In a week that has seen dynamic pricing expecting you to pay upwards of £300 for a half decent ticket to see AC/DC it’s refreshing to be able to come to a venue as good as Gloucester Guildhall to see three quality bands, all on an upward curve, up close and personal for little more than a fiver each.
Hailing from Hitchin, Electric Black are given the task of opening this tantalising triple bill. With a brand new album out in Late Night Lightning they’re keen to show off their new wares and opener ‘Put It Down On Me’ kicks along with a bass heavy groove that sets the tone for their slot. While they are often categorised under the awful NWOCR monicker, their sound has a distinctly modern edge that is more a mix of Seattle grunge meets Rival Sons. With it being 8 years since they released their first EP it’s no surprise that they are a tight outfit, and Ali Shiach has the vocals to carry of hard rockers like ‘Take The Roof Off’ and set closer ‘Sick Of Myself’ with ease.
Next up are the Karma Effect who’ve been making big leaps forward lately. Aerosmith’s ‘Hearts Done Time’ serves as the intro tape and suitably builds the tension for a belting opener of ‘All Night Long’. ‘Mercy’ has a blues swagger reminiscent of Cinderella and ‘Doubt She’s Coming Back’ adds a touch of funkiness while the presence of keyboards and harmony vocals really help in rounding of the song. With the support of Planet Rock behind them on their latest single ‘See You Again’ Karma Effect seem to be a band poised to come into their own when their Promised Land album lands in May. In a relatively short period of time they’ve managed to create some fabulous songs which ‘Livin’ It Up’ and ‘Testify’ only confirm those thoughts that something bigger is just around the corner.
Fourteen years in, Bad Touch are past being considered as the new band to watch out for, but they have consistently been one of the best out there consistently delivering solid albums and incendiary live shows. What they can lay claim to though is producing one of the best hard rock records of any band in recent years in Bittersweet Satisfaction with this tour to make sure everybody knows it, and opening with the title track is a good a place as any to start.
Some older favourites follow with ‘Lift Your Head Up’ and the ridiculously catchy ‘Strut’. ‘Dressed To Kill’ allows new boy, Piston’s Brad Newlands, a solo spot. Impressive stuff considering the short time he’s had to learn the set. There’s a call and response start to ‘Taste This’ which leads into swaggering riff delivering a much broader sound than their earlier classic rock roots with Seeks’ & Rob Glendinning’s guitars never sounding better.
‘I Get High’ guarantees more audience participation and then there’s a mellow start to ‘Spend My Days’ before it gloriously erupts and Stevie Westwood’s vocal delivery on this song of lost love is exemplary. It’s one of the best songs that they’ve written since ‘99%’ and in the right movie soundtrack, this could easily propel them into the mega band they deserve to be.
Over the years they’ve made Alanis Morisette’s ‘Hand In My Pocket’ their own and this along with Ike & Tina Turner’s ‘Baby Get It On’ neatly wrap around new number ‘This Life’ to close the main set and allow the band a little breather before the encore. Westwood returns with an acoustic guitar to start ‘Nothing Wrong With That’ before the rest of the band return and join in. Of course, there’s only one way to finish and ‘99%’ brings the evening to a raucous crescendo.
What a night it has been with three top notch bands delivering high quality sets of class rock ‘n’ roll with energy and passion. You’d be hard pressed to get a better bang for your buck, so if this tour is coming near to you, don’t miss out.
Setlist:
Bittersweet Satisfaction
Lift Your Head Up
Strut
Dressed to Kill
Slip Away
Good on Me (Jeans Song)
Taste This
I Get High
See It To Believe It
Spend My Days
Let Go
Hand in My Pocket
This Life / Baby Get It On
Encore:
Nothing Wrong With That
99%
