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...

11/3/2022 The Sam Walker Band @ Club 85

It's been a long time since I've been to a gig out of town, but this Friday night finds me hitting the road and driving out to Club 85 in Hitchin. This is a surprisingly large and rather good music venue - much better than you would expect to find in a Hertfordshire town. The event is a night of female fronted music to celebrate International Women's Day.

Unfortunately I don't arrive in time to see the first acts - a shame as Andrea Wilde & the Whiskey Chasers sound like they might have been right up my street. Cara Beard goes on soon after I arrive.

She sounds pleasant enough in an inoffensive pop kind of way. She can sing well enough and has decent stage presence.

However, with no bass player and a guitarist who spends much time fiddling with a keyboard or laptop much of the music we are hearing doesn't sound like it is being played live. Personally I find that unconvincing.

Samantha Walker is probably best known to most people as the former bassist/singer with JoanOvArc, and previously was in The Suffrajets with her sister Shelley on guitar. Sam left JoanOvArc around three years ago due to other commitments, but has now found time to launch her solo project.

Although billed as the Sam Walker Band and playing her own new songs, the whole band are either ex or current members of JoanOvArc and are no strangers to Club 85.

In fact bassist Keira has played at this venue before with her previous band Syteria with Girlschool guitarist Jackie Chambers. Girlschool have played here in the past too. And talking of guitarists, it's no surprise that Sam has got her sister Shelley involved with her new project.

Like Keira, Shelly is a current member of JoanOvArc, and no doubt pleased to be playing a 'hometown(ish)' gig as the sisters originally hail from nearby Stevenage. As well as being interested in seeing what Sam Walker has been doing musically since leaving her last band, I was also keen to see a reunion of sorts of the early lineup of JoanOvArc - especially as I suspected the amazing Debbie Wildish might be behind the drumkit. I was excited to find my suspicions were correct!

It was terrific to see Debbie the 'smiley drummer' playing with the Walker sisters again after she also left JoanOvArc due to other commitments. She really drives things along with an urgency and energy few drummers can match and it's always a pleasure to see and hear her play as she so obviously loves what she is doing. The same very much applies to Shelly - especially when she gets an opportunity to really tear it up in a solo!

However, this isn't a JoanOvArc show. Sam has switched from bass to guitar for her solo material, leaving bass duties in the more than capable hands of Keira - who is a terrific player in her own right.

Sam's solo songs are less out-and-out rock than JoanOvArc, but highlight her amazing vocal range and more commercial songwriting style - very much an artist to keep an eye on.

Sam also puts the guitar down for a while to concentrate on putting her new songs over with her voice.

As the evening draws to a close some covers are thrown into to mix and Keira gets to show off her slap bass skills during a Stevie Wonder cover.

Then the ante is upped with a version of Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love' - featuring an exceptional solo from Shelley.

By this time the crowd are getting whipped into a frenzy and there is a lot of very energetic dancing going on.

By now the band are starting to move into full-on all-out ROCK JoanOvArc territory and the energy level is rising rapidly.

The girls give it the 'big rock ending' to the show. No actual JoanOvArc songs have been played by the end of the set, but the crowd are screaming for more.

Although this is billed as a Sam Walker Band show everyone on the stage is a current or ex member of JoanOvArc... Rather than leaving the stage and coming back for an encore the band respond to demand from the crowd to do 'Just one more' - a familiar rumble comes from Debbie's drums and the band launch into JoanOvArc's 'Live Rock 'N' Roll'. It's one of their older but best songs - a real hard rocking crowd pleaser.

It really is the perfect song to end the evening on a high energy note.

Sam's solo stuff sounded excellent and everyone played well as they always do - every member of this band is a superb musician, but it wasn't until halfway through this song that things really fired off big time and it was like JoanOvArc at their best.

It really was a terrific way to end the night! The actual current lineup of JoanOvArc should be back in action later this year with their new singer who is currently having to take a break for health reasons. And Sam Walker will also be back with her band for more live shows and more new music....

3/2/2022 Jack J. Hutchinson @ Islington Academy

It's only about three months since I saw Jack J. Hutchinson at The Black Heart in Camden promoting his latest single Halo from the then forthcoming album. Now he is out on tour to promote the album The Hammer Falls and Jack is playing his largest London gig to date at the Islington Academy. Having seen on Twitter earlier that Marshall just delivered a massive stack to the venue for tonight's show I was keen to get in and hear it. However, there was a problem...

The only way to get a ticket for the show was via Ticketmaster, and it was only possible to buy an e-ticket which only worked via their phone app to show on the door. So a couple of days before the show I downloaded the app to my phone, bought a ticket, and got it loaded onto my phone. I checked it would show my ticket while I was still at home and everything worked fine. I even checked on the train on my way to the gig just to make sure my ticket was still showing on my phone. So I arrive at the venue and get out my phone to show the security guys on the door my ticket - and the bloody Ticketmaster app decides not to work! I'm stuck outside an O2 venue and my phone is also on O2 and apparently I can't get a signal to make the Ticketmaster app work! Normally I just print out my own ticket at home with a scannable bar or QR code and everything works fine - but Ticketmaster decided not to offer that option for this show. Why the hell not? According to the guy on the door other people had similar problems trying to get into this gig. Fortunately the security guy was very helpful and set his own phone up as a Wi-Fi hotspot so I could make my ticket appear on my phone - if he hadn't done that I wouldn't have been able to get in. But suppose it was a big venue and there were hundreds of people trying to get in? If Ticketmaster only offer phone app tickets for another gig I'm interested in going to they can go fuck themselves.

So, after a fashion I eventually get into the venue - no thanks to Ticketbastard. And it's a very good show.

Jack seems to be re-inventing himself from his blues roots into a hard-rock performer.

He certainly has the chops on guitar and is a bit of a showman.

And of course it doesn't hurt that he has a pretty hard rocking band as well.

Things calm down for the almost obligatory acoustic spot and a well received rendition of 'I Will Follow You' - a song with a very personal meaning for Jack.

And then it's time to tread on the loud pedal again and it's back to some seriously heavy riffing.

The new album is a noticeable step in a heavier and harder direction from his earlier blues-rock roots - heavy riffs and shredding solos abound in songs like Call Of The Wild 'Straight To Hell' and World On Fire, but there are some catchy tunes in there as well. What stands out is the well crafted quality of the songs as well as the thick and warm guitar sound. The album is good, but it is as a live performer that Jack J. Hutchinson shines.

Christmas. Or not...

Got all the cards and presents sorted out on Christmas Eve. Got up in the morning on Christmas Day and had a lighter breakfast than normal to leave room for Christmas dinner later. Before leaving for my sister's place for family times with people I hadn't seen since the summer and also the much anticipated Christmas dinner I took a Lateral Flow Test as a precaution as everybody else had taken one and tested negative. Guess what? Although I had woken up with the lightest of sore throats - not even sore, just ever so slightly rough and felt quite normal otherwise my test came up positive. Just my luck after having two Pfizer jabs and a Moderna booster as well as the flu jab - what perfect timing!

So for me at least, Christmas is cancelled. I have to stay at home on my own and isolate. Last year due to the Covid-19 restrictions I had to spend Christmas Day on my own for the first time in my life. Not great, but it was expected and I had time to prepare: A 'Socially Distanced' doorstep exchange of presents was arranged at my sister's house so at least everyone got their presents, and I bought in some seasonal provisions so that I could at least arrange a 'Christmas Dinner' of sorts for myself at home. Not great, but it could have been worse. This year it actually was worse  - no presents given or received as I couldn't leave home or meet anyone. And no Christmas dinner or food of any sort as I hadn't got any when I did my usual weekly shop the previous day as I was expecting Christmas Dinner at my sister's as usual. So no chocolate, cheese, and hardly any booze as I sit here on my own for at least a week. It doesn't feel much like Christmas at all.

Still, at least I should have some time now to work on some more backdated posts about gigs - I'm still over two years behind. Keep scrolling down past my other more recent rants...

15/12/2021 Warner E Hodges Band @ The Dublin Castle

 Although things are starting to pick up a little it's been a sparse year for live music - until just before Christmas and now this week there are gigs I want to go to four nights in a row! And this is during the week when I have to get up for work at stupid-o-clock every morning. This really is the worst possible time for all the gigs to come at once! So in one week I want to go to see the Warner E. Hodges Band, The Darkness & Massive Wagons, Ginger Wildheart & The Sinners, and Duncan Reid & The Big Heads. In normal times I would have attempted to go to all four gigs on consecutive nights. But these aren't normal times...

The Warner E. Hodges Band originally announced one London gig on their current UK tour - at the Hope & Anchor, but this sold out before I could get a ticket, and it also clashed with the Darkness + Massive Wagons show at Shepherds Bush Empire. Then another gig was added the previous night at the Dublin Castle - a venue I feel is less likely to have a Covid-laden atmosphere as it's not in a confined basement like the Hope & Anchor. So this was good news for me. More good news was that Dead Hombres have been added to the bill.

Ex-Gasoline Queens frontman Nigel has put this new band together, but they sound very different to his old outfit. Gone are the Les Paul and Marshal style sounds and now the sound harks back to the 1950's with Gretch guitars and Fender amps - and it sounds very good.

This is the most authentic sounding old school rock & roll combo I've heard in a long time.

And onto the headliners. Jason and the Scorchers guitarist Warner E. Hodges has taken a big chance in these perilous Covid times by coming over to Plague Island for a tour. Individual gigs and whole tours by other artists have been cancelled left right and centre in the UK this year. Things are made simpler by him having his own UK band when he tours here and in Europe, and they have formed a 'bubble' for this 5 date tour to keep themselves and their audience as safe as possible. It only takes one band or crew member to catch Covid and the whole tour is cancelled. With testing and good planning they seem to have pulled it off.

The Warner E. Hodges Band always provide a good night out, and tonight is no exception. Mr Hodges is in Christmas mode and sporting suitable headgear. Although he is perceived as a 'Country Rock' artist, with this band the emphasis is very much on the rock - after all, Warner's favourite band is AC/DC.

There are less covers in the set than normal - after all, Warner and the band do have a new(ish) studio album Just Feels Right to promote - it's very good - you should get it. We do as usual get 'Country Roads' (in more rockin' form than by other artists) and a single AC/DC tune in the form of 'Riff Raff'', but unfortunately not the hoped for 'War Pigs' which this band do a stunning version of - maybe they were saving it for tomorrow night's show at the nearby Hope & Anchor? Still, it was a great night at the Dublin Castle and a fun way to end what has been a less than busy year for live music.

Of the six indoor gigs I've been to in 2021 - every single one has been in Camden.

Oh, and what of the gigs on the following three nights? I didn't go to any of them in the end. I think the Ginger & The Sinners show would have been fun (but packed), and Massive Wagons (who I've already missed once this year) and The Darkness (who I've not seen for several years now) on the same bill would have been great fun night out. The Duncan Reid and the Big Heads show was cancelled due to Corona virus risks, and I thought better of going to the other two in the circumstances - with Christmas and family get togethers coming up I though going to gigs several nights in a row would greatly increase my chances of getting Covid-19 and potentially spreading it around....

17/11/2021 Jack J Hutchinson @ The Black Heart

 Another mid-week gig in Camden, and a quick livener or two in BrewDog first.

Then back down the street to The Black Heart - a tiny venue which has really managed to establish itself on the London rock scene in the past few years, although the quality/quantity of it's real ale has slipped as it's prices rocketed. And we won't even mention the awful unisex toilets which everyone hates. I'm only here for the music, and tonight it starts off with Firekind.

I think they were quite good, but to be honest I can't remember much - I blame BrewDog. I think I sneaked back there between bands as I no longer like drinking (or using the toilets) in The Black Heart.

It's taken me a while to discover Jack J. Hutchinson. Actually he had been following me on Twitter for some time but I hadn't really taken any notice as I had no idea who he was - I don't usually check out 'Followers' who I don't know as many only follow hoping (in vain) for a 'follow-back' and I assumed he was just another acoustic singer/songwriter trying to plug his own stuff - and acoustic stuff just doesn't float my boat. I realised later that I had also missed seeing him support (in solo acoustic mode) the lovely Gabriella Jones at her (full electric band) showcase gig at the Hope & Anchor two or three years ago as I didn't get there early enough to catch his set. Fast forward a couple of years and I'm listening to the much missed Feedback Radio and up pops Jack J. Hutchinson - not acoustic, but in full hard and heavy electric form. Now he has my attention. His own original blues rock songs - with the emphasis on rock, and one or two covers - including a rather good version of Sabbath's 'War Pigs' appear on the station. I also find out he has his own weekly show on Feedback Radio, and it's rather good. Now I am following him on Twitter.

Jack has previously been following the blues-rock path, and also venturing into the acoustic singer/songwriter area. However, he is now heading in a distinctively heavier direction. Zakk Wylde certainly appears to be an influence, not just sonically but also in choice of guitar.

The songs are still blues-rock based, but very much veering in the ROCK direction. The band maybe a simple stripped back 3 piece touring outfit, but the sound is thick and heavy.

Tonight's show is to promote Jack's new single Halo from his forthcoming album.

Although Wylde Audio guitars seem to be heavily featured I'm pleased to see a Les Paul does make as appearance as well even if I didn't get a picture of it. Jack has picked two excellent and very metal musicians to make up his rhythm section and the three of them together make a very tight and powerful band - well worth the trip down to Camden on a Wednesday night.