Tuesday 30th June
“Aaaah…
oh, it’s you from Classic thingy, isn’t it?”
Yes, it’s me. From Classic thingy. And I’ve
been trying to get through to Francis Rossi for a scheduled
interview. “Sorry, I was skinning up,” he
casually informs me, by way of excuse. “Should I
be saying that?!” It’s always a pleasure to
chew the cud with Quo’s gloriously indiscreet guitarist.
Even before I switch on the tape recorder for the real
purpose of my call, the quotes flow freely. We make small-talk
about the band’s appearance at Glastonbury, how
odd it was to see him minus his famous ponytail (“I
haven’t had short hair since I was 16, I feel so
good without it”) and, best of all, Rossi recounts
the tale of smoking a joint during the encore break of
a gig at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, and the affect
it had upon him. Brilliant stuff.
It’s
been a really good day. The weather is boiling hot, and
I also got to talk to the legendary John Mayall for the
first time. In addition, there was a chin-wag with Joey
Tempest about Europe’s new album, ‘Last Look
back At Eden’, the title cut of which sees the Swedes
attempting to write their own keyboard-enhanced version
of ‘Kashmir’. Which is no coincidence, as
on the band’s new five-song EP, they’ve also
covered Zeppelin’s ‘Since I’ve Been
Loving You’.
P.S.
Well done to Andy Murray, whose gruelling yet dramatic
five-set triumph over Stanislas Wawrinka keeps alive the
dream of a Brit winning Wimbledon.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 28th June
Earlier
this evening I tuned into BBC4 for Status Quo’s
televised performance at the Glastonbury Festival –
Christ, doesn’t it say something about the renaissance
of ‘real’ rock music when a band like Quo
finds a home at such a nauseating bastion of über-trendiness?
With finger poised on the channel change button (just
in case they played the execrable ‘Burning Bridges’),
I boogied around the living room, my two young sons ferrying
cold drinks from the kitchen. What a great way to wind
up the weekend.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday
27th June
It’s
not often I agree with anything Gene $immons has to say,
but the Kiss bassist’s reflections upon Michael
Jackson’s passing indicate that he **is** capable
of engaging brain before opening that famous mouth of
his. While so many others have been carried way with eulogies
based purely upon Jackson’s undoubted abilities
as both an entertainer and a singer – let’s
face it, doesn’t everyone own a copy of ‘Thriller’?;
I know I do – the elephant in the room is being
studiously ignored. In a newly issued statement, $immons
references both “the children who spent nights with
Michael in his bed” and the alleged payments of
$20 million that are said to have ensured their silence,
daring to proclaim: “I recognize and respect [Jackson’s]
talent, and I hope he finds peace, but the rest is very
tainted.” Speaking as a fellow parent, I can offer
but one word of response: Hallelujah.
P.S.
I’ve **finally** found the time to update the Playlist
and YouTube sections.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday
26th June
Even as someone that found the supergroup’s
self-titled debut album tepid, I was blown away by last
night’s gig from Chickenfoot. Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani,
Michael Anthony and Chad Smith almost literally blew the
roof off the Shepherd’s Bush Empire.
Although originally billed as an acoustic performance
from singer Neville Mac Donald and guitarist Myke Gray,
the entire five-man Skin line-up turned up for an excellent
unplugged support spot. The gig had long since sold out,
of course. In reality, Chickenfoot could have filled the
Shepherd’s Bush Empire two or three times over,
but the quality of Skin’s six-song set (‘Colourblind’,
‘Take Me Down To The River’, ‘House
Of Love’, ‘Tripping’, ‘Look But
Don’t Touch’ and ‘Tower Of Strength’)
elicited a strong reaction from a group of fans that had
probably never seen them before – always a good
sign.
Sure it contains some great material like ‘Sexy
Little Thing’ and ‘Learning To Fall’
but my main grumble regarding Chickenfoot’s album
is that it often sounds like a glorified jam session,
which during the course of their performance Hagar revealed
is exactly what they were. However, the band’s display
at Shepherd’s Bush was utterly electrifying. It
has been **way** too long since the Red Rocker last trod
a British stage – as special guests to Bon Jovi
at Wembley Stadium in mid-1995, to be precise –
and as someone that experienced his own solo gigs during
the 1980s, I freely admit that Sammy’s return to
the UK was my main reason for attending last night’s
show. It soon became obvious that Chickenfoot is a band,
not some glorified solo project. Satriani’s playing
was extraordinary, and hearing Michael Anthony’s
thunderous bass-lines and backing vocals quickly reminded
me what a key member of Van Halen he used to be. And Chad
Smith? The man is an absolute lunatic; when he chucked
his drums across the stage at the show’s end, almost
decapitating Hagar in the process, it was a glorious rock
‘n’ roll moment.
The
105-minute set consisted of all but one of the record’s
dozen tracks (the omission being ‘My Kinda Girl’),
plus an encore of the Montrose classic ‘Bad Motor
Scooter’ and ‘Highway Star’ by Deep
Purple, which saw Satriani tearing up the proverbial storm.
Amusingly, Purple’s Ian Paice was sitting a few
feet away and could be spotted capturing the reworking
on his mobile phone. Before departing, Hagar promised
that the band will be back before too long. If Chickenfoot
are this ridiculously tight after just 12 shows, their
future looks exceptionally bright.
P.S. Despite the inevitable hullaballoo over Michael Jackson’s
demise, I’m more inclined to mourn the passing of
former Charlie’s Angels pin-up Farrah Fawcett, an
object of ardour from myself and many red-blooded males
of my generation. Actually, it’s an odd coincidence
that Jackson would expire on the same day as Farrah as
she used to fool around with Majors and Jacko is known
for… ah, forget it…
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday
25th June
Those
that frequent this page on a regular basis will be aware
of my affection for UFO. The band’s latest British
tour last night came to an end and, naturally, I was among
a packed Shepherd’s Bush Empire crowd. In fact,
I’d arrived well in advance of the show, with three
clear goals. The first was to conduct a quick interview
with guitarist Vinnie Moore (a box that was very quickly
ticked – what a pleasant man!). The second was to
investigate support act Raven
Vandelle, a four-piece from the Midlands whose six-song
EP shows much promise… notably its superb opening
song, ‘Pray’. I enjoyed them sufficiently
to want to see them again next month when they open for
the Electric Boys at the Underworld. And my third objective?
To sink a shitload of alcohol – c’mon, this
is UFO ferchrissakes!!
Phil
Mogg’s stage garb of a kilt was dubious, and in
spite of the singer’s pre-tour prediction, the set-list
did **not** include any ‘Tonka’ Chapman-era
material. However, the headliners nevertheless turned
in a superb display. Mogg was four sheets to the wind,
but turned in some entertaining quips, telling ridiculous
tales of a public convenience that used to be on the corner
of Shepherd’s Bush Green and launching into a mini-rant
at Americans (“You yanks come over ’ere, taking
our women with your chocolates and stockings”).
It was great that the band delved back to the ‘Obsession’
album for two classic tracks; ‘Ain’t No Baby’
and ‘Cherry’. Inspired by a rivalry with their
Chrysalis Records label-mates The Babys, I bet John Waite’s
ears were burning during the former scathing diatribe
(sample lyric: “Romancin’ with the company
as they pour in the pounds/If the next thing is you and
then who are the clowns?”) while it was odd to hear
the latter’s distinctive bass intro played by someone
other than Pete Way, for whom sometime Ted Nugent/Dokken
man Barry Sparks did a sterling job deputising (get well,
soon Pete – how unnerving to see a UFO four-stringer
in a vertical position throughout the entire show). Here’s
the set-list: ‘Saving Me’, ‘When Daylight
Goes To Town’, ‘Mother Mary’, ‘I’m
A Loser’, ‘This kids’, ‘Cherry’,
‘Helldriver’, ‘Baby Blue’, ‘Ain’t
No Baby’, ‘Only You Can Rock Me’, ‘Love
To Love’, ‘Lights Out’, ‘Too Hot
To Handle’ and ‘Rock Bottom’, with encores
of ‘Doctor Doctor’ and ‘Shoot Shoot’.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday
24th June
Blimey,
maybe I should start some sort of rock ‘n’
roll library? Today’s postbag haul included a signed,
numbered copy of The Man Who Sang Blockbuster, a biography
of Brian Connolly, by Brian Manly (published by www.somehitwonders.co.uk).
As legendary frontman of The Sweet, Connolly was a boyhood
hero, so I can’t wait to wade into that one. And
for some background music, how about ‘The Candlelight
Years’, a three-CD retrospective of Opeth’s
first three albums, plus the double-CD, original soundtrack
of Iron Maiden’s movie, Flight 666? The DVD version’s
also here, too. Great stuff.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 23rd June
I’ve
finally completed the revised edition of Richard Cole’s
tell-all Led Zeppelin tome, Stairway To Heaven –
Uncensored. It’s a good read, with plenty of juicy
gossip from the band’s former tour manager. I particularly
enjoyed the story of John Bonham getting paralytic on
a long-haul flight, pissing himself and then swapping
seats with his assistant, Mick Hinton. It also ends on
a touching note, with Cole dining alongside Robert Plant
and Cole’s daughter Claire. When Plant receives
an affirmative response to his question of, “Is
Richard a good daddy to you?”, Percy informs the
young girl: “[Richard] was my dad for many years,
too.” Aaaah, sweet.
And
just as I finish that book, another drops into my lap.
My Classic Rock and Metal Hammer colleague Joel McIver
has kindly sent a copy of To Live Is To Die, his critically
praised biography of the late, great Metallica bassist
Cliff Burton. Having picked up Lemmy’s autobiography,
White Line Fever, and a book on Ian Dury, Sex & Drugs
& Rock ‘N’ Roll, during the past few days
I’m hardly short on reading material for the next
few months.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday 21st June
Under
normal circumstances I’d have been at tonight’s
London gig from Sacred Reich. But not at the Scala, by
far my least favourite venue in England’s capital
city. And certainly not on Father’s Day. So I’m
taking it (fairly) easy instead; a relaxing lunch with
the rest of the Ling Clan punctuating a full day’s
work at the PC.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday
19th June
Last
night I went to the Islington Academy – what a great
three-band bill! Fronted by the irrepressible Harv Harbinson,
Irish hard rockers Stormzone opened the show, previewing
material from a forthcoming album called ‘The Death
Dealer’. They impressed me greatly. Likewise special
guests, the reunited Airrace. Though forced to perform
minus Jason Bonham, who had prior commitments, Simon Dawson
from The Outfield proved a more than competent deputy.
Following my earlier trip to see the band in Colchester
(see diary, May 30), it was refreshing to hear them playing
through a decent PA, though their 35 minutes seemed to
pass by in the blink of an eyelid.
Headliners
Tesla were, quite simply, out of this world. Some might
find Jeff Keith’s stage manner a little kooky (hi
Ross!), but he has a spine-tingling, raspy voice and is
among the best frontmen around. The Sacramento band can
also consider themselves unbelievably fortunate to have
found a talent as immense as guitarist Dave Rude on their
own doorstep just when they needed him. Four tunes pulled
from the new album ‘Forever More’ gelled neatly
with the band’s vintage material, and over the course
of almost two hours, Tesla proceeded to give a masterclass
in the seemingly lost art of moulding radio-hooks to red-hot
riffs, though they sounded equally irresistible whilst
playing lighter, more seductive fare such as ‘Signs’,
‘What You Give’ and ‘Song And Emotion’
– the latter dedicated to their late touring partner,
Def Leppard’s Steve Clark. To be honest, I could
have listened to them all fuggin’ night. Here’s
the set-list: ‘Forever More’, ‘Live
Before I Die’ ‘Modern Day Cowboy’, ‘Breakin’
Free’, ‘Hang Tough’, ‘Heaven’s
Trail (No Way Out)’, ‘Mama’s Fool’,
‘So What!’, ‘Getting’ Better’,
‘What A Shame’, ‘Song And Emotion’,
‘Love Song’, ‘Signs’, ‘What
You Give’, ‘Into The Now’, ‘Cumin’
Atcha Live’ and an encore of ‘Rock Me To The
Top’.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday
17th June
After
a long day of being shackled to the computer, I met Derek
Oliver and John Dryland at Oxford Circus for pint or two
of cider before Steel Panther’s gig at the 229 Club.
Derek was actually going to see Heaven’s Basement
in Camden but wanted to borrow an album sleeve. I took
grateful receipt of the two latest Rock Candy releases;
Raging Slab’s self-titled album from 1989 and the
first album from Circus Of Power, originally issued a
year earlier. ‘Raging Slab’ is a long-time
fave of mine, playing it again now, it’s easy to
see why they were dubbed “Lynyrd Skynyrd meets Metallica”
back in the day.
Having
heard so many great reports of their displays at Download
and enjoyed the band’s ‘Feel The Steel’
debut, I was dying to experience Steel Panther live. Though
they perhaps over-egged the pudding in terms of stage
banter – with bassist Lexxi Foxxx (often seen admiring
himself in a hand mirror) the main butt of the jokes from
vocalist Michael Starr and guitarist Satchel – there
were some great one-line quips. Foxxx even played a showcase
of his own; a ‘hair solo’, during which Starr
and Satchel stood either side of him a blew his locks
into the air while the bassist thundered out the closing,
elongated chords to ‘Turn Out The Lights’.
For ‘Party All Day’ they were joined onstage
by Justin Hawkins, one of the album’s many special
guests (others include Scott Ian, Corey Taylor from Slipknot
and Nelson’s Matthew Nelson), before everybody played
The Darkness’ ‘I Believe In A Thing Called
Love’. With encores consisting of Mötley Crüe’s
‘Kickstart My Heart’ and ‘Panama’
by Van Halen, no-one was left doubting their musicianly
credentials, which I guess is more than can be said for
Spinal Tap and Bad News, no matter how amusing those so-called
‘bands’ might have been on screen. The only
real annoyance was the omission of ‘Eatin’
Ain’t Cheatin’, an ode to cunnilingus on the
road. Here’s the set-list in full: ‘Eyes Of
A Panther’, ‘Asian Hooker’, ‘The
Shocker’, ‘Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)’,
‘Party All Day’, ‘I Believe In A Thing
Called Love’, ‘Community Property’,
‘Turn Out The Lights’, Stripper Girl’,
‘Girl From Oklahoma’ and ‘Death To All
But Metal’, with those aforementioned encores of
‘Kickstart My Heart’ and ‘Panama’.
In
a clever twist, the Panther held an after-show party at
the St Moritz Club, a former lair of the spandex/hairspray
metal scene of the ’80s – also a place in
which I spent a considerable amount of time and money
in my youth. Not having been to the Moritz in many a long
year, it felt extremely surreal to be there again.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday
16th June
Upon
returning home from Download I had just about enough time
to put down my bag, change my T-shirt, wince at my reflection
in the mirror – Christ, I caught the sun yesterday
whilst stood in front of the main stage – and head
off to the IndigO2 for Metal Hammer’s awards ceremony,
the Golden Gods. Truthfully, I was so self-conscious of
my red face that I almost considered not going after all.
I’m so glad that I decided to bite the bullet. Though
I got to see Saxon’s set from the rear of the stage,
for most of the night I was stationed in a tent around
the back, shoving my tape recorder under the noses of
the winners of each category, and as many backstage revellers
as possible. That meant grabbing quotes from Bruce Dickinson
and Nicko McBrain from Iron Maiden, who left with trophies
for Best UK Band and Golden Gods, plus Machine Head’s
Robb Flynn, Biff Byford of Saxon, Scott Ian from Anthrax,
Cronos of Venom, DragonForce’s Herman Li and Sam
Totman, Johan Hegg from Amon Amarth, Anvil’s Lips,
Ivan Moody of Five Finger Death Punch, former Emperor
man Ihsahn, Nergal from Behemoth, the infamous Satchel
from Steel Panther and Live Nation’s near-legendary
Andy Copping (who assured me that the ‘classic rock’
day at Download was so successful, it would be continuing
for the foreseeable future) among many, many others. The
nicest shock of the night was getting to meet Steve Vai
– what a sweetheart! With the copy expected first
thing this morning there was no after-show party for your
truly, just a trudge though the park with a kebab and
a much-needed early(-ish) night – the first in about
a week.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday
15th June
I’m
back from the Download Festival with a bad case of sunburn.
Apart from my usual grumble – there were way too
many bands, often with overlapping schedules – I
ended up having a fabulous time following a disappointing
Friday night. Here’s a very quick run-down:
•
Voivod – Stuck away on a distant stage and performing
before a couple of hundred people with shamefully bad
sound that didn’t become anywhere near acceptable
till the last number, a cover of the Floyd’s ‘Astronomy
Domine’, this was hardly a dream start for Download
2009. Worse still, some idiots were throwing bottles at
the legendary French-Canadian band. Why don’t the
numbskulls just fuck off and watch Limp Bizkit instead??!!
•
Opeth – Missed a big chunk of their set due
to being unable to locate the Second Stage. Believe me,
nothing is worse than trying to find where one of your
favourite groups are playing while Korn trot out their
overrated nonsense. But what I **did** catch was incredible.
•
New Device – The recent signings to Classic
Rock’s Power Age label were on the fourth stage,
where they attracted 100-odd fans, while Mötley Crüe
went through the motions – and I mean that literally
– on the second stage. As good as New Device were,
playing to a tiny gaggle of existing followers, I could
see little point in the band being on the bill…
save for getting their name onto the T-shirt in 8-point
type. I dunno… is that unnecessarily harsh?
•
Mötley – As implied above: Hopeless and
half-hearted. And that verdict comes from someone that
wore a T-shirt bought at their first Donington appearance,
in 1984. However, the band **were** the subject of the
best bit of gossip I heard all weekend. Not only do the
Crüe travel in separate limos, it seems they must
arrive at their destinations in a pre-arranged sequence.
A source tells me that, during their recent visit to London,
whilst making a journey that was a mere two streets away,
Tommy Lee’s car had the audacity to pull up first
and was sent around the block until Nikki Sixx arrived.
You couldn’t make it up.
•
Onto Saturday, and Down. With Phil Anselmo looking
and sounding right back at the top of his game, the New
Orleans sludge masters delivered a storming set that concluded
all too soon with the first album’s ‘Bury
Me In Smoke’.
•
DragonForce – Fuelled on testosterone, Smirnoff
and sword and sorcery imagery, these guys were an unstoppable
freight train of musical dexterity, but on this occasion
offered a well-measured display.
•
Lawnmower Deth – Attracted a huge crowd in the
Tuborg tent. Though the brilliantly-named guitarist Schizo
Rotary Sprintmaster was missing from the reunion, ditties
like ‘Did You Spill My Pint?’ and ‘Watch
Out Grandma Here Comes A Lawnmower’ went down a
treat.
•
Thunder – Played a surprise special guest spot
in the Tuborg tent as a prelude to their imminent farewell
tour. The reaction before, during and at the close of
their performance was truly something to behold, and I
admit to wiping away a tear when Danny Bowes informed
the crowd: “This is the last time we’ll play
this festival”.
•
Anvil – With Phil Anselmo losing his mind in
a flurry of headbanging side-stage, amid joining Lips
in barking out the choruses to ‘Winged Assassins’,
‘Forged In Fire’ and ‘Metal On Metal’,
the Canadian band celebrated its return to Castle Donington
after an absence of … ulp… 27 years. I, for
one, loved every minute of their display – except
perhaps Robb Reiner’s drum solo.
•
The temperature levels soared on Sunday, with Stone
Gods kicking off the main stage at the unearthly hour
of 11am. Aside from the fact that they previewed a brand
new song called ‘Going Under’, I loved the
way that Richie Edwards pointedly refused to refer to
the event as “Download”, favouring “Castle
Donington” or “Monsters Of Rock” every
time – class.
•
Tesla – Allocated only half an hour??!! But,
Jesus… how entertaining where the Sacramento hard-rockers?
The answer is, of course, ‘incredibly so’.
•
I’m sure that Skin surprised a lot of people
with a set that included some of the best tunes played
all weekend (notably ‘Money’, ‘House
Of Love’, ‘Look But Don’t Touch’
and ‘House Of Love’). Oh, and thanks to Myke
Gray for wearing the Classic Rock T-shirt I blagged him…
it looked great on the video screens.
•
Black Stone Cherry – Sensational set from a
young band that looked perfectly at home in such elevated
environs. Basking in the sizzling early afternoon heat,
their mixture of Southern rock, detuned guitars and melodic
song structures was just about perfect.
•
Journey. Ah, Journey. I’ll just let the set-list
do the talking: ‘Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)’,
‘Stone In Love’, ‘Ask The Lonely’,
‘Change For The Better’, ‘Wheel In The
Sky’, ‘Faithfully’, ‘Don’t
Stop Believing’ and ‘Anyway You Want It’.
Nurse… the (sun)-screens.
•
Dream Theater – Wisely played a set tailored
towards the event’s newcomers – ‘Pull
Me Under’, ‘Constant Motion’, ‘A
Rite Of Passage’, ‘Hollow Years’, ‘Metropolis
Pt. 1: The Miracle And The Sleeper’. It was absolutely
superb.
•
ZZ Top – Included all the hits (including
the ‘Eliminator’ trio of ‘Gimme All
Your Lovin’, ‘Sharp Dressed man’ and
‘’Legs’… back-to-back) and were
very good indeed, if a bit static. It was a bit like listening
to their recent live album… only in the flesh, and
from a few hundred feet away.
•
Whitesnake – Oh dear. Simply dreadful. Come
in, Mr Coverdale… your time is up.
•
Def Leppard – Couldn’t take in all of
their set as I sought shade from the unforgiving heat
levels, but Monsewer Elliott and company seemed to **murder**
the Snakes. There are rumours that the group’s Download
set is to be released as a DVD… I hope so.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Friday
12th June
I’d
made plans to attend last night’s Anvil/Lauren Harris
gig at the Underworld. Given that I saw the headliners
there opening for a Pantera tribute band not too long
ago – before the hullabaloo created before their
excellent film, obviously – it would’ve been
interesting to juxtapose the two appearances. Sadly, pressure
of work and preparation for my trip to the Download Festival
forced me to stay home. Oh well, at least I’ll get
to see Lips and company over the weekend. No updates for
the next few days, then…
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday
11th June
England
6 Andorra 0 – that has a nice ring to it. Seven
wins in as many qualification games – that’s
better still. World Cup 2010, the Three Lions are coming…
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday
10th June
I’m
zonked – absolutely no idea how I got so much done
during the past 24 hours. In the morning I headed across
London to the offices of Roadrunner Records, bizarrely
bumping into Pete Jupp of FM outside Ealing Broadway tube
station, before being granted a first listening of an
album for which I’ve been engaged to write a new
biography (sorry, can’t spill the beans at this
stage). Was happy to take a finished copy of the triple-disc
special edition of Dream Theater’s ‘Black
Clouds & Silver Linings’ album with me. Stopping
off at a charity shop, I picked up a mint solo LP from
UK’s Eddie Jobson for the princely sum of £1…
bargain!
Next
stop: EMI Records. At short notice, my friend Hugh Gilmour
wanted to borrow a sleeve. I was happy to drop it into
him, especially as I left laden down with CDs; Whitesnake,
Saxon, the second wave of MSG re-issues (with my sleeve
notes). Afterwards I fulfilled a promise to Myke Gray
by dropping by the band’s hotel to be interviewed
for a documentary on the reunion of 1990s rockers Skin.
Before taking in the band’s first show in 11 years,
which took place late that night at the 100 Club in Oxford
Street, I dropped into the Crobar for a quick chinwag
with two fellow CPFC-supporting, music-mad pals, Mark
Kentfield and Andy Nathan. None of us could really fathom
why the Eagles had taken Clowntown Pathetic’s misfit
Darren Ambrose on a free transfer, except that it might
cause some additional schism. Which is always good.
At
the risk of inciting hails of derision – I fail
to see why they attract so many internet haters –
I loved seeing Skin onstage again. Neville MacDonald is
a lead singer of international quality, while the group’s
self-titled debut from 1994 is a gem of the melodic hard
rock genre. Though they were always excellent onstage,
my interest waned slightly with ‘Lucky’ in
1996, dipping a whole lot more by the time of the following
year’s ‘Experience Electric’. So from
a personal perspective, it was the second half of a 90-minute
set, which revisited the cream of their early repertoire,
that **really** moved me… let’s say from ‘Which
Are The Tears’ onwards – and excepting that
putrid cover of ‘Unbelievable’ by EMF. At
one point, Rod Smallwood, Skin’s former manager,
walked past, nudged me in the ribs and declared: “What
a BLOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDY great band – if only they’d
have been around five years earlier [i.e. before the grunge
explosion]…” Maiden’s Nicko McBrain
was in the crowd, too. Roll on Skin’s spot at this
weekend’s Download Festival. Meanwhile, here’s
what they played at the 100 Club: ‘The Only One’,
‘Experience Electric’, ‘Blow My Mind’,
‘No Way Out’, ‘Make It Happen’,
‘Soul’, ‘Which Are The Tears’,
‘Money’, ‘How Lucky You Are’,
‘House Of Love’, ‘Take Me Down To The
River’, ‘Look But Don’t Touch’,
‘Tower Of Strength’ and encores of ‘Colourblind’,
‘Unbelievable’ and ‘Perfect Day’.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday
9th June
There’s
been some scepticism regarding the decision of vocalist
Danny Vaughn and drummer Michael Clayton to bring in new
musicians for a revised line-up of Tyketto. As someone
that’s been known to support groups with a single
original member (Uriah Heep, for instance), what perturbs
me more is that that the US melodic rockers made such
a big deal of retiring with all guns blazing at the Firefest
in 2007, only to return to the same event 12 months later.
So
what to make of a reformatted Tyketto with ex-Vaughn (the
band) guitarist PJ Zitarosa and Ten’s Steve McKenna
replacing Brooke St James and Jimi Kennedy, swelled to
a five-piece by the addition of keysman Bobby Lynch? Well,
although the soundman did his darnedest to ruin last night’s
show at London’s Islington Academy, I came away
full of optimism for the future, which includes the possible
recording of a new studio album. Under pressure that would’ve
caused most to turn tail and walk off, Vaughn somehow
held the show together as the onstage monitors failed,
then fed back then gave up again, while Lynch’s
keys were omitted from the mix for the first few numbers.
“I’m looking back at the soundboard and it’s
being worked by Laurel and Hardy”, seethed Vaughan,
his nice guy veneer coming dangerously close to cracking.
I
was amazed to learn that, in all the years I’ve
attended their shows, Tyketto had never played the ‘Strength
In Numbers’ classic ‘Write Your Name In The
Sky’ live in London before, and it worked brilliantly
in a display crammed with melodic rock gems, plus two
lesser-known cuts from the outtakes disc ‘The Last
Sunset’ (namely ‘Big Wheelers’ and ‘Till
The Summer Comes’). The more key-orientated arrangements
of ‘Burning Down Inside’ and ‘Standing
Alone’ were surprisingly good, and Vaughn was in
terrific voice, justifying his spot in Classic Rock’s
recent cover story The Greatest Singers In Rock. Here’s
the set-list: ‘Rescue Me’, ‘Wings’,
‘Catch My Fall’, ‘Burning Down Inside’,
‘Big Wheels’, ‘Write Your Name In The
Sky’, ‘Seasons’, ‘Till The Summer
Comes’, ‘Standing Alone’, ‘Meet
Me In The Night’, Guitar Solo, ‘Strength In
Numbers’, ‘The Last Sunset’, ‘Nothing
But Love’ and encores of ‘Lay Your Body Down’
and ‘Forever Young’.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday
8th June
You
can count me as a fan of Steel
Panther, the spoof Sunset Strip hair-rockers whose
debut album ‘Feel The Steel’ has been a turntable
fixture at Ling Towers for the past few days. A chuckleworthy
pastiche of those glorious days, the Panther – step
forward Satchel, Michael Starr, Lexxi Foxxx (“the
extra ‘x’ is for extra sex!”) and Stix
Zadinia – were previously known in cover-band guide
as, variously, Danger Kitty, Metal Shop and Metal Skool,
but have assembled an album of original tunes that work
on several different levels. Special praise is due the
lyrics of songs like ‘Death To All But Metal’,
‘Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)’, which brought
back many a memory of the St Moritz Club in Wardour Street,
and the acoustic ballad Girl From Oklahoma’ (“I
bet you never guessed when you came to the show/That you’d
be getting on the bus with me and doing some blow/Your
mama’s in the parking lot looking for you/he’s
gonna find you when I’m done all covered with goo”).
Can’t wait to see these guys live…
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Sunday
7th June
With
England’s World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan
being shown on Setanta, a sports channel to which I do
not subscribe, I decided against venturing out to watch
the game in a pub, catching a gig over a few drinks instead
and saving the highlights for later. Save for being stung
£19.50 for a single bottle of white wine at the
Queen Elizabeth Hall’s bar, the plan worked to perfection.
Gryphon
play an understated (and indeed underrated) strain of
music that quaintly mixes traditional English folk with
medieval, prog-lite and Renaissance touches. They hadn’t
performed live in 32 years but the venue was full. Better
still, the audience sat and absorbed the music –
culled overwhelmingly from the band’s first two
albums; 1973’s ‘Gryphon’ and the following
year’s ‘Midnight Mushrumps’ –
with disbelieving, captivated reverence. Despite knowing
him in a previous guise of an advertisement manager of
Kerrang!, I had never seen the band’s drummer/sometime
vocalist Dave Oberlé onstage before… not
unreasonably, he looked to be having a ball.
Mrs
L snorted upstairs with contempt as I arrived home in
a state of alcohol-induced disarray, leaving me to watch
the England game alone. Though the team played scrappily
at first and would even have gone behind but for a goal
for the home nation being disallowed, the eventual score-line
of 4-0 seemed pretty fair.
P.S.
Just home from a record fair in Orpington. Perhaps the
best of my bargains is ‘Night Time Emotion’,
a 1979 solo album from Noel McCalla, the current frontman
of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, that was produced
by Trevor Rabin of Yes fame. I first heard of McCalla
via his spell with John Coghlan in the band Partners In
Crime… he has an amazing voice.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Saturday
6th June
Gloaters…
fucking gloaters. I cannot stand ’em. Stuck at my
desk in south London, yesterday’s hectic workload
was distracted by texts and emails from alleged ‘friends’
and acquaintances enjoying the sunshine and music at the
world’s greatest music festival, Sweden Rock. Exactly
12 months ago Clan Ling was among them… frankly,
that seems impossible. Such a shame we could not have
been there again this year. My withdrawal symptoms have
just been exacerbated by a viewing of a press conference
from Twisted Sister (minus bassist Mark ‘The Animal’
Mendoza, who was away watching ZZ Top) in which the band
shamelessly and hilariously plugged the 25th anniversary
re-issue of its ‘Stay Hungry’ album. All those
enough to have been in Sweden this weekend can be considered
bastards – complete bastards…
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Thursday
4th June
Poor
old Gordon Brown. With knives being sharpened all around
him, the UK’s Prime Minister has hit rock bottom.
I hate to kick a fellow Heepster while he’s down
– a former Uriah Heep associate called Bob Carruthers
once told me that he lent a teenaged Brown a copy of the
‘Demons And Wizards’ album at Kirkcaldy High
School back in 1971 – but even as a lifelong Labour
voter, when it came to yesterday’s local and European
elections, I could not find it in my heart to tick the
appropriate (mick) box. What a sorry state of affairs.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Wednesday 3rd June
Just
spoke to Mark Tremonti who assured me that Alter Bridge
will **definitely** be continuing upon conclusion of this
summer’s Creed reunion tour (which, incidentally,
has no European dates). In fact, an Alter Bridge concert
DVD arrives on August 4, helping to keep the band’s
name alive during the lay-off. As implied by the title
of ‘Live In Amsterdam’, most of its footage
is sourced from a gig in Holland. The stuff filmed in
Brixton last November is being saved for a later release…
Paul
Di’Anno has taken an incredible swipe at Steve Harris,
likening the bassist to Adolf Hitler. “Iron Maiden
is Steve Harris’ band, and all it is is money, money,
money, money — nobody else counts, [it’s like
] fuckin’ Adolf Hitler,” claims former Maiden
singer, adding: “You need to take drugs when you’re
with Iron Maiden because they’re so fucking boring.”
That’s rich from a man whose live set is exclusively
culled from Maiden’s first two albums and a band
named Killers…
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Tuesday 2nd June
Dilemmas,
dilemmas, dilemmas. With the cancellation of John Waite’s
London gig, I had planned to attend to attend last night's
show at the Twist in Colchester – until experiencing
the place last Friday. To be honest, I fully expected
JW to walk in, eyeball the ‘facilities’ and
pull the plug. For a no-show, 70 miles each way is a long
way to travel. So instead I erred on the side of caution
and weighed up the idea of the ChildLine Rocks show at
the IndigO2 or Forbidden’s gig at the Underworld.
It was a tough call, but with Hammer asking me to review
the latter, which saw the San Franciscan band re-visiting
their 1990 album ‘Twisted Into Form’, Camden
seemed the wisest choice. But wouldn’t you just
know it, Waite’s gig at The Twist **did** happen
after all – a blinder of a performance, apparently…
witnessed by a crowd of around 40 people. BUGGERATION!
Making
up for an absence of 19 years in London – frontman
Russ Anderson recalled with glee how, during an especially
violent gig with Sacred Reich at the Marquee, “people
were being carried out on stretchers… it was fucking
awesome!” – Forbidden themselves put on a
terrific display. Anderson has now become a **very large
guy indeed**, and despite being cloaked in effects his
voice seems to have lost some of its higher register,
though its fearsome power remains. The band’s new
additions, guitarist Steve Smyth (Nevermore/Testament)
and drummer Mark Hernandez (Vio-Lence and Heathen among
others), slotted in just fine, while original axeman Craig
Locicero looked not a day older than last time. Having
started super-late the show ran until almost 11.30pm because,
according to Anderson, the band had been detained at border
immigration. “We were arrested as only the English
could – very politely,” he laughed at the
memory. “They even offered us tea and biscuits,
but there was no Jack Daniel’s.” So here’s
the Forbidden set-list: ‘Parting Of The Ways (Intro)’,
‘Infinite’, ‘Out Of Body (Out Of Mind)’,
‘Step By Step’, ‘Twisted Into Form’,
‘RIP’, ‘Spiral Depression’, ‘Tossed
Away’, ‘One Foot In Hell’, ‘March
Into Fire’, ‘Forbidden Evil’, ‘Off
The Edge’, ‘Follow Me’, ‘Through
Eyes Of Glass’ and ‘Chalice Of Blood’.
_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monday
1st June
Just
like the rest of the sold-out venue I enjoyed last night’s
Lynyrd Skynyrd gig at Brixton Academy, though perhaps
the band could have given us a little longer than 90 minutes
of their time? I last saw Skynyrd at Wembley Arena six
years ago on a night when they gave the asses of headliners
Deep Purple a darned good Confederate kickin’. Back
then the set was peppered by some enjoyable tunes from
a then-current disc called ‘Vicious Cycle’.
Amazingly, despite a Bob Marlette-produced successor called
‘God & Guns’ being set to drop in three
months’ time, last night the band focussed instead
on its glory years with a selection of songs from 1973-1977.
Guitarist Gary Rossington is their last original man standing
and frontman Johnny Van Zant (younger brother of the late,
great Ronnie) projects a commanding, amiable presence,
but for me the show’s shining star was guitarist
‘Rattlesnake’ Rickey Medlocke. Even at 59
years old, the snake-hipped erstwhile Blackfoot leader
still throws all the best rock stars shapes and supplies
75% of the visual entertainment. There are rumours of
some follow-up dates before the year is done, no doubt
based upon ‘God & Guns’, but in the meantime
here’s what the Brixton crowd got to hear: ‘Workin’
For MCA’, ‘I Ain’t The One’, ‘Saturday
Night Special’, ‘Gimme Back My Bullets’,
‘What’s Your Name?’, ‘That Smell’,
‘Simple Man’, Medley: ‘Whiskey Rock-A-Roller’/‘Down
South Jukin’’/‘The Needle And The Spoon’/‘Double
Trouble’/‘Tuesday’s Gone’, ‘Gimme
Three Steps’, ‘Call Me The Breeze’,
‘Sweet Home Alabama’ and the perennial ‘Free
Bird’.
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