Collateral seem very similar to tonight's headliners, being commercial rock with strong vocals carrying decent choruses. The first number I catch is uptempo with acoustic and electric guitars combined. The ballad 'On The Long Road' is suitably heartfelt and the guitar leads are great. The frontman Angelo has a fair amount of charisma and he easily commands the attention of the crowd. The closing 'Mr. Big Shot' has a stomping, infectious chorus. Impressive.
I am both excited and nervous about Warrior Soul's set tonight. I'm excited because I've been listening back to those early albums and remembered how great they are. However, I'm also apprehensive because of a gig I saw involving mainman Kory Clarke around twenty years ago. He was playing in a band called Dirty Rig and I went to see them at Music Box (the downstairs part of Rockworld). Kory was absolutely wasted, and I mean obnoxiously wasted. He was a complete arsehole to the support band, Disarm, and I think he might have got into a fight with his own band too. I had previously seen him as a thoughtful rocker with a political conscience but this just made him look like another drunk idiot rocker.
The thumping 'Intro' with its 'we are the government' refrain helps to build the energy before blasting into their high octane cover of Joy Division's 'Interzone', which is transformed into a dirty rock banger. The swirling alt rock of 'Cargos Of Doom' is powerful and hypnotic. In his shades, tasseled trousers and with his long blonde locks, Kory looks like the rockstar he always should have been. 'Love Destruction' has a fat, pulsing groove and an aggressive yet memorable chorus. Kory seems more in control of himself than the last time I saw him. He is completely dialled in tonight, and is much more respectful of the other bands which is nice to see. The fantastic 'The Drug' is full of energy. The tight, meaty riffing of 'The Party' is the perfect vehicle for Kory to express his ire for the Republican Party as he constantly yells 'tax all the billionaires'. The band are extremely tight and although Kory sounds a little world weary these days that suits many of these songs, particularly the outsiders anthem 'Losers'. Adam Arling's terrific guitar solo on 'Losers' is technically impressive yet still heartfelt. Kory's passion really shines through in his performance. The dynamic Dead Boys style punk of 'Punk And Belligerent' is blistering. That intensity is continued on the closing 'The Wasteland'. I'm shocked at how good Warrior Soul are, it's just a shame the room is only half full. They have been fully rehabilitated in my eyes tonight.
Tyketto open with the classy rock of 'Rescue Me'. Right from the start it is apparent that Danny Vaughn sounds to be in fantastic voice. The infectious 'Wings' gets a large portion of the crowd singing along, and Harry Scott Elliott's guitar solo is great. 'Burning Down Inside' has a towering chorus which is further elevated by those vocals which make anything sound better. Danny is very good technically but his voice also has an indefinable ability to move you, as highlighted on tracks like the poignant 'Standing Alone'. Two of the opening three numbers are reminders of how good that first album was.
The bluesy 'Higher Than High' is reminiscent of Whitesnake in the verse and sounds more cohesive live. 'Strength In Numbers' has a dirty blues rock groove and another memorable chorus. Harry is an energetic presence throughout, throwing in lots of kicks without missing a beat. Danny pulls out the acoustic guitar for the dark yet hopeful 'Reach' and he positively soars on the killer chorus. I'm not a fan of the new album but tracks like 'Closer To The Sun' make much more sense live whilst 'We Rise' has the makings of a future fan favourite with plenty of opportunity for crowd interaction on the chorus. The anthemic chorus of 'Circle The Wagons' is incredibly emotional.
It isn't all good. 'The Brave' is terribly average whilst their cover of Bo Diddley's 'Riders In The Sky' is ok but you feel that they would have been better replacing it with an original track. They're already a few minutes past curfew and they still haven't played that song but thankfully they manage to fit in the incredible 'Forever Young' although you get the impression that there would be riots if they didn't.
Tyketto ****
Warrior Soul *****
Collateral ****
No comments:
Post a Comment