29/4/2022 King Salami & The Cumberland 3 @ The Hope & Anchor

I seem to be at this venue more often than any other since live music started to finally return after lockdown. Nice and easy to get to on the train so I'm not complaining. I wrote recently about how the Witchdoktors were a 'proper' rock 'n' roll band. There aren't many of them about these days, but here is another one.

Last time I saw this band was at The Gaff in Holloway Road - which gives you some idea how long ago that was - about 12 years actually. I saw King Salami and the Cumberland 3 at that much missed venue and I've been wanting to see them again ever since, but circumstances kept getting in the way. Until now.

Tonight they are at the excellent 'Rockaway Beach' club at the Hope & Anchor in Islington - one of London's best known pub rock venues with a very rich musical history. This monthly club night specialises in dirty rock 'n' roll and punk - right up my street and I don't make it down as often as I should. I was really looking forward to seeing this band again as they were so good the previous couple of times I've seen them. I think the lineup has changed a bit since then, but they are still really great! If anything, his majesty King Salami himself has got even better.

He also now has the best hat to be found on the head of any member of any band around.

This is rock 'n' roll stripped down to it's purest simplest form, and it's all the better for it - there is nothing here that's not needed.

Here is a band who still remember that rock 'n' roll is meant to be fun!

As well as 1950's rock 'n' roll and R&B there is a nod to punk - underlined by 'The King' referring to his guitarist as 'Captain not Sensible'.

Intended or otherwise there is certainly a visual similarity to the legendary guitarist from The Damned. As well as the music being great, the band have a terrific frontman with great stage presence.

The King exudes a confident and unique stage persona - you will remember this guy and his band if you see them

The band's name also gives a theme to some of their songs and their sausage related themes - like 'Do The Wurst', 'Less Bone - More Meat!', 'Goin Back To Wurstville,

It's not just terrific rock 'n' roll - the singer is also very entertaining between songs and has a fine line in funny banter!

There are plenty of bands around with good singers, but very few of them have that 'cheeky chappie' charisma that makes you remember them.

If you want a fun and entertaining night of old school proper rock 'n' roll - these are your guys!

1/4/2022 Warner E Hodges Band + Witchdoktors + Dead Hombres @ The Hope & Anchor

The evening kicks off in good style with Dead Hombres - who also supported the Warner E. Hodges Band at the Dublin Castle last December.

This band have a very authentic 1950's Gretch guitar/Fender amp sound. Similar attention has gone into their retro rock 'n' roll image to match their gritty sound. Their songs aren't too shabby either and they make an excellent act to kick off tonight's proceedings. Tonight was supposed to be the debut of the band's new singer Marie, but unfortunately a motor accident on the way to soundcheck put a stop to that. Apparently Marie is OK and will be making her first performance with the band later this month. Tonight Nigel continued with lead vocals as if nothing had happened, but will be stepping back from the mic in future to concentrate of guitar duties.

The next band take things up another gear. The Witchdoktors are what I call a 'proper' rock 'n' roll band.

A mix of 50's style rock & roll, 60's trash/surf rock and a bit of a punk edge. What is and isn't 'rock & roll' is a very subjective thing, and everybody will have a different opinion. I think it's a much overused term these days used to describe almost any form of rock music - when I heard a DJ on Xfm describe Coldplay as a' rock 'n' roll' band I knew it was time I found myself a new radio station. Anyway, as far as I'm concerned the Witchdoktors are very much a rock 'n' roll band and are true to it's spirit - unlike many bands I hear described as 'rock 'n' roll'.

Warner E. Hodges must like the UK - even with Covid-19 still around he is starting to tour here not once but twice  a year! At a time when many US artists won't come over at all. He only played in London about four months ago, and now he's back again - and already has another UK tour planned for October. Sorry about the shite pictures of the back of people's heads but it was a sold out show and I didn't want to force my way to the front and stand in front of people shorter than myself.

The Warner E. Hodges Band are less of a pure rock & roll band than the previous act as there is a little country mixed in - and a large helping of hard rock. No 'War Pigs' again, although to be fair the band now have two new albums to promote - and if you really need to hear their amazing version of 'War Pigs' you can buy their live album. To be honest that song might be a little too close to the bone at this particular moment in time....

There is no set list as such - Warner just reads the room and makes it up as he goes along. There are less covers and more original songs on this tour, although AC/DC fans in particular would have gone home happy. Warner likes to keep things spontaneous, and there are certainly some surprises tonight - who would have expected a country rock band to do a Wildhearts cover? I know certain members of the band would have particularly enjoyed being able to play 'My Baby Is A Headfuck'! You also wouldn't expect a country rock band to kick into a really great full on punk rock version the the Sex Pistols 'Holiday In The Sun' - with it breaking the Big Bopper's 'White Lightning' in the middle before launching back into a very spirited version of the Sex Pistols classic, but that's exactly what happened! Those two songs went down an absolute storm with the crowd. Jason & The Scorchers 'White Lies' was a great but not unexpected cover as Warner was and still is a member of that country/punk band. A rockin' version of John Denver's 'Country Roads' was pretty inevitable too, but the set was still mostly from Warner's own albums. One cover which felt more timely than ever was Neil Young's 'Rockin' In The Free World'...

All in all a terrific night at one of London's small but legendary venues. I look forward to seeing this band again later in the year...