At the age of 14, Suzi Quatro played the bass in the all-female band founded by her sister in 1964 Pleasure seekers. But because an English producer had expressed more interest in Suzi than in the band, she confidently left both the band and her US hometown of Detroit and moved to London in 1971. Two years later she became an internationally acclaimed rock star with the hits “Can The Can” and “48 Crash”, in which many female rock musicians such as Joan Jett saw a role model. Half a century later, the Queen of Rock is still so full of energy, as if she still had the career ahead of her, which she is now looking forward to at Circus Krone with further hits such as “Your Mamma Won’t Like Me” or “If You Can’t Give Me Love” looks back.
Thanks to a horn trio that also includes German saxophonist Tommy Schneller, who won awards for his own blues albums, Quatro’s glam rock jewels are also animated by a soul blues rock that easily matches Quatros’ Detroit-inspired soul interludes recent album “The Devil In Me”. But the bass player in the black leather suit sacrifices these songs of all things to her older hits. She only plays the rocking title song with a band, as well as two songs accompanied only by the piano, which are only on the vinyl edition of the album. Among them is the Eagles classic “Desperado”, with which Suzi Q. released the heated audience with a good portion of goosebumps in a final encore.
Until then, however, the rock icon proves in a sweaty two-hour show that her bass and drums, played by Tim Reyland, are her band’s most important instruments. Tim Smith may elicit passionate solos from his guitar; and the pianist Jez Davies can duel with the bass player on his keyboard over well-known guitar riffs and bass runs by Stevie Wonder Chic up to Deep Purples “Smoke On The Water” deliver, in the end, according to the bandleader, bass and drums are the motor: “And you can’t drive a car without an engine,” says Quatro, who then excitingly demonstrates the versatility of their music in a bass solo accompanied only by drums presented four-string guitar. This solo alone, which Quatro then concludes as the second drummer with a drum duet, would have been enough to unfold rock heaven in the Circus Krone, which she made shine all the brighter with a band and background singers instead.