Review by Ralph Greco, Jr.
Ian Hunter & The Rant Band stormed into the Havana in New Hope for a two-hour performance. Blistering fun from the get-go, Hunter opened with a song I have never seen him play, “(I’m The) Teacher,” which was featured in the 1984 Nick Nolte movie Teachers.
From there, Hunter and the five-piece Rant Band — Steve Holley on drums, James Mastro on guitar and mandolin, Mark Bosch on lead guitar, Paul Page on bass, and Dennis DiBrizzi on keys — rolled out “Once Bitten Twice Shy,” followed by the slightly slower but no less dramatic “Something To Believe In.”
At 75, Hunter looks and sounds spry, and treated us to moments from every aspect of his career. There were crowd killers like “Irene Wild,” the raucous “All American Alien Boy,” and the Mott The Hoople classic, “All the Way From Memphis.”
“Girl From The Office,” from Hunter’s 2009 Man Overboard album, was a stellar inclusion; as was one of my favorites “Bastard” from 1979’s You’re Never Alone With A Schizophrenic and the super sweet Mott The Hoople track, “I Wish I Was Your Mother.”
Near the end of the set, Hunter and his band played a loose version of Lou Reed’s “Sweet Jane” (Mott the Hoople covered the song on their All The Young Dudes album). They went on to play another tune I had never seen Hunter perform before, “Ta Shunka Witco (Crazy Horse)” from 2012’s When I’m President. An extended encore included “23A Swan Hill,” “All The Young Dudes,” and a few verses of “Goodnight, Irene.”
According to drummer Steve Holley, this band knows tons of songs from Hunter’s catalog, but the ones chosen tonight made for a great mix. Yes, there were plenty songs I would have liked to have heard. I am especially fond of Hunter’s ballads, so he can never play too many of those. Still, there is no way to be disappointed with anything he and the Rant Band played this night at Havana.
