Gig Review: The Answer @ Concorde 2, Brighton

The Answer @ Concorde 2, Brighton 27/10

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.