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Monday
30th June
Hahahaha... oh, hahahaha... hahahaha... hang on a moment
while I have my sides sewn up. In preparation for the Euro Championships
final, last night Mrs L and I cracked upon the bottle of Icelandic
Reyka vodka that we'd brought home from Sweden Rock. The result
was Spain 1, Germany 0. Oh, dear me. I haven't laughed so hard
since Michael Portillo's 1997 General Election defeat. And just
as I thought that no more pleasure could be derived from the
result, hapless German keeper Jens Lehman appeared on the small
screen, daring to blame the defeat on the referee, claiming
the match was "fixed". Lehman's gobsmackingly poor
sportsmanship really placed the proverbial tin-hat on a marvelous
evening's entertainment, though the Spaniards really deserved
their victory.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday
29th June
What an odd quirk of fate. Just as I'm trying to come
to terms with Judas Priest's sprawlingly ambitious 'Nostradamus'
double-set, a package from Marshall Law arrives. The Brummie
bangers, who've made no secret of their adulation of Priest
- I happened to stand a few feet away from singer Andy Pyke
at Aston Villa Leisure Centre for a show on the 'Painkiller'
tour and was amused to see him aping Rob Halford's every stage
move - will be releasing a new album called 'Razorhead' in the
autumn. Plastered with fiery twin-leads and built upon the kind
of full-tilt, meaty riffs that Messrs Tipton and Downing used
to write before breakfast, it's as gung-ho as 'Nostradamus'
is serious.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday
28th June
So
I've finally managed to track down a copy of Judas Priest's
'Nostradamus', the limited hardback edition complete with 48-page
booklet. My first reaction is absolute bafflement. My second
is to swallow deeply and play it again. 100 minutes later, I'm
smiling (a little) but although the words 'career suicide' are
no longer flashing before my eyes, confusion still reigns. What
a courageous album for the band to have made. With those operatic
vocals and symphonic arrangements - according to an interview
in the latest issue of Hammer, everything 'orchestral' that
you hear is actually KK Downing and/or Glenn Tipton on guitar
or keyboards - they've really pushed the boat out. I'm gonna
have to live with this one for a bit, I suspect...
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday
26th June
As my head flopped onto the pillow, I knew that yesterday
was one of those days in which plenty had been achieved. In
the morning I conducted an enjoyable phone interview with Jean
Jacques Burnel, The Stranglers' bass player, before heading
off to Wembley for an equally pleasant and revealing face to
face meet with Black Stone Cherry (who, of course, were the
opening act on the Def Leppard/Whitesnake tour). After dropping
by the Arena's box office to pick up some tickets for the London
Masters six-a-side competition on July 19 - which sees my beloved
Palace crossing swords with Chelski, The Arse, Spuzz, 'Arry's
'Appy 'Ammers and, um, Twatford - I soaked up the bright sunlight
by the venue's fountain whilst absorbing an advance promo of
Alice Cooper's new disc, 'Along Came A Spider', for a Metal
Hammer album review (its return to The Coop's shock-rock sound
of the 70s gets a big thumbs-up from me). With show-time still
two hours off, I finally finished Life On Planet Rock, the autobiography
of former RIP Magazine editor Lonn Friend. Despite - probably
even because - Geoff Barton had called Friend "the worst
kind of celebrity journo; the kind of guy who'd rather schmooze
than scribble" in his Classic Rock review of said tome,
I enjoyed Lonn's tale, the cautionary conclusion of which ends
in separation from his wife and dire professional circumstances,
tempered by bittersweet pride that his love of music is perpetuated
by the family's next generation.
And talking of 'carrying on the flame', I'd like to have fallen
in line with other reports that Black Stone Cherry gave the
event's other two bands a good run for their money. However,
because Live Nation's guest list turned up late I ended up missing
their apparently triumphant opening spot - somewhat galling,
as I'd been in the vicinity of Wembley since around two that
afternoon! Coverdale's voice was croakier than a lorryload of
Kermit The Frogs, but at least the drum solo had been culled
from Whitesnake's set since Sweden Rock. Song intro-wise, however,
David made me laugh when somebody threw an inflated rubber johnny
onto the stage and he announced: "What's that, a condom?
I haven't used one of those since I was four."
For my money, despite Joe Elliott's own vocal irregularities,
Leppard were by far the superior band. Just like Whitesnake
they sent the sold-out Arena into waves of warm-waving, shout-it-out-loud
delirium. The best part came with an acoustic 'Two Steps Behind',
followed by 'Bringin' On The Heartbreak' and a bristling electric
conclusion. In a consummate display of arena rock showmanship,
their success was sealed with exquisite versions of 'Hysteria'
and 'Armageddon It'.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday
25th June
Sometimes rock and roll dreams **do** come true, just
when you least expect them. Unless you're a resident of the
Croydon area and in your mid-forties, chances are you never
heard of the Steve
Boyce Band first time around. I never did. But last night
I took great pleasure in attending a posh lig at the Hard Rock
Café in central London that had been thrown in honour
of guitarist/vocalist Boyce and his group. There was free drink
and grub, and the band got onstage to play for an hour, (barring
a one-off show to commemorate the death of their drummer) the
first time they'd done so since calling it a day without fanfare
of any sort almost 20 years ago. How did all of this happen?
Well, several months ago they chose to enter a Virgin Radio
competition, the prize for which was to support Eric Clapton
in London's Hyde Park. And much to their astonishment, they
only went and won it. I spend a lot of time in the company of
musicians, sometimes even drummers, and let me tell you, I rarely
experience such disbelief and unfettered joy.
This was like Almost Famous crossed with Jim'll Fix it, possibly
with a hint of Celebrity Fit Club thrown in for good measure.
Nobody was fooling themselves and saying, 'Let's jack in our
jobs - this could be the start of something big'. The band's
performance was really good, their enormous pleasure from being
together again contagious. If further activity does ensue, just
like this golden opportunity it'll be one big Brucie Bonus.
Sadly, I won't get to see the SBB with 'Slowhand' on Saturday
though I will cross my fingers for them for 20 minutes during
the mid-afternoon. Fairytale stories like this one don't come
along too often.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday
23rd June
Last
night I returned to the IndigO2 for Queensrÿche’s
‘Operation: Mindcrime’ show. Gotta admit, I had
my doubts that the Seattle band would do justice to one of the
greatest concept discs of all time (I refer, of course, to the
original album from 1988, though its 2006 sequel wasn’t
anywhere near as shabby as most reviewers seemed to insist).
Almost three hours later I exited the hall full of admiration
for what I’d just seen. Presented in near-perfect surround
sound and with a lavish theatrical stage show, QR had added
a few Gulf War references and in a nice twist; we even discovered
the identity of who killed hooker-turned-nun, Sister Mary. I
won’t ruin the surprise, but it’s not who you might
have expected. Likewise some of the songs, including ‘The
Mission’, which now has a heavy keyboard treatment, had
been given subtle tweaks to accentuate the sense of drama. In
fine voice, Geoff Tate took centre stage as Nikki, a ponytailed,
leather jacket-clad street junkie who is manipulated by the
mysterious Dr X (voiced by Ronnie James Dio, whose image appeared
on the screen during the showdown of ‘The Chase’)
into assassinating corrupt politicians and public figures. Wonder
how much he’d charge to dispose of Gordon Brown? Anyway,
playing the role of Mary, long-time band associate Pamela Moore
looked and sounded good enough to eat. To be fair, the show
did dip a little in Act II. Who on earth thought it would be
cool to get those doctors prancing around with giant syringes
during ‘A Junkie’s Blues’?! The show’s
‘see-you-in-heaven’ conclusion was also just a little
too twee, and to reach it we had endure Nikki’s extended
bout of apparent soul-searching guilt the murdering of Dr X.
This is just nit-picking, though, and Queensrÿche deserved
every last roar of approval that brought them out again for
encores of ‘Best I Can’, ‘Jet City Woman’
and ‘Empire’.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday
22nd June
With the clock ticking towards Def Leppard and Whitesnake's
date at Wembley Arena this coming Thursday, I'm hearing that
David Coverdale has taken the criticism of fans on board and
revamped the band's set-list to include some older material.
Here's the set-list they played in Manchester a few nights ago:
'Don't Start My Heart Again', 'Is This Lunch?', 'Slip Of The
hip', 'Lie Down (I Think I Need To)', 'Frying In The Brain',
'Straight For The Bank', 'Pill Of The Night', 'Slow An' Needy',
'Lady Nip 'N' Tuck', 'Belgian Tom's Geriatric', 'Ain't Gonna
Try No More', 'Here I Go Again (To The Toilet)' and 'Fortified
Wine, Women And Song'.
Naaaaah, just kidding, though a spy that really did see the
Manchester gig (hi Rich!) informs me that Coverdale repeatedly
exposed his man-boobs onstage. "David kept calling them
his 'Nipple Puppets', which really wasn't pleasant," claims
my source, adding: "With all his talk of shagging, it reminded
me of watching your Dad dancing at a wedding, but Whitesnake
were actually better than I expected."
Still on the subject of set-lists, a few days ago I stumbled
upon a report of one of the first concerts by Steve Priest's
new incarnation of Sweet, which took place at the Whisky in
LA. Here's what they played: 'Action', 'Hell Raiser', 'Blockbuster',
'Love is Like Oxygen', 'Windy City', 'Wig Wam Bam', 'The Sixteens',
'California Nights', 'Sweet Dream', 'Sweet FA', 'Turn It Down',
'Teenage Rampage', 'Little Willy', 'Fox On The Run', 'Ballroom
Blitz' and encores of 'Set Me Free' and 'AC/DC'. Now **that's**
something I'd have paid to see...
_
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Friday
20th June
Given that Jimmy Page and Robert Plant have already both
investigated them live, and taking into consideration Classic
Rock’s perhaps slightly rash prediction that ‘I
Loved You’ will be the best debut album of 2008 (Geoff
Barton reviewed it in ’07, but it was actually released
in April), it was about time I got to grips with Big Linda…
um, so to speak…. Better still, last night the London-based
band were opening for Stone Gods, a group that I’m already
a fan of. Re: Big Linda, I can now understand the fuss. As a
collective they might look a little odd – clean-cut singer
Rob Alder resembles a contestant from The Apprentice, the rest
like they’ve walked straight from the set of One Man And
His Dog – but their sound is rich and hypnotic. Alder
uses not one microphone but two, the second cloaking his voice
in swirling space-rock sounds, effectively adding an extra instrument
to their already impressive armoury. Those Plant comparisons
are perhaps most obvious during ‘Get It While You Can’,
but as immediate as ‘I Don’t Even Like You’
and ‘Golden Girl’ might be, I enjoyed Big Linda
best when they stretched out their final number ‘Windpower’
to a dreamy ten minutes long.
Although ex-Bush man Robin Goodridge had stepped in at the last
minute for the ailing Ed Graham, just like last time I saw them
at the Underworld back in January, Stone Gods provided excellent,
pretension-free entertainment. Guitarist Richie Edwards is really
coming into his own as a frontman, and despite the fact that
the band’s debut album, ‘Silver Spoons And Broken
Bones’, doesn’t drop until July 7, most of the crowd
already know the excellent ‘Burn The Witch’, ‘You
Brought A Knife To A Gunfight’, ‘Don’t Drink
The Water’ and ‘Night Of The Living Dead’.
During the encore, Edwards asked the Academy, “What time
is it?” After his reply came back, he grinned: “It’s
twenty past ten on a Thursday night, eh? That makes it heavy
metal time, kids” before the Stone Gods romped through
a faithful, neck-loosening rendition of Metallica’s debut
album classic ‘Whiplash’. No, I’m not kidding.
The buggers played it well, too.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday 19th June
Forgot to mention that before the Journey gig I dropped
by the Planet Rock Radio studio. They wanted to interview me
for an Iron Maiden documentary that goes out on Sunday. You'll
probably know that the station was recently saved from extinction
by music fan Malcolm Bluemel in conjunction with Black Sabbath's
Tony Iommi, Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson, Gary Moore and Fish.
What a relief that its future has been secured.
Last night I finally found the time to sit down, open a bottle
of wine and watch a European Championship game from start to
finish. Given the Scandinavian hospitality that Clan Ling had
enjoyed not too long ago at Sweden Rock, also because the Russians
had played a big part in England's absence from the tournament,
I was rooting for Sweden, who needed just a draw to progress
to the semi-finals. However, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and chums were
undone by a deadly-looking Ruskie side that stuffed them 2-0
with the ease of taking a candy from a baby. It kinda made me
grateful that England missed out on a potential second mauling
from such worthy opponents.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday
18th June
I'm happy to report that Journey's Hammersmith Apollo
gig lived up to my lofty expectations. Arnel Pineda resembled
(from a distance, at least) Steve Perry and, more importantly,
sang just like him. The guy is a human dynamo with a voice of
pure gold.
My heart went out to John Parr, who opened the show. Somehow
Journey's crew contrived to leave the house music on during
his first three numbers, which were performed with minimal lighting
and accompanied by a drummer who had barely rehearsed with Parr's
band. But John wasn't innocent of blame for the way things turned
out, playing just two of his hits - namely 'Naughty Naughty'
and 'St Elmo's Fire (Love In Motion)' - and including a tired
medley of Fleetwood Mac's 'Oh Well' which drifted into 'Whole
Lotta Love' and 'Walk This Way' by Aerosmith instead of 'Running
The Endless Mile', 'Magical' or 'Treat Me Like An Animal'.
So thank the Lord that Journey's two-hour set made the trip
to Hammersmith worthwhile. The new songs slotted right into
the show, and despite my initial reservations Pineda appears
to be the answer to all their problems. At one point Chris Squire
from Yes wandered past, nodding stageward, smiling and remarking
(about Arnel): "Every band should have one". I couldn't
agree more. My worst fear is that given the shabby way the band
treated Steve Augeri and then Jeff Scott Soto, I fear Journey
will use his voice until it burns out, then discard their Philippino
cabin boy like a used Kleenex before seeking the next sucker
to exploit. Hope I'm wrong, but only time will tell.
Anyway, here's the set-list: 'Never Walk Away', 'Separate Ways
(Worlds Apart)', 'Only The Young', 'Stone In Love', 'Keep On
Running' (with drummer Deen Castronovo on vocals), 'Ask The
Lonely', 'Who's Crying Now', 'Change For The Better', 'Lights',
'After All These Years', 'Mother, Father' (sung by Deen), Piano
Solo/'Open Arms', 'Wheel In The Sky', 'Where Did I Lose Your
Love', 'Chain Reaction', 'Wildest Dream', 'Edge Of The Blade',
'Faithfully', 'Don't Stop Believing' and encores of 'Escape'
and 'Any Way You Want It'.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday
17th June
Metal
Hammer editor Alex Milas asked me to chaperone a band that was
receiving an award at last night's Golden Gods Awards ceremony,
which took place at the IndigO2, a short bus ride from where
I live. It turned out to be Sharon
Den Adel and Ruud Jolie, the singer and guitarist of Within
Temptation, who were collecting the gong for Best Metal Label,
on behalf of its traditional recipients, Roadrunner Records.
Obviously, those duties precluded me from seeing much of the
awards, but the three of us made a point of watching Testament's
live performance - which was MIGHTY!! - and we also saw Christina
Scabbia of Lacuna Coil singing with Apocalyptica before I escorted
Sharon and Rudd to the side of the stage to face the night's
master of ceremonies, Oderus Urungus of GWAR, then onto a barrage
of photo sessions and interviews.
By the time the work was over and it was safe to partake of
a wee dram, I was dismayed to discover the free VIP bar exhausted
of funds. No matter, a flock of ladies were offering free shots
of Jägermiester. "Here, take two. three, four, as
many as you like," one of them kindly suggested. Before
too long I was wandering around with eight of their little test
tubes in my grubby little paw. Well, as a South London boy I
wasn't gonna trek across town to the after-show bash, so I figured
it was time to make hay while the sun shone.
There were plenty of interesting people around. I chatted to
Max Cavalera, who I hadn't seen in many years. Likewise Metal
Blade Records boss Mike Faley. John Davis, the brains behind
the Hard Rock Hell Festival (which won Event Of The Year), also
provided entertaining company. Still relishing his sobriety,
Ace Frehley made a concerted effort to avoid the drunken throng
with a low-key arrival. In stark contrast, Saxon's Biff Byford
was once again in side-splitting form, but I spent a big chunk
of the evening talking to Girlschool, who'd found a way of reversing
their red guest wristbands to make them look like white ones,
thus entitling them to free booze. A very proud Kim McAuliffe
told me some interesting news regarding the band's upcoming
30th anniversary album - it will feature a plethora of special
guests, including Tony Iommi, Ronnie James Dio, Lemmy and Phil
Campbell from Motörhead, 'Fast' Eddie Clarke and a couple
of members of Twisted Sister. How cool is that?!
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday
16th June
When
it comes to the album of the month for June, there’s no
doubt. It’s Journey’s ‘Revelation’ every
step of the way. Like most people, I was highly dubious regarding
Neal Schon and company’s decision to bring in the untried
Steve Perry soundalike Arnel Pineda as lead vocalist. But Holy
Cow, the Philippines-born newcomer sounds absolutely awesome
on the record. Looking forward to seeing whether they can do
it onstage at tomorrow’s gig in London.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday
14th June
Hello, I’m home from the Download Festival. Only
really fancied the first day. Much as I would like to have seen
Testament, Ace Frehley, Alter Bridge, Saxon and a few more,
the idea of standing around in a field full of 60,000 Offspring
and Lostprophets fans didn’t appeal at all (especially
following the consistent levels of entertainment that were experienced
so recently at Sweden Rock). In fairness, I had a lot of fun.
My friend Harj and I supped a bottle of vodka (sweetened with
orange juice) during the train ride from St Pancras to Loughborough,
spilling the remainder all over us both as our shuttle bus wound
through country lanes en route to the site. Alas, we were too
late for Stone Gods, AKA The Darkness With The Asshole Removed,
so found a comfy perch in the backstage bar until the arrival
of Motörhead. As ever, Lemmy and company were good value
for money. Besides 'Dr Rock', 'Stay Clean', 'Metropolis', 'Killed
By Death' and all the rest, 'Ace Of Spades' featured a guest
appearance from much-missed former guitarist Würzel The
Bastard.
Kid
Rock’s no-show meant an extra 15 minutes for Judas Priest,
who'd only been scheduled to play for an hour and a quarter.
Unfortunately, Rob Halford wasn’t in great voice and if
anyone had suspected Priest would blow the headliners off the
stage, they were very much mistaken. Whatever anybody thinks
of Gene $immon$ as an individual, Kiss are still capable of
putting on a first-class show. Like Halford, Paul Stanley is
no longer able to hit the high notes, his attempt at ‘I
Was Made For Loving You’ sounding like a tabby cat being
strangled. But, hip replacement or no hip replacement, the über-camp
Stanley continues to simper and cavort around the stage like
the archetypal, oversexed rock ‘n’ roll tart of
old. Defiantly referring to the show as ‘Donington’
(as opposed to ‘Download’), Paul is every bit as
likeable as $immons is unsavoury.
The
first half of the show was dedicated to the ‘Alive’
concert double-set from 1975, though ‘Firehouse’,
‘Watchin’ You’ and ‘Rock Bottom’
were mysteriously left out. If, as seemed to be the case for
the less partisan fans, this material was a little obscure for
popular taste, then $immon$ lightened the mood by breathing
fire at the end of ‘Hotter Than Hell’, and Tommy
Thayer ably recreated Frehley’s old ‘rocket-firing
guitar’ trick, while Eric Singer’s kit was made
to ‘levitate’ during ‘100,000 Years’.
The final song, ‘Rock And Roll All Nite’, was accompanied
by a billowing tickertape storm, and the band taking their places
on elevated platforms at the sides of the stage… incredible
stuff. You wanted an encore? You got 40 minutes’ worth,
including $immons$ spitting blood and ‘flying’ up
to the gantry for ‘I Love It Loud’ and Stanley swinging
out over the audience to sing ‘Love Gun’. Old tricks,
admittedly, but they still work just fine.
Here’s
the Kiss set-list: ‘Deuce’, ‘Strutter’,
‘Got To Choose’, ‘Nothin’ To Lose’,
‘Hotter Than Hell’, ‘C’Mon And Love
Me’, ‘Parasite’, ‘She’/Guitar
Solo, ‘100,000 Years’ (including Drum Solo), ‘Cold
Gin’, ‘Let Me Go Rock And Roll’, ‘Black
Diamond’, ‘Rock And Roll All Nite’, ‘Shout
It Out Loud’, ‘Lick It Up’ (incorporating
The Who’s ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’),
Bass Solo/‘I Love It Loud’, ‘I Was Made For
Loving You’, ‘Love Gun’, ‘Detroit Rock
City’.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday
13th June
Last
night I met up with Ian Mansell, an old boozing buddy from the
Marquee Club days, for the first time in… oooh…
at least a decade. As veterans of White Lion’s historic
residency at the old Wardour Street watering hole, we were both
keen to check out singer Mike Tramp’s new incarnation
of the band (sadly, our ‘catch-up’ meant I only
caught the last three songs by support act Crimes Of Passion,
though I enjoyed what little I saw). Despite being one of the
few UK journos to write positively about WL’s comeback
disc ‘Return Of The Pride’, also somebody that likes
Mr Tramp a great deal as an individual, I concede that the show
got off to a somewhat tepid start. The first half hour was spent
coming to terms with the absence of guitarist Vito Bratta, whose
sonic arpeggios and all-round X Factor were so integral to the
original group’s soundscape. To Jamie Law’s credit,
he resisted the temptation of attempting to copy what had gone
before, though the distinct lack of fizz didn’t help my
sense of mild alienation. ‘Wait’, the band’s
MTV-inspired breakthrough hit, was where it all began to make
sense.
The
thinner than expected crowd was another source of frustration,
though Tramp’s honesty (“We are all holding on to
that last flame of rock ‘n’ roll, but as long as
I still have long hair they won’t take it away from me”)
must have endeared him to those that bothered to turn up, as
did a run of well-performed classics such as ‘Tell Me’,
‘Broken Heart’ and ‘Hungry’. Given the
absence of ‘Fight To Survive’, ‘Lights And
Thunder’ or even the new album’s ‘Live Your
Life’, the cover of the Golden Earring classic ‘Radar
Love’ caused my heart to sink. Before the final number,
Tramp took time to explain Bratta’s absence, explaining
that “from day one the door has been open” for the
errant guitarist to re-join, also that the next time the pair’s
paths are due to cross will be “in a courtroom”.
“For 17 years he has chosen not to reach out to the fans
or open his fucking mouth, to explain his story,” sighed
the Dane. “I just wish the man would have some fucking
balls because I’m sick and tired of answering questions
[on his behalf]. I’m not stealing anything from him. He’s
sitting at home making the same kind of money as I am, but every
band has one bitter motherfucker. No matter what, the music
of White Lion will go on until the day you don’t want
it anymore.”
For
what it’s worth, initial reservations aside, I’m
right behind Mike's quest to preserve the group’s legacy.
Here’s what they played in London: ‘Goin’
Home Tonight’, ‘Little Fighter’,‘Love
Don’t Come Easy’, ‘Lonely Nights’, ‘Set
Me Free’, ‘El Salvador’, ‘All The Fallen
Men’, ‘Wait’, ‘Dream’, ‘Tell
Me’, ‘Broken Heart’, ‘Hungry’,
‘Living On The Edge’, ‘The Road To Valhalla’,
‘Lady Of The Valley’, ‘Radar Love’,
‘When The Children Cry’ and ‘Sangre De Cristo’.
P.S.
Still on the subject of Golden Earring, can’t recall whether
I mentioned the Dutch band (much beloved of Sir Steve of Harris)
have lined-up two rare UK shows next March. Just try keeping
me away from the Shepherds Bush Empire show.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday
11th June
Yesterday was one of those annoying instances when a painful
decision must be made. Glenn Hughes at the Astoria, or REO Speedwagon's
show at the IndigO2? In the end, knowing that Hughes (and mysterious
'Friends') will be at the Rock & Blues Custom Show in July,
I went for the latter option.
This morning, with the benefit of hindsight, I'm left wondering
why Kevin Cronin and company bothered to come back so soon after
last June's poorly attended bash at Hammersmith Apollo. The
IndigO2 crowd was similarly sparse, which probably explains
why they slashed 15 minutes from an almost identical set-list.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the chance to watch REO again
- Cronin is a balladmeister par excellence, and 'Back On The
Road Again' remains among my all-time fave tunes - the sound
was excellent, but, but. what was the point? Really?
Here's the song-list: 'Don't Let Him Go', 'Take It On The Run',
'Keep Pushin', 'Find Your Own Way Home', 'That Ain't Love',
'Tough Guys', 'Can't Fight This Feeling', 'Dangerous Combination',
'Son Of A Poor Man', 'I Needed To Fall', 'Time For Me To Fly',
'Back On The Road Again', 'Keep On Loving You', 'Roll With The
Changes' and an encore of 'Ridin' The Storm Out'.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday
9th June
Well, we're back from Sweden Rock. Alas, yesterday's
return flight from Malmö was delayed by two hours, which
prevented me from heading off to the Scala to see Sabbat (who,
according to guitarist Andy Sneap, were going to perform their
'Dreamweaver' album in its entirety - grrrrr).
I cannot speak highly enough of what I experienced during the
past few days. Swedish rock fans were friendly and courteous.
Their country was clean and beautiful, without a sign of graffiti.
And the show itself, well, it puts Download to shame. If you
ever get the chance to go - grab it with both hands.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday
8th June
I
awoke with a kingsize hangover on the morning of Sweden Rock's
fourth and final day. Getting to shoot the breeze with Ken Hensley
in the hotel reception compensated a little for the fact that
I'd decided to watch Ratt instead (purely because the American
rodents hadn't played the UK since 1990). Obviously, I didn't
tell him that!!
Lizzy Borden began at the ludicrously early time of midday.
For a fair-skinned critter like myself, with the Swedish sun
directly overhead, the temperature was reaching roasting point.
If the LA group's cod-theatrics seemed slightly incongruous
in glaring sunlight the quality of such slickly-performed anthems
as 'Be One Of Us', 'Sins Of The Flesh', 'Tomorrow Never Comes'
and 'Me Against The World' gradually disposed of the crowd's
torpor. If they **had** to do cover versions I'd rather have
heard 'Live And Let Die' by Wings instead of 'Born To Be Wild',
though the set-closing sprint through Rainbow's 'Long Live Rock
'N' Roll' was decent enough.
Though distinctly undervalued in Britain, Gotthard's high-quality
melodic hard rock was perfectly suited to the main stage. Blessed
with a voice that Coverdale would envy and the stage moves to
match, Steve Lee is equally adept at yearning ballads ('The
Call', 'Let It Be') and arena-friendly rockers ('Master Of Illusion',
'All We Are'), and after bouncing through 'Lift U Up', the Swiss
band's combination of gourmet cheese, enthusiastic polish and
hard graft deserved an encore.
It's been seven years since Blue Öyster Cult last released
anything new, which is pretty tragic for a group that were once
so important. Deprived of a voice, they are reduced to trotting
out perfunctory renditions of 'Cities On Flame With Rock 'N'
Roll', 'Astronomy' and the evergreen
'Godzilla' and '(Don't Fear) The Reaper'. An entertaining distraction
was BÖC's mild needling of and the evolutionary primates
that followed them.
"What a great day for a rock show. when I'm done, I'm gonna
go and watch Ratt," teased Eric Bloom playfully. The remark
reached Stephen Pearcy, who twice referred to the Cult with
mock sincerity during his own group's set. Recovering from a
slightly rushed start, Ratt purred through more than 20 songs,
winding up with an air-punching 'Round And Round'. Don't leave
it so long next time, fellas.
With a wheeze and a splutter, the Rock And Roll Machine eased
back into life. Canada's Triumph hadn't played together for
two decades, something their lumpen versions of 'When The Lights
Go Down' and 'Lay It On The Line' failed to hide. However, as
confidence grew the show improved. Guitarist Rik Emmett wasn't
shy of the high notes on the songs he sang, and save for a superfluous
re-make of 'Rocky Mountain Way' by Joe Walsh, they went on to
fulfil the expectations of the most demanding fan. My own favourite
was the classic 'I Live For The Weekend', though the epic 'Blinding
Light Show' was divine. The good news is that the band have
promised a world tour next year if they "don't end up killing"
one another in Sweden.
Avantasia's 'The Scarecrow' might turn out to be one of the
year's best records, but sadly their live performance just didn't
hang together. How jumbled could things be when band-leader
Tobias Sammet introduced 'Serpents In Paradise' as being about
"penises going to heaven"? The brainchild of the Edguy
frontman, who dubs their style "metal opera", Avantasia
is supposed to be a star-studded coming together of disparate
talents. No disrespect to Gamma Ray's Kai Hansen, who depped
for Alice Cooper on 'The Toy Master', or to Bob Catley of Magnum,
who sang 'The Story Ain't Over' and 'Shelter From The Rain',
but with Rudolf Schenker of the Scorps another absentee, the
rest of the cast had more in common with The Three Tenners than
The Three Tenors.
And so, reluctantly, to the final band. Poison hadn't deigned
to visit Europe since their ill-fated spell with Richie Kotzen,
back in 1993. With CC DeVille on guitar again, I'd been dying
to see them, but they raced through their set with such haste
it felt like they couldn't wait to board the flight home. Allotted
an hour and a half, Poison arrived late and finished early,
their 75 minutes eaten up by an intro tape, encore gap and lame
solos from DeVille and drummer Rikki Rockett. Very much a case
of: Wham bam, thanks for the $$$, ma’am. Most of debut
album 'Look What The Cat Dragged In' was aired, and 'Every Rose
Has Its Thorn' still stands up marvellously, but after so long
away it felt like taking the piss to include two songs from
2007's disposable 'Poison'd!' covers album ('What I Like About
You' by the Romantics and Tom Petty's 'I Need To Know'). It
was, in truth, a disappointing end to an otherwise inspirational
week.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday
7th June
Tesla
began Day #3 of Sweden Rock with a triumphant set that overturned
memories of an atypically flaccid display at last year’s
Hard Rock Hell. In baking hot sun and with crystal clear sound
they ran through the cream of their catalogue, throwing in a
cover of UFO’s ‘Rock Bottom’ for good measure.
There really are few better frontmen than Jeff Keith, and what
a joy to watch a musician deriving such pleasure from his vocation.
Sticking largely to the set they’ve played since reconvening
last May, the Toby Jepson-fronted Fastway rendered a good thing
better still by adding a buoyant ‘All I Need Is Your Love’.
Sadly,
Shakin’ Street were well into their stride by the time
I reached the Zeppelin Stage. I hadn’t expected Ross The
Boss, the ex-Dictators/Manowar guitarist, to be with them, but
there he was churning out the riff to ‘No Compromise’.
The foxy Fabienne Shine sports a different size of leather pants
these days though the glint in her eye whilst singing ‘I
Want To Box You’ suggests she still turns a trick or two…
just as well as there’s a new album on its way.
Having
seen Ace Frehley at the Astoria back in April, it was time to
grab some nosebag before The Poodles introduced their new guitarist
Henrik Bergqvist. Didn’t get a chance to watch a whole
lot of their set, though ‘Metal Will Stand Tall’
was a titanic example of cartoon-ish, sugar-coated glitter-pop.
The long-awaited Carcass reunion took place on the Sweden Stage.
Sadly, the soundman did the band’s complex grindcore no
favours whatsoever for the first 15 minutes. Then, during ‘Corporeal
Jigsore Quandary’, it clicked into place. To my considerable
amusement, the ever-sarcastic Jeff Walker even dedicated ‘No
Love Lost’, from the brilliant (and recently re-released)
‘Heartwork’ album to my good self. Amid gentle digs
at the Gothenburg groups that followed in their wake, Walker
called guitarist Bill Steer “the man that said he’d
never do this”, adding: “then again, so did I.”
Original Carcass sticksman Ken Owen came close to death after
slipping into a coma a decade ago. “Unfortunately, he’s
still with us,” deadpanned Walker as a badly impaired
Owen was assisted onto the stage to pootle around on Arch Enemy
loanee Daniel Erlandsson’s kit for a minute or two, receiving
a wave of affection and respect in return.
Joe
Elliott wasn’t kidding when he warned Classic Rock that
Def Leppard’s tour with Whitesnake would be “competitive”.
The difference in priorities was easy to see. While Leppard
were out to entertain, David Coverdale was hell-bent on force-feeding
us with the new ‘Good To Be Bad’ album. Effing and
blinding like a geriatric Tourette’s sufferer (“This
one goes back fucking years and years; all you young ones, you
probably weren’t even fucking born”), Coverdale
vainly attempted to preserve his voice with a variety of procrastination
techniques; solos for guitarists Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach
and drummer Chris Frazier, lengthy band introductions and the
inevitable crowd participation segment of ‘Ain’t
No Love In The Heart Of The City’ (amazingly, in this
instance, the audience was ‘Ready ‘N’ Willing’
but patently didn’t know the words). Of the eleven actual
songs that Whitesnake performed, no less than four – ‘Best
Years’, ‘Can You Hear The Wind Blow?’, ‘All
I Want All I Need’, ‘A Fool In Love’ –
came from ‘Good To Be Bad’. When they did play a
vintage song, ‘Ain’t Gonna Cry No More’, it
was reduced to a limp acoustic pastiche. By contrast, Leppard
also mined their own latest disc, ‘Songs From The Sparkle
Lounge’, but gave the fans exactly what they wanted, a
conveyor belt of glittering hits ‘Rocket’, ‘Animal’,
‘Foolin’’, ‘Mirror Mirror’, ‘Love
Bites’, ‘Photograph’, ‘Rock Of Ages’
and the classic ‘Hysteria’ sealing a night of triumph.
Back
at the hotel, Mrs L and I sat in the bar until sunrise, demolishing
a bottle of Bacardi with Brian Robertson and his manager Soren
Lindberg whilst attempting to set a Guinness Book Of Records
entry for talking the most utter puerile bollocks in the history
of mankind. We succeeded, of course…
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday
6th June
With
around 25 bands performing each day across four different stages,
the Sweden Rock organisers do their best to rule out clashes
of style and mostly manage it well enough. The only times I
bit my tongue were when the schedules of Ratt and Hensley/Lawton’s
Live Fire and Testament and Derringer happened to collide. Unlike
so many other festivals, the show runs like clockwork with rapid
changeovers, and is largely asshole-free. The only time I saw
somebody throw a bottle at the stage all weekend was during
Tesla’s set (and even then, Jeff Keith caught it and smilingly
remarked: “I love beer, but not like that”). With
Sebastian Bach failing to show up due to flight problems, here’s
what I watched on Day #2.
Given
that singer Ralf Scheepers almost replaced Rob Halford, it was
appropriate that Primal Fear performed on the day headlined
by Judas Priest. With powerful, hummable song arrangements that
gleam like chrome in the sunlight, their set was a revelation.
Though complete unknowns in the UK, Denmark’s Volbeat
are phenomenally popular on mainland Europe. Influenced by Johnny
Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Megadeth, their dark, rhythmic hard
pop is extremely catchy, but if it all gets a little too testosterone-charged
there’s always the mildly boogie-fied blues of Omar &
The Howlers over on the Rock Stage. For 70 minutes of their
allotted hour and a half, Coheed & Cambria were utterly
mesmerising. Despite bursting into Iron Maiden’s ‘The
Trooper’ midway through, the show was slightly flawed
by a space-rock jam and seemingly interminable drum solo.
Back
together for the first time in 32 years, the classic Derringer
line-up delivered an immaculate, incendiary display of foot-stomping
hard rock. “One of our favourite things about being together
again is that we’ve still got hair,” chuckled Rick
Derringer, introducing one of the finest songs played all weekend,
“and we’re ‘Still Alive And Well’.”
As
dusk settled behind the Zeppelin stage, guitarist Vinny Burns
played with Dare once more. Burns and singer Darren Wharton
lock in a manly embrace after two numbers, which is touching.
In the proverbial game of two halves, the band filled the first
half of their set with the ethereal Celtic-flavoured fare they
recorded during the late-90s before older songs like ‘Abandon’,
‘Into The Fire’ and ‘The Raindance’
lit my own personal powder keg. After a re-worked version of
Thin Lizzy’s ‘Emerald’, that band’s
ex-guitarist Brian Robertson walked out to add spice to ‘Jailbreak’
and ‘Rosalie’.
How
feeble was the band attempting to pass itself off as Electric
Light Orchestra? Inexcusably so. A motley array of old gits
who’d had the honour of playing with the wisely absent
Jeff Lynne, they administered the cabaret treatment to ‘Telephone
Line’, ‘Turn To Stone’ and, appropriately,
‘Hold On Tight To Your Dream’. Sadly, to tap a line
from ‘Mr Blue Sky’, I’ll end up remembering
ELO this way.
What
about headliners Judas Priest? Well, their set-list was a bit
of a mess. Opening with ‘Prophecy’, they included
one other song (‘Death’) from the new ‘Nostradamus’
album and threw in several wild cards (‘Between The Hammer
And The Anvil’, ‘Eat Me Alive’). If ‘Living
After Midnight’ was a glaring omission, ‘Dissident
Aggressor (from 1977’s ‘Sin After Sin’) softened
the blow. Rob Halford’s voice isn’t what it once
was, but for the most part it sounded okay – better, certainly,
than on certain nights on the band’s last tour –
and he was brave enough to attempt ‘Sinner’. They
receive a cautious thumbs-up from yours truly.
The
hotel bar was stuffed with members of Saxon, Dare, Tesla, Primal
Fear, Ace Frehley’s band and Crucified Barbara, alongside
Brian Robertson and Kai Hansen. Brian Wheat and Frank Hannon
played me a demo of a new Tesla song on Wheat’s laptop,
which sounded great. Thrilled by my Metal Hammer review of the
band’s show at Shepherds Bush Empire, Saxon’s Biff
Byford was in convivial mood (read: ‘pissed out of his
head’, indeed he later wrote in his own blog: ‘I
got myself a large wine, turned around and tripped over Dave
Ling’… slight exaggeration). I’ve never known
Biff to be such pleasant, effervescent company. As the sun rose,
I tried to sneak out of the bar and back to my room. “Are
you reviewing the festival?” challenged Byford. When I
replied in the affirmative, he forced another vodka into my
hand and demanded: “Well, leave us the fuck out. You couldn’t
beat the one you just wrote. You’re on a roll, don’t
burst that bubble.”
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday
5th June
Here’s
a quick appraisal of Sweden Rock 2008, Day One. An excited Clan
Ling flew out of Gatwick on Tuesday evening to arrive in Malmö
at around midnight. From there it had looked a relatively easy
drive to the site, which we understood was in Sölvesborg
(with the hotel close nearby). Both of these facts turned out
incorrect, and at 4.40am we were still driving around the Sölvesborg
seeking somebody – anybody! – from whom to ask directions.
As we finally got to bed at our luxurious spa-side accommodation
in Ronneby Brunnspark, 45 minutes down the road, the sun was
well and truly in the sky. Luckily, Day #1 was something of
a dress rehearsal for what was to follow (this year is the first
time that Sweden Rock has run for four days). So we sat around
and drank with my Swedish pal Stefan Johansson as a steady build
up of punters arrived at the site.
Even
at such an early stage, it became apparent that (hefty bar prices
aside) Sweden Rock is a heaven on earth for serious fans of
rock music. A procession of incredible long-lost T-shirts passed
by, including Oxen Killer, Elixir, Kick Axe and even Classic
Rock magazine… I favoured my Phantom Blue jobbie, in honour
of Michelle Meldrum (RIP). Korplikaani’s crazy, harmonium
and violin-fuelled hoedowns caused an early evening stir, but
Airbourne were the first real group worthy of serious attention.
Their shamelessly AC/DC-inspired boogie really hit the spot,
vocalist Joel O’Keeffe sealing the crowd’s approval
by scaling scaffolding at the side of the stage, ascending as
far as the lighting rig with guitar dangling dangerously from
his side. One slip and he’d have been a goner.
The
tuneful melodic power metal of local lads Sabaton went down
better still, though to these ears it all sounded just a little
too by-numbers. The band I’d really been waiting for was
Satyricon, who closed the main stage just before midnight. The
long-running Norwegian duo really is among the very few acts
still doing anything remotely interesting with black metal anymore,
and if ‘Havoc Vulture’, ‘Repined Bastard Nation’,
‘To The Mountains’ and ‘The Pentagram Burns’
sounded great in the chilly night air, then the dark edginess
of new single ‘My Skin Is Cold’ simply ruled.
With
time to kill before the coach returned to the hotel, there was
time to catch the final few songs of Sweet Savage, who were
on in the Gibson tent. ‘Lady Of The Night’ and ‘Killing
Time’, the latter famously covered by Metallica, had the
place rocking like no-one’s business, though I seemed
to be alone in thinking that segueing into Thin Lizzy’s
‘Whiskey In The Jar’ by dint of shared nationality
was perhaps a little gratuitous.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday
3rd June
London is being doused in a persistent sheen of fine rain.
So it's good job that I depart for the Sweden Rock festival,
where the temperature is expected to be lodged in the mid-80s,
in several hours. Having spent a while poring over the running
times, my one frustration is that Ratt and Ken Henley and John
Lawton's Live Fire are both due to play at the exact time, on
different stages (of course). That's a tough one to call. Anyway,
here are this month's Playlist and
YouTube.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday
2nd June
There's disappointing, though not wholly unexpected,
news for Palace followers. Despite having professed to be a
CPFC fan and promised to sign a senior contract on May 31, Academy
protégé John Bostock has turned his back on the
club that discovered him to sign a big money deal with Tottenham
Hotpsur instead. With Chelski, Man Ure and Spanish giants Barcelona
also sniffing around the 16-year-old, who made his debut for
the Eagles against Watford last term, I wasn't naive enough
to expect Bostock to pledge a lifelong allegiance to Selhurst
Park, but to flee the nest **this** soon reeks of greenback
fever. And Spurs? SPURS??!! The club that did such a terrific
job of nurturing another of our kid wonders, Wayne Routledge.
The lad Bostock has been poorly advised in my opinion.
Still on the subject of 'the beautiful game', last night Mrs
L and I drained a large bottle of vodka whilst savouring the
extended season finale of Lost, then watching the late-night
televised friendly between Trindad & Tobago and England.
It was men against boys as Capello's team romped home to triumph
by three clear goals, with energy to spare. T&T were so
shamefully abysmal that even the hapless Jermain Defoe - international
football's equivalent of Stevie Wonder - had no problems in
planting two past them... which says plenty.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday
1st June
Just
home from a record fair. Almost strained my bloody back in carrying
a shopping full bag of goodies, including Joni Mitchell's double live
album 'Shadows And Light', 'Sneak Me In' by Lucifer's Friend (sadly,
John Lawton's not on that one), a 1974 obscurity from a band called
Fallenrock (for a measly quid I'll take a chance on just about anything
released by Capricorn Records), Venom's 'Official Bootleg' and a Frankie
Miller oldie that I didn't have.
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