29/4/2007 The WiLDHEARTS @ Koko

Subject	The WiLDHEARTS @ Koko
PostedDate	4/29/2007 6:53:00 AM
	I've been waiting a long time to see the Wildhearts again - getting on for two years now. For a while it looked like they were over. Again. Various things outside the band's control went wrong at the big outdoor Scarborough show and it was a bit disappointing in the end - although still a great day out overall. But this is one of the world's most unpredictable bands - past masters at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. So now they are back - new lineup (again), new album, and new tour. Guess what? The Wildhearts are still a bloody good band! The new self titled album is a real return to form - fans and band members alike are debating if it could be their best yet? Only time will tell, as it takes a few listens to really get into - but it's certainly a damn good album. As always, the band have made an album which is quite different from the previous one. The last one 'The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed' was their 'pop' album, and to me sounded more like a Ginger solo album overall - with only a couple of songs which really sounded like the Wildhearts. It was a pretty good album, but didn't get the commercial success it deserved - no airplay as usual - so what's new? Now the band are back - with a full on ROCK album!  The massive riffs are back, the long songs and complicated arrangments are back - and so is the nasty snarling attitude. The last album was a bit too 'nice' - it actually had some love songs on it!  That has all been swept away by big slabs of noise, venom, and crushing heaviness. The tunes are still there, but so is the power and the speed. All the ingredients that made us love the band in the first place are back, the catchy vocal melodies and harmonies, the pop hooks, and the Metallica style heaviness and long interesting songs - there is plenty to digest. With the exception of most of the last album, the Wildhearts have always been a 'challenging' listen compared to the mainstream. They still are. I arrived for the arranged afternoon meet at the Purple Turtle to find it closed for a private party until six. So much for that plan!  Most of us who had intended going to this naturally found our way into the Hope & Anchor pub over the road instead and I met a few old friends in there.  Apparently there had been an outbreak of violence in the pub not long before I arrived, which is probably why is was emptier than I expected.  Nothing to do Wildhearts fans I believe. A bit later on some of us wandered back over the road to the apparently now open Purple Turtle. Although there seemed to be a few people in there who might also have been going to the Wildhearts gig we decided the house/dance music playing in there was far too loud and just so fucking awful that we found it intolerable so went back to the Hope & Anchor.  No one was particularly interested in seeing the support bands Sign and G.U.Medicine so we stayed in the pub until around half an hour before the Wildhearts were due on stage. People were queuing up outside Koko well before the doors were due to open - why do that if there is a pub next door? Personally I hate Koko as a music venue,  but if the Wildhearts are playing then that's where I'll have to go. Most people I know think much the same, and due to the venue's reputation as a rip-off joint as far as the bar is concerned virtually everyone had the same plan - meet up earlier and get our drinking done in the neighbouring pubs beforehand at reasonable prices and then pile into Koko fully fuelled and not needing to spend any money at their outrageously priced bars. Apart from the problems with the Purple Turtle being shut that plan worked pretty well.  Koko was pretty full - I'd heard it was sold out, but some tickets seemed to still be available on the door. As we arrived there appeared to be a Skid Row tribute band playing. Actually, I think they only played one Skid Row song but the effect was the same. To be fair, they were good at what they did - but there was nothing to really grab the attention or make them stand out. I heard the previous band was rubbish, although I don't know which one was which. The Wildhearts were excellent! I was a bit worried beforehand that this might have been a band just going through the motions to rake in some cash on the back of their new (and final?)  'contractual obligation album'. That certainly wasn't the impression they gave on stage and they were firing on all cylinders. New boy on bass Scott Sorry fitted in well and looked like he had been in the band for years. I missed seeing Random strutting around the stage, and Stidi's sharper harder (in my opinion) drumming but at least Ritch is a genuine Wildheart so he's always going to fit in well. The latest lineup is the same that recorded the new album and they certainly do it justice live - although many eybrows are raised that only two new songs from it are included in the set!  It seems particularly odd that the new single 'The Sweetest Song' didn't get played! The setlist was pretty much a 'greatest hits' set and didn't contain much in the way of surprises - apart from the fact that there was so little new stuff when they have a brand new album to promote. The 'Earth Vs The Wildhearts' album (their 'Appetite For Destruction') was strongly featured as were '...Must Be Destroyed' and  'Riff After Riff'. Maybe the biggest surprise was that '29 x The Pain' didn't get played at all - virtually unheard of at any Wildhearts or other Ginger related show!  I have to say that although it was a pretty good show, it certainly wasn't one of their best - the atmosphere wasn't as good as at most other Wildhearts shows I've been. That said - it was a better atmosphere than most bands can produce - this is something the Wildhearts excel at.  The album has been well recieved and from what I've heard the other shows on the tour have been pretty good as well, so it will be interesting to see where (if anywhere) the band go from here? Will they try and keep their new momentum going - or will they disappear off the radar after the album promo tour and next single - contractual obligations discharged? With an album and live shows this good, there would appear to be plenty of milage left in this band if there is still the will to go on. One encouraging note to end on - as a parting comment at the end of the show an obviously happy Ginger said "See you at Christmas!" So has he got something planned? And if we do indeed 'see him at Christmas' then what band will he have with him? I'd like it to be the Wildhearts (with an extra hit single or two under their belts) but I'd still happily settle for Ginger solo or with the Sonic Circus - or even SG5? Time will tell...