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WiLDHEARTS gig is always something I look forward to, and this one even more so than usual due to the support acts.
This time Ginger is supporting himself and playing with two different bands tonight - the first of these being
Hey! Hello!
This is a project
Ginger started as part of his PledgeMusic output. The 'Hey! Hello!' album is a really good slice of pop/punk and received much critical acclaim as well as winning two
Pure Rawk Awards.
However, the album was intended as a one-off project and there were never any plans to form a full band and play any gigs. Until now. Ginger and American vocalist Victoria Liedtke have recruited ex-
AntiProduct bassist Toshi, and ex-
Towers Of London guitarist 'The Rev' for live duties - Ginger played
all the instruments on the album himself.
The band play a great half hour set of tuneful pop/punk - most of the album gets played including 'Black Valentine', 'How I Survived The Punk Wars', and the ridiculously catchy 'Swimwear'. It all goes down a storm - people really like this stuff!
Hey! Hello! are supporting The Wildhearts on this UK tour and this is probably the first and last time the band will ever play in this country - there as no plans to make another album as this was only ever intended as a one-off project. I think it can be considered a highly successful one though as the album made number one in the UK Rock Chart and some fans think it's the best thing Ginger has ever done. I wouldn't argue with that as I found it a highly enjoyable album and I absolutely love the Frank Kozik artwork.
This show has a really strong support bill and I was looking forward to seeing the
Von Hertzen Brothers, but I get detained towards the back of the venue talking to people and caught very little of their set. I tend to bump into loads of people I haven't seen for ages at gigs like this.
For similar reasons to described above, I don't get very near the front for the
Wildhearts set. It's not the end of the world though as Wildhearts shows are all about the songs and the amazing atmosphere. Needless to say, it's a highly enjoyable set. The songs span the band's career quite broadly from the first EP to latest album 'Chutzpah!', although there is little material from the later era around the 'Riff...', '...must Be Destroyed', and 'white' albums.
Scott Sorry is back in the band for this tour as the hugely popular Jon 'Random' Poole is otherwise engaged elsewhere. The Wildhearts are on fine form at the moment and possibly playing better than ever. It goes without saying that the crowd in this sold out venue had a terrific time!
Most the usual crowd pleasers get an airing along with some live rarities like 'Junkenstein' and finishing with the ever popular '29 x The Pain'. See
here for the full setlist. Sorry the pictures are so crap - I'm not getting on very well with my current digicam - on paper it's spec is better than my previous one but I have trouble getting good results at gigs. Also, I can't remember much about shows when writing about them five or six months later - hence me not writing much about gigs at the moment. Things should improve when I finally get up to date with my blogging...
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