overlap

A couple of years ago I was on about the delights of seeing Wolfsbane again after all these years and what's more Christmas-like than getting that same gift you wanted all over again? It certainly felt like a seasonal gift when the tour was announced back in the summer. The first show of the tour supporting the Quireboys was the one most conveniently close, and it was fantastic to be stood close to the stage in a t-shirt that's closing on 22 years old, watching the four of them rip through some of the stupidest metal songs ever written, with a tongue in both cheeks. Where the shows with the Wildhearts had had slightly truncated sets of barely 45 minutes, the Quireboys graciously gave them a full hour so we got a few treats that weren't aired last time around. Nobody ever gets exactly the set they want, but what I'd have picked for myself would have been pretty close to this little lot. Steel/You Load Me Down/Loco/Totally Nude/Money To Burn/Ezy/Kathy Wilson/I Like It Hot/Temple Of Rock/Manhunt/Paint The Town Red The pop-metal hit single that never was, I Like It Hot, is preceded by a rant about the Copenhagen climate summit being entirely Wolfsbane's doing due to their liking it hot and responsibility for global warming, which gives you something of a feel for the spectacle of fantastic nonsense that Blaze dishes out. I had a brief chat with Nico from the Blaze Bayley band while waiting for a chance to chat with the guys and buy 'the new Wolfsbane album made out of bits of old Wolfsbane albums', and just for a few minutes it was like 1989 all over again. "I saw Wolfsbane all over again, and I liked it." Two days later it was up the M5 for more of the same, and rather closer to their Midlands origins. This was a splendid show, and one of the highlights was Jase ushering his daughter to the side of the stage to watch the Quireboys and seeing the delights of rock n roll clearly passed on to the next generation. With the added bonus of Shakin' sneaking into the set, I think this was the best gig I caught out of this particular return of Wolfsbane's shows.

Labels: Blaze Bayley, gigs, Jase Edwards, Jase the Ace, Jeff Hateley, Steve Danger, Wolfsbane

You know there's something right in the world when even in 2009 you can go to a gig and stand behind someone with a shock of peroxide hair and a Theatre Of Pain era back patch of Mötley Crüe on their denim jacket. At first glance, unknown support band Sharks might seem lost in a timewarp. The guy in front of me says that if we were in 1977 they'd be hailed as the next big thing, and he's got a point. Nevertheless they are an engaging mix of a pocket bass player whose backing vocals definitely add something, even when it's only 'ooooooh', a guitar player who looks like a fifteen year old Bruce Springsteen doing an impression of Pete Townshend and a frontman whose voice might be the only slightly weak point, though that may just be the volume and what you get at third on the bill. Ultimately their secret weapon might just be the drummer whose playing is absolutely immaculate even though you could be forgiven for assuming that he's bunked off his geography homework to make the gig. Either way, I'm showing my age and they aren't, but if they were to launch into SLF's Two Guitars Clash or indeed The Clash's Safe European Home, it wouldn't be remotely surprising. They play with a load of conviction and provide a diverting half hour, but special mention has to go to the spectacle of the guitarist's plectrum slipping out of his fingers and flying out into the crowd as he fires into the start of a song, landing at the feet of a guy in the crowd. Thirty seconds later, he's picked it up, and he's offering it back to the guitarist, who stops playing for a few seconds to take it back. You just haven't made it yet baby, but I wouldn't rule it out as a possibility. Tony Wright shuffles onto the stage like the lost puppy of Brit-metal, and immediately reminds me how he is such an engaging frontman, albeit one from the lost planet of Yorkshire. There's something very authentic and natural about his unaffected accent, and while it might not get him a long way in Hollywood it seems that couldn't be much further from his mind. I'm reminded of another non-giant but airliner-flying frontman in terms of sheer born to be singing songs on a stage in parts. Some of the Laika Dog material is a bit more bluesed out than Terrorvision's uptempo pop-metal, which doesn't do so much for me, but Mad Dog and Piano Song sound great. With a pre-gig email warning that no Wildhearts songs would be aired due to there being enough solo material to learn as it is, anything could happen. I think this is the first time I've seen Ginger solo with a full band since Silver Ginger 5, and to be honest the main attraction in the gig for me is getting to see one of my favourite guitarists, Jase Edwards. The Wildhearts may have better songs, but to me Wolfsbane will always be the better band, and getting to see Jase in the substantial flesh is always a delight. He seems to be having plenty of fun too. Ginger mentions a couple of times that it's the first night of the tour, and there's a bit of the telltale raggedness that shows that, but we wouldn't have it any other way. Highlights of the set are This Is Only A Problem and Girls Are Better Than Boys, and a couple of disarming responses to lame heckles - I especially liked "I'd love to talk to you all night long, but there are some other people... who exist, and we're going to do some more songs for them". Three entertaining acts, and the night is rounded off nicely by Jase spotting my Wolfsbane shirt in the dark and commenting 'nice t-shirt!' on his way out, adding that he too is looking forward to the Quireboys shows. Can't wait! Jase the gentle giant: Ginger: * Divine Imperfection is a song from the Silver Ginger 5 album, Black Leather Mojo

Labels: gigs, Ginger, Jase Edwards, Jase the Ace, Laika Dog, Tony Wright, Wolfsbane