankfully wearing more befitting jeans and t-shirts.

They hit the ground running with a more than polished performance of Perfect Strangers and went straight into Highway Star. Doogie White’s vocals carried an excited crowd into Black Masquerade before thrilling us all with Temple of the King.

This was the 2nd night of a three date tour and La Paz were obviously enjoying every minute of it.

Chic McSherry’s finger work didn’t disappoint. He delivered screaming solos while making it look ridiculously easy. He was having fun and his performance throughout drew the enthusiastic crowd.

Paul McManus was a master on the drums. He provided a tight beat with characteristic flourishes throughout the 12 song set list before a thrashing rendition of Long Live Rock’n’Roll - their enthusiastically received encore.

Unfortunately we didn’t see much of Andy Mason as he was hidden, for most of the performance behind his two tier keyboard rig. We could, however, hear his excellently executed keyboards throughout. For a tall guy he really was a bit dwarfed by his gear.

Alec Carmichael epitomised cool. His stage presence was the perfect foil for Doogie White’s larger than life showmanship. He and Paul McManus effortlessly demonstrated a natural understanding of each other’s role in providing the rhythmic backbone essential for a high quality, live performance. The questionable eyewear was undeniably cool and didn’t detract from his masterful performance.

After 25 years these guys still know how to rock and the years have added a maturity that made them relaxed and in control. They worked with the crowd who were entertained by Doogie White’s self deprecating commentary of the gig.

Rockers 2:

Last night I was privileged to see Doogie in a very small club playing a selection of Rainbow and Deep Purple classics with his old band La Paz. La Paz were part of the local heavy rock scene in the West of Scotland in the 80s - a great band that I saw a few times way back when.

The setlist didn't include any La Paz songs (although these may be be added to the set if/when La Paz play more dates later in the year).

Setlist :-

Perfect Strangers
Highway Star
Mistreated
Black Masquerade
Temple Of The King
Still I'm Sad
Hunting Humans
Ariel
Black Night
Stargazer
Kill The King
Burn
Long Live Rock 'n Roll

An excellent gig - it was great to see Doogie at close quarters having fun and playing SIUA songs + the music that was an inspiration to him.

YouTube links to most of the set here.

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Behind The Wall

Well guys, fun in Falkirk for sure. I long held the view and have often written it here that Doogie White was the best of all the Rainbow Singers because he had to work the hardest to do his own material and then cover all the other other guys who went before him. A big job for sure and one which he has ALWAYS carried off with great aplomb.

So the opportunity to see Doogie in a small venue, near Edinburgh was not to be missed. This was the very best £5 I've spent in a long long time. Doogie was in really great voice and sang all the old Purple and Rainbow like his life depended on it. It was really obvious that Doogie and the guys were doing this for the enjoyment value and that made all the more interesting. Doogie was fantastic in ever sense and at close range, you could appreciate his vocal ability fully. He can sing, oh how he can sing.

It's easy to understand why Ritchie wanted Doogie in Rainbow, he has a great range and power and a superb timbre in his vocal. Definitely one of the best British Rock Singers around at this time. Sad that as yet he hasn't got the full recognition he really deserves, but it will come I'm sure.

The set, as far as I remember, was much as listed by BIGJ in his topic . The band were great and played really well, the guitarist was no Blackmore, but then who is! He played very well anyway and did a mix of bits of Blackmore mixed with his own solos, which is always best and the bass/drums/keys were seriously tight and sounded great. All in all a really good night, well worth the drive home in the snow!

On arrival at the gig I went and introduced myself, and a drummer friend, to Doogie White, and we then spent the next 30 minutes in conversation with him, buying him a beer, before it was time for the show. This was a revelation for sure. Doogie is one of the most pleasant and most genuine people I've had the good fortune to meet in this business. A totally down to earth and entirely normal guy who enjoys his singing. A hard working musician, no front, no bull.
Respect due and respect given.
He is an entirely top guy barr none.

Thanks for a great night Doogie.