It's not a good time of the year to be pulling pranks on a train, but that was what happened last night when I was waiting outside the venue. It didn't affect me, directly but a mate who was going to the gig also (and for whom I had the ticket) was detained by a daft kid who decided to pull the emergency brake some distance from Liverpool. That caused a l-o-o-o-n-g delay, and as I did not have my phone on me that night (sod's law, the one time you forget to take it, something happens!) I could only guess at the problem while shivering my extremities on a rather cold December night.
As a result, we missed Wolfsbane who, with their full original line-up including Blaze, were supporting. I would have liked to see them but it will have to be another time, if they keep it going. We only just made it in time for the headline band and the lower floor of the Academy was very full. (Local heroes Echo & The Bunnymen were also playing at the larger upstairs part, so the place was very busy this night.)
The Quireboys opened with 'Mayfair', one of their really old songs that even pre-dates the 'A Bit of What You Fancy' album, which this tour is celebrating. After a few newer songs then, the band proceeded to deliver every track from that album in the correct sequence. It went down great with this crowd, many of whom were probably of a similar age to myself and when singer Spike mentioned the club 'Stairways' in Birkenhead, he got a bigger cheer than perhaps he bargained for (!) It's his down-to-earth charm which holds the crowd in thrall, you cannot help but like the guy. When it comes to singing, his voice is a little more gravelly even than it was 20 years ago, but it is strongly imbued with passion; he is a soul singer in a rock 'n' roll band. It's that quality which makes him so compelling live, when delivering ballads such as 'I Don't Love You Any More' you really believe in it. Between songs, of course, he is cracking jokes and revelling in the crowd banter.
It's as well he connects so well with the crowd, since I reckon most of us couldn't see him properly! I was about two-thirds of the way back and could only see glimpses of a red bandana; the lower floor is not too great for viewing unless you're up at the front, and it doesn't help when the crowd all appear to be tall and lanky! (I'm 5' 11" so not exactly short, even so I struggled to see!) After playing the entire 'Fancy' album they ended the main set, before the encore which included Blaze reappearing for a none-too-serious rendition of 'Sex Party'.
A lot has happened in the 20 years since that album was recorded, but for those couple of hours, it was 1990 once again. Most professional rock writers review gigs such as this with a dismissive statement: 'like Grunge never happened'. It was indeed, but that, in the opinion of this unprofessional writer, is far from a bad thing. Excellent gig and it's great to see Spike and his mates still enjoying themselves.
Saturday, 19 December 2009
Sunday, 13 December 2009
Caught Live: Dragonforce, o2 Academy Liverpool 12 December 2009
I'm kinda confused after watching this gig from the UK-based 'extreme power metallers'; on the one hand, playing the way they do with such intensity and precision really takes some doing but on the other, it's all a bit one-dimensional, if you know one song you know the set. On top of that, they actually acknowledge it - as demonstrated by guitarist/songwriter/stage clown Sam Totman, when telling the audience 'they (the songs) all sound the same anyway!' He and fellow speed-shredder Herman Li were ribbing one another all night, when not swapping hyperspeed lead solos they were taking the mick out of one another between songs!
The impression that they leave me with is that of extremely talented musicians 'slumming it' playing Power Metal; there is no question that these two can really play (especially Li, without doubt the star of the band even over vocalist ZP Theart) but that they just regard a Dragonforce gig as a platform to show off. It's kinda like when an old-school Metal band lets the guitarist take a solo while the rest of the band go off stage, except they just solo all night while the rest of the band stay on stage and bash away behind them! They are surely capable of more than whammy bar dive-bombing and sweep-picking - it's just that this is all we are treated to.
Totman is perceived as the clown, he often takes swigs from beer cans (left on the mike stands for him to grasp at various points) or pulls faces, and jumps about while Li takes the solo, but is always in place to take his own turn when it comes. They'd like the crowd to think they're just goofing around, but you cannot play that way without a lot of practice. Their drummer (Dave Mackintosh) left me gaping open-mouthed; song after song it was badda-badda-bam-bam-bam - not just fast playing but hard fast playing! How he kept that up for the entire set is beyond my comprehension, how he does that night after night especially so! If you can imagine Usain Bolt running the way he does for 100 metres, but being able to keep that going for 10000 metres instead, that's how hard I imagine that to be! Not forgetting bassist Frédéric Leclercq and keyboard player Vadim Pruzhanov, both were up at the front frequently alongside the guitarists and the singer, all competing for the spotlight and the crowd.
Maybe that's their appeal, it is not so much a live gig as a race to see who can be the fastest!
They are incredible players live, but they have little concept of 'light and shade'. It's 'light and even more light' with these fellas! Consequently one song seemed to run into another, when Totman mockingly threatened that the band would not be playing 'Through The Fire and Flames' (their best-known song) it hardly mattered. Almost all their songs are like that, it was a genuine shock to the system when they slowed it down in the fourth song (briefly!) So, even if they had not played it (of course they did - in the encore when joined by what looked like the support band and all their crew) a casual observer wouldn't have noticed and probably thought that they had!
The guitars were dominating the sound to the point where I couldn't always hear vocalist ZP Theart properly, he is a good singer and would probably flourish in another band where he could express himself. As it is, he's totally overshadowed by the Li/Totman antics.
Consqeuently then, I'm not sure whether I enjoyed the gig or not - they strike me as just playing like that 'for the lulz' (to use awful internet terminology). You can't see how they would evolve from this style, they're painted into a corner. And they're far too talented to stay in the corner forever.
I only caught the end of support Sabaton; the Swedish metallers went down great with the early attendees although what I heard sounded very much like Priest/Maiden influenced Metal. I'd probably give them another go if they're around again though, since two songs isn't really enough to assess them with. However, hearing just one Dragonforce number will tell you all what they're about!
The impression that they leave me with is that of extremely talented musicians 'slumming it' playing Power Metal; there is no question that these two can really play (especially Li, without doubt the star of the band even over vocalist ZP Theart) but that they just regard a Dragonforce gig as a platform to show off. It's kinda like when an old-school Metal band lets the guitarist take a solo while the rest of the band go off stage, except they just solo all night while the rest of the band stay on stage and bash away behind them! They are surely capable of more than whammy bar dive-bombing and sweep-picking - it's just that this is all we are treated to.
Totman is perceived as the clown, he often takes swigs from beer cans (left on the mike stands for him to grasp at various points) or pulls faces, and jumps about while Li takes the solo, but is always in place to take his own turn when it comes. They'd like the crowd to think they're just goofing around, but you cannot play that way without a lot of practice. Their drummer (Dave Mackintosh) left me gaping open-mouthed; song after song it was badda-badda-bam-bam-bam - not just fast playing but hard fast playing! How he kept that up for the entire set is beyond my comprehension, how he does that night after night especially so! If you can imagine Usain Bolt running the way he does for 100 metres, but being able to keep that going for 10000 metres instead, that's how hard I imagine that to be! Not forgetting bassist Frédéric Leclercq and keyboard player Vadim Pruzhanov, both were up at the front frequently alongside the guitarists and the singer, all competing for the spotlight and the crowd.
Maybe that's their appeal, it is not so much a live gig as a race to see who can be the fastest!
They are incredible players live, but they have little concept of 'light and shade'. It's 'light and even more light' with these fellas! Consequently one song seemed to run into another, when Totman mockingly threatened that the band would not be playing 'Through The Fire and Flames' (their best-known song) it hardly mattered. Almost all their songs are like that, it was a genuine shock to the system when they slowed it down in the fourth song (briefly!) So, even if they had not played it (of course they did - in the encore when joined by what looked like the support band and all their crew) a casual observer wouldn't have noticed and probably thought that they had!
The guitars were dominating the sound to the point where I couldn't always hear vocalist ZP Theart properly, he is a good singer and would probably flourish in another band where he could express himself. As it is, he's totally overshadowed by the Li/Totman antics.
Consqeuently then, I'm not sure whether I enjoyed the gig or not - they strike me as just playing like that 'for the lulz' (to use awful internet terminology). You can't see how they would evolve from this style, they're painted into a corner. And they're far too talented to stay in the corner forever.
I only caught the end of support Sabaton; the Swedish metallers went down great with the early attendees although what I heard sounded very much like Priest/Maiden influenced Metal. I'd probably give them another go if they're around again though, since two songs isn't really enough to assess them with. However, hearing just one Dragonforce number will tell you all what they're about!
Saturday, 12 December 2009
Caught Live: The Answer, o2 Academy Liverpool 10 December 2009
Midway through this gig, the Answer's frontman Cormac Neeson urges the audience to tell their friends that this show was the "best one they've ever seen, whether or not you believe that yourselves!" I wouldn't go quite THAT far (in actual fact, the best show I saw this year was AC/DC, who were supported by The Answer), but it certainly was an excellent gig.
It's been too long since the Downpatrick lads were in Liverpool; their star has steadily risen in the past three years and tonight saw them play the larger upstairs room at the o2 Academy. When they were here last, they packed out the downstairs and it looked to be a similarly-sized crowd here. Although they did not pack the larger place out this time, those present made a lot of noise and gave enthusiastic support to the guys. The set contained many numbers from the 'Everyday Demons' album alongside selected favourites from debut album 'Rise'. Shamefully, I only got the new album at the gig so I've yet to hear it properly (!) but based on the live performance, it promises to be another goodie. I do feel the band are better suited to a live setting than they are on record; 'Rise' felt a little bit over-produced to me whereas the same songs performed live just kicked that bit harder.
Watching them play again after a prolonged break (apart from the short set I saw them give in Manchester, opening for AC/DC) illustrated how they have stepped up a gear; although they were always powerful live, there's that sense of maturity in the band now; Neeson has the audience in his pocket from first song to last. The real improvement for me though comes with the rhythm section; both drummer James Heatley and bassist Micky Waters are rock-solid, the latter fills in beautifully behind lead guitarist Paul Mahon. Watching them made me think of a far more aggressive version of Free, they are steeped in the same blues tradition as Kossoff and co but they interpret it in a much harder way.
A year on the road playing the big arenas with Angus & Co. has transformed the band; no longer are they just another group of young hopefuls, now they are the finished article, an accomplished live act ready to inherit the mantle of the UK's best rock band. The crowd present tonight will certainly pass on how great this band are; they may not say it was the best show they've ever seen but it was definitely enough to ensure that when they tour again, they'll have yet more along for the ride.
I look forward to seeing the band headline at the Echo Arena in a couple of years time - Sláinte!
It's been too long since the Downpatrick lads were in Liverpool; their star has steadily risen in the past three years and tonight saw them play the larger upstairs room at the o2 Academy. When they were here last, they packed out the downstairs and it looked to be a similarly-sized crowd here. Although they did not pack the larger place out this time, those present made a lot of noise and gave enthusiastic support to the guys. The set contained many numbers from the 'Everyday Demons' album alongside selected favourites from debut album 'Rise'. Shamefully, I only got the new album at the gig so I've yet to hear it properly (!) but based on the live performance, it promises to be another goodie. I do feel the band are better suited to a live setting than they are on record; 'Rise' felt a little bit over-produced to me whereas the same songs performed live just kicked that bit harder.
Watching them play again after a prolonged break (apart from the short set I saw them give in Manchester, opening for AC/DC) illustrated how they have stepped up a gear; although they were always powerful live, there's that sense of maturity in the band now; Neeson has the audience in his pocket from first song to last. The real improvement for me though comes with the rhythm section; both drummer James Heatley and bassist Micky Waters are rock-solid, the latter fills in beautifully behind lead guitarist Paul Mahon. Watching them made me think of a far more aggressive version of Free, they are steeped in the same blues tradition as Kossoff and co but they interpret it in a much harder way.
A year on the road playing the big arenas with Angus & Co. has transformed the band; no longer are they just another group of young hopefuls, now they are the finished article, an accomplished live act ready to inherit the mantle of the UK's best rock band. The crowd present tonight will certainly pass on how great this band are; they may not say it was the best show they've ever seen but it was definitely enough to ensure that when they tour again, they'll have yet more along for the ride.
I look forward to seeing the band headline at the Echo Arena in a couple of years time - Sláinte!
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
Caught Live: Hard Rock Hell (Saturday) Pontin's, Prestatyn, Wales 5 December 2009
Before I go any further it's time for a correction: the Hard Rock Hell event actually commenced Thursday night so the previous blog should really refer to the second night, even if it was my first night there! Anyway, the Saturday was the third and final day/night in Prestatyn, and my second trip into Gogledd Cymru* in as many nights.
As I was being driven this time (I drove the night before) we'd arranged to meet up early evening. As we were coming from different places, it would have been difficult to get there during the day. Anyway, by the time we got to the resort and headed back to the main stage, we caught the end of Rogue Male's set. Based on the one song I heard (Crazy Motorcycle) it sounded loud, proud and ultra-heavy! They're a band I only gave fleeting attention to back in the 1980s but this rendition kicked ass! We then decamped to the second stage in order to catch a few numbers from another 80s band, Demon. They had a pretty dismal crowd for their set, to be honest, as they ran through their old back catalogue including 'Night Of The Demon' and 'The Plague'. A little unfair, as they were giving a decent account of themselves, but their set clashed with that of W.A.S.P. over on the main stage. So we left them after three numbers, and found the floor at the main stage completely and utterly packed out! It seemed like the entire HRH crowd had decided to come over for Blackie and his crew's set, so we were obliged to watch from the sides where the merchandise stalls were and see as best as we could. Considering only Blackie Lawless himself is left from the 80s band, that has to be considered a personal triumph for the W.A.S.P. mainman. They played plenty of the old favourites including 'L.O.V.E. Machine' and 'Blind In Texas' alongside some newer songs, and although only one of the band was an original it really felt like 1986 all over again. They played great, went down a storm and probably were the talking point of the entire weekend. Superb.
Queensryche were the designated 'headline' act for the night and were up next on stage, but once W.A.S.P. had finished there was a total exodus from the main hall. Before they came on we decided to see what was going on over on the second stage, and caught the last number from Onslaught. That also took me back, but high-speed thrash long since lost its appeal to me and we quickly headed back for the Seattle prog-metallers. We had little trouble finding a nice spot in the crowd this time and we settled back as the intro tape began... then stopped again. The start was plagued by a technical problem which caused guitarist Michael Wilton to emerge, then scuttle back off stage again while they sorted it out.
After a short delay they started up again and this time all was well. They played very well, and singer Geoff Tate gave arguably the vocal performance of the entire event, but after the W.A.S.P. set they had a tough act to follow. Their more cerebral brand of rock was probably best suited to either a later slot or a different night after the pure bombast from Lawless and co. Although the vocalist declared early on he'd keep chat to a minimum, as they had a lot to get through (they played tracks from most recent album 'American Soldier' alongside material from 'Rage For Order' and 'Empire'; significantly no 'Mindcrime' stuff), he did actually talk quite a lot between songs, which didn't go down well with everyone. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt though, since those songs are tough to sing even for a vocalist of his calibre and he probably needed a short breather! They did deliver a good if shortened set, and played with the expected precision but the substantially thinner crowd told its own story: the real headliners played during the previous hour.
Following that set we once again decided to check out the other stage; another thrash act were reliving 1985 as we entered and quickly exited. They sounded almost exactly like Onslaught to me, but my moshing days are long behind me!
The last band we wanted to see this night were the New York Dolls; now although I've read plenty about them, and have seen countless bands who cited them as an influence, I'd never seen this band before nor was I particularly well-up on their material. Not that it mattered, since they looked and sounded exactly like I expected, with the frilly shirts, the hats, the posing and pouting from vocalist David Johansen and the sleazy guitar riffs from Sylvain Sylvain and Steve Conte all making up the complete trash rock experience. They managed somehow to show both how much they influenced subsequent bands and also display their own influences; you could see where Hanoi Rocks nicked their look and sound from straight off (notwithstanding the fact that one-time Hanoi bassist Sami Yaffa is now a fully-fledged Doll himself!) and you could also see how much a certain M. Jagger had influenced the stage act of Johansen. Whether or not you consider it a proper revival, considering there are more Dolls pushing up the daisies than there are kicking out the jams these days, it was an entertaining hour of sleaze from the originators (or at least two of them!)
I was ready to call it a night after the Dolls had finished, but once again there was another act to come and close out the night: Lauren Harris was last act up for this year's event. I've seen her before and was surprised when the lads I was with thought they would at least check her out, despite the fact all they knew about her was that her dad is in a very famous Metal band (!). Anyway I elected to take a 'comfort break' at that point, when I came back, she had started her set and the two guys immediately saw me and shouted 'Let's go!!' - with that we made a sharp exit!
It's fair to say I'm not a fan of Ms Harris's singing and, having sat through an entire set of hers once while she opened for another favourite band of mine, I was all too willing to make tracks.
So that was my Hard Rock Hell for 2009, given that I didn't stay on site I cannot comment on the accommodation facilites (which have been slated in some quarters!) but, when you hold a rock festival at an old-fashioned holiday camp straight out of 'Hi-de-Hi', and in the depths of Winter too, you're not gonna please everyone. Fortunately for me the site is reasonably close by and so despite that, I hope they have it here again in 2010 with more great bands!
*North Wales!
As I was being driven this time (I drove the night before) we'd arranged to meet up early evening. As we were coming from different places, it would have been difficult to get there during the day. Anyway, by the time we got to the resort and headed back to the main stage, we caught the end of Rogue Male's set. Based on the one song I heard (Crazy Motorcycle) it sounded loud, proud and ultra-heavy! They're a band I only gave fleeting attention to back in the 1980s but this rendition kicked ass! We then decamped to the second stage in order to catch a few numbers from another 80s band, Demon. They had a pretty dismal crowd for their set, to be honest, as they ran through their old back catalogue including 'Night Of The Demon' and 'The Plague'. A little unfair, as they were giving a decent account of themselves, but their set clashed with that of W.A.S.P. over on the main stage. So we left them after three numbers, and found the floor at the main stage completely and utterly packed out! It seemed like the entire HRH crowd had decided to come over for Blackie and his crew's set, so we were obliged to watch from the sides where the merchandise stalls were and see as best as we could. Considering only Blackie Lawless himself is left from the 80s band, that has to be considered a personal triumph for the W.A.S.P. mainman. They played plenty of the old favourites including 'L.O.V.E. Machine' and 'Blind In Texas' alongside some newer songs, and although only one of the band was an original it really felt like 1986 all over again. They played great, went down a storm and probably were the talking point of the entire weekend. Superb.
Queensryche were the designated 'headline' act for the night and were up next on stage, but once W.A.S.P. had finished there was a total exodus from the main hall. Before they came on we decided to see what was going on over on the second stage, and caught the last number from Onslaught. That also took me back, but high-speed thrash long since lost its appeal to me and we quickly headed back for the Seattle prog-metallers. We had little trouble finding a nice spot in the crowd this time and we settled back as the intro tape began... then stopped again. The start was plagued by a technical problem which caused guitarist Michael Wilton to emerge, then scuttle back off stage again while they sorted it out.
After a short delay they started up again and this time all was well. They played very well, and singer Geoff Tate gave arguably the vocal performance of the entire event, but after the W.A.S.P. set they had a tough act to follow. Their more cerebral brand of rock was probably best suited to either a later slot or a different night after the pure bombast from Lawless and co. Although the vocalist declared early on he'd keep chat to a minimum, as they had a lot to get through (they played tracks from most recent album 'American Soldier' alongside material from 'Rage For Order' and 'Empire'; significantly no 'Mindcrime' stuff), he did actually talk quite a lot between songs, which didn't go down well with everyone. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt though, since those songs are tough to sing even for a vocalist of his calibre and he probably needed a short breather! They did deliver a good if shortened set, and played with the expected precision but the substantially thinner crowd told its own story: the real headliners played during the previous hour.
Following that set we once again decided to check out the other stage; another thrash act were reliving 1985 as we entered and quickly exited. They sounded almost exactly like Onslaught to me, but my moshing days are long behind me!
The last band we wanted to see this night were the New York Dolls; now although I've read plenty about them, and have seen countless bands who cited them as an influence, I'd never seen this band before nor was I particularly well-up on their material. Not that it mattered, since they looked and sounded exactly like I expected, with the frilly shirts, the hats, the posing and pouting from vocalist David Johansen and the sleazy guitar riffs from Sylvain Sylvain and Steve Conte all making up the complete trash rock experience. They managed somehow to show both how much they influenced subsequent bands and also display their own influences; you could see where Hanoi Rocks nicked their look and sound from straight off (notwithstanding the fact that one-time Hanoi bassist Sami Yaffa is now a fully-fledged Doll himself!) and you could also see how much a certain M. Jagger had influenced the stage act of Johansen. Whether or not you consider it a proper revival, considering there are more Dolls pushing up the daisies than there are kicking out the jams these days, it was an entertaining hour of sleaze from the originators (or at least two of them!)
I was ready to call it a night after the Dolls had finished, but once again there was another act to come and close out the night: Lauren Harris was last act up for this year's event. I've seen her before and was surprised when the lads I was with thought they would at least check her out, despite the fact all they knew about her was that her dad is in a very famous Metal band (!). Anyway I elected to take a 'comfort break' at that point, when I came back, she had started her set and the two guys immediately saw me and shouted 'Let's go!!' - with that we made a sharp exit!
It's fair to say I'm not a fan of Ms Harris's singing and, having sat through an entire set of hers once while she opened for another favourite band of mine, I was all too willing to make tracks.
So that was my Hard Rock Hell for 2009, given that I didn't stay on site I cannot comment on the accommodation facilites (which have been slated in some quarters!) but, when you hold a rock festival at an old-fashioned holiday camp straight out of 'Hi-de-Hi', and in the depths of Winter too, you're not gonna please everyone. Fortunately for me the site is reasonably close by and so despite that, I hope they have it here again in 2010 with more great bands!
*North Wales!
Sunday, 6 December 2009
Caught Live: Hard Rock Hell (Friday) - Pontin's Prestatyn 4/12/09
For the second year running my luck was in for this event, held at a holiday centre in North Wales, not too far from Ronsterland. Last year I got to see Black Label Society (plus Clutch and others) thanks to some connections
and this year, a friend of mine won tickets to the 2009 renewal.
So it was that we headed over to Prestatyn late Friday afternoon; we were unable to leave sooner owing to commitments and we got to the main stage to find Gun already on and playing. (We'd missed Logan, unfortunately, and had no hope of catching Voodoo Johnson as I might have liked, so you'll both just have to come back to Liverpool!)
I've never seen Gun before but have seen their new singer Toby Jepson on numerous occasions; it did sometimes feel a bit like Little Angels but Toby is a fine frontman and has been accepted warmly by Gun's fans. Being an Englishman fronting a Scottish band, that in itself is worth a pat on the back (!). A pleasant hour reliving Gun's hits, then, ending of course with 'Word Up'. Quite what that song's writer (Larry Blackmon, of Cameo) may think of his song being played at a Hard Rock event, one can only guess at, but here, it was delivered well, and Toby sounded close to original vocalist Mark Rankin.
A quick 'fred durst' later, we were back in the crowd for what we thought would be Terrorvision. Instead, what looked like Steel Panther's dads emerged - I failed to recognise any of them at first and it was only when I heard the song that I twigged: it was Ratt next on the bill, not Terrorvision! A closer look at the line-up revealed former Quiet Riot guitarist Carlos Cavazo in place of the late Robbin Crosby, and as it had been 23 years since last I saw this band I had few expectations. However, I really enjoyed them! Admittedly Pearcy's vocal is not the best, (then again he never has claimed to be a Dio) but they delivered a short set full of their favourite old songs, mostly from the 'Out of the Cellar' and 'Invasion of your Privacy' albums from their mid-80s glory days. Guitarist Warren deMartini still sounds fluid and they went down very well with the crowd, probably all of whom still have the vinyl LPs in their attics (!)
A pleasant surprise, then and upon double-checking the programme, Terrorvision would follow Ratt (or should that be 'Quiet Ratt'?)
When they came out, I was surprised to see them dressed in suits (apart from drummer Shutty) - Tony Wright was looking very resplendent, as was bassist Leigh Marklew. Guitarist Mark Yates held up the rock look though, wearing suit trousers and a waistcoat with no shirt, showing numerous tattoos! The band ran through all their 90s favourites, yes, that included 'Tequila' (but played properly with the guitars intact - yah boo sucks to Zoe Ball! ) Their set was a short snappy party, Wright was unable to keep still all night, bounding around the stage with commendable energy for a forty-something! They've split and come back a few times now, if they're still capable of this kind of performance they ought to stick around a little longer this time.
Next up were the headliners and a band I'd been looking forward to seeing: Monster Magnet. I've been a fan of these 90s stoners for years but have only seen them live once before, and this promised to be a highlight of the weekend. I got a shock at the sight of vocalist Dave Wyndorf when he came onstage though; he's now a Monster by nature as well as by name! The formerly slim figure has been replaced by a seriously chubby Dave; not so much Stoner rock as 16-Stoner rock!
That said, having been through all manner of drug addictions in the past, if his present addiction is just pies, that is probably the least of his troubles! The band were still awesome, still weighty (in the right sense of the word!) and still produce a 70s-style, satisfyingly sludgy Metal sound that nobody else seems to do any more. They did a long set including an encore with (by my reckoning) 4 songs, so we got the full value here. I'd love to see more from the Magnet, even if Dave stops at every branch of Waterfield's in the UK along the way!!
The crowd had evaporated after the headliners' set, but they were not the last band on. Hard Rock Hell has an unusual setup where they have another band afterward, and this slot was given to Sonata Arctica. I'd actually planned to go to one of their other gigs during this brief UK stop but as I'll be at the second night of Hard Rock Hell instead now, that will have to be postponed. I've seen the Finnish band several times now and thoroughly enjoyed them each time; and I was really looking forward to this especially as they now have a new album out: 'The Days of Grays'. I had managed to grab a spot on the barrier for this set as many of the crowd had left, so I was in a prime spot. They delivered a typically energetic and technically excellent performance, with the expected great playing from guitarist Elias 'E.Vil' Viljanen and keyboard player Henrik Klingenberg. The sound wasn't the best from my spot though, the drums tended to dominate. My only real problem with the set was that it was just too short! They played four songs from the new album, with the only oldies being '8th Commandment', 'Full Moon', 'In Black and White' and 'Don't Say A Word' (with 'Vodka' ending). With it being such a short set I'd have liked one or two more old songs, but I got the impression the band thought that as they were not so well known to this crowd, they may as well play their new stuff as it would all be unfamiliar to the crowd.
Judging from the between-song chat from vocalist Tony Kakko, that seemed to be the case. I still enjoyed it, but it just was not enough for me and I hope that they return to the UK in 2010 for some more dates.
So that was the first night of Hard Rock Hell; a report on the second night will follow, if I can remember it!
and this year, a friend of mine won tickets to the 2009 renewal.
So it was that we headed over to Prestatyn late Friday afternoon; we were unable to leave sooner owing to commitments and we got to the main stage to find Gun already on and playing. (We'd missed Logan, unfortunately, and had no hope of catching Voodoo Johnson as I might have liked, so you'll both just have to come back to Liverpool!)
I've never seen Gun before but have seen their new singer Toby Jepson on numerous occasions; it did sometimes feel a bit like Little Angels but Toby is a fine frontman and has been accepted warmly by Gun's fans. Being an Englishman fronting a Scottish band, that in itself is worth a pat on the back (!). A pleasant hour reliving Gun's hits, then, ending of course with 'Word Up'. Quite what that song's writer (Larry Blackmon, of Cameo) may think of his song being played at a Hard Rock event, one can only guess at, but here, it was delivered well, and Toby sounded close to original vocalist Mark Rankin.
A quick 'fred durst' later, we were back in the crowd for what we thought would be Terrorvision. Instead, what looked like Steel Panther's dads emerged - I failed to recognise any of them at first and it was only when I heard the song that I twigged: it was Ratt next on the bill, not Terrorvision! A closer look at the line-up revealed former Quiet Riot guitarist Carlos Cavazo in place of the late Robbin Crosby, and as it had been 23 years since last I saw this band I had few expectations. However, I really enjoyed them! Admittedly Pearcy's vocal is not the best, (then again he never has claimed to be a Dio) but they delivered a short set full of their favourite old songs, mostly from the 'Out of the Cellar' and 'Invasion of your Privacy' albums from their mid-80s glory days. Guitarist Warren deMartini still sounds fluid and they went down very well with the crowd, probably all of whom still have the vinyl LPs in their attics (!)
A pleasant surprise, then and upon double-checking the programme, Terrorvision would follow Ratt (or should that be 'Quiet Ratt'?)
When they came out, I was surprised to see them dressed in suits (apart from drummer Shutty) - Tony Wright was looking very resplendent, as was bassist Leigh Marklew. Guitarist Mark Yates held up the rock look though, wearing suit trousers and a waistcoat with no shirt, showing numerous tattoos! The band ran through all their 90s favourites, yes, that included 'Tequila' (but played properly with the guitars intact - yah boo sucks to Zoe Ball! ) Their set was a short snappy party, Wright was unable to keep still all night, bounding around the stage with commendable energy for a forty-something! They've split and come back a few times now, if they're still capable of this kind of performance they ought to stick around a little longer this time.
Next up were the headliners and a band I'd been looking forward to seeing: Monster Magnet. I've been a fan of these 90s stoners for years but have only seen them live once before, and this promised to be a highlight of the weekend. I got a shock at the sight of vocalist Dave Wyndorf when he came onstage though; he's now a Monster by nature as well as by name! The formerly slim figure has been replaced by a seriously chubby Dave; not so much Stoner rock as 16-Stoner rock!
That said, having been through all manner of drug addictions in the past, if his present addiction is just pies, that is probably the least of his troubles! The band were still awesome, still weighty (in the right sense of the word!) and still produce a 70s-style, satisfyingly sludgy Metal sound that nobody else seems to do any more. They did a long set including an encore with (by my reckoning) 4 songs, so we got the full value here. I'd love to see more from the Magnet, even if Dave stops at every branch of Waterfield's in the UK along the way!!
The crowd had evaporated after the headliners' set, but they were not the last band on. Hard Rock Hell has an unusual setup where they have another band afterward, and this slot was given to Sonata Arctica. I'd actually planned to go to one of their other gigs during this brief UK stop but as I'll be at the second night of Hard Rock Hell instead now, that will have to be postponed. I've seen the Finnish band several times now and thoroughly enjoyed them each time; and I was really looking forward to this especially as they now have a new album out: 'The Days of Grays'. I had managed to grab a spot on the barrier for this set as many of the crowd had left, so I was in a prime spot. They delivered a typically energetic and technically excellent performance, with the expected great playing from guitarist Elias 'E.Vil' Viljanen and keyboard player Henrik Klingenberg. The sound wasn't the best from my spot though, the drums tended to dominate. My only real problem with the set was that it was just too short! They played four songs from the new album, with the only oldies being '8th Commandment', 'Full Moon', 'In Black and White' and 'Don't Say A Word' (with 'Vodka' ending). With it being such a short set I'd have liked one or two more old songs, but I got the impression the band thought that as they were not so well known to this crowd, they may as well play their new stuff as it would all be unfamiliar to the crowd.
Judging from the between-song chat from vocalist Tony Kakko, that seemed to be the case. I still enjoyed it, but it just was not enough for me and I hope that they return to the UK in 2010 for some more dates.
So that was the first night of Hard Rock Hell; a report on the second night will follow, if I can remember it!
Friday, 30 October 2009
Caught Live: Magnum - O2 Academy, Liverpool 29 October 2009
Another midweek night, another gig from a veteran band. This time it was melodic rock survivors Magnum who pitched up at Liverpool's O2 Academy, and it was a substantially different gig experience to the Y&T one of two nights earlier. For one thing, the turnout was only OK - they used the larger upstairs room, but to be honest this crowd could probably have fitted in the downstairs part without too much trouble. A far cry from their arena-headlining days of the late 1980s, but full marks for perservering long after the musical trend shifted away from their style of rock.
However the band have a lot of kit and so the bigger stage did suit them. I only got in around 15 minutes before they were due on, but had no problem finding a nice spot in the middle.
The other thing about this gig was the fact that Magnum chose to play a lot of songs from their new album 'Into The Valley of the Moonking'. It's not a CD I have got hold of yet, and so I was unfamiliar with much of the set played tonight. It seems a brave move from a band with a substantial back catalogue and many classics to choose from, to push their new material so heavily but it does show confidence in what they are doing now, as opposed to what they did 20 years back. In fact, it was at least an hour into the show before I heard anything I recognised, that being 'Les Morts Dansant'.
This did not detract from the band's performance; they still feature three of their classic line-up in keyboard player Mark Stanway, guitarist and songwriter Tony 'No Hat' Clarkin (!) and singer Bob Catley. Now into his 60s, Catley still sounds in good vocal shape and is backed well by bassist Al Barrow. The new songs were well received by those that did show, the crowd once again looked to be full of middle-aged blokes (looks in mirror here!) but there were quite a few women present too, and there were some younger fans in among the oldies (yaaay!) The drum stool is now occupied by everyone's favourite Bald Eagle, Mr Harry James. Harry was in fine form tonight; loud but not overwhelmingly so, he drives this band expertly. Tony Clarkin, although the creative force in the band, prefers to leave the spotlight with the singer; never looking to dominate proceedings with long solos, he always plays for the song.
The crowd really roared their appreciation once the band dipped into their oldies; 'Les Morts Dansant' was enthusiastically cheered and set closer 'Vigilante' ensured they left with loud roars ringing in their ears. Despite leaving out many of their favourites, such as 'The Spirit', 'Soldier of the Line' and 'Sacred Hour' they still delivered an entertaining set. As said earlier it was a brave move to do that and probably one that will irk some of their more long-term fans, but hats off (sorry Tony!) to them for taking the gamble.
However the band have a lot of kit and so the bigger stage did suit them. I only got in around 15 minutes before they were due on, but had no problem finding a nice spot in the middle.
The other thing about this gig was the fact that Magnum chose to play a lot of songs from their new album 'Into The Valley of the Moonking'. It's not a CD I have got hold of yet, and so I was unfamiliar with much of the set played tonight. It seems a brave move from a band with a substantial back catalogue and many classics to choose from, to push their new material so heavily but it does show confidence in what they are doing now, as opposed to what they did 20 years back. In fact, it was at least an hour into the show before I heard anything I recognised, that being 'Les Morts Dansant'.
This did not detract from the band's performance; they still feature three of their classic line-up in keyboard player Mark Stanway, guitarist and songwriter Tony 'No Hat' Clarkin (!) and singer Bob Catley. Now into his 60s, Catley still sounds in good vocal shape and is backed well by bassist Al Barrow. The new songs were well received by those that did show, the crowd once again looked to be full of middle-aged blokes (looks in mirror here!) but there were quite a few women present too, and there were some younger fans in among the oldies (yaaay!) The drum stool is now occupied by everyone's favourite Bald Eagle, Mr Harry James. Harry was in fine form tonight; loud but not overwhelmingly so, he drives this band expertly. Tony Clarkin, although the creative force in the band, prefers to leave the spotlight with the singer; never looking to dominate proceedings with long solos, he always plays for the song.
The crowd really roared their appreciation once the band dipped into their oldies; 'Les Morts Dansant' was enthusiastically cheered and set closer 'Vigilante' ensured they left with loud roars ringing in their ears. Despite leaving out many of their favourites, such as 'The Spirit', 'Soldier of the Line' and 'Sacred Hour' they still delivered an entertaining set. As said earlier it was a brave move to do that and probably one that will irk some of their more long-term fans, but hats off (sorry Tony!) to them for taking the gamble.
Wednesday, 28 October 2009
Caught Live: Y&T - Academy 3, Manchester 27 October 2009
Another gig that I left up until the last moment before deciding to attend, and I cut it rather fine when getting in to find the guys on and playing. As they were due on at 9pm and I had only got into the venue a few minutes later, I guess I didn't miss too much.
There must have been a substantial 'walk-up' crowd this night, since I was able to get a ticket on the door but once inside I found a very full Academy 3. Admittedly this is the smallest of the venues at Manchester University but still, a very good turnout for a midweek gig as acknowledged by singer/guitarist Dave Meniketti. Of the current line-up I recognised only him and bassist Phil Kennemore from their glory days of the 1980s; I've not really stayed up to date with this band and in fact this was only the third time I'd seen them at all, the first being an appearance at the 1984 Donington festival.
Despite that however, I knew almost all the songs played in the set. They'd obviously decided to concentrate on the fan favourites, and so the set was heavily weighted in favour of material from their early 80s heyday. So we got all the classics, including 'Dirty Girl', 'Mean Streak', 'Barroom Boogie', 'Hurricane' and an excellent 'I Believe In You', allowing Meniketti to showcase his more bluesy guitar style. Their only UK hit 'Summertime Girls' was delivered mid-set also; I know they had to play it but even so, it invokes uncomfortable memories of Jonathan King and his 'Entertainment USA' programme from the 80s (!)
Dave Meniketti impressed with some sublime guitar playing; he mainly sets his guitar to kill but when he chooses to, he can play with real subtlety and feel. His voice held up pretty well too considering he told the crowd he'd been hit by a bug just days before. He handled most of the lead playing but was backed well by fellow guitarist John Nymann, who did occasionally get a chance to show his own leads (unlike the Joey Alves days, who preferred to concentrate purely on rhythm)
Late in the set, bassist Phil Kennemore was given the microphone to perform 'Squeeze' from the classic 'Earthshaker' album; he and Meniketti were lauded with football-style chants but Phil chose to get the crowd to chant back 'F**k You Phil' – that, he explained, was because while on tour, he missed hearing that from his wife (!) There was a brief drum solo from Mike Vanderhule during this song but by the time it came, most of what we had come to hear had been played so it was not too intrusive.
There was not much in the way of stage banter from the frontman, the guys had a lot to get through and just got on with it. Consequently it sometimes came over more like a pub gig, but nobody came to hear Dave Lee Roth-style joking around. However, one request from the crowd to play 'Lipstick and Leather' was granted; they had obviously not rehearsed it and just about managed to busk their way through it, to big cheers.
The main set ended with 'Forever' before they came back to do just the one song as an encore, what else could it be but 'Rescue Me'. The night ended with Kennemore getting the crowd to chant 'F**k You Phil' some more, much to his amusement!
All in all then, an excellent gig; a throwback to the days when Metal was allowed to have melody and musicianship. The operative word being 'throwback'; that was the only thing that left a slight downer with me. The audience tonight was almost exclusively male 30/40-somethings, apart from one or two who were there with their fathers there were absolutely no younger fans that I could see. I cannot complain about the set being full of songs that are at least 25 years old either, since they all hold up extremely well and will probably still sound good in another 25 years (will we still be saying that about the latest hotshots... draw your own conclusions!) but, this show was definitely preaching to the converted. Maybe it's just me, but I really think bands such as this shouldn't be reliant on a fanbase that is ageing with them, they should be attracting new ones to go with the existing fans. I suppose you have to be a really massive name like AC/DC or even Whitesnake to do that but, if this kind of music is not attracting younger fans to rock then I dread to think how the scene is going to look in years to come. Surely it can't be as bad as the dark days of nu-metal... can it?!?
Wednesday, 21 October 2009
Caught Live: Black Stone Cherry (with Loaded) Apollo Theatre, Manchester 20 October 2009
I ummed and ahhed about going to this gig up to the last moment; the venue is not my favourite in the country (not even my favourite in Manchester; the Academy is a far better place since its recent revamp) but as it's been a while since my last 'proper' gig and as I'm currently not able to get to as many as I might like, the decision was taken to check this show out.
I got there in plenty of time to catch Loaded, and a decent-sized crowd was already standing in the stalls awaiting Duff and his crew. 22 years ago I saw Duff McKagan play this same place with Guns 'n' Roses when their star was very much in the ascendancy. Only last year, he was in Liverpool with this band and went down a storm with a small crowd, who had come mainly to see the big name. However this time around his band had a much harder job with the crowd, despite Duff's status he had his work cut out to get anything going beyond the first dozen rows. The band's set was mostly the same sort of punk 'n' roll delivered last year, but there were some songs which slowed things down a bit. That was probably not a great idea when supporting; with a limited time you have to keep it short and sharp, and hit hard. It was when they did the harder songs, including covers such as 'Attitude', 'New Rose' and even set closing treat 'It's So Easy' that they went down best. So not quite the stormer they played last year, but I did note the great performance of drummer Isaac Carpenter, and was especially impressed with bassist Jeff Rouse, he possesses a better singing voice than the main man and was given a chance to show it just before the end.
Up to now I've only seen Black Stone Cherry as support for bigger bands; they got their break last year as openers on the Whitesnake/Def Leppard arena tour and it's clear from the turnout tonight (a close-on full Apollo) that they've won a lot of friends since then. When I first saw them last year I wrote in an earlier blog that they were 'solid but unspectacular'. That's still the impression they leave me with now; all the ingredients are there, a great singer in Chris Robertson, energetic sidemen in guitarist Ben Wells and bassist Jon Lawhon (they never stood still all night, frequently swapping sides and climbing the monitors) and a sound drummer in John Fred Young. They also have some good songs to back all this activity up, but something for me doesn't quite hit the mark, they don't send the shivers down the spine, they don't leave me walking out of the venue in a near-trance, blown away by what I've just seen. That is not to say they were bad; not at all, they were very good live, they make all the right moves and they say all the right things. They just don't seem to be quite matching up to the status they now find themselves in, headlining large theatres like the Apollo.
Perhaps Black Stone Cherry are just one of those bands you have to stick with and watch them grow into their role; or perhaps it's simply me who doesn't get it. There were certainly enough there who did, Robertson was often able to leave the singing to the crowd and most notably so on the poignant 'The Things My Father Said'. But for me, although those ingredients are in place, the cake isn't quite fully baked, they're not yet the finished article.
One last thing; the sound in the theatre once again did neither band any favours; the bass was so loud especially during the headline set that I'm still buzzing from it now! As said at the top, this place is not my favourite venue and I don't make a habit of going there these days. Just a shame so many acts choose it! Perhaps if they had played the Academy I may have enjoyed it more, but as it was, the air guitar remained in its case.
Saturday, 12 September 2009
Caught Live: Livewire (AC/DC tribute) with Limehouse Lizzy, o2 Academy Liverpool 11 Sept 2009
It was through every fault of my own, but I got there when Limehouse were already on, and they had played over half their set already! The gig was held in the larger upstairs part of the venue, which surprised me but it seems that Limehouse had brought along a large following of their own. Although a tribute to Thin Lizzy, they're highly regarded in their own right and these days have a totally professional setup, with a large illuminated sign just like the one Phil and his mates had. They play supremely well too, you really can close your eyes and imagine the dulcet Dublin tones of Philo, although when vocalist Wayne Ellis does talk, it is in flat Lancastrian vowels!
The Limehouse lads were roared off stage and almost immediately cheered back on it again, overruning their alloted hour to play an encore of 'Whiskey In The Jar'. Despite missing over half the set, I enjoyed what I saw immensely. It's not the first time I've seen the boys and it certainly won't be the last, their incessant touring has brought them many friends.
They were quick in setting up the stage for Livewire, the AC/DC tribute band and with hardly a fanfare, they ran on stage. Opening with 'Shot Down in Flames', they ran through a repertoire of Scott-era material. Their vocalist dressed as Bon right down to the cutoff denims; he didn't have the menacing presence or charm of the genuine article, then again who has? He did sing the material pretty well, though and his 'Angus' was suitably energetic on stage. 'Angus' did look a bit like (local indie hero) Julian Cope though!
After around 40 minutes of classic 'DC, the vocalist departed, and the bells rang out to signal 'Hells Bells'. I expected him to make a quick wardrobe change here, but when the song struck up, we were greeted by a new vocalist! Dressed almost exactly like Brian Johnson, and sounding like he did almost 30 years ago too, he made a great impression performing 'Beano'-era songs. We even got two 'Black Ice' tracks ('War Machine' and 'Rock and Roll Train') I actually enjoyed this part of the show more; replicating an iconic figure such as Bon Scott is a near-impossible job but taking off the more down-to earth Johnson sat better with me, and his vocals were very close to the real thing. They were a little pushed for time tonight, and so the cannons which were sat atop the amps remained unused. They did fit in as much as they could, closing with 'Bon' returning to play 'Whole Lotta Rosie' before being joined by 'Brian' for a duet version of 'Let There Be Rock'. That in itself, was a surreal spectacle!
As I say, they did play well, and went down great with a crowd hungry for classic 'DC. However, having seen the real thing only a few months earlier, this was always gonna fall short. Their 'Malcolm' was struggling to make his rhythm guitar heard, which didn't help the band's sound. The drummer was a bit too hard-hitting for me too, not quite that metronomic beat of the great Phil Rudd. But these are relatively minor gripes, basically they came to play 'DC songs to an appreciative audience and in the main did a fine job.
On an entirely unrelated note, I noticed on the way out that Airbourne are coming to play this venue again next year... must get a ticket for that!
The Limehouse lads were roared off stage and almost immediately cheered back on it again, overruning their alloted hour to play an encore of 'Whiskey In The Jar'. Despite missing over half the set, I enjoyed what I saw immensely. It's not the first time I've seen the boys and it certainly won't be the last, their incessant touring has brought them many friends.
They were quick in setting up the stage for Livewire, the AC/DC tribute band and with hardly a fanfare, they ran on stage. Opening with 'Shot Down in Flames', they ran through a repertoire of Scott-era material. Their vocalist dressed as Bon right down to the cutoff denims; he didn't have the menacing presence or charm of the genuine article, then again who has? He did sing the material pretty well, though and his 'Angus' was suitably energetic on stage. 'Angus' did look a bit like (local indie hero) Julian Cope though!
After around 40 minutes of classic 'DC, the vocalist departed, and the bells rang out to signal 'Hells Bells'. I expected him to make a quick wardrobe change here, but when the song struck up, we were greeted by a new vocalist! Dressed almost exactly like Brian Johnson, and sounding like he did almost 30 years ago too, he made a great impression performing 'Beano'-era songs. We even got two 'Black Ice' tracks ('War Machine' and 'Rock and Roll Train') I actually enjoyed this part of the show more; replicating an iconic figure such as Bon Scott is a near-impossible job but taking off the more down-to earth Johnson sat better with me, and his vocals were very close to the real thing. They were a little pushed for time tonight, and so the cannons which were sat atop the amps remained unused. They did fit in as much as they could, closing with 'Bon' returning to play 'Whole Lotta Rosie' before being joined by 'Brian' for a duet version of 'Let There Be Rock'. That in itself, was a surreal spectacle!
As I say, they did play well, and went down great with a crowd hungry for classic 'DC. However, having seen the real thing only a few months earlier, this was always gonna fall short. Their 'Malcolm' was struggling to make his rhythm guitar heard, which didn't help the band's sound. The drummer was a bit too hard-hitting for me too, not quite that metronomic beat of the great Phil Rudd. But these are relatively minor gripes, basically they came to play 'DC songs to an appreciative audience and in the main did a fine job.
On an entirely unrelated note, I noticed on the way out that Airbourne are coming to play this venue again next year... must get a ticket for that!
Thursday, 3 September 2009
Mathew Street Festival 2009 - the rains came!
August Bank Holiday weekend came around again, and that means it's time to close off the roads in Liverpool City Centre, set up some stages, get some bands in, and enjoy the music! It's the 'Mathew Street Festival' in name only these days, as there is live music happening across the city centre during the event, not just in that one street. The 2007 debacle is now a distant memory, with a full line-up of bands scheduled to play across town at both the outdoor stages and the many indoor venues. A new element to this year's event was a 'fringe' festival, which aimed to showcase unsigned local acts, and this came about as a consequence
of the cancellation of two years ago. The local clubs are now as much a part of the event as the outdoor stages, and the area around Mathew Street itself. With so much going on, you have to plan out what to see, which I did by looking at the site www.mathewstreetfestival.org and scanning through the line-up.
The outdoor stages were all themed; that is to say the acts playing on each stage were dedicated to either a specific music genre, or Beatle-related, or simply country-related (one of the stages was devoted to Irish rock, for example). Having seen what was on offer on the Sunday, I decided to head for the main stage (situated close to the old Mersey Tunnel entrance - it HAD been closed off!) which was given over to classic rock. All the bands were tributes to classic acts, and I arrived at around midday to find a band calling themselves Free's Company entertaining an already large crowd.
They dressed as Free circa 1971, but played both classic Free and Bad Company songs (hence the name!) Their singer was good, but no Rodgers. He actually sounded more like the Black Crowes' Chris Robinson to these ears, but it mattered little to a crowd hell bent on enjoying a day of music. Of course, the dilemma for a band like that is, if they DID actually find a guy who could emulate the great Paul Rodgers, you can bet that fella wouldn't be playing in a tribute band for long! It was cloudy when the band finished (with 'All Right Now', of course) but there were plenty of people with brollies, anticipating the worst.
Next band up were Guns 2 Roses, a tribute act I've seen twice before at this festival. They'd made a few changes since last year; most noticeable was a new 'Slash', but they also had a new drummer (local guy from Crosby, according to 'Axl') and had dispensed with their guy dressed as 'The Joker' on keyboards, in favour of a more conventional ivory-tinkler. They once again turned up right on cue (not at all like the real band!) and gave their all with an energetic set. They included three covers, all of which were done by the real GnR ('Live and Let Die', 'Knocking on Heaven's Door' and 'Attitude') and pleased the crowd with the (cleaner!) songs from 'Appetite for Destruction' too.
By this time, the rain had started to come down, we were all hoping it was just a passing shower but once the next band up came on stage (Led Zed), that shower simply refused to pass us by! As the rain got heavier, brollies popped up and t-shirts were getting saturated, not to mention cameras which remained in cases (!) I was hoping to stick around and watch the last band 'Dios Salve a la Reina' (a Queen tribute act who are regulars at the event) but by the time Led Zed had worked their way through the classic Zep numbers, I was so drenched I had to get out of the crowd and call it a day. I couldn't see a thing apart from umbrellas and raindrops, which were all over my specs! So after hearing a fine rendition of 'Stairway to Heaven' from the act, I headed for shelter, changed my T-shirt and dashed back to the Pugmobile.
On the Monday the weather had improved a little, there were even patches of sun! The plan for this day was to visit two of the other stages; the main stage which I was at the day before was now given over to 'contemporary' acts (which included an Amy Winehouse tribute, called 'Amy Wynehouse'!). So instead, I headed to the stage sited near the Superlambbanana, dedicated to Irish rock music. First band up were 'Dizzy Lizzy', fronted by a middle-aged bloke from the Midlands known only as 'H', and dressed as Phil Lynott circa 1980.
They were very good in their alloted 45 minutes; where Lizzy tributes are concerned I'm a dedicated Limehouse fan but these guys gave us a sterling performance, running through as many of Philo's favourites as they could fit in. 'H' had the Lynott moves down pat, throwing all the shapes and pumping the fist to the crowd, all the time wearing a large smile. They told the crowd present they would be back in the area soon, appearing in St Helens. I was impressed enough by the guys to make a note of that and will definitely check them out again. After they finished, it was a dash across town, mindful of the army of hi-visibility jackets stationed along the streets who seem to enjoy telling people where they can and cannot go (a rant for another blog!) and I arrived at the Williamson Square stage about 1/2 a mile away in time for 'Cheap Purple'. This stage was dedicated to the memory of the late Phil Easton, a local radio presenter who hosted a rock programme on Liverpool's local station for many years ('The Great Easton Express'). The acts featured were all tributes to bands Phil championed in those days (but later in the day the headline act on that stage was China Crisis - the actual band!)
Cheap Purple was made up of veteran local players; I immediately recognised the singer as being the same bloke who fronted 'Led Zed' the day before (!) but he actually resembled Gillan more than Plant. There was a genuine link to Gillan/Purple in this band; bassist Keith Mulholland did play in Ian Gillan's side project 'Garth Rockett and the Moonshiners' in the late 80s, which was something Phil Easton had a hand in assembling. Another familiar face in this band was Dave Goldberg, regular keyboard player with Rumours of Fleetwood Mac. The band played Mk 2 material almost exclusively, apart from 'Hush' and went down well. They lost accuracy points for me though, not because of their playing (they didn't try to look like the band, or aim for the same sound, but did play the lead solos close to how they were on record) but, because their guitar player did not throw one tantrum throughout the set! You got the impression this band were assembled just for the day, but they did play well.
Next up on the Phil Easton stage was a Bowie tribute, 'The Bowie Experience' from Dorset. I've seen 'Jean Genie' play this festival on several occasions previously and enjoyed it each time, so I was looking forward to this. Their 'David' was indeed a Thin White Duke, hardly a pick on him, and was dressed in a tattered-looking Union Flag coat. His band were the classic power trio, no keyboards and no frills but they did feature a female bassist. They weren't afraid to rearrange some of the Bowie classics to suit the basic band setup, and their short set of the rock chameleon's classic material went over well with a substantial crowd. Another tribute worth a look if they're in your area.
I then headed straight back to the Superlambbanana stage, for what was my last band of the day. Sinnerboy, a Rory Gallagher tribute, were up on this stage next. These were not the same guys who played last year's festival, but were very enjoyable indeed. Their guitarist bears no resemblance whatsoever to Rory Gallagher, I was trying to think wh
o he did remind me of (an actor, I think!) but the name escapes me. However, he both played and sang extremely well. He's ably backed by his bassist (who did remind me of someone - the late George Best!) and drummer, and this was a great power trio delivering a fitting tribute to one of the most revered guitarists of the 1970s. I'm not that knowledgeable about Rory Gallagher despite having once seen him live, but was extremely impressed by Sinnerboy. They plugged an upcoming Cavern show featuring themselves and other Gallagher tributes, that promises to be an excellent night. By this stage my back was shouting obscenities at me (I find it tough to stand for long periods without sitting down for a while, or moving around) and so I called it a day after Sinnerboy. Before heading back to the Pugmobile I took the chance to take a few snaps of the crowd at the main stage, where 'Amy Wynehouse' was entertaining what looked like a completely rammed crowd. I could only hear her, not see her, but she did sound accurate and of course, she turned up on time!
So that was my experience of this year's Mathew Street Festival. I only got to experience a small portion of what was on offer, but you cannot possibly take it all in. Maybe next year I'll try and catch some unsigned acts, back and legs permitting!
If anyone is interested in coming next year, it's held over the August Bank Holiday weekend and - the important point here - it's totally FREE to attend! They do try hard to provide something for everyone, so whether you're a Beatle freak, a rocker, a pop fan or even a country lover, you'll find something to your taste.
Band Links:
Dizzy Lizzy
The Bowie Experience
Sinnerboy
Guns 2 Roses
of the cancellation of two years ago. The local clubs are now as much a part of the event as the outdoor stages, and the area around Mathew Street itself. With so much going on, you have to plan out what to see, which I did by looking at the site www.mathewstreetfestival.org and scanning through the line-up.
The outdoor stages were all themed; that is to say the acts playing on each stage were dedicated to either a specific music genre, or Beatle-related, or simply country-related (one of the stages was devoted to Irish rock, for example). Having seen what was on offer on the Sunday, I decided to head for the main stage (situated close to the old Mersey Tunnel entrance - it HAD been closed off!) which was given over to classic rock. All the bands were tributes to classic acts, and I arrived at around midday to find a band calling themselves Free's Company entertaining an already large crowd.They dressed as Free circa 1971, but played both classic Free and Bad Company songs (hence the name!) Their singer was good, but no Rodgers. He actually sounded more like the Black Crowes' Chris Robinson to these ears, but it mattered little to a crowd hell bent on enjoying a day of music. Of course, the dilemma for a band like that is, if they DID actually find a guy who could emulate the great Paul Rodgers, you can bet that fella wouldn't be playing in a tribute band for long! It was cloudy when the band finished (with 'All Right Now', of course) but there were plenty of people with brollies, anticipating the worst.
Next band up were Guns 2 Roses, a tribute act I've seen twice before at this festival. They'd made a few changes since last year; most noticeable was a new 'Slash', but they also had a new drummer (local guy from Crosby, according to 'Axl') and had dispensed with their guy dressed as 'The Joker' on keyboards, in favour of a more conventional ivory-tinkler. They once again turned up right on cue (not at all like the real band!) and gave their all with an energetic set. They included three covers, all of which were done by the real GnR ('Live and Let Die', 'Knocking on Heaven's Door' and 'Attitude') and pleased the crowd with the (cleaner!) songs from 'Appetite for Destruction' too.By this time, the rain had started to come down, we were all hoping it was just a passing shower but once the next band up came on stage (Led Zed), that shower simply refused to pass us by! As the rain got heavier, brollies popped up and t-shirts were getting saturated, not to mention cameras which remained in cases (!) I was hoping to stick around and watch the last band 'Dios Salve a la Reina' (a Queen tribute act who are regulars at the event) but by the time Led Zed had worked their way through the classic Zep numbers, I was so drenched I had to get out of the crowd and call it a day. I couldn't see a thing apart from umbrellas and raindrops, which were all over my specs! So after hearing a fine rendition of 'Stairway to Heaven' from the act, I headed for shelter, changed my T-shirt and dashed back to the Pugmobile.
On the Monday the weather had improved a little, there were even patches of sun! The plan for this day was to visit two of the other stages; the main stage which I was at the day before was now given over to 'contemporary' acts (which included an Amy Winehouse tribute, called 'Amy Wynehouse'!). So instead, I headed to the stage sited near the Superlambbanana, dedicated to Irish rock music. First band up were 'Dizzy Lizzy', fronted by a middle-aged bloke from the Midlands known only as 'H', and dressed as Phil Lynott circa 1980.
They were very good in their alloted 45 minutes; where Lizzy tributes are concerned I'm a dedicated Limehouse fan but these guys gave us a sterling performance, running through as many of Philo's favourites as they could fit in. 'H' had the Lynott moves down pat, throwing all the shapes and pumping the fist to the crowd, all the time wearing a large smile. They told the crowd present they would be back in the area soon, appearing in St Helens. I was impressed enough by the guys to make a note of that and will definitely check them out again. After they finished, it was a dash across town, mindful of the army of hi-visibility jackets stationed along the streets who seem to enjoy telling people where they can and cannot go (a rant for another blog!) and I arrived at the Williamson Square stage about 1/2 a mile away in time for 'Cheap Purple'. This stage was dedicated to the memory of the late Phil Easton, a local radio presenter who hosted a rock programme on Liverpool's local station for many years ('The Great Easton Express'). The acts featured were all tributes to bands Phil championed in those days (but later in the day the headline act on that stage was China Crisis - the actual band!)Cheap Purple was made up of veteran local players; I immediately recognised the singer as being the same bloke who fronted 'Led Zed' the day before (!) but he actually resembled Gillan more than Plant. There was a genuine link to Gillan/Purple in this band; bassist Keith Mulholland did play in Ian Gillan's side project 'Garth Rockett and the Moonshiners' in the late 80s, which was something Phil Easton had a hand in assembling. Another familiar face in this band was Dave Goldberg, regular keyboard player with Rumours of Fleetwood Mac. The band played Mk 2 material almost exclusively, apart from 'Hush' and went down well. They lost accuracy points for me though, not because of their playing (they didn't try to look like the band, or aim for the same sound, but did play the lead solos close to how they were on record) but, because their guitar player did not throw one tantrum throughout the set! You got the impression this band were assembled just for the day, but they did play well.
Next up on the Phil Easton stage was a Bowie tribute, 'The Bowie Experience' from Dorset. I've seen 'Jean Genie' play this festival on several occasions previously and enjoyed it each time, so I was looking forward to this. Their 'David' was indeed a Thin White Duke, hardly a pick on him, and was dressed in a tattered-looking Union Flag coat. His band were the classic power trio, no keyboards and no frills but they did feature a female bassist. They weren't afraid to rearrange some of the Bowie classics to suit the basic band setup, and their short set of the rock chameleon's classic material went over well with a substantial crowd. Another tribute worth a look if they're in your area.I then headed straight back to the Superlambbanana stage, for what was my last band of the day. Sinnerboy, a Rory Gallagher tribute, were up on this stage next. These were not the same guys who played last year's festival, but were very enjoyable indeed. Their guitarist bears no resemblance whatsoever to Rory Gallagher, I was trying to think wh
o he did remind me of (an actor, I think!) but the name escapes me. However, he both played and sang extremely well. He's ably backed by his bassist (who did remind me of someone - the late George Best!) and drummer, and this was a great power trio delivering a fitting tribute to one of the most revered guitarists of the 1970s. I'm not that knowledgeable about Rory Gallagher despite having once seen him live, but was extremely impressed by Sinnerboy. They plugged an upcoming Cavern show featuring themselves and other Gallagher tributes, that promises to be an excellent night. By this stage my back was shouting obscenities at me (I find it tough to stand for long periods without sitting down for a while, or moving around) and so I called it a day after Sinnerboy. Before heading back to the Pugmobile I took the chance to take a few snaps of the crowd at the main stage, where 'Amy Wynehouse' was entertaining what looked like a completely rammed crowd. I could only hear her, not see her, but she did sound accurate and of course, she turned up on time!
So that was my experience of this year's Mathew Street Festival. I only got to experience a small portion of what was on offer, but you cannot possibly take it all in. Maybe next year I'll try and catch some unsigned acts, back and legs permitting!If anyone is interested in coming next year, it's held over the August Bank Holiday weekend and - the important point here - it's totally FREE to attend! They do try hard to provide something for everyone, so whether you're a Beatle freak, a rocker, a pop fan or even a country lover, you'll find something to your taste.
Band Links:
Dizzy Lizzy
The Bowie Experience
Sinnerboy
Guns 2 Roses
Tuesday, 18 August 2009
Caught Live: Pearl Jam, MEN Arena Manchester 17 August 2009
If you've seen the Simpsons episode 'Homerpalooza' you'll relate to Homer when he realises that he is no longer young and trendy as far as music is concerned. (Not that he ever was, but in his mind he felt so, until brutally informed otherwise by Bart.)
My own Homer moment came in early 1992; I remember flicking through the TV channels late one night and caught this band playing live in the studio, for a BBC arts programme. The band were Pearl Jam, and I'd never heard of them before. Their performance (of the song 'Alive' as I later learned) was excellent, it reminded me of the days of 'The Old Grey Whistle Test'. Having been suitably impressed, I soon found out via the next week's issue of 'Kerrang' mag (when it was still worth buying) that the band were playing UK dates, and that they would appear at Manchester's International 2. Shortly after that, I went along to the show, expecting it to be a low-key affair. Of course the place was completely packed that night, and I suddenly realised that this
'obscure' band I'd never heard of were actually rather popular! At that moment, I realised I wasn't 'with it' any more (not that *I* ever was really, but even so, where rock was concerned, it was obvious things had moved on and I'd missed it).
That was then and now, Pearl Jam have emerged as the sole survivors of that scene, coming through everything which has come since and are now regarded as a 'classic' band themselves. That show at the International 2 was the only time I saw them up
until 2000, by which time they were arena-status. Fast forward another nine years, and we are back at the MEN Arena for the band's return, one of only two arena dates in Britain. I must own up to not having really kept up with the band's output in that
time so I had little clue of what was to be played. They came on at around 8:50, and the packed crowd (they were even seated in the sections that reach BEHIND the stage, there must have been around 18000 in the arena) erupted. Opening track 'Long Road' was a Springsteen-esque anthem, but the harder stuff soon followed. Although they went down very well, I thought the band blew hot and cold during the main set. They were playing to a massive, packed arena but at times they did not project themselves; just five fairly anonymous figures on a big stage (six, if you count the Jon Lord lookalike who was on occasional keyboards!)
I was reasonably close, but having experienced that place from the very back, it is easy to feel disconnected from the stage action. You have to involve the crowd, even using the big lights to illuminate the stands helps. That was something they only
did in the encores; the band eschew big stage sets or other gimmicks but when in a venue this size, you really need some way to connect with the fans in the upper tiers. I didn't feel they did that enough, it was as though they were still at the International 2. The first bit of showmanship they produced was during 'Even Flow' when guitarist Mike McCready played an extended lead solo with the guitar behind his back. That was something, but it took until well into the set to even give that. Vocalist Eddie Vedder was static on the stage for much of the show, he only ventured to the edges later on.
Towards the end of the main set, things picked up, even shrugging off a messed-up song intro ('This is only our fourth gig as a band!' - Vedder) and a storming 'Rearviewmirror' ended the main set. They came back to play not one, but TWO encores (something else which is far from 'alternative'!) and in the first, played 'Alive'. The second encore saw bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard swap instruments, and also included a cover of The Who's 'The Real Me' (also covered by W.A.S.P. once - teehee!) before they went over curfew, playing the final song 'Indifference' while the house lights were up!
Overall, although it ended triumphantly and they DID play well, it was at times lumpen, the set meandered in the middle. In fact, they sounded quite like the Kings of Leon (who Vedder plugged by wearing their T-shirt). They should play more to their strengths and acknowledge they're an arena band, they've been around long enough now to cast off that 'alternative' cloak.
Support came from Southport indie scenesters Gomez, I'd never seen these before and knew only one song beforehand. After their set, I still feel I need only 'Whippin' Piccadilly' from them. They CAN rock out, their best asset is guitarist Ben Ottewell, who is also a great singer - he possesses a really rich throaty voice. But their set came over as trying too hard to be unconventional, to be different. It does not work in an arena, just plug in and rock out! There was one song where the drummer came out from behind the kit, he and guitarist/vocalist Ian Ball appeared to be wielding iPhones while a weird assortment of sounds raged. To be honest, they were going down like a lead balloon until they played 'Whippin' Piccadilly' which brought about a mass sing-song. That literally saved their set, the rest was almost instantly forgettable. They have three members who split the vocals, but they should put Ottewell more to the fore, he is far and away their best singer. Perhaps their quirky approach would work in a smaller venue, but here, in this cavernous bowl, it fell flat.
Pearl Jam Set list (taken from www.pearljam.com):
My own Homer moment came in early 1992; I remember flicking through the TV channels late one night and caught this band playing live in the studio, for a BBC arts programme. The band were Pearl Jam, and I'd never heard of them before. Their performance (of the song 'Alive' as I later learned) was excellent, it reminded me of the days of 'The Old Grey Whistle Test'. Having been suitably impressed, I soon found out via the next week's issue of 'Kerrang' mag (when it was still worth buying) that the band were playing UK dates, and that they would appear at Manchester's International 2. Shortly after that, I went along to the show, expecting it to be a low-key affair. Of course the place was completely packed that night, and I suddenly realised that this
'obscure' band I'd never heard of were actually rather popular! At that moment, I realised I wasn't 'with it' any more (not that *I* ever was really, but even so, where rock was concerned, it was obvious things had moved on and I'd missed it).
That was then and now, Pearl Jam have emerged as the sole survivors of that scene, coming through everything which has come since and are now regarded as a 'classic' band themselves. That show at the International 2 was the only time I saw them up
until 2000, by which time they were arena-status. Fast forward another nine years, and we are back at the MEN Arena for the band's return, one of only two arena dates in Britain. I must own up to not having really kept up with the band's output in that
time so I had little clue of what was to be played. They came on at around 8:50, and the packed crowd (they were even seated in the sections that reach BEHIND the stage, there must have been around 18000 in the arena) erupted. Opening track 'Long Road' was a Springsteen-esque anthem, but the harder stuff soon followed. Although they went down very well, I thought the band blew hot and cold during the main set. They were playing to a massive, packed arena but at times they did not project themselves; just five fairly anonymous figures on a big stage (six, if you count the Jon Lord lookalike who was on occasional keyboards!)
I was reasonably close, but having experienced that place from the very back, it is easy to feel disconnected from the stage action. You have to involve the crowd, even using the big lights to illuminate the stands helps. That was something they onlydid in the encores; the band eschew big stage sets or other gimmicks but when in a venue this size, you really need some way to connect with the fans in the upper tiers. I didn't feel they did that enough, it was as though they were still at the International 2. The first bit of showmanship they produced was during 'Even Flow' when guitarist Mike McCready played an extended lead solo with the guitar behind his back. That was something, but it took until well into the set to even give that. Vocalist Eddie Vedder was static on the stage for much of the show, he only ventured to the edges later on.
Towards the end of the main set, things picked up, even shrugging off a messed-up song intro ('This is only our fourth gig as a band!' - Vedder) and a storming 'Rearviewmirror' ended the main set. They came back to play not one, but TWO encores (something else which is far from 'alternative'!) and in the first, played 'Alive'. The second encore saw bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard swap instruments, and also included a cover of The Who's 'The Real Me' (also covered by W.A.S.P. once - teehee!) before they went over curfew, playing the final song 'Indifference' while the house lights were up!
Overall, although it ended triumphantly and they DID play well, it was at times lumpen, the set meandered in the middle. In fact, they sounded quite like the Kings of Leon (who Vedder plugged by wearing their T-shirt). They should play more to their strengths and acknowledge they're an arena band, they've been around long enough now to cast off that 'alternative' cloak.
Support came from Southport indie scenesters Gomez, I'd never seen these before and knew only one song beforehand. After their set, I still feel I need only 'Whippin' Piccadilly' from them. They CAN rock out, their best asset is guitarist Ben Ottewell, who is also a great singer - he possesses a really rich throaty voice. But their set came over as trying too hard to be unconventional, to be different. It does not work in an arena, just plug in and rock out! There was one song where the drummer came out from behind the kit, he and guitarist/vocalist Ian Ball appeared to be wielding iPhones while a weird assortment of sounds raged. To be honest, they were going down like a lead balloon until they played 'Whippin' Piccadilly' which brought about a mass sing-song. That literally saved their set, the rest was almost instantly forgettable. They have three members who split the vocals, but they should put Ottewell more to the fore, he is far and away their best singer. Perhaps their quirky approach would work in a smaller venue, but here, in this cavernous bowl, it fell flat.Pearl Jam Set list (taken from www.pearljam.com):
- Long Road
- Last Exit
- Why Go
- All Night
- The Fixer
- Low Light
- In Hiding
- World Wide Suicide
- Not For You(Modern Girl)
- Even Flow
- Present Tense
- Save You
- Grievance
- Sleight Of Hand
- Got Some
- Given To Fly
- Rearviewmirror
- Go
- Daughter
- Do The Evolution
- Alive
- Smile
- Black
- Leash
- The Real Me
- Indifference
Thursday, 6 August 2009
Caught Live: Lacuna Coil, Barfly, Liverpool 1 August 2009
I only found out about this show a few days ago, when flicking through a copy of Kerplunk! rag in the local Asda (not gonna buy the thing, not when the only thing worth bothering with IS the gig guide!) The Italian metallers were here as part of a short series of low-key dates; usually they're seen in larger venues such as the Manchester Apollo, so it was a pleasant surprise to see such a band in a small venue at this end of the East Lancs.
I was later than intended getting to the venue, by the time I'd finished all my chores for the day and had my tea, it was already 8pm. So it was a dash into town with the Pugmobile, and I was almost there when I ran slap bang into a parade that was passing through at the exact moment I got to the junction. Two minutes earlier and I'd have missed it, as it was I was stuck while a procession of dubiously-dressed characters (slowly) made their way past. I was conscious of the time ticking on as this seemingly endless parade sauntered its way across my intended route, so I decided just to forget it and do a quick U-turn. It wasn't quite as quick as I'd hoped, since by this stage traffic had built up behind me and almost everyone else had the same idea! By the time I'd worked my way around the parade and rolling roadblocks, it was close on 9pm. I parked up and hurried through the streets to the Barfly, entering the venue to find it already very full. I'd no sooner got myself a halfway-decent spot, than the band hit the stage.
I'll be honest here; I'm not very well up on this band at all. When Evanescence broke big some years ago, this was one of the bands they were compared to and it was easy to see why when watching this gig. Their material does sound somewhat 'nu'; lead solos are at a premium and most songs are built on rhythmic drum beats. Of course nobody was here for guitar shredding; they were here for lead singer Cristina Scabbia. Undisputably the star of this band, she sounded in great voice live; she elevates this band almost single-handedly to something far above the alt-metal norm. The packed crowd were in her command throughout, though co-vocalist Andrea Ferro played his part in getting the crowd involved it was Scabbia who held the attention. They played for just over an hour, and at the end Ferro probably hacked off half the crowd when he held up a Liverpool FC scarf over his head, but there was little dissent. The band were very well received by the Barfly crowd.
All things considered, it was a good night, with the rare opportunity to see a 'name' band play a small club gig. I wasn't totally convinced by the out-front sound, the guitars were audible but not exactly prominent, but on hearing that voice you can forgive almost anything. They left promising to play a full UK tour next year with the complete production; it is unlikely to be at the Barfly but at least they made the effort to come to our city on this occasion.
Saturday, 4 July 2009
Caught Live: Thunder, Manchester Academy 1, July 3 2009
A week has passed since the enforced cancellation of a high-profile series of farewell concerts from one of the world's biggest stars, but scheduled for around the same time (and with a lot less hype) was this farewell tour from Thunder, one of Britain's best-loved rock bands. Fortunately all five guys were present and correct to be able to play this tour, and the Manchester Academy was packed out on this very hot summer night. Thunder announced they were to call it a day (for the second, and presumably now, final time) at around the start of the year, causing much disappointment to their loyal band of followers. After my own initial disappointment at the news, I dealt with it by regarding everything they did since 2002 (when they came back from an earlier split) as a bonus, and figuring that after 20 years as a band, they really do not owe us any more. So it was with calm acceptance that I booked tickets for this tour, and given that my own circumstances have changed substantially since then also, I can sort of understand where the band are coming from.
The audience in the Academy were out to have themselves a great time, the atmosphere was charged from first minute to last and when the band emerged (led by bassist Chris Childs) the newly-refurbished venue was in danger of needing another new roof. The set was substantially different to their previous visit only last Autumn, this time they rolled out many of their best-loved songs from across their back catalogue, rather than pushing the 'Bang!' album as they did last year. Surprisingly, it took until relatively late in the set before we got anything from their legendary first album; the fact that this did not affect their reception one jot shows the strength of the band's material. They could play for about four hours and still leave out somebody's favourite song, they have so many good ones. Once again it was singer Danny Bowes who conducted matters supremely well, he could come on and recite the telephone directory and still be cheered to the rafters! He sang well, as always, but to me not quite at the level he was last year, when he was in spine-tingling form. This time he was at around 80% but even at this level he is still a cut above many other rock singers. He will be a massive loss to the scene. The set seemed to be chosen with a party in mind, there was little respite in the form of ballads and instead it was mostly uptempo stuff delivered. My only real quibble was the out-front sound, I was dead centre about 30 metres off the front in a prime position, but even I found it LOUD in this fairly large hall. At times the sound simply bludgeoned the ears, it could have done with being a little less intense I thought, and I'm not having that I'm getting too old for all this (!) - it really was a bit heavy. The sound out front was almost matched by the audience noise however, they were really up for this and even Danny Bowes was forced to concede it was louder than Glasgow the night before!
Support came from the increasingly-popular Scottish band Logan; the venue was filling nicely as they played, and it was gratifying to see them get a good reception from Thunder's infamously partisan crowd. Vocalist Kenny Collins managed to squeeze in a slagging for Kerrang! magazine, winning some loud cheers (including one from your correspondent) - but it was their playing and especially the vocalist's performance, which won over the crowd. The guys are going places, whatever Kerrang! might think!
Good though Logan were, tonight was all about Thunder. Despite the sheer volume, this was a triumphant night, and definitely they are going out with the BANG! suggested by their last album. The rock scene will be the poorer for their demise, but they have given us a whole lot of studio and live material to enjoy in years to come.
Set list:
Loser
Dirty Dream
On The Radio
Low Life in High Places
Somebody Get Me A Spin Doctor
Empty City
The Devil Made Me Do It
Love Worth Dying for
River Of Pain
Just Another Suicide (You Wanna Know)
Love Walked In
I Love You More Than Rock 'n' Roll
______
A Better Man
An Englishman on Holiday
Dirty Love
The audience in the Academy were out to have themselves a great time, the atmosphere was charged from first minute to last and when the band emerged (led by bassist Chris Childs) the newly-refurbished venue was in danger of needing another new roof. The set was substantially different to their previous visit only last Autumn, this time they rolled out many of their best-loved songs from across their back catalogue, rather than pushing the 'Bang!' album as they did last year. Surprisingly, it took until relatively late in the set before we got anything from their legendary first album; the fact that this did not affect their reception one jot shows the strength of the band's material. They could play for about four hours and still leave out somebody's favourite song, they have so many good ones. Once again it was singer Danny Bowes who conducted matters supremely well, he could come on and recite the telephone directory and still be cheered to the rafters! He sang well, as always, but to me not quite at the level he was last year, when he was in spine-tingling form. This time he was at around 80% but even at this level he is still a cut above many other rock singers. He will be a massive loss to the scene. The set seemed to be chosen with a party in mind, there was little respite in the form of ballads and instead it was mostly uptempo stuff delivered. My only real quibble was the out-front sound, I was dead centre about 30 metres off the front in a prime position, but even I found it LOUD in this fairly large hall. At times the sound simply bludgeoned the ears, it could have done with being a little less intense I thought, and I'm not having that I'm getting too old for all this (!) - it really was a bit heavy. The sound out front was almost matched by the audience noise however, they were really up for this and even Danny Bowes was forced to concede it was louder than Glasgow the night before!
Support came from the increasingly-popular Scottish band Logan; the venue was filling nicely as they played, and it was gratifying to see them get a good reception from Thunder's infamously partisan crowd. Vocalist Kenny Collins managed to squeeze in a slagging for Kerrang! magazine, winning some loud cheers (including one from your correspondent) - but it was their playing and especially the vocalist's performance, which won over the crowd. The guys are going places, whatever Kerrang! might think!
Good though Logan were, tonight was all about Thunder. Despite the sheer volume, this was a triumphant night, and definitely they are going out with the BANG! suggested by their last album. The rock scene will be the poorer for their demise, but they have given us a whole lot of studio and live material to enjoy in years to come.
Set list:
Loser
Dirty Dream
On The Radio
Low Life in High Places
Somebody Get Me A Spin Doctor
Empty City
The Devil Made Me Do It
Love Worth Dying for
River Of Pain
Just Another Suicide (You Wanna Know)
Love Walked In
I Love You More Than Rock 'n' Roll
______
A Better Man
An Englishman on Holiday
Dirty Love
Saturday, 23 May 2009
Caught Live: Nickelback, MEN Arena Manchester 22 May 2009
Way back at around the start of this decade, you could not switch on your radio or put a music TV channel on, without hearing 'How You Remind Me', which introduced Canadian hard rockers Nickelback to the UK. It got pushed initially on Kerrang TV, before being picked up by many other outlets. I've often felt it's that which has caused the negative press the band has suffered here; that instead of them being played on 'rock' outlets and only being known to the 'Kerrang crowd', they broke free and crossed over, where their song instantly connected with a different audience. An older one. Once they were accepted by the 'older' crowd, the backlash began in earnest. Kerrang (the magazine) infamously branded singer Chad Kroeger a 'c**t' for having a heckler ejected from a show, something which caused resentment with the band, and only served to help Kerrang! paint them as 'uncool', in the process turning their backs on a band which their own channel broke over here. The further success of 'Rock Star', another song which lodged in the public mind for many months, did little to change that perception as once again, one of their songs crossed over and achieved mainstream success.
No doubt to the irritation of Kerrang!, and the rest of the UK press, Nickelback have achieved big, and consistent success in the years since. Their latest tour sees them once again hit British arenas, less than a year since last they played here. Clearly they're doing something right, as a large crowd showed at the MEN. They didn't sell it out, but made a good fist of it, with only the upper tier at the very back unused. Watching this band perform, I could find little evidence of 'c**t-ish' behaviour from the frontman, instead I saw a consummate professional easily take command of a big crowd, and connect with them as though it were a club gig. I was impressed with his live vocal, no croaking and no straining at the seams, although he is well backed by guitarist Ryan Peake and drummer Daniel Adair.
They performed a set packed with singalong rock anthems, some semi-acoustic of the type that made them famous, others all-out Metal. Not being that familiar with the band's work myself, it was slightly surprising to hear them really rock out, but they do so with style and can kick ass with the very best of them. Their stage show skimped on absolutely nothing; all the lights you want, pyro and fireworks of the sort not seen since Rammstein last came to town, an elevated platform for the drummer to perform his solo (yes, they do a drum solo!) and the obligatory stage ramp extending deep into the arena floor. Only when the band came to the front of this ramp did they reveal a second drum kit which was hidden underneath, and a section of the ramp turned over with the kit in place! They even brought out their crew, armed with air cannons with which to shoot T-shirts into the crowd! Those things were incredibly powerful, as the band played, T-shirts flew high into the upper tiers of the arena. I feared a 'Maude Flanders' moment for a while there! Every arena rock cliché in the book was used by Nickelback during this show, but they would not be able to do any of it if they did not have the songs to back it all up. They do, and plenty of them. To my surprise, their two biggest hits 'Rock Star' and 'How You Remind Me' were delivered during the main set, not in the encores. A further example of non-c**tish antics from Chad Kroeger was given when he brought out Chris from openers Black Stone Cherry to play a cover of AC/DC's 'Highway to Hell'.
All in all then, almost the perfect arena show. They put only one foot wrong for me throughout the night, and that was when they played 'If Everyone Cared'. Accompanied by a preachy-looking slide show esposuing the humanitarian work done by the likes of Bono, Mandela and others, it was all a bit U2, a bit CNN, and not really in keeping with the rest of the show, which was pure rock 'n' roll entertainment.
Thankfully it was only for that one song, but that sort of thing is best left to Bono and co. What we hard rockers crave is escapism from the real world! I will forgive their other minor faux-pas, when during 'Photograph', their montage of slides on the video screen featured a girl wearing a 'Sun' t-shirt (but if you ever play the Echo Arena guys, leave that slide out - ta!)
Kerrang! will sneer, but Nickelback didn't get to this status by making their music for critics, and such press bashing didn't stop Queen, it didn't stop Kiss, and it won't stop Nickelback. An excellent show, and a great live band.
No doubt to the irritation of Kerrang!, and the rest of the UK press, Nickelback have achieved big, and consistent success in the years since. Their latest tour sees them once again hit British arenas, less than a year since last they played here. Clearly they're doing something right, as a large crowd showed at the MEN. They didn't sell it out, but made a good fist of it, with only the upper tier at the very back unused. Watching this band perform, I could find little evidence of 'c**t-ish' behaviour from the frontman, instead I saw a consummate professional easily take command of a big crowd, and connect with them as though it were a club gig. I was impressed with his live vocal, no croaking and no straining at the seams, although he is well backed by guitarist Ryan Peake and drummer Daniel Adair.
They performed a set packed with singalong rock anthems, some semi-acoustic of the type that made them famous, others all-out Metal. Not being that familiar with the band's work myself, it was slightly surprising to hear them really rock out, but they do so with style and can kick ass with the very best of them. Their stage show skimped on absolutely nothing; all the lights you want, pyro and fireworks of the sort not seen since Rammstein last came to town, an elevated platform for the drummer to perform his solo (yes, they do a drum solo!) and the obligatory stage ramp extending deep into the arena floor. Only when the band came to the front of this ramp did they reveal a second drum kit which was hidden underneath, and a section of the ramp turned over with the kit in place! They even brought out their crew, armed with air cannons with which to shoot T-shirts into the crowd! Those things were incredibly powerful, as the band played, T-shirts flew high into the upper tiers of the arena. I feared a 'Maude Flanders' moment for a while there! Every arena rock cliché in the book was used by Nickelback during this show, but they would not be able to do any of it if they did not have the songs to back it all up. They do, and plenty of them. To my surprise, their two biggest hits 'Rock Star' and 'How You Remind Me' were delivered during the main set, not in the encores. A further example of non-c**tish antics from Chad Kroeger was given when he brought out Chris from openers Black Stone Cherry to play a cover of AC/DC's 'Highway to Hell'.
All in all then, almost the perfect arena show. They put only one foot wrong for me throughout the night, and that was when they played 'If Everyone Cared'. Accompanied by a preachy-looking slide show esposuing the humanitarian work done by the likes of Bono, Mandela and others, it was all a bit U2, a bit CNN, and not really in keeping with the rest of the show, which was pure rock 'n' roll entertainment.
Thankfully it was only for that one song, but that sort of thing is best left to Bono and co. What we hard rockers crave is escapism from the real world! I will forgive their other minor faux-pas, when during 'Photograph', their montage of slides on the video screen featured a girl wearing a 'Sun' t-shirt (but if you ever play the Echo Arena guys, leave that slide out - ta!)
Kerrang! will sneer, but Nickelback didn't get to this status by making their music for critics, and such press bashing didn't stop Queen, it didn't stop Kiss, and it won't stop Nickelback. An excellent show, and a great live band.
Thursday, 21 May 2009
Caught Live: Stratovarius (& Firewind/Eden's Curse), Manchester Jilly's Rockworld, 19 May 2009
Most bands hate it when they are pigenholed into rigid 'genres' of music; I dare say the bands on tonight are no exception. That said, they are all firmly categorised as 'power metal' and that gives the listener a very good idea of what they will sound like, especially since your correspondent knew little about any of these acts. It mattered not, since the music was exactly what I'd come to hear; soaring vocals, speedy drumming, widdly guitar solos and lots of keyboards in the mix. Power Metal, as a genre, can be traced directly back to the glory days of Rainbow when Blackmore and Dio reigned supreme, so despite not having been well-briefed on any of the bands I expected to enjoy the fare on offer.
I had, however, reckoned without the venue's facilities! It's been a long time since I last visited Rockworld, and I soon remembered why once entering the venue. The view from the main floor is badly obstructed by a large pillar, the stage itself has little elevation, so unless you are Peter Crouch (or better, Reed Richards) you won't see a lot on the stage. In addition to this, when openers Eden's Curse were on, they were themselves cursed by a PA that was doing a passable impression of the Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town (google it, those of you who are not British/under 40 years old!). Every time a bassy bit kicked in... FRRRRPPPPP! It frustrated vocalist Michael Eden to the point where he and the band decided that enough was enough and abruptly ended their set, with an angry broadside at the sound system.
That was a shame, they were playing well and I thought he was a decent singer, when not being thrown off by the flatulent speakers.
Firewind were up next, it did appear that the sound system had improved for their set, but it was still hard to make out vocalist Apollo Papathanasio over the deluge. Once again, they played exactly what I expected, with lots of opportunities to break out the air guitar.
They were also experiencing technical difficulties though, and they also cut their set short. They promised to return soon and play a full show, if that happens let's hope it is at a different venue!
There was a long delay in turning the stage over for the headliners, a cynical observer (raises hand!) might have concluded that the venue management had gone back to Cash Converters to get a refund on their dodgy PA system! They did spend a long time in preparing things, so it was close on 10pm by the time Stratovarius came on the stage. As said at the top of this blog, I know little about the band, other than they feature one-time Yngwie (and Dio) keyboard player Jens Johansson, and that their guitarist and main creative source Timo Tolkki controversially exited the band a few years previously, not only that but he signed over all rights to the band name to the remaining members! To an outsider, that's akin to David Coverdale leaving Whitesnake and telling the other guys to get on with it! Nevertheless, what matters is the band today and so I settled into my spot close to the dreaded pillar, to watch the guys go through their paces.
Vocalist Timo Kotipelto had been suffering from illness during this tour, but sounded in good voice tonight. Not being familiar with their material, I found myself constantly searching for and finding reference points; e.g. the singer's moves were Dio-esque, but bassist Lauri Porra was reminiscent of Iron Maiden's Steve Harris, up at the front of the stage with the singer, getting the crowd going. Jens Johansson looked more like he should be lecturing a class of computer science students at Manchester University, but his playing is a large component of the band's sound. He and guitarist Matias Kupiainen added the 'nerd factor' to the stage, resplendent in their glasses (so speaks a nerd-fan, LOL!). Finland must have a factory somewhere which produces these lightning-fingered shred guitarists, it seems that they can interchange one for another and barely miss an arpeggio! There really does look like there's an endless supply of these guys coming out of the land of a thousand lakes, it's an air guitarist's dream!
The band played for just over an hour, mixing new songs from 'Polaris' with classics, but the only moshpit of the whole night came at the end, when they closed with 'Black Diamond'. I stayed well clear of it, not mixing it with that lot in this place where you're only one slam away from a concrete pillar, not at my age! They went off to big cheers, and as a parting gesture Kotipelto got the crowd to count to four... in Finnish! (I've forgotten the lesson I'm afraid, if any of my Finnish friends are reading!)
All in all a good bill of Power Metal, but I really wish this gig had been held at the Academy 3 in the nearby University. The facilities there are infinitely better, their PA is reliable, and you can see the band from anywhere in the hall. Rockworld is totally inadequate as a music venue, and it does take away the enjoyment of a gig when you can't see properly and worse, suffer a sub-standard sound system. We pay enough to see gigs in this day and age, is it too much to expect we get a decent facility in which to see bands?
As a footnote, I grabbed a quick word with Eden's Curse vocalist Michael Eden while buying his band's CD; he once again apologised for the bad PA and also expressed a wish to play another show soon. Being cheeky, I told him to come to our end of the M62!! ;-)
I do recommend all three bands, but do not recommend Rockworld to see them in!
I had, however, reckoned without the venue's facilities! It's been a long time since I last visited Rockworld, and I soon remembered why once entering the venue. The view from the main floor is badly obstructed by a large pillar, the stage itself has little elevation, so unless you are Peter Crouch (or better, Reed Richards) you won't see a lot on the stage. In addition to this, when openers Eden's Curse were on, they were themselves cursed by a PA that was doing a passable impression of the Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town (google it, those of you who are not British/under 40 years old!). Every time a bassy bit kicked in... FRRRRPPPPP! It frustrated vocalist Michael Eden to the point where he and the band decided that enough was enough and abruptly ended their set, with an angry broadside at the sound system.
That was a shame, they were playing well and I thought he was a decent singer, when not being thrown off by the flatulent speakers.
Firewind were up next, it did appear that the sound system had improved for their set, but it was still hard to make out vocalist Apollo Papathanasio over the deluge. Once again, they played exactly what I expected, with lots of opportunities to break out the air guitar.
They were also experiencing technical difficulties though, and they also cut their set short. They promised to return soon and play a full show, if that happens let's hope it is at a different venue!
There was a long delay in turning the stage over for the headliners, a cynical observer (raises hand!) might have concluded that the venue management had gone back to Cash Converters to get a refund on their dodgy PA system! They did spend a long time in preparing things, so it was close on 10pm by the time Stratovarius came on the stage. As said at the top of this blog, I know little about the band, other than they feature one-time Yngwie (and Dio) keyboard player Jens Johansson, and that their guitarist and main creative source Timo Tolkki controversially exited the band a few years previously, not only that but he signed over all rights to the band name to the remaining members! To an outsider, that's akin to David Coverdale leaving Whitesnake and telling the other guys to get on with it! Nevertheless, what matters is the band today and so I settled into my spot close to the dreaded pillar, to watch the guys go through their paces.
Vocalist Timo Kotipelto had been suffering from illness during this tour, but sounded in good voice tonight. Not being familiar with their material, I found myself constantly searching for and finding reference points; e.g. the singer's moves were Dio-esque, but bassist Lauri Porra was reminiscent of Iron Maiden's Steve Harris, up at the front of the stage with the singer, getting the crowd going. Jens Johansson looked more like he should be lecturing a class of computer science students at Manchester University, but his playing is a large component of the band's sound. He and guitarist Matias Kupiainen added the 'nerd factor' to the stage, resplendent in their glasses (so speaks a nerd-fan, LOL!). Finland must have a factory somewhere which produces these lightning-fingered shred guitarists, it seems that they can interchange one for another and barely miss an arpeggio! There really does look like there's an endless supply of these guys coming out of the land of a thousand lakes, it's an air guitarist's dream!
The band played for just over an hour, mixing new songs from 'Polaris' with classics, but the only moshpit of the whole night came at the end, when they closed with 'Black Diamond'. I stayed well clear of it, not mixing it with that lot in this place where you're only one slam away from a concrete pillar, not at my age! They went off to big cheers, and as a parting gesture Kotipelto got the crowd to count to four... in Finnish! (I've forgotten the lesson I'm afraid, if any of my Finnish friends are reading!)
All in all a good bill of Power Metal, but I really wish this gig had been held at the Academy 3 in the nearby University. The facilities there are infinitely better, their PA is reliable, and you can see the band from anywhere in the hall. Rockworld is totally inadequate as a music venue, and it does take away the enjoyment of a gig when you can't see properly and worse, suffer a sub-standard sound system. We pay enough to see gigs in this day and age, is it too much to expect we get a decent facility in which to see bands?
As a footnote, I grabbed a quick word with Eden's Curse vocalist Michael Eden while buying his band's CD; he once again apologised for the bad PA and also expressed a wish to play another show soon. Being cheeky, I told him to come to our end of the M62!! ;-)
I do recommend all three bands, but do not recommend Rockworld to see them in!
Monday, 4 May 2009
Caught Live: Limehouse Lizzy, St Helens Citadel 1/5/2009
One of the hardest-working acts on the tribute circuit, Limehouse Lizzy never seem to stop touring, bringing the music of the late Phil Lynott's band to fans the length and breadth of the country. It's been a while since I saw them last, so it's about time I did a write-up of one of their gigs! They played at the Citadel, a small theatre in St Helens (traditionally Lancashire, so it's a near-homecoming for Lancastrian frontman Wayne Ellis). The venue is cosy to say the least, a small standing area but with a seated balcony above, it probably holds about 400 people at the most. The evening started with support act Evenhand; just two guys, one on double bass, one singing and playing acoustic guitar. They went over well, and played great, but not really to my taste.
With it being such a small place, it was pretty easy to get right up to the stage. The guys came on and ran through a set of Lizzy favourites and hits, usually they do one or two more obscure numbers but on this occasion it was classics all the way. All played superbly well, although I was never lucky enough to see Thin Lizzy when Phil was around I can understand why so many say it's the next best thing.
Guitarist Greg Alcock nails Robbo's iconic solo in 'Still In Love With You'; frontman Wayne Ellis, although not looking particularly like Lynott, has that same easygoing stage presence. Having seen the 'other' Lizzy fairly recently, and noting that their drummer Tommy Aldridge tended to play so hard that it impacted on the Lizzy music, it is a pleasure to report that Limehouse drummer Andy Fox is more attuned to the true Brian Downey style. It's a far more natural groove. The only non-Lizzy song they do is 'Out In The Fields'; a hit for Gary Moore and Phil Lynott back in the mid-80s. Here, Tim Read sings the Moore parts, although the lead solo is handled by Greg Alcock.
They left to tumultuous cheers, high-fives exchanged between band and audience, although not before Wayne made sure we all remembered why we were here, namechecking 'one of the greatest rock 'n' rollers who ever lived' to another big cheer. Limehouse are doing a cracking job of keeping alive Lynott's music, long may they continue to rock!
Limehouse official site with tour info
Limehouse Lizzy on MySpace
With it being such a small place, it was pretty easy to get right up to the stage. The guys came on and ran through a set of Lizzy favourites and hits, usually they do one or two more obscure numbers but on this occasion it was classics all the way. All played superbly well, although I was never lucky enough to see Thin Lizzy when Phil was around I can understand why so many say it's the next best thing.
Guitarist Greg Alcock nails Robbo's iconic solo in 'Still In Love With You'; frontman Wayne Ellis, although not looking particularly like Lynott, has that same easygoing stage presence. Having seen the 'other' Lizzy fairly recently, and noting that their drummer Tommy Aldridge tended to play so hard that it impacted on the Lizzy music, it is a pleasure to report that Limehouse drummer Andy Fox is more attuned to the true Brian Downey style. It's a far more natural groove. The only non-Lizzy song they do is 'Out In The Fields'; a hit for Gary Moore and Phil Lynott back in the mid-80s. Here, Tim Read sings the Moore parts, although the lead solo is handled by Greg Alcock.
They left to tumultuous cheers, high-fives exchanged between band and audience, although not before Wayne made sure we all remembered why we were here, namechecking 'one of the greatest rock 'n' rollers who ever lived' to another big cheer. Limehouse are doing a cracking job of keeping alive Lynott's music, long may they continue to rock!
Limehouse official site with tour info
Limehouse Lizzy on MySpace
Saturday, 2 May 2009
Caught Live: Heaven's Basement, Liverpool Barfly 30/04/09
I never learn: whenever I go to the Barfly I always get there handy and drive down. I should get the bus, head for The Swan (a well-known real ale pub popular with bikers) and sink a few scoops instead, before heading into the venue. That way, I'd miss the support bands that they always have on, and they are nearly always utter cak! Tonight was no exception, I got in to find a bunch of kids on stage (they called themselves Tied Up - they should be. And shot!), attempting sleaze rock when they can barely string three chords together! They couldn't string much of a lyric together, either. Even an old sleazedog like me cringed in embarrassment at their effort which celebrated the well-endowed woman (chorus went: 'she's got tits, she's got tits, she's got GREAT BIG F**K OFF TITS!'). Have a listen to 'Whole Lotta Rosie' kids, and learn from the master how it should be done.
Mercifully that ended, and before long I had an Ashes To Ashes moment: looking up at the stage I could have sworn it was Vince Neil up there! With a band that all sported haircuts last seen on the Strip circa 1981, it really looked we'd gone back in time. I half-expected Gene Hunt to walk in! They went by the name of Hollywood Tease; although they were a vast improvement on what came before, it still wasn't great. All the right moves were made by 'Vince' and they did, to be fair, get a bit of a crowd going, but it was just clichéd trash rock of the kind that went out with spandex. I feared for the health of their guitarist, I think his instrument weighed more than he did and he looked like a tattooed toothpick! The timewarp only lasted around 30 minutes, before they took their coiffured barnets off the stage to make way for the headliners.
Where most bands endure line-up changes, Heaven's Basement endure name changes! Known previously as Roadstar, and before that Hurricane Party, they have demonstrated commendable resilience in the face of some trying times. Effectively they started over after a managerial split, with a harder-hitting sound and less emphasis on the 'glam rock' image. Tonight they were in great form, I was especially impressed by vocalist Richie Hevanz. He is singing well (ably backed by guitarist Jonny Rocker), and is now a far more accomplished frontman than he was in the Roadstar days. Whereas before, he came across as looking pleased even to be on a stage, he is now more commanding, more assertive, in short he looks the part! The band played a short set of around 45 minutes, during that time they easily won over the small crowd and displayed poise and professionalism, something that only comes with extensive gigging experience.
Heaven's Basement and in particular their singer, are already stars. They just have to show it to everyone else now!
Mercifully that ended, and before long I had an Ashes To Ashes moment: looking up at the stage I could have sworn it was Vince Neil up there! With a band that all sported haircuts last seen on the Strip circa 1981, it really looked we'd gone back in time. I half-expected Gene Hunt to walk in! They went by the name of Hollywood Tease; although they were a vast improvement on what came before, it still wasn't great. All the right moves were made by 'Vince' and they did, to be fair, get a bit of a crowd going, but it was just clichéd trash rock of the kind that went out with spandex. I feared for the health of their guitarist, I think his instrument weighed more than he did and he looked like a tattooed toothpick! The timewarp only lasted around 30 minutes, before they took their coiffured barnets off the stage to make way for the headliners.
Where most bands endure line-up changes, Heaven's Basement endure name changes! Known previously as Roadstar, and before that Hurricane Party, they have demonstrated commendable resilience in the face of some trying times. Effectively they started over after a managerial split, with a harder-hitting sound and less emphasis on the 'glam rock' image. Tonight they were in great form, I was especially impressed by vocalist Richie Hevanz. He is singing well (ably backed by guitarist Jonny Rocker), and is now a far more accomplished frontman than he was in the Roadstar days. Whereas before, he came across as looking pleased even to be on a stage, he is now more commanding, more assertive, in short he looks the part! The band played a short set of around 45 minutes, during that time they easily won over the small crowd and displayed poise and professionalism, something that only comes with extensive gigging experience.
Heaven's Basement and in particular their singer, are already stars. They just have to show it to everyone else now!
Thursday, 23 April 2009
Caught Live: ASIA, New Brighton Floral Pavilion, 22/04/09
Sorry, no pics! In my dash to get out I left the camera at home... doh!
By way of complete contrast to the night before, the four original members of Asia returned to this area, appearing at the newly-rebuilt Floral Pavilion. New Brighton is more associated with sticks of rock than rock legends; the UK tour was dubbed 'A Night At The Theatre' with the band playing all-seater venues. With the venue being so new, I half-expected to have to wipe my feet at the door (!)
Although I've seen this band a few times now, and know that they come on early, I still was caught out by the start. After a quick dash through the Wallasey Tunnel, I got there bang on 8pm. I got in to find them already on and playing the Yes song 'Roundabout'. I reckon I missed about ten minutes of the show then, and as I didn't hear the parp-tastic 'Only Time Will Tell', I'm assuming it came very early in the set! Still, all things considered, I'm not complaining ;-)
I do find seated gigs are harder to get into; I much prefer to stand in a crowd, and it does have a completely different atmosphere. After each song, the guys were given generous applause then it was total silence, as though everyone thought that they had to be on their best behaviour in a posh new theatre! Not quite the rock 'n' roll experience of the previous night's AC/DC gig then, but the sheer quality of the music more than made up for that. The set I saw was a similar structure to that played on last year's tour, broken into two parts with a short intermission. As with last year, the Asia favourites were interspersed with one song from each of the four members' previous bands. There was one surprise when it came to Geoff 'Buggles' Downes's turn; I expected the lamé jacket and shades for 'Video Killed The Radio Star' but instead, they chose to play 'Living In The Plastic Age'. Some songs from the recent 'Phoenix' album were played too, and as ever, both Steve Howe and Carl Palmer were given extended solo spots. One highlight for me was that they chose to play 'Don't Cry' from the 'Alpha' album semi-acoustically, in a format similar to that performed in 2006. I like the 'full' rendition too, but this version does work well live, involving the crowd in the chorus.
When I saw the band last year I raved about their musicianship and the way they seemed to enjoy playing off each other. It was the same this time around, they just belong together on stage. Bassist/vocalist John Wetton looked and sounded in great shape, now totally recovered from his heart scares he is probably playing and singing better than ever.
So, although it could not have been more different a gig experience to the raw AC/DC show of the previous night, it was just as enjoyable.
Another high-quality performance from an excellent band made up of top-drawer musicians, ignore the other high-profile 80s stars who are reforming for one last hurrah and go and see a proper 80s band!
By way of complete contrast to the night before, the four original members of Asia returned to this area, appearing at the newly-rebuilt Floral Pavilion. New Brighton is more associated with sticks of rock than rock legends; the UK tour was dubbed 'A Night At The Theatre' with the band playing all-seater venues. With the venue being so new, I half-expected to have to wipe my feet at the door (!)
Although I've seen this band a few times now, and know that they come on early, I still was caught out by the start. After a quick dash through the Wallasey Tunnel, I got there bang on 8pm. I got in to find them already on and playing the Yes song 'Roundabout'. I reckon I missed about ten minutes of the show then, and as I didn't hear the parp-tastic 'Only Time Will Tell', I'm assuming it came very early in the set! Still, all things considered, I'm not complaining ;-)
I do find seated gigs are harder to get into; I much prefer to stand in a crowd, and it does have a completely different atmosphere. After each song, the guys were given generous applause then it was total silence, as though everyone thought that they had to be on their best behaviour in a posh new theatre! Not quite the rock 'n' roll experience of the previous night's AC/DC gig then, but the sheer quality of the music more than made up for that. The set I saw was a similar structure to that played on last year's tour, broken into two parts with a short intermission. As with last year, the Asia favourites were interspersed with one song from each of the four members' previous bands. There was one surprise when it came to Geoff 'Buggles' Downes's turn; I expected the lamé jacket and shades for 'Video Killed The Radio Star' but instead, they chose to play 'Living In The Plastic Age'. Some songs from the recent 'Phoenix' album were played too, and as ever, both Steve Howe and Carl Palmer were given extended solo spots. One highlight for me was that they chose to play 'Don't Cry' from the 'Alpha' album semi-acoustically, in a format similar to that performed in 2006. I like the 'full' rendition too, but this version does work well live, involving the crowd in the chorus.
When I saw the band last year I raved about their musicianship and the way they seemed to enjoy playing off each other. It was the same this time around, they just belong together on stage. Bassist/vocalist John Wetton looked and sounded in great shape, now totally recovered from his heart scares he is probably playing and singing better than ever.
So, although it could not have been more different a gig experience to the raw AC/DC show of the previous night, it was just as enjoyable.
Another high-quality performance from an excellent band made up of top-drawer musicians, ignore the other high-profile 80s stars who are reforming for one last hurrah and go and see a proper 80s band!
Caught Live: AC/DC, MEN Arena Manchester 21/4/09
In this day and age, a 54-year-old bloke dressed as a schoolboy, doing a striptease, would normally be arrested on the spot.
Not so for Angus Young, whose antics are a regular part of any AC/DC concert along with the Hell's Bell and the cannons, and of course the massively inflated 'Rosie' figure (!)
AC/DC have been away for far too long, and there have been strong hints from 61-year-old vocalist Brian Johnson that he is ready to call it a day. After this terrific show, let's hope he is reconsidering! He was in magnificent form, putting to shame many much younger guys. There was tremendous excitement in the MEN Arena this night, it had been the best part of a decade since last they visited the venue and demand for this show, as with all the others on the tour, far outstripped supply. I was fortunate enough to be able to buy tickets immediately when they went on sale last autumn, so avoided any dealings with scalpers. The atmosphere was charged further with an animated film, showing a 'runaway train' driven by a devilish caricature of Angus, heading at great speed towards the city. It being AC/DC, this film was packed with saucy innuendo which I won't describe here, but wouldn't have been out of place in a Benny Hill sketch (!) The film ended, the screen parted and revealed a large 'locomotive' which served as the main stage prop for the night. Of course, they then opened their show with 'Rock and Roll Train'!
From start to finish there was an atmosphere of celebration in the crowd, the band played a set which included (by my reckoning) FIVE songs from the current album 'Black Ice'; that's unusual for AC/DC who normally play two or three new ones, then pack the set with classics and a few from more recent albums. This time, with the exception of 'Thunderstruck' and finale 'For Those About To Rock', everything else played was from the albums up to and including 'Back In Black'. Even so, with a set so packed with familiar material, they still left out such gems as 'Sin City', 'Bad Boy Boogie' and 'Touch Too Much'. This was probably my only issue with the show, that even approaching two hours, it wasn't long enough! All the usual boxes were ticked, the aforementioned strip from Angus (including flashing the 'AC/DC' emblazoned boxer shorts), the Hells Bell descended from the ceiling for Brian to swing on, the cannons fired, and when it came to 'Whole Lotta Rosie', there she was, larger than life, actually sat astride the 'Rock 'n' Roll Train'! There was an enormous stage ramp for Brian and Angus to run up and down on, the end of which elevated for Angus to do his lying down soloing bit. Needless to say, the other three (rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young, bassist Cliff Williams and drummer Phil Rudd) were stationed at the back 'all night long', providing the solid platform for the two frontmen. The only real evidence of the passing of years was with Cliff Williams, whose long brown hair has now turned completely grey!
All in all, this was an exhibition in how to do an arena rock show. I've seen many bands on the MEN arena stage, and plenty pack the place out, but very few can exhiliarate a crowd so totally the way AC/DC can. They're the ultimate stadium rock act, and it is to be hoped that this is not quite the 'end of the line' for the 'rock & roll train'.
Support was provided by Downpatrick's finest, The Answer. They've done pretty much this whole tour with the Aussie legends, gaining more valuable exposure along the way. They played this show with a stand-in drummer, as regular sticksman James Heatley is sidelined with a tendon injury. Considering that he must have only had a day or so to prepare, he did well. The band only get half an hour and I was just getting started, when they ended their set! The Answer are starting to look more at home in the big venues themselves, with the support slots they've had allied to their strong work ethic, I see no reason why they should not be playing such venues in their own right within a few more years.
Not so for Angus Young, whose antics are a regular part of any AC/DC concert along with the Hell's Bell and the cannons, and of course the massively inflated 'Rosie' figure (!)
AC/DC have been away for far too long, and there have been strong hints from 61-year-old vocalist Brian Johnson that he is ready to call it a day. After this terrific show, let's hope he is reconsidering! He was in magnificent form, putting to shame many much younger guys. There was tremendous excitement in the MEN Arena this night, it had been the best part of a decade since last they visited the venue and demand for this show, as with all the others on the tour, far outstripped supply. I was fortunate enough to be able to buy tickets immediately when they went on sale last autumn, so avoided any dealings with scalpers. The atmosphere was charged further with an animated film, showing a 'runaway train' driven by a devilish caricature of Angus, heading at great speed towards the city. It being AC/DC, this film was packed with saucy innuendo which I won't describe here, but wouldn't have been out of place in a Benny Hill sketch (!) The film ended, the screen parted and revealed a large 'locomotive' which served as the main stage prop for the night. Of course, they then opened their show with 'Rock and Roll Train'!
From start to finish there was an atmosphere of celebration in the crowd, the band played a set which included (by my reckoning) FIVE songs from the current album 'Black Ice'; that's unusual for AC/DC who normally play two or three new ones, then pack the set with classics and a few from more recent albums. This time, with the exception of 'Thunderstruck' and finale 'For Those About To Rock', everything else played was from the albums up to and including 'Back In Black'. Even so, with a set so packed with familiar material, they still left out such gems as 'Sin City', 'Bad Boy Boogie' and 'Touch Too Much'. This was probably my only issue with the show, that even approaching two hours, it wasn't long enough! All the usual boxes were ticked, the aforementioned strip from Angus (including flashing the 'AC/DC' emblazoned boxer shorts), the Hells Bell descended from the ceiling for Brian to swing on, the cannons fired, and when it came to 'Whole Lotta Rosie', there she was, larger than life, actually sat astride the 'Rock 'n' Roll Train'! There was an enormous stage ramp for Brian and Angus to run up and down on, the end of which elevated for Angus to do his lying down soloing bit. Needless to say, the other three (rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young, bassist Cliff Williams and drummer Phil Rudd) were stationed at the back 'all night long', providing the solid platform for the two frontmen. The only real evidence of the passing of years was with Cliff Williams, whose long brown hair has now turned completely grey!
All in all, this was an exhibition in how to do an arena rock show. I've seen many bands on the MEN arena stage, and plenty pack the place out, but very few can exhiliarate a crowd so totally the way AC/DC can. They're the ultimate stadium rock act, and it is to be hoped that this is not quite the 'end of the line' for the 'rock & roll train'.
Support was provided by Downpatrick's finest, The Answer. They've done pretty much this whole tour with the Aussie legends, gaining more valuable exposure along the way. They played this show with a stand-in drummer, as regular sticksman James Heatley is sidelined with a tendon injury. Considering that he must have only had a day or so to prepare, he did well. The band only get half an hour and I was just getting started, when they ended their set! The Answer are starting to look more at home in the big venues themselves, with the support slots they've had allied to their strong work ethic, I see no reason why they should not be playing such venues in their own right within a few more years.
Saturday, 31 January 2009
Caught Live: Status Quo - Blackpool Opera House 29/1/09
In a week when one of the UK's finest rock bands announced that they were to call it a day (Thunder), it's good to see that another veteran British band is still going strong, even after coming back from a retirement of their own - long before Thunder even started!
Quo are part of the furniture; they've been around that long that you see several generations in their audiences, from pensioners to poppets. Admittedly it is the older crowd that is the majority here, so much so that even I felt young at this gig! They play around 200 shows a year still, incredible when you consider that mainmen Rossi and Parfitt must be pushing 60 now, and have a history of rock 'n' roll excess that is up there with the likes of Ozzy! Nowadays totally clean and sober, they're probably playing better than ever. They should be, since they're getting enough practice!
The band came on stage at around 8:30, opening with perennial favourite 'Caroline'. They've changed their ways a lot since I first saw them in the 1980s; time was they would trot out the same set regardless of the album that they were meant to be promoting, now it encompasses almost their entire career. They even do 'Pictures of Matchstick Men' and 'Ice In The Sun'!! They tried to fit in as much as they could during their two hours, that did mean resorting to a lengthy medley of some of their classics but it was a real effort to please as many as possible. Some things don't change though; 'Frame' (Rossi) still has his silly ponytail (cut it before it goes completely, Frame!!) and his onstage banter between songs rambles as wildly as ever! He still can play that Telecaster, though; he's not exactly Jani Liimatainen but is nevertheless very underrated as a guitarist.
It's Parfitt though, who is the heartbeat of the band (term used advisedly given his well-publicised health scares!) It's those hard-charging, driving riffs that make the band still sound surprisingly solid. He is joined on guitar occasionally by keyboard player Andrew Bown, a relative newcomer to the band having joined officially in 1976. When not tinkling the ivories or strumming another Telecaster, he plays harmonica (whatever did happen to Bob Young?
) Matthew Letley does seem to play well within himself though, it's as though he is holding back so as not to overshadow the main men. He does just enough to drive the band along, as though he were driving a classic car but never swamps the sound. Only when he played a short drum solo did he really open his shoulders and cut loose; I'd prefer a little more of that in the set itself personally but I do accept that too much can ruin the live sound. It's just a touch too polite for me!
They finished the main set with 'Rocking All Over the World' (of course) and a short encore included 'Bye Bye Johnny', just as it did in Milton Keynes 25 years (gasp!) ago. All in all it was an entertaining evening, as you'd expect from a band who must be regarded as living legends. I still wish they'd played '4500 times' though!
Status Quo, not just a Great British Institution, but a bloody good live act!
Quo are part of the furniture; they've been around that long that you see several generations in their audiences, from pensioners to poppets. Admittedly it is the older crowd that is the majority here, so much so that even I felt young at this gig! They play around 200 shows a year still, incredible when you consider that mainmen Rossi and Parfitt must be pushing 60 now, and have a history of rock 'n' roll excess that is up there with the likes of Ozzy! Nowadays totally clean and sober, they're probably playing better than ever. They should be, since they're getting enough practice!
The band came on stage at around 8:30, opening with perennial favourite 'Caroline'. They've changed their ways a lot since I first saw them in the 1980s; time was they would trot out the same set regardless of the album that they were meant to be promoting, now it encompasses almost their entire career. They even do 'Pictures of Matchstick Men' and 'Ice In The Sun'!! They tried to fit in as much as they could during their two hours, that did mean resorting to a lengthy medley of some of their classics but it was a real effort to please as many as possible. Some things don't change though; 'Frame' (Rossi) still has his silly ponytail (cut it before it goes completely, Frame!!) and his onstage banter between songs rambles as wildly as ever! He still can play that Telecaster, though; he's not exactly Jani Liimatainen but is nevertheless very underrated as a guitarist.
It's Parfitt though, who is the heartbeat of the band (term used advisedly given his well-publicised health scares!) It's those hard-charging, driving riffs that make the band still sound surprisingly solid. He is joined on guitar occasionally by keyboard player Andrew Bown, a relative newcomer to the band having joined officially in 1976. When not tinkling the ivories or strumming another Telecaster, he plays harmonica (whatever did happen to Bob Young?
) Matthew Letley does seem to play well within himself though, it's as though he is holding back so as not to overshadow the main men. He does just enough to drive the band along, as though he were driving a classic car but never swamps the sound. Only when he played a short drum solo did he really open his shoulders and cut loose; I'd prefer a little more of that in the set itself personally but I do accept that too much can ruin the live sound. It's just a touch too polite for me!They finished the main set with 'Rocking All Over the World' (of course) and a short encore included 'Bye Bye Johnny', just as it did in Milton Keynes 25 years (gasp!) ago. All in all it was an entertaining evening, as you'd expect from a band who must be regarded as living legends. I still wish they'd played '4500 times' though!
Status Quo, not just a Great British Institution, but a bloody good live act!
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