Caught Live: Taking Dawn, Liverpool University Stanley Theatre 6 Feb 2011

The Las Vegas-based rockers have played several support slots in the UK before, most notably when opening for KISS last year, but this is the first headlining tour they've done. This tour sees the introduction of new drummer Carlo Mazzone, who replaced previous skinpounder Alan Doucette late last year.

There was a small but very enthusiastic crowd at the smaller University venue, frontman Chris Babbitt had a very easy job getting the hands clapping and fists pumping. The band stand defiantly for old-school heavy rock; with long straggly hair and dressed in regulation denim cutoffs, from first song to last they set out to blast away the notion that only 'alternative' rock should be listened to. So it was up on the monitors for Babbitt and his cohorts, guitarist Mikey Cross and bassist Andrew Cushing, wielding their guitars like weapons and generally coming across like the bastard sons of Guns 'n' Roses, W.A.S.P. and Skid Row. Their material was traditional heavy metal, bordering on thrash in places, with moshpits a regular occurence. The band seemed pleased with the reception they got, even indulging in a little humour when, just before performing a cover of KISS's 'Black Diamond', they got the bassist to introduce it in the style of Paul Stanley. However, according to the frontman, he sounded more like (South Park's) Mr Hankey!

Not content with merely jumping on the monitors, Babbitt actually abandoned the stage when they played their last number, a gonzoid rendition of Fleetwood Mac's 'The Chain'. Any idea of playing the lead solo went out of the window as he jumped into the crowd, and was lucky still to have his guitar in one piece by the time the song finished! The fast bit was performed essentially as a three-piece; the frontman was so busy being mobbed he couldn't play anything. This band really do not hold back; like Aussie contemporaries Airbourne they are strictly old-school, and that is a welcome sight after years of being force-fed indie and alternative rock. Not that I'm saying all that is bad, it's just that when you've not heard a REAL Heavy Metal band for a long time, you soon realise how much you miss it when one comes along. After their set, they immediately gathered at the merchandise stall (no CD on sale, bummer!) to meet and greet the people they'd just played for. That was a nice touch, all four guys were there as the crowd exited and happily posed for pictures, signed ticket stubs and chatted. It was rude not to have a word, so having spoken briefly to the other guys I got the chance to speak to Chris Babbitt, to say how refreshing it was to have a group like his on the scene again, when all we are usualy subjected to is the aforementioned 'safe' indie music. To my surprise, he told me it was worse in America! To my further surprise, he complimented me on my 'Thunder' T-shirt and praised The Union, the band formed by their former guitarist Luke Morley.

With their incendiary live sound and a great attitude, Taking Dawn will win many friends on this UK tour. Whether or not they can revive the Metal scene and rescue it from sinking deeper into a sea of strictly-defined sub-genres remains to be seen, but they certainly deserve to go a long way. Catch these guys when they come back.

http://www.takingdawn.com
http://www.facebook.com/Takingdawn
http://www.myspace.com/takingdawn

Caught Live: Brit Floyd, Liverpool Echo Arena 22 January 2011

First gig for me this year and it was a freebie! It was because I won tickets from the local newspaper that sponsors this venue that I was at the Echo Arena, for the debut show from the newly-branded 'Brit Floyd'. The name may be new but many of the personnel involved are not; most of the musicans and crew are drawn from the better-known Australian Pink Floyd Show which has been touring the world for several years. The Aussie show is still a going concern and so we now have a situation where there are two large-scale Floyd tributes doing the rounds; indeed the Aussie act is slated to play this same place in two months' time, whereas this act will return in the Summer. Great news if you are a Floyd fan, and there are many of those in this city.

With it being a new project, and because the event was being filmed for a future DVD release, the organisers were keen to encourage people along. As previously mentioned, I was here because of a prize draw and actually only found out the day before the show that I'd won tickets. However the tickets were on general sale for a tempting £10 and, depending on when you booked, you either got the £10 back in the form of discount for the upcoming Summer show, or if you'd already booked for that show then they included a free ticket for this launch show as well. Given the low price for this show you could be forgiven for thinking it was a low-budget affair, but on arriving at the arena gig-goers were confronted with two huge inflatables outside the venue, of the Teacher (from 'Another Brick In The Wall') and a pig, sadly not flying overhead but tethered to the ground. The sight of these giant inflatables suggested we were in for a full-on Floyd live experience. On entering the arena it became clear that the venue has toughened up its policy in line with other arenas - we were searched before entering and also had to get past a sniffer dog! (The dog would only have found a Raisin & Biscuit Milky Bar on me, and he was not getting that!) Given the reputation of Floyd fans for being fond of 'herbal' substances, perhaps we should not have been surprised that the arena went to such lengths. Once inside, I found myself on the arena floor in the standing section. Only about half the capacity was in use this night, and there was plenty of space to stand in and so I chose a spot about halfway back, to get a reasonable view of the musicians and also of the visuals. The show was meant to start at 8pm, but came on about ten minutes past the hour. A huge roar went up as it became apparent that the show would start with 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond', with one of the two guitarists playing a drawn-out introduction to the song. Once the whole band appeared, there were a lot of them! Two keyboard players, two guitarists (one of whom was also sharing lead vocals with the bassist), a drummer and a percussionist/saxophonist, and four female backing singers. Of course there was a large screen overhead showing visuals as the band played. The set was broken up into two parts; they mixed up material from the classic period with later material such as 'Learning To Fly' and 'High Hopes', the latter being accompanied by the original promo video. The rendition was so accurate that you could have been forgiven for thinking you were hearing the record - until you looked away from the video screen and down at the band. Everything was being performed on the stage, right down to the gently-tolling bell that chimes throughout 'High Hopes'. Equally impressive renditions of 'Mother', 'Welcome To The Machine' and the instrumental 'One Of These Days' followed before the first part ended with 'Pigs' - and an inflatable pig duly made its entrance to the left of the stage.

The only real quibble I had during this first part was not with the band; there was a group of lads stood near me who forgot they were at a concert and seemed to think they were in the pub, chattering constantly throughout the set. I fail to see why anyone would take the time and trouble to go and see a band only to pay scant attention to them when they're playing, but clearly their conversation was of paramount importance. So I and my friend moved closer to the stage for the second part of the show to get away from them, hoping there were a few more dedicated fans where we went to. The floor was not jam-packed and so it was no problem to get within a few feet of the front. When the band reappeared they performed 'Echoes' in its entirety, something which went down very well. This part of the show was a real crowd-pleaser; 'Time', 'Wish You Were Here' and 'Money' were just some of the best-loved Floyd songs given an outing here. 'Great Gig In The Sky' was done here, which gave one of the four female singers a chance to do her best Clare Torry impression. The set ended, predictably enough, with 'The Happiest Days of Our Lives/'Another Brick in the Wall Pt 2' (whereupon the second verse of the latter actually had a choir of schoolchildren appear to sing 'We Don't Need No Education'!) and of course 'Comfortably Numb', where the bassist had handed his four-string over to the sax player, and donned a white coat to play the 'doctor'. The solos were split between the guitarists and both gave near note-perfect renditions. That produced huge cheers from the crowd but also a mass exodus; the set ended just after 11pm and many streamed out without waiting for an encore. When they did come back, to perform 'Run Like Hell' (and send out huge black beach-ball things into the crowd) the hall was emptying as people left - presumably to catch trains or buses back home!

Despite the late finish the debut show from this new project was a success; the production was extremely professional, the set ran smoothly, the visuals worked well and the band is obviously made up of excellent, experienced musicians totally familiar with Floyd's work. For a tenner this was a great value night; for nowt it was even better! Brit Floyd's tour proper will commence in April - it calls at many British towns and I recommend checking it out if it's anywhere near you.

Set list:
Shine On You Crazy Diamond 1-5
Learning to Fly
High Hopes
Welcome to the Machine
Mother
One of These Days
Pigs

Echoes
Time
Great Gig in the Sky
Wish You Were Here
Keep Talking
Nobody Home
Us and Them
Money
Happiest Days of Our Lives
Another Brick in the Wall Part 2
Comfortably Numb

Encore:
Run Like Hell

Mathew Street Festival Liverpool 2010

August Bank Holiday rolls around again and here in Liverpool that means the Mathew Street Festival. Seemingly now recovered from the 2007 debacle where the outdoor stages were cancelled at the eleventh hour, this year's event had the streets closed and the six outdoor stages setup on both the Sunday and the Monday. The event has attracted criticism as well as huge crowds, because of the emphasis on tribute bands (it grew from the annual Beatles convention which saw many bands from across the world arrive in Liverpool to play the music of the Fab Four), but this year the organisers have moved to address that by also adding a 'fringe' element showcasing new bands in indoor venues. As well as that they set aside one of the outdoor stages for new or original bands on the Sunday, however the main attraction is that there is something for everyone, and so the traditional line-up of tribute acts drew the large crowds once more. There's so much on that you cannot see it all, and so what I will write about here is the music I got to catch over the two days.

On the Sunday there was a stage devoted to the 1970s; with tributes playing the music of Squeeze, T.Rex, Roxy Music, KISS and even the Bay City Rollers (!) Hotter Than Hell, a European-based KISS tribute played at midday on this stage and drew a decent crowd. They've played this event before and came dressed as 'Love-Gun' era KISS complete with make-up, costumes and axe-shaped bass. Their 'Gene' was almost indistinguishable from the real thing, and they gave a short set even including 80s hits such as 'Lick It Up'. Their 'Paul' sometimes strained to reach the Stanley high notes, but let's be fair - that voice is not easy to pull off! So an entertaining start, even though they didn't have the pyro and effects of a real KISS show, they were fun all the same. However, I still prefer Dressed To Kill! Following that it was a trudge through the crowded streets to the Classic Albums stage; Guns 2 Roses were due on at 1pm and had an expectant crowd (estimated at around 5000) waiting. However they were held up by around 15 minutes (cue jibes at emulating the real Axl a bit TOO much!) and we learned this was because they had been stopped by the police on the motorway heading up to Liverpool! They were literally struggling through the crowds to make it onto the stage and managed to play a shortened set of only about 5 songs. That was a shame they had to shorten it, but it's a tight schedule at this event. We therefore got treated to 'It's So Easy', 'Paradise City', 'Sweet Child Of Mine' and 'Welcome To The Jungle' with hardly any chatter. There was however time for 'Axl' to let us all know they would be performing later that night at 'Revolver' a rock club just across the Mersey in Birkenhead. So yours truly noted that and made hasty plans to head over there that night!

Following that it was a choice between T.Rex tribute 'TooRex' on the 70s stage, or on another stage set up by the Superlambanana, was 'Are You Experienced' - a Hendrix tribute which has become an established act at the event. Hendrix won, and so I headed over there to watch guitarist John Campbell and his pals. When they concentrated on Jimi favourites they were good, but their set fell a bit flat at the inclusion of Dylan's 'Like A Rolling Stone'. I assume Jimi used to perform this song himself, but this was drawn out into an audience participation slot and in a short set, that's a mistake. Just deliver the hits! With all these acts, they're used to playing for longer in bars and clubs, so it really doesn't pay to do something like that. When 'Hendrix' or John Campbell did the favourites like 'Purple Haze' and 'Voodoo Child (Slight Return)' he and his band went down better. After this set I took a break as standing up straight for hours does my back no favours at all, and headed for a bite to eat and a sit down. The last act I wanted to see that day was 'Mercury'; a Queen tribute who were slated to play on the main stage sited near the Mersey Tunnel. This stage was themed on Live Aid and had tributes to many of the well-known bands who played that day. Usually Queen are represented by the Argentinian band 'Dios Salve a la Reina' but this year we got a different tribute band. However, their approach and look is the same as almost everyone else who performs as Queen - put the singer in that yellow jacket and white trousers and give the guitarist a Red Special copy! So many tributes to Freddie focus only on that 1986 look, and from this fan's viewpoint I'd like to see one of them dress as he did, say circa 1978. Anything to change the constant stream of yellow jackets! Singer Joseph Lee Jackson did do a creditable performance as Freddie, he has the moves (and particularly that swishing right arm) down pat, and has a powerful voice. He hasn't got Freddie's range (but who has?) and sounds more like later-era Mercury than the earlier incarnation, but he did do the hits justice in my view. Despite being a Live-Aid themed stage, the set Mercury gave included later hits like 'I Want It All'. To their credit, they, like Dios Salve A La Reina, do the whole of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' live - including the 'Galileo' bit which even the real Queen never did live. It does help when you've got about 50000 backing vocalists in the audience, of course! The crowd at the main stage was enormous, so much so I had no hope of getting anywhere near the stage so I watched it from the back! In fact, I was closer to the stage when Queen played their last gig ever (at Knebworth) than I was this day!

Later that night I did make the trip over to Birkenhead to see Guns 2 Roses; the venue (Revolver) puts the bands on so late though, that it was midnight when they finally appeared! That means that for me, it is necessary to drive to the place as there's no realistic way of getting back over to our side at 2am in the morning. The fact that there was a big stage at the exit of the Queensway tunnel also meant a diversion through the new tunnel further up the Wirral, but the trip was worthwhile to see the band play a much longer set even including a couple of 'Chinese Democracy' tracks! For GnR fans who are disillusioned with Axl's antics and revolving door line-ups, try these guys - you'll get a full set and they will turn up (traffic police permitting!) and play!

The next day turned out to be a scorcher, I'd expected rain but the sunshine brought the crowds out in huge numbers. I was later getting into town than the previous day, and the first act I saw was local blues legend Connie Lush. She's been around the scene for many years, and has won multiple awards. She showed us why during her short set on the 'Female Singers' stage, demonstrating a phenomenal range and power. Although she is a little too purist 'blues' to my Metallic tastes, there's no denying she is amazing. She and her band 'Blues Shouter' play frequently across the country and abroad, worth catching when in the area.

Following that, I took a bit of a chance (!) while resplendent in a Led Zep T-shirt, and headed over to the 'Modfest' stage. This celebrated the 1960s Mod era with tributes to such acts as The Kinks and the Small Faces, but among this line-up was one Bruce Foxton - the genuine article with his sort-of tribute band From The Jam. When he put this band together he had original Jam drummer Rick Buckler along for the ride, but the sticksman has since left the act and nowadays Mark Brzezicki (once of Big Country) is in the drum stool. The crowd at this stage was substantial, with what I suspect were Anfield Road End regulars from the 1980s packing the front! Chants of 'We Are The Mods' emanated from that area all through the set, as the band (featuring Weller soundalike Russell Hastings) ran through a crowd-pleasing set including virtually all the Jam's hits. Fortunately no-one pulled up your correspondent for the choice of T-shirt (although it's long enough ago now to confess, I once saw the Jam in 1981) but, powerchords are powerchords whether played by a bloke in a suit or in denim and leather! The irony of hearing 'Start' (which is a blatant rip-off of The Beatles' 'Taxman') played at an event that has its roots in Beatles celebration was not lost on me, nor was it lost when they played 'Eton Rifles' - David Cameron's favourite song of course and presumably one liked by fellow Eton pupil Iago Foxton - Bruce's son! Those old songs were politically charged but now, it's just a nostalgia trip and one that did go down great with the crowd to be fair. For all that, I wouldn't go and see them live indoors - doubtful the crowd there would be quite so tolerant of a Metal fan - even after all this time!

After that energetic set, it was straight over to the Classic Albums stage for another one - by 'Nervana'. These guys had travelled across the Atlantic to play this event, although not Seattle (they hail from Boston) they played tracks from the 'Nevermind' album to an enthusiastic and large crowd. Their 'Kurt' lost some accuracy points from me though; not because he was right-handed (I can accept that!) but he looked far too healthy to be Cobain, plus he had clearly washed his hair and shaved! Tut-tut, you've got to look like you've been eaten and thrown up to carry off the Kurt look!
That said, they played great - 'Teen Spirit' went over really well as you'd expect and they even did 'Endless, Nameless' (the hidden track). So although I blame Kurt for just about everything that went wrong with the rock scene in the 1990s and since, this was a good one.

Following that, I was going to call it a day but decided to wind down by watching at least one Beatles tribute at the festival they inspired. There were two stages devoted to Beatles music on the Monday; one concentrated on the early period and the other on their later output. The dividing point was 'Revolver' and so the last band on the 'early Beatles' stage were to perform that album. Handily, the band were themselves called Revolver! Hailing from Dundee, they played all the album from 'Taxman' (it was nice to hear that song after hearing 'Start' earlier!) through to 'Tomorrow Never Knows'. As they had a few minutes to spare at the end, the compere allowed them an encore and told them it didn't matter what song they played as long as it was early Beatles - so they ended the day with a rendition of 'All My Loving'. It was noticeably more laidback in this crowd than for the other sets I saw, but that was a good thing from my point of view since I was fit to drop by that point! All the members of Revolver took lead vocals, although not always the ones you expected - the bassist took lead on 'Yellow Submarine' for example, and the drummer sang several songs.

So that was my Mathew Street Festival for 2010; once again it proved to be a massive draw for people far and wide, and it's to be hoped next year is as successful. As I write, I read that the local council are actively seeking sponsorship for next year's event - fingers crossed that a media partner gets involved (I'm looking at you, Radio City and Granada TV!) as that would help push it still further.

Caught Live: KISS, Echo Arena Liverpool 4 May 2010

Kiss openly admit that they have been influenced by many British rock bands from the 1960s and 70s; most notably Slade and they have, like many American classic rock acts, cited our very own Beatles as influences. In spite of all this, they have never really become established over here despite their huge success back home. This tour is their first visit to the UK in several years, they have 'retired' at least once in the meantime but here they are, now without founder members Peter Criss and Ace Frehley, but with Eric Singer in the Cat makeup (who has actually been involved with Kiss for almost 2 decades now) and more controversially, Tommy Thayer in Ace's mask and costume. Ace Frehley actually did carry out his promise to retire after the band's 'farewell' tour and so when Simmons and Stanley changed their minds and broke out the Max Factor once more, they recruited former Black 'n' Blue guitarist Thayer in his place.

The last time I saw Kiss was with the original four, headlining at the 1996 Donington festival. The show was typically large-scale, but I was less than enthused with the actual concert. With that in mind, I had few expectations of this show and had in fact only booked it because it stopped off in my city. I cannot claim to be a fully-paid up member of the Kiss Army (Kiss Territorials is probably more like it!), which is just as well, considering that this show was added to the tour some time after the original four dates were announced. Those who are big fans will have booked for one of those shows, and with money being tight these days it would be a big ask to go to another concert which was added later, even if that show was in your town. I fear that's what happened at this show tonight; the turnout was not great, if I'm honest I think it was less than half full. I had little problem finding a nice spot about ten yards off the front, there was loads of room when I arrived and only the lower tier of the arena was being used for seating. Had I been a bigger fan of the band and had booked for, say, the MEN Arena I would be less than pleased that they were coming to my town if I had spent my money already! This is something that does need to be looked at in my view, when there are gigs like this in our town they should be supported but it's made difficult when the date is added some time after the original batch is announced.

The smaller crowd was not lost on frontman Paul Stanley, who very early on in the show declared that although it was obviously not the biggest crowd it could still be the loudest! With that he made a point of involving those who had showed at every turn, getting them to cheer, shout and sing frequently. Despite a recent hip replacement, he looked agile and trim, and was in excellent singing form. Gene Simmons was, well, Gene. Stomping around the stage like he owned it (he probably would do if given a chance!) poking out that tongue, spitting fire and spilling fake blood, he was in his element playing the showman. He was hoisted high up into the arena (at great speed, I must say!) to perform 'I Love It Loud' - how he does that without getting vertigo is beyond me! Not to be outdone, Stanley was flown across the floor in a harness, to a platform near the mixer where he played 'I was Made for Loving You'. If the band were disappointed by the turnout, they didn't let it get to them and they delivered a polished, professional show with everything a Kiss fan could want - pyro, flashbombs, rocket-firing guitars and a set packed with classic songs and some from the new album 'Sonic Boom'.

The addition of Singer and Thayer has actually reinvigorated the band; although they reformed in the 90s with the make-up and the original members, it was soon shown to be an unwise move as the old cracks appeared. With the return of Singer behind the kit, they sound solid and with Thayer handling the lead very well, the old stagers can concentrate on their showmanship. That's not to say Simmons and Stanley hog all the stage; Thayer and Singer are given a spot to play solo and fire some pyro of their own - Singer was given a rocket to fire at one point! Thayer is also given Ace's song 'Shock Me' to sing lead on, likewise Singer with 'Black Diamond'. Despite the old backronym 'KISS is Simmons and Stanley', this feels more like a band now. I enjoyed this show tremendously, they still have it and I would hope Stanley was not just being showbiz when he told us he and the band were having a blast at this gig and that he hoped they would play here again. If they do, they'd do well to list their whole tour itinerary from the off, rather than the piecemeal way it was done this time. Somewhere backstage in the Echo Arena, a tour promoter is applying ointment to his burned fingers...

Support came from Taking Dawn, the Las Vegas hard rockers had a thankless task opening this show before a sparse crowd there only to see Kiss, but acquitted themselves well. They play energetic hard rock/metal in a sort of 80s vibe, a sort of Skid Row meets Thin Lizzy kind of thing. Although they were greeted with near-apathy apart from a handful near the front, they performed with commendable enthusiasm and verve. Well worth catching if they play in the area again.

To sum up tonight then, it was an arena-sized show played before an Academy-sized crowd!

Edit this setlist | More KISS setlists

Caught Live: Theory of a Deadman, o2 Academy Liverpool, 7 April 2010.

About the only thing I knew of this band prior to their gig in Liverpool was that they sounded like Nickelback. It turns out that the connection is far deeper than that; also Canadian, they were actually signed to Chad Kroeger's label and he had a hand in writing the material from their first album, released in 2002. A four-piece band, with vocalist Tyler Connolly using a two-microphone setup (one 'clean', one distorted) in similar fashion to the Nickelback singer, and with him also taking much of the lead guitar work, the focus is very much on Connolly and his throwback 1950's hair (!)

Their songs have much the same structure as their multi-million selling countrymen, with many singalong anthems made for the arena. The main issue I had with them was that they do not really stand out; it's not just that they sound like another more famous band (after all, the last group I saw at this place are also criticised for sounding like a much better-known band from their own land!) but that they could be just one of any number of North American groups playing this style. I could imagine their songs being used in a soundtrack to the latest drama on CBS, or as a backing track to a commercial aired on TV across the pond. The fact that their guitar tech wore a 'Late Show with David Letterman' shirt spoke volumes; it's that sort of pseudo-alternative rock that seems to do so well over there.

They do have some good songs, but nothing that really latches onto the brain the way Nickelback have done. For all their detractors, Kroeger and co have the knack of writing that song which hits the spot. If they can break through with one song in that manner they will probably take off, but for now it's strictly a cult following. The crowd at the o2 was a reasonable turnout, maybe just short of a thousand and many present knew the songs. They did play well, although I thought Connolly's vocal was a little lost in the mix, but as stated before there is little to mark them out as special.

The same cannot be said for the support (Halestorm). A four-piece fronted by female singer/guitarist Lzzy (that's not a typo - she does leave out the 'i'!) they rocked up the place in fine style, after finding themselves opening the show with the withdrawal of Heaven's Basement from the bill. Lzzy introduced herself with an extended bout of shrieking and hollering, this slender dark-haired figure was not afraid to show off her impressive vocal range. The band play old-fashioned hard rock (comprising lead guitarist Joe Hottinger, bassist Josh Smith and Arejay Hale - Lzzy's brother - on drums) but their singer is far and away their best asset. She has power, range, and stage presence; it was like hearing Jody Turner (remember her?) in Suzi Quatro's shoes!
After hearing this band - again, a band I knew nothing about prior to tonight - I and many present were very impressed. They went off to a great reception, the best I've heard from a support act in years. After their set they conducted a signing session at the merchandise stand; the crowd they drew just for that illustrated how well they went down. Luckily for me, I got the last copy of their CD on sale at the gig for a bargain £2 - just because it was the display copy and the case was broken. Result - and all the band signed it! Speaking to Lzzy afterward, she was delighted with the way the band were received.

So then, a good night; although the headline band were good, their support blew me away. Look out for Halestorm, they deserve to go a long way.

Caught Live: Airbourne, o2 Academy Liverpool, 2 April 2010

One of my favourite bands of all time is Bad Company; when the three surviving members of the four-piece announced a reunion tour last Autumn I was keen to go and see them. A bunch of scruffy Aussies put paid to that plan however, when they went and scheduled their gig at Liverpool for the same night as Bad Co's show at the MEN Arena, just up the M62 in Manchester. As someone who is constantly complaining at the gig situation in what is, after all, one of the most famous cities in popular music (plus the tickets for Rodgers and co were a wallet-mugging £35-£40!) the odds were stacked in favour of this hard-drinking, hard-partying lot from Down Under.

The o2 Academy was very busy this night, with three bands on this bill plus another show happening in the downstairs part (Airbourne had the larger stage upstairs) but I was delayed getting into the city, so I had missed both support bands by the time I got into the hall. The place looked very full, even the upper balcony was open and I reckon this show sold out on the night. Impressive stuff considering the competing gig happening 35 miles or so away.

Having seen Airbourne twice before, I knew what was coming, but they still stunned this crowd into silence with their relentless pounding anthems. I don't think half of them knew what had hit them! They've changed hardly at all since their last visit, every song is written to the same straightforward formula, with singalong choruses so that even if you do not know it when it starts, you certainly do by it's end! The subject matter is also pretty simple: songs about boozing, women, or boozing AND women! All delivered at an unrelenting pace so the effect is of being pummelled into submission!

About the only change to last time (apart from the substantial number of songs from new album 'No Guts No Glory' played) was when frontman Joel O'Keefe did his 'Angus' walkabout into the crowd. Not satisfied with merely walking through the audience like last time, he showed Antipodean disregard for health and safety by climbing up to the balcony - from whatever he could find for footholds - and walking along the FRONT of the balcony in front of the barrier, where he could have fallen at any point! Of course, once back on the stage he proceeded to do his favourite trick of bashing beer cans open with his head before lobbing the still-spraying can into the crowd.

Two albums in and those AC/DC comparisons have still not gone away; having seen the masters last year though I can testify that this is a completely different experience. It's a raw, primal, brutal gig as opposed to the polished professionalism of the Young brothers. The brothers O'Keefe are totally unreconstructed rockers, along with their partners David Roads and Justin Street on guitar and bass respectively. Both stay in the background, headbanging away as the play, but are integral to the monstrous sound cooked up. It could only come from Australia!

Like their illustrious countrymen, Airbourne prefer to call their sound simply 'rock and roll' - but this was heavier, louder, harder and more brutal than many bands I've seen who DO consider themselves 'metal'. There was even a moshpit forming towards the end of the set!

Before too much longer these guys will be playing arenas; whether they can keep the hard edge to their show when that happens remains to be seen. Until then, it is strongly recommended that this band be seen while they're still up close and personal.

Caught Live: Nickelback, Echo Arena Liverpool 17 January 2010

Nickelback vocalist Chad Kroeger was clearly enjoying his visit to Liverpool, hollering the city name long and loudly at frequent intervals. This date, one of only two UK shows on the current leg of their tour, came so soon after their last batch of arena shows that I thought they may have had trouble filling the venue. As I was able to get a standing ticket on the night, I expected to find a half-empty hall. However, upon entering the arena floor it was apparent that they had indeed sold well; all the seats looked in use and the floor was already filling up. I can only assume that they had a substantial walk-up crowd on the night, and that those who had bought in advance had elected to go in the seats. The show itself was broadly similar to that given in Manchester last May; the full production complete with pyro, lights and video screen was present and correct, as was the stage ramp with rotating drum kit. They did change the set list around a little, and they displayed a nice touch in performing 'I Ran (So Far Away)' for the local crowd; recognising the fact there's more to Liverpool's music scene than the Fab Four they delivered a much-rocked up rendition of A Flock Of Seagulls' 80s hit.

As with their previous show last year, there was a lot of humour and joking about between songs, both with the crew and the audience, in particular their guitar tech 'Timmy' is getting a following of his own, with five audience members decked out in T-shirts which spelt out 'T-I-M-M-Y' pointed out by Chad Kroeger. It is good to see a band of this stature involving their crew in the show, although Timmy is often seen adding additional guitar and keyboards. It was once again a professional production, this band are not claiming to be the saviours of rock, and it's unlikely they'll be remembered in revered tones in twenty years' time, but they do know how to put on a show, and they do have the songs which make it all possible. For the ten thousand or so who showed up at the Echo Arena, that is more than enough.

Support was from Daughtry, a band about whom I knew absolutely nothing. Their set was shortened, as I learned later, owing to technical problems, but their lead singer (after whom the group is named) had a good strong voice, well suited to the arena-friendly anthemic rock they peddle. They were decent live, but a little bit too polite for me. Their main problem is that there is already one Alter Bridge, and they do this sort of thing much better. That said, although I had not previously heard of them before, there were plenty present who had, and they did get a decent reception from the crowd. They do lack that killer song though, one which will lodge itself in the mind and strike a chord with the public. Nickelback have managed to do that more than once, hence their arena status today. If their openers can come up with something that has a similar effect, they will succeed.

Caught Live: Quireboys, o2 Academy Liverpool 17 December 2009

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.

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!

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!

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 who 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

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.

Caught Live: AIRBOURNE (and STONE GODS) - Carling Academy Liverpool 7 November 2008

'It's OK now, they've all gone, the city is yours again', I told myself as I headed into Liverpool, the night after the MTV award show took over town. It was certainly great publicity for our city, but the fare on offer was not my thing, plus I hate all that 'celebrity' stuff. I much prefer a hard-hitting, kick-ass hard rock show such as what was on at the Carling, just 24 hours after Perez Hilton and his mates all skedaddled.

I'm making a habit of spotting the bands outside the venue at this place; as I arrived at the Carling, Dan and Toby from Stone Gods were stood there, ciggies in hand, so I took the opportunity to find out the time they would be playing, straight from the source! As it turned out I had 1/2 hour before they were due on, which was good since I was waiting for a mate, whose ticket I had. Once he turned up we had enough time for a swift pint before heading into what was an already crowded upstairs room at the Carling. Stone Gods came on at around 8:45, and wasted no time in ramping up the volume. This was the first time I'd seen this band, they were meant to play the same venue back in June but were forced to cancel owing to health issues relating to then drummer Ed Graham. Since then, Robin Goodridge (ex of Bush) has taken over the drum stool, now I did see Bush a few times during the late 1990s and after, I don't remember him being THIS LOUD and THIS POWERFUL!
The Stone Gods sound is about as subtle as a sledgehammer, as heavy and as hard as the name suggests. Richie Edwards proved to be a great front man, easily getting the crowd clapping, bouncing, and shouting. Dan Hawkins has swapped his Thin Lizzy T-shirt for a Deep Purple one, and has set his guitar to KILL, not stun!
They played for just under an hour, it was HARD, BRUTAL, LOUD HEAVY METAL - just like it used to be! I've yet to hear the album; if it captures even a fraction of their incendiary live sound, it will be quite something.

After the Stone Gods left the crowd reeling, we had quite a wait before the headliners took to the stage. The Carling Academy had filled up quite nicely by this stage, a great turnout in Liverpool this night for the new Aussie heroes. I suspect many present were AC/DC fans disappointed at not being able to get tickets for their upcoming shows, however this tour is selling like hotcakes too with 'sold out' signs a common sight. The comparisons with AC/DC have been ongoing since 'Running Wild' hit the streets earlier this year; since then of course, the masters have returned with their own new album. It was with eager anticipation then, we awaited the apprentices! Once they came onstage, the crowd erupted as they began with 'Stand Up For Rock and Roll'. It was unrelenting for the next hour, as they blasted through all the tracks from the album, complete with the synchronised guitar swings from David Roads and Justin Street, Joel O'Keefe's abrasive vocals, backed by Ryan O'Keefe's pounding drums. Joel did an offstage walk during 'Heartbreaker', coming right past me while still playing! When not taking a walk, he was smashing cans of Stella against his head until they burst open, then lobbing them into the crowd!

There's nothing complicated about Airbourne, it's straightforward hard-hitting hard rock played by guys who really mean it. It's that which has won over sceptical, hard-to-please classic rock fans, the sort of crowd which can spot fakers and chancers a mile off. These guys are anything but fakers, they are the genuine article. Catch them now, while they are still on the way up, while you can still get up close. They're destined for far bigger things, provided they can keep the unit together. Absolutely awesome.

Caught Live: Bryan Adams, ECHO Arena Liverpool, 28 October 2008

It's not like yours truly ever had any credibility to flush away in the first place but the truth is, this gig was far from the first time I've seen the Groover from Vancouver. I first saw Bryan Adams live back in the 1980s, at the NEC in Birmingham and in all honesty, he has not changed much from those days. Still in shirt and jeans, still with the short cropped hair, and still playing no-frills rock music to large arena crowds. The things that HAVE changed though, are his audience, and his public perception. Back in the 1980s, he was considered 'rock' enough to merit coverage in Kerrang! magazine; the few outlets for rock on the radio also gave his music airplay then.
It all changed in 1991 (as it did for many 80s rock acts), but in Adams's case it had nothing to do with checked-shirt clad scruffbags from Seattle. 1991 was also the year of '(Everything I Do) I Do It For You', his biggest hit single by a country mile. The song reached Number One in the British Charts in July of that year, and stayed there for what seemed like forever (in fact 16 weeks). From that point on, he was regarded as a soft rock balladeer in the eyes of the public, and nowadays he is probably second only to Nickelback in the uncool rock stakes!

His audience nowadays has a very strong female presence, there were a lot of couples in the crowd at the Echo Arena. The seated part was virtually full when I arrived, but significantly, the standing still had plenty of room. It did fill up later, but this was probably the most civilised standing crowd I've been in since I saw the Eagles back in 1996! Moshpits then, are certainly not the order of the day at an Adams show!

I found two of my friends in the arena while the opening act were on, they had located what appeared to be a small stage on the arena floor. On the main stage, support Black Daniel were on stage. They were not my thing at all, a bit 'alternative, a bit NME for my tastes. They were all clad in black hoodies, one guitarist (no bassist) playing over-distorted riffs, and two keyboard players, one of whom was also vocalist. I'm afraid I didn't enjoy them at all!

The lights dimmed at 8:30 for the main act, the screens showed Adams walking from the dressing room on his way to the stage. Those of us who know the arena well (teehee) looked across to the door halfway up the left-hand side, the small platform was almost directly in line with that door and I knew then that Bryan was to start the show on that small stage. Sure enough he climbed up, and a surge from the crowd further forward ensued as they realised that he was behind them. With just an acoustic guitar and a microphone, he kicked things off with 'Can't Stop This Thing We Started', to tumultuous cheers from the audience. 'Please Forgive Me' followed, then he left the small stage (still holding a microphone) to head over to the main stage, where his bandmates were waiting for him. They had a long wait, they played on while Adams was virtually mobbed on his way to the stage. He took a path down the side of the arena floor, we could see him giving high-fives' to the crowd as he passed, occasionally pausing to sing up close to (female!) audience members.

Once on the stage, the crowd cheered even louder, and it hardly let up all night. He kept the stage banter to an absolute minimum, pausing only to swap guitars over in betwen numbers. This time around he has restored a full band behind him; I saw BA at the MEN Arena in Manchester some years ago, that night he was playing bass and was accompanied only by his long-time sidemen Keith Scott (guitar) and drummer Mickey Curry. Both were present at the Echo Arena, but Adams has given the four-string over to Norm Fisher, and keyboard player Gary Breit is now an integral part of the band. Keith Scott is an effective foil to Adams, the two of them were all over the stage, trading guitar licks and swapping stage ramp positions. Adams does like to give his guitarist opportunity to cut loose, Scott's immediately recognisable tone is a big part of the Adams sound.

Although this tour is billed as a promotional jaunt for his latest album '11', there were plenty of oldies played. No less than SIX songs from his classic 'Reckless' album made the set (though we did notice you cut out the second verse of 'Somebody', Bryan!). The radio favourite 'Summer of 69' was played mid-set instead of in the encores, a sign that he was completely confident in his material. Needless to say, the cheer that resulted almost tore the roof off the Echo Arena! He didn't hang about either, following that up with '(Everything I Do) I Do It For You', accompanied by what I estimated at 5000 female backing singers! ;-)

No Adams show is complete without his take on audience participation; he selects a woman from the crowd to accompany him on 'When You're Gone', in the Mel C role. I did half-expect the one-time Sporty Spice to show up here, as it was in Liverpool, but instead Bryan chose a very excited woman called Phillipa from the crowd. She lapped up the monent on the stage, though her vocal performance was, well, interesting!
After she told all present that she loved drummers, Bryan sent her to go and give Mickey Curry a kiss before she made her exit back to the crowd. That part of the show is always hit and miss, but is also a lot of fun.

The last stretch of the show saw yet more hits, including 'Cloud No. 9' and the older song 'Cuts Like A knife', before BA encored with just himself and his acoustic, ending as he started it.

A textbook arena show, even shorn of pyro and elaborate stage sets, Adams may be the king of soft rock and about as cool as a vindaloo, but there's a reason he has lasted this long, his consistently good live show. He even found time to mention how much he liked our new arena (bonus brownie points for that!) - then again, he did mention that last time he was here, he played in a tent (!)

Hopefully he'll be back to play this new venue again, damn the credibility, I'll be there!

Caught Live: Queen + Paul Rodgers - ECHO Arena Liverpool, 18 October 2008

I go to a lot of gigs and have been writing about them to my MySpace blog for a while now.
Starting from now, they will also appear here.
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The Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University paid a visit to the city last night with some colleagues, not something that would normally draw more than 10,000 people to an arena you might think. When you discover that the aforementioned university head is Dr Brian Harold May, CBE, you soon see why it did!

Brian (or should I say, Dr May!) has been a frequent visitor to our city over the past year, mainly in that capacity, but here at the Echo Arena, he was in his more famous role as guitarist, along with Roger Taylor and Paul Rodgers. The Queen + Paul Rodgers collaboration has split the Queen fanbase down the middle since it was launched; although May and Taylor have been at pains to say that Rodgers does not, and never would wish to, imitate the iconic Freddie Mercury, still the fact that he is up there singing Mercury's songs on stage does not sit well with everyone. Others take a more pragmatic view: why should Brian or Roger pack their gear away when they feel they still have something to offer? Even with such polarised views from Queen die-hards, there were still plenty who wanted to come along and see this band, and the Echo Arena was just one of the string of sold-out dates they are playing in the UK.

The new album 'The Cosmos Rocks' was more Paul Rodgers than Queen to this listener, however in the live setting, the Queen + Paul Rodgers billing makes a lot more sense. It's a full stage production featuring a high-tech lighting rig as befits a Queen show, and a giant screen over the stage providing visuals. The set was heavily weighted towards the harder-rocking Queen hits, presumably chosen to suit Rodgers' bluesy delivery.



The set is broken up so that all three main men get some time in the spotlight (and some time off stage!), Rodgers gets to play the Bad Co song 'Seagull' (dedicating it to the recently-departed Levi Stubbs) before giving the stage over to Brian May, he came to the front of the ramp for the traditional 'Love of My Life' singalong. After a rousing '39' during which he brought the band over, including Jamie Moses on guitar, keyboard player Spike Edney, and returning bassist Danny Miranda (now recovered from illness which ruled him out of two shows, replaced by Neil Murray), he left it to Roger Taylor to play a bizarre drum solo. Starting off with just a bass drum, he had a kit built around him, all the while playing the expanding kit! Finally he got a microphone, in order to sing 'I'm In Love With My Car' with the band back on the main stage.



Brian May's solo spot was a little different to the 'Brighton Rock' improvisation of old; it was shorter, and included a short burst of The Beatles' 'I Feel Fine'. He also included 'Bijou', from the 'Innuendo' album. When the voice of Freddie Mercury came through the PA the crowd roared, as May played on.

'Bohemian Rhapsody' closed out the main part of the show. As was the case in 2005, they used video footage of Freddie for the song, while the band played below. It is very spooky indeed to see a huge projection of Freddie on screen while May and Taylor are playing in front of you. I can only imagine how spooked out the guys must be themselves! During the 'Galileo' bit (always on tape, the original band never performed that bit live) the screen showed a montage of Freddie photos, to another loud cheer. They also put in several slides of John Deacon, Queen's bassist who elected not to participate in this project. The 'headbanging' bit sees Rodgers come to the stage and sing that part, before he 'trades vocal' with Freddie at the end. That was the main set, and it was a long one. They were not quite finished of course, returning to play 'The Cosmos Rocks', then 'All Right Now', and ending with the traditional 'We Will Rock You' and 'We Are The Champions' pairing.

All in all it was a triumphant night for Queen + Paul Rodgers, Rodgers in particular looked delighted with it all, he is in his element playing to such large crowds. My only real quibble was the shortening of some songs, it was a long set still and I realise they have to fit as much in as possible, but still it was a shame that stuff like 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' - a song that takes on a new life when done live, was shorn of its usual jam at the end. It's not 'Queen' as they were, it never could be, but those that came along had a great night with three legends of rock. Perhaps it's this which keeps them going, all three represent a golden era of music unlikely to be replicated in the current 'c-lebrity' climate. On this showing, there is no reason why they should not carry on for as long as they wish.



Set list (from www.brianmay.com)

HAMMER TO FALL (Short Version)
TIE YOUR MOTHER DOWN
FAT BOTTOMED GIRLS
ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST
I WANT IT ALL
I WANT TO BREAK FREE
C-LEBRITY
SURF'S UP… SCHOOLS OUT
SEAGULL
LOVE OF MY LIFE
'39
BASS IMPROVISATION / DRUM SOLO
I'M IN LOVE WITH MY CAR
IT'S A KIND OF MAGIC
SAY IT'S NOT TRUE
BAD COMPANY
WE BELIEVE
GUITAR SOLO
BIJOU
LAST HORIZON
RADIO GA GA (Short Version)
CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE (Short Version)
THE SHOW MUST GO ON
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
COSMOS ROCKS
ALL RIGHT NOW
WE WILL ROCK YOU
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS