1/4/2016 Ginger Wildheart Band @ The Forum (Ginger's (un)Birthday Bash)

Friday evening finds me heading down to Kentish Town. My destination is The Forum, but I'm not going to be an April Fool and patronise the venue's vastly over-priced bar and it's poor quality beverages. I have a quick pint in the aptly named Assembly House pub and find that virtually everyone in the place looks like they are going to the gig. Although I find the ale to be of reasonable quality I think it's overpriced, so I decide to see if the Bull & Gate nearer the venue is open. This pub would also have been full of Wildhearts/Ginger fans before a gig not so long ago, but I find not many people in there at all. The place is no longer a music venue and the hall at the back that used to host the bands in now an eating area. A conspicuously empty eating area. The owners seem to have rather shot themselves in the foot with the changes they have made to the pub - the place would have been full tonight if they had left it as it was. The pub has been completely refurbished, but in quite a nice old fashioned style instead of the usual bland generic modern style - pity about the out of place modern bar tops though. The ales aren't cheap either - a shame as it used to be quite reasonable in the old Bull & Gate.

At least the prices of these two boozers don't tempt me to stay longer and I am actually in the venue in time for the first band of the evening....

This show is actually Ginger's rescheduled 'Birthday Bash' from last December - which was unfortunately cancelled due to some personal issues Ginger was suffering with at the time. Fortunately he is feeling much better now, although a spanner was recently put in the works when the singer of Ginger's other band Hey! Hello! decided to bail from the band at short notice - they were supposed to be playing at tonight's show and also on a UK tour - all cancelled until a new singer is found for the band. Ginger's Birthday shows always sell out, but I don't think this rescheduled show is sold old - although there is a more than respectable crowd in the venue tonight. The atmosphere at this show isn't the same as at normal Ginger Birthday Bash or a Wildhearts show, it's definitely more low key but the vibe is still good. The bill isn't as strong as usual - I suspect due to the difficulties of rescheduling the artists who were originally booked to play.

Tonight's proceedings are opened by Tropical Contact - a band who were first brought to my attention by a recommendation from Ginger himself - although it wasn't until they played at the Pure Rawk Awards last year that I actually got to see them. I saw them play last year without ever having heard any of their music and I thought they were bloody fantastic! I have to say tonight's show is quite an anti-climax in comparison to their performance at the Pure Rawk Awards - they are given a shit sound mix (although it improves a bit during their set) and they are only allowed to play for twenty minutes. Although the band played well tonight I found it rather disappointing - I don't think it was their fault though.

Although Tropical Contact didn't make so much of an impression tonight, I am sure they will come across much better at one of their own shows - they looked a lot sharper at the Pure Rawk show as well as sounding better.

Next up is the Scaramanga Six - another band who I have previously seen at the Pure Rawk Awards - albeit  much more recently.

This band seem to take well to the larger stage and give a good account of themselves tonight - the sound mix having improved since the previous band and their alt/rock is well recieved.

Things get a little crazier next as Dirt Box Disco hit the stage. This is a band I have been hearing about for a while but have yet to see live. They are a bit mental and remind me a lot of The Damned - only heavier and stupider!

Dirt Box Disco are old school punk rock and have one of the best songs by any band tonight - every band should have it's own anthem and they save theirs in the form of 'Let's Get Fuckin' Wasted' until the end of their set - it's the catchiest song of the night! If only this venue had a decent bar I'd be doing just that....

Things stay pretty crazy for the next band! At first I think this band are new to me, but I later find out that I have in fact seen them before as Baby Godzilla. They are now called Heck. When they take to the stage I think they are fucking dreadful! There is a lot of jumping about and screaming, but not much in the way of songs. However, the frontman doesn't spend very much time actually on the stage. He soon leaps out into the crowd and performs from the middle of the floor - this is obviously planned in advance as the well known and long suffering roadie Dunc is forced to feed out a length of very very long mic cable into the crowd!

I've seen Joel from Airbourne take his guitar out into the crowd for extended solos a few times, but this guy takes it to extremes and sings (screams actually) from the middle of the crowd as well.

Not content with 'invading' the dance floor area this guy then heads further afield - up the stairs!

With the super-long mic cable stretched out to a ridiculous length he ends up on the balcony! I've seen the guy from Airbourne playing from the balcony in the past though - but not with a mic stand!

This guy obviously has a radio system to send his guitar signal back to his amp on the stage, but why didn't he just get a radio mic headset as well? Naturally the crowd love all this! I doubt roadie Dunc is loving it though, and I'm sure the venue's security crew hate this guy!

Heck seem to rely almost entirely on this gimmick to carry their show, and although there are some heavy riffs there is little in the way of decent songs. Style (if you can call it that) over substance.

Towards the end of their (rather overlong) set Heck do briefly actually play some rather good music - just to prove they can actually play I guess. However, the novelty has long since worn off with me and I'm quite relieved when their set finally ends.

So eventually we get to the headline act (un)Birthday boy Ginger and his band. The atmosphere isn't quite the same as at a normal Ginger show - there is a slight but tangible air of tension and expectation - will Ginger be feeling OK after his recent troubles? What sort of mood will he be in? Will he still be felling a bit down? People needn't have worried - Ginger appears happy and is on good form. He's obviously enjoying the show and relishing the chance to get back on stage after a long break. Ginger always puts a good band together, and tonight is no exception. Jase Edwards from the mighty Wolfsbane and Chris Catalyst from the brilliant Eureka Machines join Ginger on guitars, while everyone's favourite lovable loon Jon 'Random' Poole sometimes of the WiLDHEARTS is on bass duties. The rather fantastic Denzel is battering the drums into submission and the amazing Givvi Flynn is on backing (and somtimes lead) vocals. Together they make a glorious noise! The set opens with 'Ugly' from Ginger's first solo album 'Valor Del Corazon' and Ginger proudly sporting his new double necked BC Rich guitar! I guess (correctly as it turns out) that it's probably quite heavy and he won't be wearing it for very long tonight.

Fans wanting to hear loads of Wildhearts songs are going to be disappointed tonight, but this isn't a Wildhearts show - it's a Ginger show and as it's (sort of) his birthday gig he's going to play what he feels like. However, we are treated to the heavy, rifftastic, and rather Wildhearts-like 'Drinking In The Daytime' also from his first solo album. Most heavily featured tonight is Ginger's most recent work from his GASS project and associated 'Year Of The Fanclub' album, although his career reviving '555%' and 'Albion' albums also feature. I was particularly pleased to hear Ginger's ode to some of the crazy stuff on the internet 'Another Spinning Fucking Rainbow'.

Wildhearts fans do get three songs from that band, but maybe not the ones they might expect - apart from crowd pleasing singalong 'Geordie In Wonderland'. We also get a great cover of the Icicle Works 'Understanding Jane' - which featured on the covers album the Wildhearts put out a few years ago. For a full setlist click here.

As expected it's a good fun night out, with Ginger back on form and obviously enjoying being back on stage. Unlike his usual 'Birthday Bash' shows tonight features his band itself rather than loads of 'special guests' - the songs themselves are strong enough to carry the show without lots of 'bells & whistles'. The band play well and much fun is had. The set isn't as long as it usually is at Ginger's birthday shows, and personally I'd rather have had less support acts (but more Tropical Contact) and more of Ginger & Co - it's not like Ginger doesn't have many songs to pick from, so it's slightly disappointing when the show ends well before curfew. There was definitely time to get a few more songs in at the end, but that's my only criticism. But as they say in show business - 'Always leave 'em wanting more!'. And Ginger will be back later in the year for sure...