Chas & Dave
The Grove Theatre, Dunstable
Reviewed by Natasha Kolb
According to my (33 year old) husband, "Chas and Dave are cool…….. old but cool!" I must admit to not being convinced by his statement although I was looking forward to seeing them live, my first ever concert!
Chas ‘n’ Dave are back by popular demand and are doing over 70 live gigs this year all over the country! We went to see them at the Grove Theatre in Dunstable.
We arrived 45 minutes before the performance and parked very easily in the Grove Theatre car park. There was plenty of parking and disabled parking closer to theatre all with ramp access. There are about six other car parks all within a 10 minute walk and free after 6pm.
The Grove Theatre is a small but modern theatre making it a nice intimate venue; it was spotlessly clean and looked new! The staff were extremely friendly and very helpful; they were escorting people who needed it to their seats and also helping people with wheelchairs. The bar staff worked quickly with a smile and the drinks were very reasonably priced, they had deals on which made it much cheaper than the cinema!
As we waited for the gig to start we were worried that we might be the youngest people there but we couldn’t have been more wrong! Ages ranged from 7-87 years old!!When we went through we were sat in row M, which is at the back of the stalls, being a small theatre all of the seats were still close to the stage and we couldn’t see a badly placed seat in the place! As we waited Chas and Dave music was playing over the music system and the band was setup under pink mood lighting. Right on cue Chas and Dave came on stage, the whole place came alive! They were accompanied by Nic (Chas’ son) who now plays drums after their drummer retired.
The first 40 minute set was based on their time before they made it big, songs that they used to sing in the pubs and clubs. It was nice to hear songs that they don’t normally do, including an a cappella song which they called “a non ‘P.C’ song about a loony bin” that they normally saved for if the power went off in a club!
They ended the first half with their first hit ‘Gercha’, the place erupted when they played it.In the second half they played all the favourites from the 80’s and more recent songs that they had written including a song called ‘Got my ticket for the darts’ which is available as a download and all the money goes to Woodford green children’s hospice.
It was totally fantastic, everybody was up dancing and singing, Chas and Dave seemed to be really enjoying themselves and the crowd loved it.One of the songs had a drum solo which was dedicated to their drummer who retired three years ago. Rabbit and the sideboard song were a massive hit and really got the crowd going! Chas and Dave are true performers and they interacted with the audience and encouraged a good old fashioned sing song!
They finished with a slow song and got a standing ovation which encouraged them to sing the sideboard song one last time. They rocked the place!
We had a fantastic night, well worth a watch even if you’re not in to Chas and Dave.It was so much fun and a wonderful atmosphere you couldn’t not enjoy yourself.
So to sum up…. Yes Chas and Dave ARE cool and can rock with the best of them and they’re not as old as you think! Brilliant!
Rating: 5/5 
For more information on Chas & Dave Tour Dates click here.
For more information and shows at The Grove Theatre click here.
