Eilot played for about an hour and received a good reception and even played an encore which is unusual for an opening act. He has a long career so played tracks including She’s Gone by Hall and Oates (who he plays with) and Pick Up The Pieces by The Average White Band (who he played with) as well as some of his own music.

Kasim’s solo set lasted 69 minutes from his first note to his last (not including the encore) and, out of the 100+ Kasim solo gigs I’ve seen over the years, this one rates in my top ten. In some ways it shouldn’t have been as Kasim forgot some words, missed some chords and started the wrong song at one point but his voice sounded good, his patter was funny, he was well lit on stage, he looked good, he sang a brand new song and he looked happy on stage!

Almost as soon as Kasim walked on stage someone shouted out that it had taken them 4.5 hours to get to this venue (apparently they had come from Delaware) so, quick as a flash, Kasim replied that it had taken him 56 years to get here!

Kasim started his set with Utopia’s I Just Wanna Touch You but had the second line as "Could you turn my guitar down just a little bit because it’s feeding back!" After that song Kasim then went straight into Nik Kershaw’s Somebody Loves You followed by The God Of Low and then into Jason Faulkner’s Afraid Himself To Be. It was actually while he was playing that latter song and the fact that he was well lit on stage that it reminded me so much of when he used to play that song back in 2001 and 2002 and that he looks as though he has barely aged a day since then!

A guy dressed all in black then walked on stage. I thought he was a guitar tech (earlier I had thought he was a waiter!) but Kasim introduced him as Jeff Allegue who would be playing a few songs with him. In the end he actually stayed for the remainder of Kasim’s set which was not only a nice surprise but also a great addition as Jeff was a great guitarist. Kasim also told us that Jeff had a good selection of dirty jokes which Jeff proved by telling us one!

After Kasim spotted a couple that he had played for at their wedding, he and Jeff played Sacrifice. Even though Kasim forgot a couple of words in it, the song was great to hear as Jeff played a great Spanish-sounding section in the middle while Kasim just kept the rhythm going. They also did the muted guitar strings bit that I always like. That song received a massive round of applause afterwards.

Kasim then told us that he had been in London last week and had spent some time there song writing with Phil Thornalley and that he would play a new song they had written last week later in his set. Kasim explained that first he would sing a song that Phil had written for Kasim on his own – Yellow Cab. However as soon as he started the song I (and several other people) realised that Kasim was actually singing Summer’s Gone instead! Kasim realised when he sang the chorus and stopped but said that he would continue that song. After that Kasim did sing Yellow Cab.

Kasim said that he thought the reason that he had messed up on some chords and things was because he was looking forward so much to get to the next two songs as they were his newest songs! First of all he played 15 Minutes which, I believe, he only finished in August. That song was very popular with the audience.

Then Kasim explained that the next song he had only written with Phil last week and that he wanted us to sing part of the chorus so that he could use that recording on his album as it should have a big chorus sound to it. The song was called Fell In Love For The Last Time. First of all Kasim demonstrated both the guys and girls parts (they were an octave apart) and then we practised a few times. Kasim gave his recording machine to someone in the audience to hold up. After an abortive start we heard Kasim’s new song! I always like hearing a new Kasim song for the first time and this was just brilliant to hear. From the amount of applause afterwards, the audience agreed with me too.

The Traveler was next before Kasim asked if we wanted to hear some Utopia songs and, of course, the audience did! There Goes My Inspiration was first and then Kasim went straight into Todd’s Cliché. Kasim next told us that one of his first gigs in Utopia was on Long Island and that neatly led into Are You Happy Now which has a line about Long Island in the song. (For ages I had thought that Oyster Bay was in Jamaica so, as I was only staying a few miles from there, I visited the town and it’s really pretty by the water.)

It was back to the audience participation part of the set as Kasim played Libertine. At the end of that song Kasim got just the girls to sing, just the guys and then just the Democrats and then there was a girl that he had spoken to several times during his set so he asked just her to sing! She didn’t but Kasim said that she was bright red.

One World was Kasim’s final song (with the line "From New York to Bellmore"!) with everyone joining in with the clapping at the end of the song.

Kasim then received a massive standing ovation from the whole audience before Eilot went back on stage to sing with Kasim. (Thankfully Jeff stayed on stage too.) It took a while to sort out the stage as Kasim switched to a smaller guitar but they couldn’t get it to work. Eventually Grady (who was doing the sound) went on stage and realised that Eilot had unplugged it by mistake! Eilot said that he and Kasim had written a couple of songs earlier that evening that may sound familiar! Kasim said that they didn’t even have a title for the first one yet but he thought they could call it Puppies And Kittens! They all played along to the backing tape (which still seems strange to me!) and the song they sang was Hall and Oates Sara Smile. Eilot sang the first verse and Kasim sang the second.

Next they sang a song which Kasim said was called Kittens And Puppies but it sounded very much like Todd’s I Saw The Light. Again Eilot sang the first verse and Kasim sang the second.

In both songs they both sang the choruses and played a great guitar bridge in the middle.

The audience then gave all three of them a massive round of applause and, all too soon for me, it was time for them to leave the stage.

Roll on Kasim’s solo gig in Cleveland next Saturday!

More photos and comments about this gig will be added soon.

The venue (taken from the KasimInfo.com Blog that day):
Tonight Kasim Sulton plays a solo gig in Bellmore, NY which is on Long Island.

The gig tonight is at The Brokerage Comedy Club which is located at 2797 Merrick Road, Bellmore NY 11710. (Apparently the venue is at the corner of Bellmore Ave.)

Doors for this gig open at 6pm with the show starting at 7pm. Eliot Lewis will also be on the bill tonight.

Click here to purchase tickets which are $27 or they can be bought on the door.

This is a General Admission gig and the venue can hold up to 200 people.

According to the venue website "The Brokerage Comedy Club opened its doors in 1980 and for the past three decades many of our nations greatest comedians have stepped onto our stage entertaining audiences: Eddie Murphy, Ray Romano, Kevin James, Rob Bartlett and Tim Allen just a few to name. In January 2007 The Brokerage Comedy Club took on new ownership. Since then, our 3000 square foot Club has seen tremendous changes. Our theatre, which accommodates 200 guests, was completely renovated with state-of-the-art audio and video systems; 5 plasma flat screen televisions; and a 6-foot on-stage screen offers guests the ultimate entertainment experience."

This will be Kasim's first appearance at this venue.

Pre-show page on KasimInfo.com:
Click here

Kasim Sulton's 2011 Gigs