I don’t know what it is with The Answer, but I don’t seem to
have much luck when I have tickets to see them. First time, back in 2009, the
gig was postponed because the drummer had broken his finger. Second time, at
their Portsmouth show a couple of years later, I was ill and had to miss the
show. This time round, the weather tried its damned hardest to make life as
difficult as possible with a rough storm hitting the south coast. I got there
though and well, what can I say? They were brilliant. Well worth battling the
elements to see.
Before The Answer though there was support from new British
rockers Cage the Gods and Aussie trio Tracer. I was impressed by both of them
actually. Cage the Gods were good. They had a classic rock sound, but gave it a
modern edge that I liked. They also knew how to rock hard as well (as evidenced
by an impressive drum solo) and they definitely won some fans. Tracer came on
next and played a long set. I had heard of them before and knew they had a reputation
for being good live, so I was looking forward to seeing them. I wasn’t all too
familiar with their material but I liked what I heard and they definitely channel
the same energy and enthusiasm as fellow Aussies Airbourne.
After they departed the stage was set for the headline act.
The Answer came out straight into the title track from their latest album ‘New
Horizon’. They played a mixture of songs from across their 4 album back
catalogue, and even though there were a couple of favourites from older albums
that were left out, there was a good selection of songs in the setlist.
Personal favourites included ‘Under the Sky’, ‘On and On’ and ‘Nowhere Freeway’.
The new songs sounded fantastic as well however with ‘Spectacular’ and ‘Concrete’
being particular highlights.
Part of the reason the songs sounded so good is because The
Answer are a very good live band. They sound exactly the same live as they do
on their albums, just with the volume turned up to 11. Cormac Neeson is a
brilliant frontman. He loves interacting with the crowd and has a top notch
singing voice while Paul Mahon is one of the most talented guitarists around at
the moment. He may not be an A-List name but when I saw them live first time
round, it was the guitar playing that made the biggest impression, and he was
on top form again here. The riffs and the solos were just fantastic.
This was the end of the UK leg of their tour and wanted to
end on a high and from where I was standing, they certainly achieved that. After
a dose of American hard rock and Danish rockabilly metal last weekend, it time
for a bit of good old classic rock and few bands around are better at the
moment than The Answer. They are keeping the classic rock fire well lit.
What a gig. The social networking sites warned that London
was in for a brilliant night, and they were right. Volbeat were bloody awesome.
They manage to be a heavy rock/metal band but still have an element of fun in
their music that makes you smile. So
glad I finally got to see them after the last one got cancelled due to illness
a couple of years or so back.
The support acts were pretty decent. I missed the first one
(queue to get in and merch stall took care of that) but the second band, Iced
Earth were quite impressive. It didn’t feel like watching a new band, and
having since looked them up turns out I was right. Their debut album is the
same age as me, so they have been around a fair while. Their experience
definitely showed and they put on a really good performance. The singer impressed me the most going from a
James Hetfield type growl to a Bruce Dickinson-esque howl with ease. He also
played the frontman role well, really getting the crowd going. Definitely had
the crowd pumped up for the headliner.
As for Volbeat, what can I say? I’m not sure who enjoyed it
more, the crowd or them. They came onto the stage to a huge roar from the crowd
after an introduction by Motorhead’s ‘Born to Raise Hell’ and went straight
into ‘Hallelujah Goat’, ‘Guitar Gangsters and Cadillac Blood’ and ‘Radio Girl’
(one of my personal favourites). By then they had really got into their stride
and when an acoustic guitar was bought onto the stage for singer Michael
Poulsen, everyone had a pretty good idea what was coming up.
It was of course the old crowd favourite ‘Sad Man’s Tongue’
preceded by Johnny Cash’s legendary ‘Ring of Fire’ which had the whole place
singing as one. “You like a bit of Johnny Cash then?” Poulsen replied. They
then ripped into ‘Sad Man’s Tongue’ with the crowd in full voice. It’s a good
song anyway, but live with full crowd participation it’s even better. Next was
my favourite song from their new album ‘Lola Montez’. Judging by the crowd’s
reaction I’m not the only one. I can’t vouch for previous gigs, but Poulsen
seemed genuinely surprised when he sang the opening line and the crowd sung the
first few lines back to him. After stopping to take it in, they carried on, and
the song is just as good live as it sounds like it would be. Definitely an
instant Volbeat classic.
They followed that up with ‘Heaven nor Hell’ and the
impressive ’16 Dollars’, which sounds even better live than the studio version.
One of the surprises of the night was the inclusion of the cover of the Young
the Giant song ‘My Body’. I love the original and when I heard Volbeat’s
version a few months back I was an instant fan of that too. It was great to
hear it live as it really is a quality song.
They finished their set with a snippet of ‘Breaking the Law’
by Judas Priest, with Pete the drum technician on drums (very talented crew
they have given the jam they did on sound check) before ending with the classic
‘Still Counting’, another song that had the whole place singing along.
They walked back on stage and played an encore of ‘Doc
Holiday’, the fantastic ‘I Only Want to Be with You’ and ‘Pool of Booze, Booze,
Booza’ (after inviting some girls to join them on stage). I am so glad they
played ‘I Only Want to be with You’ as it is one of my favourite Volbeat songs.
When I first heard it, I thought a metal version of Dusty Springfield couldn’t
work but it so does.
Overall it was a top quality night; my ears are still
ringing (although seeing Alter Bridge the night before might have something to
do with it also). The band are fantastic and Paulsen is great front man, even
managing to pull off a stage dive. They played all crowd favourites, all except
maybe ‘The Garden’s Tale’, but you can’t have everything. The band looked like
they enjoyed, but judging by the crowd’s reaction, I think they enjoyed it
more.
Alter Bridge, Shinedown and Halestorm @ Wembley Arena 18/10
This was a concert of firsts. First time seeing Shinedown.
First time seeing Alter Bridge (although not Myles Kennedy). And my first time
to Wembley Arena. I’d seen Halestorm before, but wouldn’t pass up a chance to
see them again. I was lucky to go to the gig at all. I bought a ticket on
impulse the weekend before and was lucky there were still tickets available. I’m
really glad I did though as all three bands put on a brilliant evening’s
entertainment.
First up were one of my favourite bands, Halestorm. They may
have only had a half hour slot as the opening band, not enough in my opinion,
but they gave it 100%. They were in awesome form as they rattled through songs
from their last album ‘The Strange Case Of…’ including the Grammy award winning
‘Love Bites (So Do I)’. Their performance was typified by drummer Arejay Hale,
often likened to Animal from The Muppets and on this performance it is easy to
see why. He is crazy behind the drums. Given the chance to show off he wowed
the crowd with a mental drum solo. While your attention is drawn to him it is
easy to overlook the other members. Joe Hottinger is a very talented guitarist
while Lzzy Hale showed why she is one of the best female vocalists around at
the moment, especially on their cover of the Judas Priest song ‘Dissident
Aggressor’. Certainly the perfect opening act for the night.
Next up were Shinedown. Now I must confess I’m not a huge
Shinedown fan. They seemed to have passed me by a bit apart from hearing them
on Kerrang and Scuzz every now and then. They were a very popular choice as
support though, Shinedown t-shirts were everywhere, and their set went down
very well with the fans in the crowd. They played a couple of songs I recognised
including ‘Unity’ and ‘Bully’ but they still showed their versatility with
ballads such as ‘Second Chance’ and hard rocking songs like ‘Diamond Eyes
(Boom-Lay Boom-Lay)’.Singer Brent Smith
also found time to deliver a rousing speech; “Rock n Roll isn’t a genre, it’s a
way of life,” which received a huge cheer. The crowd was definitely pumped up
for the headline act once they had finished their set. This left just band to appear to stage, the mighty Alter Bridge and they showed exactly why they are one of the best hard rock acts in the world right now. They put on a performance that showed just how a rock show should be done. Crowd pleasers mixed with new tracks from their latest album ‘Fortress’, they were on top form. Opening with ‘Addicted to Pain’, the lead single from ‘Fortress’, it set the scene for things to come. With that fantastic riff it was a brilliant way to open the show.
Not bad for a crappy camera phone
Their set consisted mostly of songs from their 2007 album ‘Blackbird’
including ‘Rise Today’, a fantastic rendition of ‘Come to Life’ (my favourite
AB song) and the acoustic ‘Watch Over You’. Kennedy said that the band had
played around with the setlist a bit adding ‘Metalingus’ after people had
complained it had been dropped from previous shows. They finished their set
with the brilliant ‘Open Your Eyes’ before coming on for an encore consisting
of ‘Slip to the Void’ and ‘Isolation’.
Alter Bridge are the ultimate modern rock band. They have
the sound, the riffs, the solos and bass lines that all good rock bands need.
It helps though that they have an incredibly talented guitarist in Mark Tremonti
and Myles Kennedy who is widely regarded as one of the best singers of the
current generation of rock artists. But seeing them live is something else.
They know how to put on a fantastic show and they get everything out of the
crowd. Definitely a band I recommend you go and see if you get the chance. You
won’t regret it.
Big thank you goes out to Michael who took some pictures for me after my camera broke
The Weeks are one of my favourite finds of 2013. It’s not
often Idecide to see a band on the
strength of one song. After randomly
clicking on one of their videos after it was suggested to me on YouTube, I fell
in love with their track ‘Brother in the Night’. I was then delighted to see
that they were on the bill for Hard Rock Calling in London, which I already had
tickets for. They opened the main stage and were fantastic. Even though they
were first on they won the crowd over with their energetic performance. This wasn't their only UK appearance during the summer either, as they have been acquiring
fans over here supporting Kings of Leon on their recent UK tour. So when I saw
that they were playing just down the road from me on their own stand-alone tour
I snapped up a ticket straight away.
4 piece band The Dirty Flaws were the support act and I
thought they were pretty good. I caught half their set but was impressed with
what I heard. They play an interesting brand of indie rock and were the perfect
support for The Weeks. I confess that I had never heard of them before but
liked them enough to warrant looking them up after the gig.
The Weeks were next on stage and even though small venue
wasn’t full the crowd that had gathered were eagerly anticipating the headline act.
Don’t be deceived by their long hair and scruffy appearance (remind me of Jay
from the film Dogma), they really know how to play good music. Hailing from
Mississippi, they play a brand of indie rock with southern rock vibes. It’s a good
mix and gives the band an interesting sound. Full of catchy hooks and grooves
their songs come alive in a live environment as they play with an energy that
is impossible to stand still to.
Playing songs from their latest album ‘Dear Bo Jackson’
including the title track, ‘Brother in the Night’ and ‘King Sized Death Bed’
they also played older songs such as ‘The House That We Grew Up In’ and ‘Mississippi’
Rain’ which spanned their older EPs and previous album.
They didn’t talk much between songs, except to say “We’re
The Weeks, we’re from Mississippi and we love you guys,” but they didn’t need
to. They let their music do the talking and they were every bit as impressive
as when I saw them back in the summer. They are definitely a band that will hit the
big time soon. They are too talented to be missed by the mainstream but they
are slowly building up a legion of fans over hear in the UK and they are very
much winning people over the more shows they play. A band to watch out for that’s
for sure. Check out a 'The House That We Grew Up In' and 'Brother In The Night' below.
This is the fifth time I've done one of these and the format is pretty simple:
New blog post consisting of new music.
Go ahead and check it out :)
Alter Bridge-
Addicted to Pain: Fresh from their side projects (Singer Myles Kennedy
working with Slash recording and touring his solo album and Guitarist Mark
Tremonti promoting his own solo work), 2013 sees Alter Bridge return with their
4th studio album ‘Fortress’. ‘Addicted to Pain’ is the first single
and it is awesome.It typifies the
modern hard rock genre. Kennedy, widely regarded as one of the best singers
around, has his distinctive vocals set against a bone crunching riff and
thumping rhythm section. This may not sound like anything special, but it is an
experienced at the top of their game and on first listen is really does make
you sit up and take notice. People may question where the next “great” rock
band is going to come from, but Alter Bridge are certainly making their claim.
Avenged Sevenfold-
Hail to the King: Arguably the biggest hard rock act around at the moment,
Avenged Sevenfold return with this, the lead single off their new latest album.
With ‘Hail to the King’ being their sixth album release, they have now
established themselves as one of the titans of the modern rock genre. Even
though the band had to contend with the sudden death of drummer James ‘The Rev’
Sullivan, they returned with vengeance with their 2010 album ‘Nightmare’ and
have continued in the same vain with the current album. There is very much a
1970s heavy metal feel to the single with the intro showing particular influences
in Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. However there is still that 21st
Century sound running throughout showing they are not copying old bands past
glories. It’s proved to be popular with the album going straight to number one
in the UK and US charts.
Babyshambles- Nothing
Comes to Nothing: One of the most infamous rock stars of recent years makes
his return with a brilliant new song. 2013 sees Pete Doherty return with his
other band, Babyshambles for their third album after 2007’s ‘Shotter’s Nation’.
I’ve never really been a big fan of Babyshambles or The Libertines, apart from
a few songs, but I liked this song straight away. There is a signature Doherty
sound running through the song in both the vocals and the music and it just seems
to have a class about it that makes it a really good song to listen to. He is evidentially
a very talented musician and on this kind of form, he writes fantastic music.
Halestorm- Get Lucky:
Fresh from their Grammy win for best Hard Rock/Metal song with ‘Love Bites…
(So Do I), Halestorm return with their second covers EP named Reanimate2. As
with the original Reanimate EP, it includes covers of various rock songs
including those from AC/DC and Judas Priest. However the first song they have
made available for the public’s enjoyment is a cover of one of the biggest, and
most annoying, songs of the year. Yes, it is the ‘Get Lucky’ you’re thinking
of. The Daft Punk song that you can’t seem to get away from. What Halestorm
have done is taken it away, given it some new clothes and turned it into a rock
song. And you know what, it doesn’t sound too bad. It sounds a bit clunky in
places, but that’s due to the original’s annoying structure. That’s not to say
it’s a bad song. Lzzy Hale’s vocals are typically strong and powerful while it
features a nice little guitar solo halfway through. It’s a good cover a song
that I had got bored of and it certainly gave it something fresh. Very much
looking forward to hearing their ‘Shoot to Thrill’ cover from the EP.
Hey! Hello!- Swimwear:
Hey! Hello!’s self-titled release I think will certainly go down as one of
the most interesting albums of the year. Comprising of ex-Wildhearts frontman
Ginger Wildheart and American singer Victoria Liedtke, they joined forces to
create an album full of light-hearted pop rock. The result is brilliant quite
frankly, as evidenced here by the single ‘Swinwear’.Short, punchy, but incredibly catchy it
showcases Ginger’s talents as a multi-instrumentalist (the video shows him
playing drums, bass and guitar and he recorded each part himself when making
the album). It also brings Wildheart together with Liedtke again, with the pair
having worked together on the former’s 555% project. Fair to say they make a
good team. Definitely music that lifts your mood and puts a smile on your face.
Jake Bugg- What
Doesn’t Kill You: Jake Bugg has had quite a year. A number one debut album,
multiple sold out tours, various popular festival appearances and he has still
found time to record a new album. Working with veteran producer Rick Rubin,
Bugg has finished working on his second album ‘Shangri La’, due for release in
the UK in November. ‘What Doesn’t Kill You’ is the lead single of said album
and immediately you can tell a difference to his music. Gone is the folky kind
of sound from the first album which has been replaced by a much more guitar led
indie sound. For this song at least, will have to wait and see what the rest of
the album is like. I like it though. Bugg is a very accomplished guitarist,
something he shows in the live act, and this has obviously been picked up by
Rubin who has encouraged a different approach. It’s worked a treat though and
shows a versatility that proves he is more than a one trick pony. Not that he
is was anyway.
Keane- Higher Than the
Sun: There appears to be a trend that bands who appeared on the scene while
I was at school are now at a stage in their careers where they can release a
‘Best Of’ compilation. The Killers are one such band (more on them below) and
Keane are also in on the act. After four studio albums plus an EP, there is
plenty of material to choose from. I am a big fan of their first two albums and
was very impressed with last year’s release ‘Strangeland’ so I’m always
interested to hear what Keane’s new music sounds like.It doesn’t disappoint. It has Keane written
all over it and very much has their signature sound. It perhaps isn’t their
best song compared to the rest of their collection, but it can sit perfectly
comfortably amongst their other hits in the knowledge that it helps provide a
great introduction to the band.
Kodaline- All I Want
pt2: Released roughly a year ago, Irish indie band Kodaline captured the
public’s hearts with a frankly brilliant video to their single ‘All I Want’. It
was a fantastic video which told the story of a man ‘with a different kind of
face’ (*), standing up to the bullies as well as trying to win the heart of the
girl in the office. Thing is, it wasn’t just a good video, the song was
brilliant as well. With over 4 million hits on YouTube, the song proved to be immensely
popular, and all before the band had even released their first album. So the
band have returned to finish the story, with an equally fantastic video set to
the same song. This time it’s set around the story of losing his dog Digby. I’m
a dog person so I fell in love with the video immediately and I challenge and I
challenge anyone not to do the same. It manages to stir emotion in the viewer
just as they did with the last video and they’ve done it perfectly. The song
works equally well live, I saw them perform at Hard Rock Calling, and I think
they are a band that are going to go from strength to strength.
Lissie- Sleepwalking:
‘Sleepwalking is the latest single from Illinois songstress Lissie and it’s
an absolute stormer. Having had huge success with her debut album ‘Catching a
Tiger’, she came to further prominence with her cover of the Fleetwood Mac
classic ‘Go Your Own Way’. Having already released ‘Shameless’ and‘Further Away’, ‘Sleepwalking’ is the third
track to be heard from an album that hasn’t even been released yet. Not that
I’m complaining. I warmed to ‘Shameless’ and ‘Further Away’ quite quickly but
fell in love with ‘Sleepwalking’ immediately. It caught my attention on the
radio immediately. It’s a great song, very catchy and with a brilliant beat and
chorus to it. It has a real laid back charm to it that is hard not to like, as
well as a good bass guitar solo. If the rest of the album is as good as the
tracks we’ve already heard then I think we’re in for a cracking album.
NoNoNo- Pumpin’ Blood:
This is, hands down, one of my favourite songs of the year. It has
everything; a great hook, sing along chorus, perfect tempo and you can’t not
dance along to it. I fell in love with it the very first time I heard it. It is
going to be a massive hit around the world, there’s no question about that.
With already over a million hits on YouTube, a good number of them mine, word
is spreading fast. Hailing from Stockholm, Sweden, it is Scandinavian pop at
its finest. Icona Pop may have felt they had the title for best song of 2013
from that part of the world, but NoNoNo have put up a very strong challenge.
There are differences between the two however. Whereas Icona Pop are purely
pop, NoNoNo have more of an indie sound,
similar to New Zealanders The Naked and Famous. In the end though it might be
easier not trying to pigeon hole them; they have put out one of the best songs of
the year which makes any sub-genre choosing pretty irrelevant.
The Dead Dasies feat.
Slash- Lock n Load: Not a band that I had heard of before, but after being
introduced to them by Classic Rock Magazine I thought they’d be worth a look.
Worth the effort as this song includes a guest appearance with Slash on guitar,
and any song with him playing is going to be worth listening to. A classic rock
song that is well worth checking out. Having recently opened for Aerosmith, The
Dead Daises might be a name to look out for in the future.
The Civil Wars- Dust
to Dust: Not a band I am overly familiar with, but thanks again to Classic
Rock Magazine I have ended up listening to a gem of a band. ‘Dust to Dust’ is
the third single of the duo’s self-titled second album. It is a wonderfully
gentle song (think ‘Streets of Philadelphia’ by Bruce Springsteen and you get
the idea) and has the ability to capture you within the opening seconds. The
voices of John Paul White and Joy Williams complement each other so well I can
see why they won a Grammy as well as other awards for their debut album. Definitely
a band that are worth investigating further.
Terry Malts- I Was
Not There: Sometimes a random find can turn out to be an absolute gem, and
that is exactly the case here. The Hard Rock Facebook page posted the video for
this song and I decided to take a look as it appeared on my timeline. Well I’m
glad I did because it’s a cracking song. Not only that, I’ve given a listen to
the whole album and it follows pretty much in the same vein. There is a Britpop
crossed with Alternative Rock sound to the song, with the riff sounding like it
has been influenced by Placebo. In fact it was the riff that made me stop and
give the song a proper listen. It is very catchy and soon has you breaking out
the air guitar. It will also have you singing along to the chorus within a
couple of listens. A great little find and a song that any fan of indie music
will love.
The Family Rain-
Pushing It: 2013 seems to be a good year for young British rock bands and Bath
trio The Family Rain are the latest to put their name forward. To be honest I’ve
included them here as I recently saw them open for Miles Kane in Portsmouth and
I was really impressed with them. Well impressed enough to warrant telling
people about them and suggest giving them a listen. ‘Pushing It’ has bluesy
rock sound to it, not unlike The Black Keys, with a riff reminiscent of ‘Joker
and the Thief’.That’s not to say they
are ripping anyone off. They have a tight but individual sound with a range of
songs that made them worth checking out after I had seen them. They might not
be a name you recognise but they might just be a name you will become familiar
with the future.
The Killers- Shot At
the Night: 2013 has been a mammoth year for The Killers. Not only have the
Las Vegas rockers concluded their mammoth ‘Battle Born’ tour, including a sell
-out show at Wembley Stadium in London, they have now announced their ‘Greatest
Hits’ album, a collection spanning their career thus far. It’s hard to imagine
they’ve been around ten years, but after 4 albums, B-Sides and rarities as well
as one off and Christmas singles, you can now get a Killers starter kit, with
all the essential tracks to get you hooked. Plus two new tracks, including this
one. Produced by Anthony Gonzalez from M83, the song sees the band return to a
1980s influenced sound. They have always had a different sound with each album
they have done, and this song has a slightly different sound once again. It’s
not the same as the New Wave influences found on Hot Fuss and doesn’t fit with
the style on Day and Age. As with all The Killers music, it’s a real grower.
After a few listens you find yourself becoming rather fond of it. With another
new song ‘Just Another Girl’ on the album, as well news of a new Brandon
Flowers solo album due in the not so distant future, there is plenty of music
for fans of The Killers to look forward to.
The Strypes- What a
Shame: Irish youngsters The Strypes release the third single off their
debut album ‘Snapshot’ and they continue to make a big name for themselves. For
a band so young, they already appear to have a well-established sound. They
know the kind of music they want to play and they go ahead and smash it. While
it doesn’t have the same intensity of ‘Blue Collar Jane’, it still has a
similar catchiness that keeps you listening. They might be taking their look
and sound from the 1960s, but since when was that a bad thing. For now it makes
them stand out as something a bit different which can only be a good thing.
There you have it, another brief round up of some of the best new music around at the moment. Feel free to check out some of my other posts and keep a look out for some gig reviews that will be coming up in the near future. Will have two that will be up in the next 10 days or so.
This year I have been lucky enough to see some big bands in
some huge venues. However sometimes you can’t beat being in a small venue, and
The Haunt in Brighton provided just a setting. Having seen Spector play live on
YouTube I was looking forward to seeing them in the flesh. They didn’t
disappoint.
Before Spector took to the stage, there were a couple of support
acts. The first band, who I only saw half the set of, were ‘Two Jackals’. They
played 80s style indie music with synths but they didn’t really capture my
imagination. Their last couple of songs were Ok but not anything I’d rush to
listen to again. The second support act was a band called ‘Pale’. They had a
similar style to the previous band, but seemed to have a fuller, more
accomplished sound. Even though they only played a short set, they managed to
get the crowd onside early on. Out of the two, they were definitely the band I preferred.
On to Spector then and they gave it everything they had
right from the start. You’d expect that though given it was the first night of
the tour, although their first proper gig in Brighton apparently. They played a
mixture of songs from their first album ‘Enjoy It While It Lasts’, all of which
had the place bouncing (quite literally, you could feel the floor flexing under
your feet), as well as debuting some new material.
They started off with older material including ‘Friday
Night, Don’t Ever Let It End’ and ‘Upset Boulevard’. These went down a storm
with the crowd who sang and clapped along to most of the set. The new material
was well received; I particularly liked ‘Decade of Decay’, a new song that has
been on YouTube recently, as well as some other songs that were new, even to
the band themselves.
They finished their 13 song set with their three most
popular singles. ‘Celestine’ went down well before they thundered into ‘Chevy
Thunder’ which had the whole place rocking again. They ended on the brilliant ‘Never
Fade Away’ which included a mass sing and clap along from the crowd.
Overall they put on a very good performance even though Tom,
the bass player, was playing with a broken collarbone. Singer Frank McPherson
is a brilliant frontman. He has a confidence supported by a quirky sense of
humour which enables him to effortlessly interact with the crowd, which he did
on numerous occasions. Importantly though, he sounds exactly the same live as
he does on record, maybe even better as he can put more passion into the
vocals.
They said they had never played Brighton properly before,
but I think they might well be back at some point. I had a really good night.
The venue was good, the crowd were superb and the band responded with a fantastic
performance. I think it’s fair to say the band enjoyed themselves. Certainly
not a bad way to kick off the tour.
*I apologise for the lack of pictures with this post, as
there usually are with my gig reviews as there were too many people in the way
and my camera wasn’t working.
Part of the reason the songs sounded so good is because The
Answer are a very good live band. They sound exactly the same live as they do
on their albums, just with the volume turned up to 11. Cormac Neeson is a
brilliant frontman. He loves interacting with the crowd and has a top notch
singing voice while Paul Mahon is one of the most talented guitarists around at
the moment. He may not be an A-List name but when I saw them live first time
round, it was the guitar playing that made the biggest impression, and he was
on top form again here. The riffs and the solos were just fantastic. 
