27/1/2006 Ginger & The Sonic Circus @ The Garage

Subject	GInger & The Sonic Circus
DateCreated	1/30/2006 1:50:00 PM
PostedDate	1/27/2006 12:56:00 PM
	This was the night WiLDHEARTS frontman Ginger brought his much anticipated Sonic Circus to town. I have been listening to and loving his new solo album 'Valor Del Corazon' for several weeks I was really looking forward to this show at The Garage. Having seen a few of Ginger's solo shows (both acoustic & electric) in the past I knew we were in for a treat.  There had been much speculation as to who would actually be in the band. Ginger was also said to be appearing with the support act, which gave rise to even more speculation! Could it be a version of the Wildhearts? Or Silver Ginger 5? Super$hit666 even? In the event we got none of those as the man didn't appear and we got sword swallowing and dancing girls (with an angle grinder!) instead.  However, what we got later was very close to what we thought might be one of the support acts...  'G.T.T.' from Ginger's new album came though the P.A. as the intro when the main attraction took to the stage. At this point we discovered (not to anyone's great surprise) that the Sonic Circus bass player was Jon 'Random' Poole - a very popular choice! Ginger was also joined by ex-Wolfsbane guitarist Jase Edwards, a drummer from The Mission who's name escapes me, and Sammy Andrews and another girl (her sister?) on backing vocals. They launched into a set which consisted almost entirely of songs from 'Valour Del Corazon' - and the sell out crowd loved it!  I was particularly happy as all my particular favourites from the album were played. After a few songs a familiar figure appeared on the stage - Conny Bloom of the Electric Boys, Silver Ginger 5, and currently in Hanoi Rocks.   The band then hurled themselves in the highly popular 'Sonic Shake' from SG5's 'Black Leather Mojo' album. Just when you thought the show couldn't get any better - it got better!  We were surprised by three unexpected cover versions - 'Love Hurts', Bowie's 'Boys', and 'Pump It Up'. The show was closed with the inevitable '29 x The Pain' - the only Wildhearts song played. Only one Silver Ginger 5 song got an airing as well, which surprised a few people - especially as the band we saw on stage almost was SG5! However, all the new songs the band played were so strong (and already well known to most of the crowd) that I don't think anyone went home disappointed. I loved every minute of it, and judging by the look on people's faces and the reception the band got I think virtually everyone else there felt the same! The show was a triumph, and Ginger seemed genuinely surprised how quickly the show sold out and how everyone seemed to know the words to all the songs even though they had never been played live before and the album had only just been released. It was an absolutely fantastic gig and the atmosphere at The Garage was amazing!  It was also great to meet so many friends old and new from the Wildhearts LiST and APRA. These sort of gigs are easily the best as far as I'm concerned, and I enjoy them far more than seeing really big bands in London's larger venues.