Oh, for the love of…

Valentine’s month. I hope you get something from someone you wished for. If not, you can have a bit of our love to keep you warm.

January was exhausting – we’ve got a couple of reviews from the Stone Gods tour, their first headline one. There’ll be another one shortly, if you missed it – they’re great, live, so go while you can!

February, then. Look forward to rock, back to rocked.

xx

Six

Posted in OI

Serpico review

by Lucie plus guest writer Paula

To go with our divine little interview with the Serpico boys, we’ve had a listen to the music they have on their pretty little MySpace page and decided to make a little song and dance about it. This is a band that any self-respecting metal fan needs to listen to, put simply. Everything you want in your slice of morning rock is there – heavy licks, thunderous percussion, a gravel-voiced singer who sounds angry even when he isn’t… Come on, does it get better? In OI HQ, ‘Kultura’ is our favourite track on the page, fast-paced with an anthemic chorus, jumpy and fists-in-the-air. Plus I’m a sucker for a rolling drum intro. ‘Glasseye’ will appeal to those who like a good bit of angsty emotion with their rawk, while ‘400 Blows to The Head’ and ‘Alkaline Nights’ knock ones head off with more vicious guitar work than you could ever want, with ‘Feelin’ Minnesota’ and ‘Los Perros’ giving a very encouraging indication of what’s to come in the live show. There’s no denying that this is a kick-arse group, one that gets you excited about hearing it all live, if you’re lucky enough to do so.

I’ll pass over now to someone who knows a little more about metal then me, one of our guest writers, Paula:

After many repeated listening to the songs Serpico have on their myspace (much to the dismay of my child). I have come to the conclusion it is difficult to try to describe their sound other than good old style rock with a load of heavy riffs & pounding drums, that you can but help tap along too (which is always a good thing)

It is a bit hard to pin point any one particular influence (apart from the obvious Slayer -Reign In Blood opening riff at the start of Feelin’ Minnesota live), Think AC/DC meets Nirvana and throws some mid 80’s thrash bands such as Megadeth & Metallica into the mix and you might just have an taster of how they sound.

Just because we’re generous, have some tour details (all supporting Stone Gods):

17 Jan 2008 Fleece Bristol
18 Jan 2008 Academy 3 Manchester
19 Jan 2008 King Tuts Glasgow
20 Jan 2008 Academy 2 Newcastle
22 Jan 2008 Corporation Sheffield
23 Jan 2008 Barfly Birmingham
24 Jan 2008 Zodiac Oxford
25 Jan 2008 Rock City Nottingham
27 Jan 2008 Wedgwood Rooms Portsmouth
28 Jan 2008 Concorde 2 Brighton
29 Jan 2008 Camden Underworld London
30 Jan 2008 Waterfront Norwich

El Policia – Future Delights

by Jo

Ok, that’s 2007 out of the way. Let’s have a ponder about 2008, shall we? What’s in store?
Aha! Here we are… El Policia. These teen rockers are already making a name for themselves on the Manchester circuit with both headline and support slots, they’re tipped for the top. Live TV sessions with The Thrills on Channel M, airplay time from both Steve Lamacq and Huw Stephens, and plenty of press attention. Not many bands can claim that they’ve played gay clubs AND appeared on NUTS TV in the space of a month – heavens! How on earth did they pull those two off? Blimey be blessed, even NME like them.

They look good, the looks match the sound, and they serve up the goods with gusto, energy and plenty of noise. Plenty of punkpop determination. No nonsense. Forget dour though – this is good honest fun to hear. I can only imagine the sheer joy of their mosh pits! I found it impossible not to want to jump up and down and BE at a gig when I heard them.

All in Your Head is the thrashier, punkier of the two tracks I heard, and I must admit that the first snippet made me think of ‘C’mon Everybody’, but the Sid Vicious version. Always a good thing! That repetitive rhythm gets you! We’ve got honest, unpretentious music here, with simple but effective lyrics that relate to your life -up to you to decide how meaningful they are for you. ‘You Love Me Too’ – mmm yes. More of that dark hard bright fuzz in my life, please. A different sound, different vocals.

If you’re after new stuff to freshen things up, give El Policia a chance. And have a bit of an unashamed pogo at the same time. There’s an EP being recorded, and there are a good few gigs in the pipeline round the Northwest and hopefully further afield. Catch them supporting Dragons at Academy3 on February 27, and Death To The DJ @ WA1 on February 9th, for starters.

There’s plenty of varied tracks to listen to at www.myspace.com/elpolicia . Enjoy!

Stone Gods 11.1.08

by Guest – Babzz

Stone Gods live @ Eurosonic festival 11-1-2008 Groningen, Holland

A fan’s first Godstricken experience…

It just seemed a very short while ago that I sat in a boring class and received a text from Aimee saying ‘The Stone Gods have a song up on their website, Burn the Witch! And they’re playing a gig in Groningen!’ First thing I did when the class was over was run to the computer room to check it out. I immediately decided I loved it, and that there was no way I was going to miss their first international gig, even when it was in the city that’s the most for away from where I live as possible in this little country! There was of course also no way that Heidi was going to sit at home in Finland when there was a gig to go to in Holland, so flights were booked and tickets were bought.

Finally the day came, I got up ridiculously early to be able to do a silly test in school and then pick up Heidi from the place of horror that is Schiphol Airport. We got offered a ride to Groningen from the lovely Daisy, so after we changed to our custom made (by me) Stone Goddess shirts, we were soon in a comfy car on our way to the north. Since it was a festival there were more bands playing in several venues across the centre of the city, the guys wouldn’t be on until 1.15 so we decided to check out Von Hertzen Brothers, a Finnish band that I would describe as psychedelic rock. They were quite good. We also caught a few songs of Palladium, but we were getting a bit anxious about the huge queues we had seen in front of some of the venues, so we decided to head for Vindicat Mutua Fides. Hope to see more of Palladium if they play Amsterdam sometime!

It turned out that the long Latin name was a bit fancy for a venue that seemed to be built of cardboard and smelled of piss more then your usual public toilet… First thing we spotted when we got in was a few huge flightcases saying The Darkness, yay, they’re actually there! But what we didn’t know was that we still had to survive the band that played before them… Some Portugese metal band that was really so bad we had to cover our ears. When they had finally finished the enormous load of amplifiers, guitars, effect pedals and bits of the drumkit had to be put on the tiny stage, which took much longer then was planned. Because it was such a small room, this all had to happen via the front of the stage, so we couldn’t reserve our front row spots just yet. But after a nasty security guard had been told off by a roadie, he finally let the audience come closer and we practically glued ourselves against the left side of the stage. To be honest I had gotten a little sick with excitement by now, I could hardly speak and I was afraid I was going to cry the second they would come on stage.

But when that moment finally came, after a little problem with Dan’s amplifiers had been fixed, all I could feel was just excitement and happiness, they were on a stage again, where they belonged! They started with Burn the Witch, for us it’s like a classic tune by now so we all sang along and I managed to lose my voice already. The band seemed to be happy to receive such a lot of cheering and headbanging from the crowd. I can’t remember in what order they played all the songs, mainly because I knew less then half of them of course, but we all absolutely adored Gunfight and Magdalene Street! The songs were all, without one exception, amazing and totally rocking. I was so proud of Richie, gone from a roadie to a bassplayer, and now a frontman. And not just any frontman, the centre of the stage is just exactly where he belongs. And Dan, he really seems to be out of this world, with all his gorgeous Gibson Les Pauls and his beautiful curls dancing around his face. This is really a personal thing, but for me it was such a weird feeling to see him in real life again, I have been worshipping this man for so long, he has brought me so much happiness and just completely changed my life, and I just can’t describe how happy I was to see him playing again. We sang along where we could at the songs that we had heard so far, and enjoyed the sight when one of the guys would put their foot on the monitor right in front of us!

The gig was over way too soon, shitty 45 minute maximum. We just sat on the floor having a beer for a while, trying to come down from this more then amazing performance, and chatted to a nice photographer who told us in what magazine we could find his pictures of the gig, and later on when we had all been kicked outside because the place was closing, he kindly told us that the guys were in some kind of portable dressing room outside. We waited and waited and waited watching all the gear being loaded into the trucks, and just when we were a bit afraid they might’ve buggered off trough the other side, they came outside and invited us for a few drinks. It was great to hear how much our support was appreciated! Not to mention seeing Richie dancing to dodgy dance songs. This is not only the most rocking band in the world, but also the nicest one. And for me personally, speaking to Dan again, looking into his beautiful eyes… Wow, I’m lost for words! Toby was really worried about the fact that we didn’t have a place to stay and would have to wander the streets until we could catch the first train in the morning, so Daisy kindly offered us to crash her hotel room. The club closed eventually, and after a couple of big hugs and several kisses from all the band members (three kisses, ‘continental style’ according to Toby) we left for the hotel. Massive thanks to Daisy for sneaking us in and driving us home the next morning. Best weekend of the year so far, roll on Norwich!

New Year

2008 has started, thank all our stars. Good riddance to 2007, it stank in so many ways, even if there was a load of great music! I think that we’ve got a bit of vavavoom back, our mojos are working again, loads to do and with any luck plenty to type!

 

We also have a new Sixson. Welcome in, little one, and be good or you’ll get Westlife instead of ROCK. Your mother can be evil, ya know. *hugs* 😀 (sorry, dear)

 

Ready to rock out? We got loads coming from the Stone Gods Tour. New kids on the stage. SO much to do!

 

Best get on with it then.

 

 

xxx

Posted in OI

Serpico

by Jo and Lucie

Those Serpico blokes are getting themselves around a bit. After forming in 2002, life got in the way a little until three years later, when singer Mikey got them glued together properly and they started making their mark. They’ve already supported super-big names like Paradise Lost, AFI, InMe, Wednesday13 and rising stars Black Stone Cherry and Lost Alone. Early 2008 sees them supporting OI favourites Stone Gods (if you haven’t visited us lately, they’re the remains of The Darkness plus Graham Coxon’s bassist Toby MacFarlaine), and in February Serpico will be re-entering Chapel Studios (where the Serpico EP was recorded) to create their debut album with Canadian producer Rhys Fulber.
We cornered Mikey for a delightful soiree, recorded for posterity right here.

So, how did you get this tour then? Did it descend as a gift from the gods?

Gods… ho ho ho! We (well, I say we, I mean Jonny, our amazing booking agent/drummer) got in contact with their agent a while ago when we saw the tour announced. We heard that the band was made up from the remains of The Darkness, so that obviously intrigued us, because they were so big a couple of years ago (I’ve got to admit to paying silly money on eBay for tickets to see them around Christmas 2003, I think). We didn’t hear anything for quite a while, then we got offered the tour! So yeah, that’s how the tour was organised… We do all our own booking, got in touch with their agent (who we’d worked with before on the Black Stone Cherry tour).

News like that is the sort of stuff that makes your week!

Yeah, it wasn’t too bad to be honest! This is our 5th UK tour now, we’re gonna have had almost 8 weeks off touring by the time this starts. We’re definitely itching to get back on the road. Also it’s going to be interesting touring with a band who the crowd aren’t necessarily going to know a lot about, other than their pasts.

Continue reading

Ten Foot Dolls

by Lucie

There’s nowt quite like a little delve into the world of a grunge-goff-alt band…

How are things in the Ten Foot Dolls HQ?
Well our guitarist is leaving after our February tour, so if anybody wants to play for us….

What’s the story behind the formation of this band?
Nicci and Jake met at collage, dropped out of college and went to London looking for band members, after a period of time down there with no luck, they came back to Yorkshire. Izzy was looking for porn on the internet but found an ad looking for a bass player that Nicci had put up on a website and it went from there. We have also gone through a million and 4 guitar players. We can never find anybody with the same amount of dedication as us 3.

What are you collective musical influences?
This is always so difficult to answer as we have such varied and different tastes. The bands that we all agree on as major influences though are Rob Zombie, Aerosmith, Pantera, Led Zeppelin and Nine Inch Nails.

What got you all into music?
Nicci – My dad is also a musician so it’s in the family so to speak. I always found it a natural thing to be able to sing and be musical.

Izzy – My mum and dad raised me on bands like Aerosmith, Guns n Roses, AC/DC, Van Halen etc etc so I always had this interest in being a rock star like the heroes I was raised on, and then when I was about 13 me and a school friend decided to take guitar lessons and form a band.

Jake is the reincarnation of John Bonham.

Continue reading

RE: all things stoney and God-like

by Lucie

Oh yes, they have arrived. After months of Darkling anxiety, The Stone Gods fell upon us in a distinctly pleasurable manner, mainly in the form of 1.14 minutes of song. Impressed? You should be.

With a band that we at OI have pledged loyal allegiance to comes websites, and plenty of them. For starters, the glorious Stone Gods Temple – www.thestonegods.org – built by the same young lady who constructed our fine HQ (tigerlilybolger), with the aid of Rock Blonde and us, SixSister. Our sister site has already accumulated well over a hundred members (and counting) within the forum, all of whom seem terribly impressed with how awesome we are. Then there is the official site, www.thestonegods.com (graciously including a link to our sexy fansite on the main page), the official MySpace (www.myspace.com/thestonegods) and finally the Temple’s MySpace for word-spreadage and such – www.myspace.com/stonegodstemplesite. All of this means nobody has any excuse for not knowing what’s happening (but that doesn’t mean you’re allowed to stop visiting us).

Jo has written some reviews of her four-day ride on the SG Express, so if you want a taster, go read. It’s been widely acknowledged that their first performances supporting Thin Lizzy all went superbly well, and everyone thinks they’re really quite good (visit the official site or the official MySpace for the 1.14 minutes I referred to earlier). The single ‘Burn The Witch’ is the title track for an EP that will be thrust upon us in the new year, with hopes on an album in the Summer. Is all that enough for you? Well tough, you can swallow these tour dates down, too:

8 Dec 2007 19:00
Colston Hall Bristol (supporting Apocolyptica)
9 Dec 2007 19:00
Guildhall Southampton (supporting Apocolyptica)
11 Dec 2007 19:00
Astoria London (supporting Apocolyptica)
12 Dec 2007 19:00
Academy 2 Manchester (supporting Apocolyptica)
13 Dec 2007 19:00
Academy Birmingham (supporting Apocolyptica)
14 Dec 2007 19:00
Garage Glasgow (supporting Apocolyptica)
17 Jan 2008 19:00
Fleece Bristol
18 Jan 2008 19:00
Academy 3 Manchester
19 Jan 2008 19:00
King Tuts Glasgow
20 Jan 2008 19:00
Academy 2 Newcastle
22 Jan 2008 19:00
Corporation Sheffield
23 Jan 2008 19:00
Barfly Birmingham
24 Jan 2008 19:00
Zodiac Oxford
25 Jan 2008 19:00
Rock City Nottingham
27 Jan 2008 19:00
Wedgwood Rooms Portsmouth
28 Jan 2008 19:00
Concorde 2 Brighton
29 Jan 2008 19:00
Camden Underworld London
30 Jan 2008 19:00
Waterfront Norwich

Right, that really is enough. At least until I see them on the 11th… Expect more reviews, photos, the whole kerblammy very soon. Rock-the-fuck-on!

Led Zeppelin, 02 Arena

by Guest – Laurie Whitecloud

The Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert
December 10, 2007

The loverly Mistress Jo asked me to write a review of this gig for Optimum Impact. What could I say but yes, for I can write page after page after page about this band and the concert of a lifetime! For those of you who do not know the joys of Led Zeppelin, let me explain what this band means to me.

I’d stumbled across Zeppelin around 1977, I was just in middle school and had no idea they were the biggest band in America at the time. I just knew I liked a song called “D’yer Maker” and the band that did it was Led Zeppelin. I saw a picture of the band and was drawn to a certain priddy dark-haired guitarist with a beautiful smile. His name was Jimmy Page.

Well from there I ended up buying their album Houses of the Holy, and was smitten. Houses led to buying other albums of theirs, and buying every magazine I could get with them in it. I spent countless hours poring over their album covers, absorbing every song, reading interviews, gaping at pictures, playing air guitar like Jimmy, air bass like John Paul Jones, air drums like John Bonham and trying to mimic Robert Plant’s banshee wail. Their music got me through the dark days of high school. Although Jimmy was my focus, I knew that all the band members fit together like four pieces of a puzzle…this was one band where everyone’s contributions were important.

This was most evident when John “Bonzo” Bonham died in 1980, on the eve of their latest American tour. It was a crushing blow to the band, and they all decided they couldn’t carry on without him. So they all went their separate ways and I was left without a band to follow…..well, a band that was recording and performing, that is! I still worshipped Zep!

27 years later, after a couple of “reunion” performances through the years, the surviving members of the band decide to reunite for a proper concert in honor of their friend and the founder of Atlantic Records, Ahmet Ertegun, who passed away last year. They choose Jason Bonham to drum for them. Some people thought that Jason wasn’t the right choice for the job, but I recall watching the Zep movie “The Song Remains The Same,” seeing 7-year-old Jason drumming away on a tiny Ludwig set, twirling his stick with one hand, while proud dad Bonzo laughs and grabs some bongos to play along with his son. Jason’s been in the band Foreigner for a couple of years now, and when I saw them in concert he really rocked!

Through the grace of God, I’d managed to get my grubby paws to what I consider is the Holy Grail of concerts! So it is with disbelief that I find myself in London, at the 02 Arena, sitting through the opening acts ELP, Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings featuring singers Maggie Bell, Paolo Nutini, and Paul Rodgers. Foreigner performs “I Want To Know What Love is” with a London children’s choir, and then it’s time for ZEP!!!!

The band kicks off with, “Good Times, Bad Times”, the first track on their first album. Robert sings it in a lower key but his is still the voice we all know and love! Jimmy’s guitar playing is sharp as ever, and Jonesy and Jason form a super-tight rhythm section.

At the end of the song, we all cheer and then it’s time for the sublime, “Ramble On.” Goosebump time! Robert’s lyrics evoke autumn evenings and leaving someone you love behind. It’s ethereal and beautiful, and sounds very good indeed. One of my friends had warned us that Robert might need a few songs to warm up, but his voice is sure and strong. And Jimmy’s guitar work is incendiary!

All of a sudden, we hear “Hey hey mama, said the way you move, wanna make you sweat, wanna make you groove!” HELLO!!! “Black Dog” pours out of the speakers and the whole crowd erupts and stands to their feet, except those people around us in the back. Wow, they’re not holding back on the songs people want to hear! We get to sing along joyously with Robert on the chorus, just like on live recordings I’ve heard.

“In My Time of Dying”, which features Jimmy playing the slide guitar, is 12 minutes of glory. It’s one of my favorite songs off the album Physical Graffiti, so I’m rocking along, singing every word with Robert, banging my head along with Jason’s bass drum. “Well well, well, so I can die eeeeeeasy……”

“For Your Life” gets a nod, just because it’s the first time the band has ever played it live. It’s a good song, but I’d rather hear something like Hots On For Nowhere if they were choosing songs from Presence. Anyhoo….

Jonesy gets the spotlight on Trampled Under Foot, where he gets to jam out on the keyboards for this funk-meets-rock barn-burner, which all came about because they had wanted to emulate Robert Johnson’s “Terraplane Blues”. “Everyone nicks it,” Robert cheekily stated.

“Nobody’s Fault But Mine” has one of the most amazing intros ever, and Robert sings along with the notes perfectly. It was also good to see him get out the harmonica and wail it during his solo!

“No Quarter” is synonymous with Jonesy, simply because his keyboard work is haunting and mysterious and moody. I used to listen to this song with the lights off and get scared!! It’s dark lyrical imagery is made all the more intense with Robert’s lower vocal register and Jimmy’s theremin provides out-of-this-world shrieks and wails at the appropriate times. Add a really cool light show in the background, and you have an acid trip without the acid!

“Dazed and Confused” featured Jimmy doing his guitar solo with the violin bow, surrounded by a green laser pyramid, and hearing and seeing the spectacle in real life was so amazing, then the drums and bass kicked in, then Robert came in screaming like it was 1969…yeah. My mind is suitably blown to bits!

“Stairway to Heaven” was a surprise, yet not a surprise because A) people like me doubted they would do it, because the band hasn’t liked playing this song in eons, and B) because they did do it, it’s one of the most popular songs EVER, and it was awesome! Jimmy’s dual image was flashed on the screen during one of the most famous solos in the world and it awoke memories of me sitting through TSRTS countless times. And at the end, Robert cried out “Hey Ahmet, we did it!”

Jimmy hangs onto the world-famous double-neck guitar, deemed one of the Most Valuable Guitars by Guitar World magazine, for the rollicking “The Song Remains The Same.” Ah, how I adore this song! It instantly makes me a happy camper no matter what!

“Since I’ve Been Loving You” : The first five notes are the most lovely notes that send one’s spine a-tingling. Robert’s lament about a cheating lover is one of the best English blues songs in the world, in my opinion, and is one of Jimmy’s guitar masterpieces – Robert even gives him his due by saying simply, “Jimmy Page – guitar!” at the end.

Robert reminisced about Bonzo and told everyone that Bonzo used to sing in a band, and they’d do The Wind Cries Mary a lot! “Jason is a good singer, too” noted Robert, and Jason grabs the mic and wails out the intro to “I Can’t Quit You Baby”. Just when you think that’s the song they’ll do next, they bash into “Misty Mountain Hop”, and it’s a joy to hear Jason sing harmony with Robert on this fun tale about dope-smoking hippies in the park.

Robert noticed someone holding up a sign that read, “Hammer of the Gods” and said that it was amazing that people from 50 countries would be there to see that, “so late in life!” Then Jason bashed in the intro to “Kashmir” and the crowd goes wild! This song was Bonzo’s call to arms and Jason did his dad proud, methinks. It was also wonderful to hear Robert’s wail on “trying to find, trying to find where I’ve beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen” to be as awesome as it is on the recording!

After finishing the song and remembering Ahmet Ertegun, the band left the stage. People who don’t know any better begin to file out. Too bad, because they miss THE song that started a whole new genre of music called hard rock: “WHOLE LOTTA LOVE”.

Well what can I say about WLL that hasn’t been said! Primal. Sexy. White HOT!! It’s like ¾ of the band aren’t in the later years in life and it’s the 1970’s again. Robert and Jimmy play off each other with the theremin bits and the call-and-response with the voice and guitar. At the end, they again say goodnight and leave the crowd begging for more.

There’s one song they haven’t done yet… and it’s one they HAVE to do………and believe it or not, there are still people leaving! What’s wrong with them? Don’t they know you don’t leave a gig before the house lights come on? Sheesh!!

Jason’s cymbals crash and yep, it’s “Rock and Roll”!!! And when Robert sings, “It’s been a long time, been a long time, been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time,” truer words were never spoken. Jason’s drum bit at the end was done as if he was infused with the spirit of Bonzo, and then it really was over. It was so cool to see Jason fall to his knees and bow down to Robert, Jimmy and Jonesy – three living rock gods.

This was the rock show of all rock shows. At the end of the gig, I was suitably drained emotionally and physically. I said it before, but I was so proud of the band for proving to London and the entire world that they still had the cojones to rock our socks off! There have been calls for a tour since the big day, and I hope they do. The night of December 10 was truly magical. I told my friends I don’t have to go to another gig, ever….(but I will!! ?)

End of an era

December? Again?

 

A sad time for us, as Lou has decided that she wants to move on to pastures new. We’d like to thank her for all her hard work and dedication over the months, and we’ll miss her. 

 

She would like to thank  everyone who’s been involved with Optimum Impact and made it such a crazy and wonderful couple of years for her, and  says she’s met some truly brilliant people who I hope to keep with me forevermore. Aawww. Bless.

 

OI lives on, for we are many! The lovely sisters of rock will continue to ply you with rock news and articles and all sorts of nonsense,as usual.  

 

Indeed, we give you.. The OPTIMUM IMPACT COMPILATION ALBUM! Ah yes, it does rock as much as you might expect. Check out Lou’s piece in the “Articles” section for details of who it features and how to get yourself a copy! -They’ll make for brilliant stocking fillers…  Muahahaaa, you can’t beat a good ol’ seasonal shameless plug!

 

Also.. Nicolai Prowse, our golden voiced boy, has  allowed to have an exclusive track – you can’t listen to it anywhere else. It’s on every page, you can’t miss it! 

 

Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year, rockers! We WILL be with you whether you like it or not.

 

xxx

Posted in OI

December Again

Merry whotsits to you. I’m camping out under the duvet this year, am worn out with the year’s exertions. It hasn’t been a great one, the sooner it’s over the better.

 

This month, we’re bringing you the launch of the Stone Gods. The Darkness are finally put to rest, though not without a tear or two, and the future finally beckons. Justin is working hard on his own solo stuff, and Stone Gods are finally out on the road, songs unveiled, fans about to explode.

 

We’ll have more as it unfolds, but look out for them. You won’t hear anything more different unless Richie starts singing Sinatra, innit?

 

Back next year

 

Posted in OI

Jeff Wayne’s War of The Worlds LIVE

by Lucie

It seems like a rather bizarre thing to go to a concert knowing exactly what you’re going to hear. But that’s what I and several thousand other people did on the second UK arena tour of Jeff Wayne’s War of The Worlds. It’s a record I’ve loved since birth, thanks to my mum who received the highlights album (as in all songs and not much Richard Burton) as a present when it first came out in the mid-70’s. When her kids were born, we were all subjected to it, and instead of rebelling against what our crappy old parents liked, we all clung to it, and we all still adore it.

It was the subtle differences of hearing it live that I was most excited about. Mainly, seeing Jeff Wayne and legendary bassist Herbie Flowers in the flesh. Yeah, they’re getting on a bit, but you’ve got to give them serious respect for being so dedicated that they’re still doing this 30 years on. Guitarist Chris Spedding is also part of the original cast, and looked fantastic rocking out next to Herbie. Justin Hayward got huge applause as he graced the stage, a blues legend in his own right, and still playing the sung thoughts of the journalist. Chris Thompson is another one of the originals, as the voice of humanity, almost bursting a blood vessel to hit the high notes, but sounding incredible. What was so good about these original members was that none of them tried to go off on musical tangents and steal the show – they stuck to the record, putting their all into it, making an old favourite into something live-action.

Obviously, there were a handful of people who for various reasons couldn’t be in the musical, which is what the record was always meant to be, although Jeff had to wait three decades for theatre technology to be advanced enough to tour with it. Richard Burton and Phil Lynott (the journalist and parson Nathaniel) are sadly dead, David Essex is now too old to play the “young artilleryman”, and Julie Covington is either also too old now to play Nathaniel’s wife Beth, or simply didn’t want to be involved. But their replacements were ideal, particularly Alexis James, who played the artilleryman this year and last year (the musical’s opening year). I have the DVD of a performance from 2006, and I can tell from that how much Alexis has improved and made the character his own. He’s taken on a little of David Essex’s cockney accent and youthful charm and let it evolve in his own style when acting, and made the singing incredibly energetic. This year’s performance saw him making the character more manic, as H. G. Wells always intended, only adding to the story and giving his character more dimensions. He starts off bursting with energy, excited about the brave new world he’s going to start, and ends it with tearful anxiety, showing that he knows it will never work, but refusing to give in, which I thought was just perfect; and in the hope that my mum doesn’t read this, I’d say I prefer his version to David’s.

Last year Russell Watson played Nathaniel, and watching the DVD made me almost recoil at his version of the parson. He’s no Phil Lynott, that’s for sure. But this year John Payne, who made his mark in prog rock bands such as Asia, took over, with a brilliant gravely rock voice that suits the part of the desperate Nathaniel perfectly. He also looks the part much more, Russell seeming too young to play a religiously insane parson on the brink of losing his faith. His wife was played by Sinead Quinn, a former Fame Academy star, whose singing was dramatic but her acting wasn’t great. But if Alexis managed to lose his nerves and claim the role for himself after the first year, perhaps Sinead will if she returns for the next tour. Replacing Richard Burton was always going to be more tricky. I feel that somehow having a real actor loitering on stage all the time wouldn’t have worked, and simply taking away that incredibly distinctive voice from the narration would have been wrong. Jeff was extremely innovative with his idea for having Richard still on stage. Last year, there was a huge polystyrene head hung above the stage, with Richard’s face projected onto it. Not only that, but they had a lookalike recite all of Richard’s words and then his face with the moving mouth was altered to look even more like the real Richard, then placed onto the carefully carved head. This year was different; they wanted to make him even more 3D, so his face and neck were projected onto a kind of plastic sheet, and the whole thing had been re-shot, this time with eye and head movements. No one would have believed…
Another spectacular prop was the tripod that came down onto the stage over the band, flashing and sending out its heat ray, and finally collapsing with sparks and dying eyes as the last Martian dies at the end. Perfect.

Jeff really milked his standing ovation at the end, but with good reason – I certainly would, if I’d written a record 30 years ago that is still so resonant in the 21st century that arenas sell out to see it. The whole thing was extremely moving to watch, and hear live, and see the background animations. The Black Smoke Band, composed of old and new musical members, and the ulladubulla strings were 100% perfect in recreating the music we were all there to hear, so huge credit has to go out to Jeff Wayne and his crew of loyal musicians and actors for finally being able to do the record justice.

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

by Guest – ‘Plucky’

Carling Academy, Oxford. Tuesday 11th December

My knowledge of SAHB is not extensive. I know that Alex Harvey himself has been dead for many years, and before this gig, I only knew three of their songs, and they didn’t even play two of those!

One of my main reasons for going to this gig was to see Zal Cleminson – I’m a big Nazareth fan, and Zal was a member of Nazareth for a couple of years (1979 – 80). But, I didn’t really know what to expect…

I must say from the outset – they rocked loud, and they rocked hard. They had a very full, fat sound. When they came on stage, the singer (Max Maxwell, Alex Harvey’s replacement) looked very much like Dan Aykroyd in The Blues Brothers. I knew the titles of some of their songs, if not the songs themselves, so when Max started yelling ‘Can I put my hands on you’, I guessed it must be Faith Healer. I believe it’s one of their best-known tracks, but unfortunately I didn’t think much of it. Maybe I need to hear it a few more times. Besides that, Max gave the impression of taking it all a bit too seriously.

Thankfully, my first impressions turned out to be wrong. The second track, Midnight Moses, was a great rocker, and throughout the gig, there was a lot of banter and fooling about on stage. Far from taking it too seriously, Max frequently pretended to wonder what was going on, and during Framed, he bemoaned his fate, wondering what he had done to deserve being forced to be in the band! For the first four or five songs, Max wore a t-shirt with a graphic equaliser on it that actually worked!

Now for Zal Cleminson. If you’re at all familiar with SAHB, you’ll know that he’s the one who wears clown make-up on stage. In SAHB’s 70’s heyday, Zal looked like a curly-permed Pierrot, but in his current incarnation, he looks like a dangerous, punk clown. He has great stage presence – he was very active throughout the gig, seldom standing still, and pulled plenty of faces. He’s also an excellent guitarist – he delivered his solos with ease and precision. He sang lead vocals on one track, too.

One of the songs they played was called Isobel Goudie, which, coincidentally, is about burning a witch! The gig contained a number of pumping, fast rockers, including the closer of the set proper, Action Strasse. The encores were Rambo Coming To The Rescue and Delilah. Delilah was notable because it included an audience singalong, and best of all, Zal and Chris Glen (bass guitar) did the silly dance! (If you’ve seen their performance of Delilah on The Old Grey Whistle Test, you’ll know what I mean.)

Overall verdict then – well worth going to see, and great entertainment value.

But what of the three songs I knew beforehand? Well, Delilah was one of them. The two they didn’t play were Next and Boston Tea Party. Oh well, you can’t have everything, I suppose…

Stone Gods 24.11.07

by Guest – Gill H

Well it was a cold and windy Saturday evening when I and three of the lovely, and incredibly dedicated, ladies from the Stone Gods fan site walked up the steps and into the Regent Theatre, Ipswich. While two of the gang had already been treated to the joys of the unleashed brilliance of the Stone Gods, two of us were in that delicious state of anticipation that is felt in those moments between seeing the gift-wrapped box and opening it. Would the present be what we wanted? While the others showed no doubts, my confidence varied between the arrogant “They are going to rock this place into next week” and a whimpering “But what if I don’t like it?”

As a kick in the goolies to the doubts, I bought the Stone Gods t-shirt. None of us would allow the lads to fail due to lack of visible support!

Anyway minutes were ticking down and the real decision time was coming near. Would my t-shirt go into the ‘too good to wear on ordinary occasions’ or the ‘OK to clean the van with’ pile? Excitement was really getting a bit unbearable.

Noise! We shoot across to the doors at the back of the arena. A sound check. Not much to get excited about, but it means they are really there and all the hopes and dreams of the last year are about to be put to the test. It was trip to the loo time – there was no way I was missing a note of this set!

The doors open and we find our seats, three quarters of the way back, but with a great view. But the place? Oooh, crickey! An old cinema, it is an all seated venue with a “sit back and come and entertain me” feel. Not what you would call a great atmosphere for a new heavy rock sensation. Had the cards been stacked against the lads before they started?

Shouts went up as they bounced on stage – there were a lot more than four Stone Gods fans then – and as they let rip with “Burn the Witch” the numbers were increasing every second. The sound just filled the auditorium like a storm that ripped any final doubts to pieces. Why had I wasted time worrying?!!!

Richie immediately dominated the stage. This is a man who was born to front a top-line rock band. Toby settled into the classic bassist role – driving the music along while seeming to be doing nothing. Ed laid down a solid foundation for the edifice of sound. And Dan? Well as soon as the head started to bounce backwards and forwards and the hair fly over the face it was obvious that he was back where he wanted to be – making great music with a great band.

The set flew by. Richie interacted with the audience, leapt in the air, asked for hands and got more and more people involved. Hands clapped, the noise got louder and the appreciation increased in leaps and bounds. I tried to get to grips with unfamiliar tunes but failed, always left wanting to hear them again. I could have happily sat through the whole thing again from start to finish. No! That’s wrong! There is no way I could have SAT though a minute of it! It would only be possible for someone with no love of great music and ears of stone!

Anyway, the end came too soon. There had been problems. Guitars had been changed perhaps more often than was usual and guitar techs had appeared on stage at unexpected times, but the problems did not spoil an excellent evening of superb music.

Stone Gods are on the road now and I urge you to do just one thing – give your ears a treat, your music soul a kick up the arse and GO AND SEE THEM.

Stone Gods

by Jo

4 nights. 500 miles. a Tshirt, and a messy car…

Travelling Light – Leicester 22.11.07
As one does… armed with only a choc bar, a change of boots and some face powder, it’s time to set off. Stone Gods are coming! The birth is to happen onstage at 7.40 tonight, with Thin Lizzy providing the birthing pool – Leicester De Montfort Hall. I saw my first gig here 24 years ago – Wham!

Today was the launch of our website, less than 24 hours after the bands – nice work! But I won’t see it until Saturday at the earliest – gigs to go to and stuff. Left work at 4, set off at a cracking but legal speed across the fens, stopping only to wee in Peterborough. No time for messing about! I got all the way there, even across Leicester thanks to signposts (my home city is notoriously bad to drive in) but could I find the car park? NO. found the venue and everything… ended up asking random people and phoning Tezza, but a yellow jacketed man was spotted and driven at. Yup… here. Boots changed, powder done. Raced into the venue to find toilet, cloakroom, drink and tshirt. That done, time to look for the girls – ah here they are… BIIIG hugs. I don’t recommend that anyone interfere with an ex-darkling reunion. Dangerous moments! Not least the dash for the front, even if there was no one in our way. Waiting, watching for signs…

This moment, I think, was full of anxiety. Happy to see the lads back on stage, of course. But will we like it? Have the months of waiting and supporting been in vain? Only heard a little bit of ‘Burn the Witch’ that was sent to me via phone. WAAAAAH they’re coming! Surprising how much noise four girls can make, and how much we surprised those round us. Hee. Oh well. The lads are straight into it. Loud, heavy, metally throughout. Start with Burn the Witch… After that the song titles are a complete mystery but the songs ARE distinguishable from each other. Even one with an easily singable chorus, which we all got stuck into. Yeah. You are on your way, and no, we don’t care what they say either. It got harder and heavier, towards the end. There can’t really be any doubt of the musical direction, and that it’s so far from The Darkness you can’t see one from t’other. Full throated, deep, rock screams forced their way out of Richie, with admirable vocal back up from Toby and Dan – but they won’t be able to keep up with that voice. Richie proved himself a star tonight, with a presence and assured manner – interacting with the crowd and the posh seats, geeing us up. Not that the four down the front needed it. The lads were obviously joyous to be back on stage, and very well practised like the professionals they are. Dan’s floof was in full force, headbanging technique intact. Toby, the master of his area. Ed – he was a bit tricky to see, but sticks were flying! Toby mentions a mistake in his blog, but tbh, it was small stuff. Many many bands would want their first gig to be this polished, and to get the warm reception from not only their own fans, but a good few converts. A special night for us all.

A drink in the bar, a happy exchange of congratulations with a group of bouncy lads who appeared shortly after, and time to go home. Back in bed by 12.30, much earlier than expected.

Stone Gods . Day 2.

No one dropped out or evicted yet. An interesting day at work, followed by another instant departure – to Cambridge this time. Not quite so far, and I had time to get changed properly, take make up off and get it back on again. Again, no time to eat! Partner in crime Mistress duly gathered up from the train station and swept up off to the venue. Completely in the wrong direction, due to incessant nattering, and a phonecall to the Rock Blonde was necessary to put us right. Where are we? Next to Lloyds Bank… what? Multimap doesn’t have the bank? Poor!
The Corn Exchange is a bit fuller when we get there, though we’re not at all late. Got to the front without a great deal of hassle but with a lot of shuffling. Most people are staking their claim for TL, or Elizabeth as they’re referred to by our lads. Mistress has only had my excited jabbering to go by, but I know what’s coming… This time I pay a bit more attention to sorting out the songs in my head, aided by the set list I wangled last night. Not so many photos either. Too absorbed, and singing along where I could, Bouncing most of the time, and drinking in all that I’d missed. This was smoother than last night, though last night was something that can’t be replaced. Richie talks from the stage about it being an honour to play for the crowd, who respond to him – it’s pretty damn fine to be down here, to be played to! He’s obviously more confident tonight, crotch grabbing in front of lots of people is not something you do when nervous!
Is there anything I don’t like? ummm… lots of guitar changes in the middle of a song. Took me a couple to realise there wasn’t a tech problem.
Lads still excited in the bar afterwards. More congratulations, and an exit. They’ve written their own blogs on myspace, you can read those – but Toby’s account of being accosted by the drunk unintelligible guy was very funny. Suitably rocked, we left and headed off to bed. Still not seen any Thin Lizzy. Never mind. Although… how odd to see TL shirts in the crowd, and the banner up on stage, and not to see the logo on Dan’s chest…

Day 3 – Ipswich

Even closer to home, and being a Saturday, no rush. The Rock Blonde arrives from Leeds, still jetlagged from LA and Van Halen (not sure which one was worse). We sit and eat, chat and recover. I get a chance to look at the site, which is pretty damn impressive. And the member count is impressive as well! The launch is a huge relief, now we can get started on what we need to do.

Blumming eck, Ipswich is even more of a nightmare than Leicester to drive in. We end up at Gill’s hotel to park, put a final bit of slap on, and set off to find venue and food. Gill agrees to act as bodyguard, though quite why is a mystery – for whom? 😀 Lipstick is completely ruined by my dinner, and Rock Blonde has to endure all sorts of teasing about wet patches when her coffee ends up in her lap. Threats are issued about mentioning it later, which we largely ignore. The venue bar is open, thankfully, as it’s pretty cold. This is a proper theatre. Seats. *sigh* We are allowed to look through the auditorium doors at the sound check, ten minutes before we’re let in. Bodyguard and Rock Blonde get themselves all wound up between listening to that and getting their t shirts on. We’re in row Q, but we refuse to sit down at all. Don’t like not being at the front, I generally can’t see anything! It’s a good view of the stage, I suppose. What? We’re not allowed to take photos during the performance? What sort of stupid rule is THAT? This is a rock band, not an orchestra! Thin Lizzy, sitting DOWN? Waah. Well, anyway, we’re on our feet for the entire set, and from where we are we can see most of the audience. You can’t do that at a normal gig. Interesting to watch their reactions to ‘our’ boys. They clap, and cheer, and get their hands up in the air, but apart fron the very front row of about 7, they stay seated… I can’t get my head round that! Finally though, it becomes apparent that the audience DO like them, and it’s not just us, and things are going right. That’s an emotional moment, when everything falls into place. The springboard.
Some time is spent in the pub chatting, with a well earned vodka for me. I’m about on my last legs! Bodyguard is taken back to her hotel, we depart, and three days of mayhem is over. So many things have happened this week, all of them good, and we feel like it’s all been worth it. All the waiting, support, hard work and worry are behind us, we hope.
Still not seen any TL!

Day 4

A few days’ break, and it’s just me this time. Norwich UEA, home ground, and supporting Thunder. Met up with a couple of old friends and some new ones once I got my bearings, and before I skipped off happily down the front. I got some good photos this time! Yum. I did my best all night to spread the word to the people I was standing near – no harm in a bit of pimping. I was able to sing along a lot more, which always helps the enjoyment levels. The lads went down really well with this crowd, with local support a factor, but by no means the biggest one. They made a LOT of friends tonight. The crowd were calling for more when they went off, and that’s quite an achievement. The lads themselves weren’t too happy about how it went, perfectionists as they rightly are – but. But… there are more people ready to buy than there were before the gig, more fans, more people telling me they wanted to buy tour tickets. Naturally, I have a totally different perspective on things, but people are keen, loved them, and wanted more. A success of a gig in my eyes, way down here.

For those of you wanting tech info and comparisons with other bands, my apologies. I’m not a tech, and I am NOT a rock chick. I neither know nor largely care whether they have elements of Metallica or AC/DC, as I was told by lots of people. The British thrash punk Metallica was the longest label I heard! That might give you an idea, but – these are Stone Gods.

We’re up and running. The Stone Gods, and the fans. Long may it continue.

Visit us at our sites for news, chat and live photos.
www.thestonegods.org
and
www.myspace.com/stonegodstemplesite

Gaining a new religion

by Jo – for and on behalf of all of you who contacted me about this

So, been debating on whether to write this or not for ages. But, on the eve of something about to happen, it doesn’t seem like I’m doing my job if I don’t. The Darkness forum, home to so many of us, has been shut down for ‘maintenance’. Ostensibly, this is because there is big news coming, which indeed there is. We’re expecting the launch of thenewband… aww for christ’s sake. The Stone Gods. I’m sick of having to step lightly about that name. It’s on every ticket agency in the land, why should I worry about putting it on here? Darklings have at least been aware of it being the likely name for months now, after it was ‘leaked’. I’m not going to put the tour dates up here until the band do. You can find them on the ticket agencies as well, and you probably already have tickets anyway! I’ll only be in more trouble with the band than I probably already am, for pre-empting them, and I always said I wouldn’t… trouble is, it’s getting more and more difficult not to talk about this stuff here when it’s all over the net. All our information is coming from secondary and tertiary sources, nothing is being confirmed or denied, and we have nowhere to talk about it at the moment. No one truly understands what’s going or not going on, everyone is concerned. I can’t deny I’ve wanted to walk away from this situation. I’ve never come across anything quite like it, and to be honest, it’s made me feel like I’m pretty worthless and that all my efforts have been in vain.
We’re talking about a band that we’ve supported through thick and thin, all of us. Tickets have been bought and flights booked merely on a promise, on memories, and expectation. Until next Thursday(today is 17th November, that’ll be the 22nd) no one even has a clue what they sound like. (Something might go up before then, maybe… it’ll be different live anyway.)How’s that for faith and loyalty? It’s good, I’ve been told. It damn well should be! These are four lads with talent and determination that have spent a bloody long time writing, recording and mixing this until they are satisfied that it rocks sockless. They’ve worked damn hard for this.
Our hopes and prayers are right behind them. The edge of the sofa has long been worn away and the carpet is bare with our nervous pacing. The desire for them to succeed burns hot and strong. May the Coming of the new Gods be bright and glorious…
May it be so for the fans and the band alike.

AC/DC ‘Let There Be Rock’ by Susan Masino

by Guest – Terri Ingamells

I’ve read a lot of books about rock and roll since I was able to read and some of them, I’ll be honest, have left me wondering why I even bothered in the first place. They tell me nothing I didn’t know already and they tell the facts, which most fans would probably already be aware of. That’s why ‘AC/DC Let There Be Rock’ is a breath of fresh air. It doesn’t just tell you the facts about the band, it tells you the stories.

Susan Masino is frank about the fact that she has met AC/DC on several occasions and got to meet the late legendary Bon Scott. However, she doesn’t do this in a ‘I’ve met the band, you haven’t, I’m better than you’ way, she does it in a ‘I’ve met the band, let me tell you about it’ way. Unlike some books that rely entirely on facts and interviews done with bands by other people, this doesn’t. The book is compiled from interviews Masino herself has done with the band spanning over 30 years.

Masino starts at the beginning, talking about when the band were young, where they grew up and what they were like. Every part of AC/DC history is in this book, from the singles and albums, to the non stop touring, to the tragic death of original lead singer, Bon Scott. However, it doesn’t stop there, Masino goes on to talk about how the band reacted to Scott’s untimely death and their new lead singer, Brian Johnson.

A fantastic detail about ’AC/DC Let There Be Rock’ is that you get every emotion running through your veins. Whether it be just pure happiness reading about what the band members got up to on the road, to laughing hysterically at the way they reacted to a hitch in their first tour of England when Paul Kossoff died, read at page 43. However, with the good comes the bad and there are times through this book when you will feel pure heartbreak for the band and Masino herself. This comes to light on page 105 and onwards throughout the next chapter, when it was announced that Bon Scott had died and Masino visits her terminally ill mother.

Whether or not you have ever had the pleasure of meeting, Brian Johnson, Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Phil Rudd, Cliff Williams, Bon Scott or any of the other members that have at some point been a part of AC/DC, you will feel that you know them that little bit more once you’ve read this book. I have never had the chance to meet them, however if I do, I shall be thinking, ‘I know what you got up to in 1976!’.

‘AC/DC Let There Be Rock’ truly is an amazing read for any AC/DC fan or any rock fan for that matter. Every emotion goes with every detail of the book and you honestly will not be able to put it down. You read the stories and feel as if you’re face to face with Susan Masino and she’s telling them just to you. A definite 10/10.


VAN HALEN – STAPLES CENTRE -LOS ANGELES 20/11/07

by Guest – Angie Daly

I HEARD YOU MISSED US – WE’RE BAAAACK!!

In the pitch darkness, the resonant wail of a single screeching, grinding guitar fills every inch of the huge auditorium and 15,000+ voices are heard to cry out in triumph and euphoria! As the lights wash the stage and the familiar opening riff to You Really Got Me Now explodes in, Van Halen, the greatest rock party band the world has ever known, kicked firmly into gear to a roaring welcome, in their home town of Los Angeles. This is no ordinary gig by no ordinary band. The world has waited 22 years for this tour as the Toastmaster General of the Immoral Majority, Diamond David Lee Roth re-joins forces with one of the greatest rock guitar innovators and virtuoso musicians of his time, Edward Van Halen. Joining them in this new Van Halen (mark IV?) is the elder of the Van Halen brothers, Alex, an often overlooked master of his instrument and legend amongst drummers. Finally, replacing original band member Michael Anthony on bass guitar, (whose departure caused great upset amongst the hardcore fan base, me included) the new generation of Van Halen, Eddie’s son Wolfgang.

They couldn’t have chosen a better track to open with. YRGM captured the mood from the start, sizzling and sexy and led the way to an evening of the best of the original Van Halen six pack. Roth easily had the capacity filled Staples Centre in the palm of his hand, as he slickly grooved his way through a mouthwatering set, I’m The One, Dance The Night Away, Beautiful Girls, Mean Street, Atomic Punk, flourishing his trade mark toothy smile and flaunting his still trim, athletic frame encased in his matador glitzy jackets and leather pants! Pure Dave, pure shmaltz! The fans loved it. His one liner, famed from US Fest back in 1983, “Look at all the people here tonight!” brought a roar from the crowd that seemed to last for ages. One point to note is Dave’s singing voice is better now that it has been in a long time. Whether he’s had voice coaching, I don’t know, but he hit the notes every time and yes, he did remember the words.

There had been a lot of debate over the inclusion of Wolfgang, just 16 years old in March and whether it would work. Well, he’s not Michael Anthony for sure, but he is a chip off the old block and yes, the lad can play… as if by birthright and instinct. Right now, all Wolfie needs is lots of gigs to gain his confidence, and he’s certainly getting them. From seeing videos of the first couple of shows of the tour, he has loosened up a lot and moving all over the stage, his special moment coming when he ran to the top of the stage set, raised his base and to a solo spotlight, began that thumping opening to Running With The Devil. It’s especially poignant to see him interacting happily with Dave but most of all with his Dad. Wolfie gets a big thumbs up. The best is yet to come for him.

Set wise, time moved too fast as favourites such as The Cradle Will Rock, Hot For Teacher “I heard you missed us, we’re back!!!!) , Jamie’s Cryin, Ice Cream Man and Panama seemed to fly by, the throng singing their hearts out and the band playing like they were in their twenties once more. Solo time, and Alex Van Halen proved once again he is a rock and roll machine. One of the highlights of the evening was listening to a guy who is a muso’s muso. Always at the top of his game, the ground shook under your feet as he hammered like a madman, his skills on show and to be envied by many.

Edward Van Halen! Everyone has had their opinion of Eddie over the years. No-one ever said he was an angel. Far from it. From the death of his friend and manager Ed Leffler back in the early nineties, Ed seemed to go on a downward slide. In the last ten years he has fought and beaten cancer, had a hip replacement, lost both parents, suffered the breakdown of his long term marriage and had continued to battle his alcohol addiction. I honestly believe that when they toured in 2004 with Sammy Hagar, that would be the last we ever saw of him. So it was with a grateful heart and a contented smile, I watched in almost tearful awe as the master craftsman proved he still has it in buckets the size of a small continent! Edward was flying. His playing was tight and most of all, that trademark grin was back!! He was loving it! A happy Eddie is an on fire Eddie and he spun his magic that night, sliding across the stage, joking with Dave and Wolfie and best of all, the flying Eddie jumps were back! His desire to move with ease was however, continually interrupted by the wire he has been using on this tour. In fact, he hasn’t used a wireless unit since 1994, insisting that he loses tone via that unit. Edward, in balance, it would be worth it not to have to see you yanking at the darn thing constantly… get rid of the cable!! His own solo was beautiful blend of snippets of 316, Cathedral, Little Guitars until those well worn fingers seemed to blur across the fretboard as he kicked into Eruption to finish off, all accompanied by a superb light show and flickering lasers. His ovation was well deserved before moving smoothly into their final number with that classic, timeless opening riff to Ain’t Talkin Bout Love.

As an encore we were treated to an instrumental, 1984 from the same album as Dave stood waving a giant red flag and finally, one of the most well know keyboard introductions in the rock world, led Van Halen to end a fantastic evening with of course, Jump! It was a special moment, of glittery tickertape, inflatable phallic microphones and a crowd that had the whole of this giant arena vibrating.

It was the night a lot of people, me included, had prayed for, for a very very long time. The chemistry is still there, the show still highly entertaining, the music still outstanding!

Long live the Mighty Van Halen!

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Motorhead and Alice Cooper

by Guest – Gill H

The Dream Fulfilled – Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Motorhead and Alice Cooper

Saturday, 17 November 2007. Wembley Arena, London.

In 1976, a long time ago before many of you were born, I had a poster of Alice Cooper on the wall of my room at college. Why is that so important? Well because, now in 2007, I have finally got to see Alice live and it is an experience that I wont forget and that I want to share.

Back in ’76, punk had not yet reached the frozen wastes of the north of Scotland. The great days of the ‘60s were long past. The air waves had been conquered by the Osmands, David Cassidy and the Bay City Rollers. Good bands and singers maybe, but not my style. Dances at the Student’s Union were conducted to the sound of disco or funk (ugh!) with 3 minutes of Status Quo as a reason for turning up.

Then there was Alice Cooper – a semi-mythical creature who had been banned in here, there and everywhere, who had a live boa constrictor on stage, chopped up babies and killed himself as part of his act, and who had put out one of the few truly great rock tracks, “School’s Out”!

I thought (and I still do) Alice Cooper was gorgeous. I loved his hair, his make-up, everything about him. But when he played Britain, I couldn’t see him. He didn’t come up to Aberdeen and I didn’t have the money to go down to see him. So I had a poster on the wall and a dream that one day I would see his show.

31 years passed and that dream was buried while I worked and settled into a middle-aged, middle-class rut. Maybe the dream would never have been resurrected but for the wake-up call I got from discovering The Darkness and going to see them in Liverpool. But for whatever reason, the dream was revived and I promised myself that if Alice Copper ever toured Britain again, I would be there to see him.

So that is why on Saturday night, I and my husband were to be found making our way into the Wembley Arena, ready to see the start of a great night of music with three fabulous and completely different bands – Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Motorhead and the man himself, Alice Cooper.

Wembley Arena is cold bare place in shades of white and grey. It seems to have been built ready for easy cleaning. Outside the arena proper (but inside the building) there were a multitude of kiosks selling official merchandise, drinks and snacks. Vendors walked through the crowds with beer carriers on their backs filling plastic beakers for £3.50 a go. The crowd was mixed, all ages, with a lot of denim and leather jackets and coats on show (and with one or two pairs of leather boots to die for!). Most people were wearing t-shirts showing their allegiance to their favourite band. So having parted with a fair bit of hard-earned cash (£60), and carrying the plastic bag containing our son’s t-shirt (the goriest Alice one to be had!), we were to be seen climbing up the stairs, me adorned by the Alice 07 tour t-shirt and Andrew showing his support for Motorhead.

Now when I say “climbing” I mean it! The only fly in an otherwise perfect night was the discovery that our seats were only one row from the back of the balcony. It was oxygen mask territory! I still find it hard to believe that all the other tickets had been sold – especially given how early I had booked them.

Looking across the floor of the arena to the other balcony made me realise how far up we were and how BIG the place is. The people looked like ants. There was a slight haze between us! The floor below was about a quarter full as we sat down. A large rectangle in the middle was barriered off. It contained the various sound mixing and lighting boards. One was huge – the size of a three seater settee to my eyes. It was obvious this was going to be a serious night of music.

Anyway the time had come and the show was about to start.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts bounced onto stage. This was not a group I knew, apart obviously, from “I love Rock and Roll”, but immediately they impressed. This is a really professional, competent outfit. Joan Jett looked great – black leather trousers and a shiny black vest top with some silver detail and a body most girls would die for! But it wasn’t the looks that impressed – it was the confidence with which she spoke to the audience, the ability with which she played the guitar and most of all the excellent delivery of the songs. I can’t give you set lists or stuff like that, but I can say I was knocked sideways by their version of “Do you wanna touch me? (There)”. If they have released it, I want it!

Joan Jett played some tracks from a new CD she has put out and it was a seamless transition from the old. The new material sounds as good as ever. This is punk that has only grown up in the sense that it is performed by musicians with a high level of professional competence. However, I think one of the guitarists must have been weaned on punk! He certainly didn’t look old enough to have been alive when it took off, but from his spiked hair to his drainpipe legs in drainpipe trousers, he was the business. He knew the jumps, the walks, the guitar between the legs. It was a joy to watch.

“I Love Rock and Roll” had to be played. From the opening notes, the crowd responded – arms in the air, voices shouting the words. It completed the good work already done and finalised the mood for the night. When shortly after, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts finished they got a lot of applause and they deserved every bit.

As soon as Joan Jett left the stage, the roadies took over. A new lighting rig was pulled into position, more Marshall amps appeared.

The minute Motorhead walked on stage and started to play, you knew this was going to be a totally different experience to Joan Jett. This was music used as a cudgel. It beat you over the head. You couldn’t choose to listen or not listen – it forced its way inside you. Andrew turned to me and said “It’s an earthquake” and it seemed like that. It was outside any control. I could feel my breastbone vibrating in time (I later discovered that it was the caused by the effect of the bass drum). The sound was immense, the distortion disorienting and ear shattering.

By now the floor was about half full and the middle of the front of the crowd went wild. There was a lot of movement and bodies started to come over the barrier near the stage, as Andrew said, some because they wanted to, some because they had to, and some because they were thrown!

All through this mayhem, the music, the people, the shouts, Lemmy stood and played. It was weird watching him. He stays still, unable to leave the mike for more than short periods and there are times when it almost seems as though he could be playing in a room by himself. He doesn’t throw the guitar round but treats it like a craftsman with a favourite tool. But don’t take all that too literally – there are still times when all the guitar playing rock clichés come out. And I did notice the use of the left booted foot to tell the drummer when something was finishing!

The drummer is the heart of the band. He doesn’t play, he pounds. This is back to the primitive – the drum sounds stirring the blood and getting right inside, exciting the tribe. There was an awe-inspiring solo that was worth the cost of the ticket by itself. Then later, stick after stick after stick went spinning into the air while the rhythm never stopped.

As part of an encore, Motorhead came out and played an acoustic blues style number. Lemmy was singing and on harmonica and suddenly the whole thing of rock coming from the blues made sense to me. It might have been the most non-Motorhead part of the set, but it was the song I loved the best. As you can imagine, Motorhead got a huge response from all the crowd.

Now, as far as I was concerned, the preliminaries were over. It was getting time for the great man to appear. The trip to the loo in the interval was as much a response to my nerves as to need. Anyway, we were back in our seats in good time. Nothing was going to be missed.

The lights had changed (another new set in place!) The crowd had swelled again. The floor was now three quarters full. The shouts were going up. It was starting. Over the stage and covering it a huge drape was hung. There was a silhouette of Alice Cooper walking up steps. But what was this? Another Alice and, oh my god, the first was being killed! At that, the drape was flew down and there was the dead body at the top of the stairs and the man himself, in the flesh letting leash with the first of so many great songs. The crowd went mental! “No More Mr. Nice Guy” was blasting through the arena.

But what about me? Well as the drape came down, my hands went to my mouth and as I saw Alice Cooper, himself, real, in the same room as me…. I admit it, I nearly burst into tears! And even thinking about it as I write, tears come again. This was my 30 year old dream and it was happening for real!

What can I say about the rest of the evening? It was as great as I had hoped. Alice Cooper is more than a singer, he is an entertainer of great skill. Every song had to be performed with the walk, the face, arm and hand movements. The guitarists were conducted with the walking cane or the sword. The sword was stabbed into the stage. The audience were brought into the act – necklaces, bills, guitar picks thrown in and they were expected to join in. No sitting listening, you are part of the show! It was a star at work. Someone who knew what effect he wanted and how to get it.

I haven’t said much about the music because it is impossible for me to make an unbiased comment. There are so many great songs. Some had to be cut short because Alice Cooper simply has 30 plus years of material to pick from. It isn’t a case of him “finding” enough for a show – it is a case of cutting enough to finish on time! I don’t have the knowledge to talk about the quality of the guitarists – more than competent I would say. But even I with my limited knowledge knew I was seeing and hearing someone special on drums. And the point when there were three on drums, two guitarists and the drummer – all in time, all perfect, was jaw-droppingly awe-inspiring. And I laughed when Alice threw his white top hat and it was caught by the drummer on one of his drumsticks.

I watched with horror Alice being hanged. Even though I know it is a trick, it is one with a risk attached and it was hands to the mouth time again. Then before I could really believe it, it was the end of the show. As the shouts went up, Alice reappeared and for an encore we had “Billion Dollar Babies”, “Poison” and “Elected”. It says something when the singer doesn’t have to even sing because the entire audience know the words! “Elected” was pretty special and I apologise now to the man sitting next to me for my screams!

As we were leaving the arena, I heard two men talking:

“What did you think of the concert?”

“Not much. Alice Cooper was mediocre.”

Well maybe it was a poor concert and maybe Alice Cooper was mediocre to people who had seen him 30 years ago when he was young and shocking. All I can say is he didn’t disappoint me. It was a magic, unforgettable night.

I just don’t know how to end this. Having a dream fulfilled is a funny thing. Coming home has been strange. Home is familiar but somehow I have changed. I suppose I just don’t want that reality of the show to fade. I want to keep living my dream.

Finally, the greatest memory I will take away is this – however good “School’s Out” is when heard on radio or CD or MP3 player, it is not a patch on it played live to an arena of shouting, singing, screaming fans and with the man himself in front of you. I love you, Alice Cooper.

Do it in the Dark – Justin Hawkins

by Jo

Justin’s latest work for charity took us by surprise and the goolies – he kept this fairly quiet, but now it’s up on his myspace. It’s all in aid of a brand new green issues collective that gives people easy targets to help cut down their carbon footprint – nothing too tricky and things that are likely to turn into good habits. The whole thing with illuminating video is at www.dothegreenthing.com – cocks can dance, y’know, but if I saw that in my bedroom, I’d either assume it was Superman in trouble, or call an ambulance…
It’s got those unbelievable vocals and soaring rock riffs that we expect from the boy HawkLord, along with some smashing sound effects – the BBC had better check their archives, methinks. The whole experience startles, but it’ll make you laugh yourself wet. What did you expect?
The myspace and dothegreenthing versions are different, so listen to both – Myspace is a straight(er)song version. Justin says in his blog, just clearing up a few things:

”The Green Thing website is slightly misleading in that it names me as the sole writer of Do It In The Dark. In truth I worked with a formidable songwriting partner, Naresh Ramchandani who not only came up with the title, but wrote most of the lyrics for the piece.
As always, I wrote the melodies and music and played everything apart from Ramchandani’s trademark cowbell in the verses. My partner also joined me on BVs.”

He also says that he did it in the dark. Let’s all join him!

www.myspace.com/barbecuerock