First things first, I don’t know how these things get put together but is there a better bill anywhere in the country this year?
Is it any exaggeration to say that any of these bands could headline this venue – which is probably why the place is absolutely packed when Wayward Sons play.
As I pointed out when I reviewed their stunning “The Truth Ain’t What It Used To Be” record the other week, it is masterclass in modern, classic sounding rock n roll. And the band prove it here. A set split – roughly – between “new” and “old” and the presence of “Small Talk” in the set, with it’s excoriation of Thatcher’s evil 80s Britain is always welcome. The “….Truth” stuff is brilliant, though and that’s the …urmmmm…..truth? “The Joke’s On You” is catchy as you like, and delivered with a proper sneer, and there’s a feeling, at the end of “Until The End” when Toby Jepson throws his guitar to the roadie, that he’s enjoying this again. Enjoying the feel of playing live, enjoying the adulation, and above all, being in a brilliant rock n roll band again. And that, is what Wayward Sons are, and although they are effectively just starting out, the next level awaits.
There’s a moment, in “Wait For You” when Stone Broken’s frontman Rich Moss is playing solo, just him, his acoustic and about 1000 of nearest and dearest. It’s then you get it. He gets it. They are no longer “Stone Broken from Walsall”, they are “UK Hard Rock sensations Stone Broken” and that’s a big jump. They deserve it too, because when they play “I Believe” a song which talks about them worshipping their heroes, you realise that if they weren’t here on the stage, they’d be stood next to you, watching. “All In Time” a song from that debut, starts things here, and “Not Your Enemy” ends this 45 minutes. In between they merrily set about showing that the first record wasn’t a fluke. “The Only Thing I Need” is best described as “arena filling” because the whole thing sounds primed and ready. Will Stone Broken make it that far? Honestly, I don’t know, but such is their progress in the last four years that I don’t think I’m betting against them.
“For three hours,” says Ricky Warwick, “every night, you can watch these three bands on stage, and forget all the bullshit, forget Brexit, and just lose yourself in rock n roll”.
And the boy from Belfast has nailed it really, he’s rendered my review pointless. Because that is basically it.
Black Star Riders journey began on 30th May 2013. I know because I was there. It was their first gig. Four albums and goodness knows how many shows since, they have honed it into being the best hard rock band on the planet.
This bunch is the best lot they’ve had too. Christian Martucci has slotted in perfectly as new guitarist and he is in fine form tonight.
And the setlist too, is superb. A band with four wonderful albums out, they can now pick a setlist that includes the absolute pick of some great, great songs. Crucially too, they don’t include any Thin Lizzy this time and I think that’s right too. As long as they have Scott Gorham in their ranks, then they’ll have that sound, but they are also a band with a future and which doesn’t need to look at the past.
So it is that they can start with “Another State Of Grace” – the title track of their finest album to date- and race through an hour and a half with barely a pause for breath.
“The Killer Instinct”, “All Hell Breaks Loose” and “Testify Or Say Goodbye” are all as good as there is, and the same goes for the rest of it.
The pick of “…Grace” is played. “Tonight The Moonlight Let Me Down” doesn’t even miss Michael Monroe’s awesome sax solo (too much!), which is testament to how good a song it is.
There is – in effect – a mid-set pause for relaxation, with “Blindsided” and a magnificent “Why Do You Love Your Guns” but afterwards they essentially rev up for the finish.
“Ain’t The End Of The World” is the exemplification, actually, of why there’s no need for Lizzy anymore, because they’ve got it nailed, “When The Night Comes In”, “Finest Hour”? Is it stretching it too far to call them classics, these days? I don’t think it is.
The same goes for the last one. “Bound For Glory”. The one that started it all. The one that is probably the best standalone song of the last decades. And even better, there’s no encores. There’s no rock star bullshit here. Just a brilliant band doing their thing.
Which is sort of what Ricky Warwick said. He just said it better than me.
