Check out our latest shots of Motley Crue LIVE at the Download Festival 2009.
Brought to you courtesy of our great friend Ian Harvey of RocktasticPix
Saturday 13 June 2009
LIVE REVIEW - Skin + Voodoo Sioux , Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton 11 June 2009
Voodoo Sioux
Black Country/Wrekin based, post-punk, painted hair, eclectic, manic-bass driven rockers, Voodoo Sioux returned to the scene with an enthralling display that I can't quite pin down. The not-to-be-pigeon-holed VS returned after a hiatus of 12 years and appeared to thoroughly enjoy themselves, in a mad-monk kind of way. They had their supporters in the crowd too which added to a great atmosphere. I'm just hoping that singer Nikki hasn't got the word 'Soup' tattooed on his mid-rife and that it was just marker pen. Worth keeping an eye out for these guys. Check them out at http://www.myspace.com/voodoosioux
SKIN
My relationship with Skin goes back a long way. Guitarist Myke Gray was being talked about in high circles but when Jagged Edge failed to meet expectations I eagerly anticipated hearing what SKIN had in store for us.
I'd never heard of singer Neville McDonald before but wondered where the hell they found such a voice. Out of the valleys of Wales Nev, with his mass of hair and puppy-dog eyes, was the perfect foil for the 6-string histrionics of Myke.
Five or six years on, after three and a half albums, numerous chart hits and high-profile tours the guys finally called it a day back in '98 and the world was a sadder place for it.
But hey, you know all that!! What about SKIN 09?
Well it was if I and several hundred over-35 year olds at the Wulfrun Hall tonight, had crammed into our DeLoreans, revved up the flux capacitor and found ourselves back in those heady days of 1992/93.
This was a rejuvenated SKIN, fresh from just a few days of rehearsal and low-profile London gigs, cranking it up a notch in preparation for a Main Stage slot at Download this coming Sunday 14th.
Damn, they looked and sounded fine - better than fine, this was GOOD. This was SKIN better than their last show here in Wolverhampton some 11 years ago. This was a hungry SKIN, revelling in the adulation being bestowed from a 'can't believe that is this really happening' pumped-up crowd.
The world has missed SKIN and from Nev's heart-felt reaction, they have missed us to.
Kicking in with a flurry of songs from their last album, Experience Electric, may not have been the start I was looking for but it truly brought home the maturity and depth of song-writing talent these guys had (have?).
Title track, Experience Electric, followed The Only One. They then proceeded to 'Blow My Mind'. No Way Out and Soul bedded in a solid start but it was not quite there, it was just missing a little something. Someone called out and Nev responded that don’t worry it’s about to get even better.
Now we change tack, journey back to the first album and SKIN raise their game to greater heights. THIS is the SKIN that I remember, young, bombastic, semi-naked ;-)
Colourblind blew me sideways and then Which Are The Tears left me breathless. Neville too by the looks of it, the emotion catching up with him before they hit us with a double-punch straight to the gut - Money followed by the pure dirty pleasure of House of Love.
The huge hook of Take Me Down To The River left us weak but desperate for more like some rabid, S&M bitch on heat.
SKIN responded with more Baby Baby Baby's than is decent to put into one single rock song - yes it was Look But Don't Touch.
The chant along Tower of Strength drained me of the last energy I had before the effervescent Myke Gray, who looked so ripped his body fat can't be above 3%, launched into yet another early career favourite - EMF's huge No 1 hit - Unbelievable.
There was no way they were getting off the stage that lightly, and the Wulfrun punters made sure that SKIN were truly ready to take on the masses at Download.
How Lucky You Are, was followed by the galloping hook-laden, Perfect Day. Leaving it to 'Shine Your Light' to close a truly memorable night.
The Download crowd is simply going to devour this band. There's always one stand-out slot at any festival. The one people talk about and recall for years to come as 'the time when...'. Yes, there are some mighty big fellas at Download this year but don't be too surprised if it’s not SKIN that steal some headlines!
I've been a huge fan of Black Stone Cherry since their first slot at Gigbeth and it will be interesting to see how they following SKIN on the main stage.
I for one, can't wait!
Peter Keevil
theMR
Black Country/Wrekin based, post-punk, painted hair, eclectic, manic-bass driven rockers, Voodoo Sioux returned to the scene with an enthralling display that I can't quite pin down. The not-to-be-pigeon-holed VS returned after a hiatus of 12 years and appeared to thoroughly enjoy themselves, in a mad-monk kind of way. They had their supporters in the crowd too which added to a great atmosphere. I'm just hoping that singer Nikki hasn't got the word 'Soup' tattooed on his mid-rife and that it was just marker pen. Worth keeping an eye out for these guys. Check them out at http://www.myspace.com/voodoosioux
SKIN
My relationship with Skin goes back a long way. Guitarist Myke Gray was being talked about in high circles but when Jagged Edge failed to meet expectations I eagerly anticipated hearing what SKIN had in store for us.
I'd never heard of singer Neville McDonald before but wondered where the hell they found such a voice. Out of the valleys of Wales Nev, with his mass of hair and puppy-dog eyes, was the perfect foil for the 6-string histrionics of Myke.
Five or six years on, after three and a half albums, numerous chart hits and high-profile tours the guys finally called it a day back in '98 and the world was a sadder place for it.
But hey, you know all that!! What about SKIN 09?
Well it was if I and several hundred over-35 year olds at the Wulfrun Hall tonight, had crammed into our DeLoreans, revved up the flux capacitor and found ourselves back in those heady days of 1992/93.
This was a rejuvenated SKIN, fresh from just a few days of rehearsal and low-profile London gigs, cranking it up a notch in preparation for a Main Stage slot at Download this coming Sunday 14th.
Damn, they looked and sounded fine - better than fine, this was GOOD. This was SKIN better than their last show here in Wolverhampton some 11 years ago. This was a hungry SKIN, revelling in the adulation being bestowed from a 'can't believe that is this really happening' pumped-up crowd.
The world has missed SKIN and from Nev's heart-felt reaction, they have missed us to.
Kicking in with a flurry of songs from their last album, Experience Electric, may not have been the start I was looking for but it truly brought home the maturity and depth of song-writing talent these guys had (have?).
Title track, Experience Electric, followed The Only One. They then proceeded to 'Blow My Mind'. No Way Out and Soul bedded in a solid start but it was not quite there, it was just missing a little something. Someone called out and Nev responded that don’t worry it’s about to get even better.
Now we change tack, journey back to the first album and SKIN raise their game to greater heights. THIS is the SKIN that I remember, young, bombastic, semi-naked ;-)
Colourblind blew me sideways and then Which Are The Tears left me breathless. Neville too by the looks of it, the emotion catching up with him before they hit us with a double-punch straight to the gut - Money followed by the pure dirty pleasure of House of Love.
The huge hook of Take Me Down To The River left us weak but desperate for more like some rabid, S&M bitch on heat.
SKIN responded with more Baby Baby Baby's than is decent to put into one single rock song - yes it was Look But Don't Touch.
The chant along Tower of Strength drained me of the last energy I had before the effervescent Myke Gray, who looked so ripped his body fat can't be above 3%, launched into yet another early career favourite - EMF's huge No 1 hit - Unbelievable.
There was no way they were getting off the stage that lightly, and the Wulfrun punters made sure that SKIN were truly ready to take on the masses at Download.
How Lucky You Are, was followed by the galloping hook-laden, Perfect Day. Leaving it to 'Shine Your Light' to close a truly memorable night.
The Download crowd is simply going to devour this band. There's always one stand-out slot at any festival. The one people talk about and recall for years to come as 'the time when...'. Yes, there are some mighty big fellas at Download this year but don't be too surprised if it’s not SKIN that steal some headlines!
I've been a huge fan of Black Stone Cherry since their first slot at Gigbeth and it will be interesting to see how they following SKIN on the main stage.
I for one, can't wait!
Peter Keevil
theMR
Friday 12 June 2009
new live photos - Prong / Di-So-Fluid / Hostile
Great new live photos of Prong / Di-So-Fluid / Hostile - Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton 09 June 2009.
Check out our photos section on MySpace. http://tinyurl.com/nqqftr
Monday 8 June 2009
Gig Guide updates - there's so much ROCK in the Midlands
www.midlandsrocks.co.uk
Hi all, please check out our latest gig calendar as we have added loads more gigs across the Midlands. MySpace restricts home page listings to just 10, so do view the full calendar.
We are working on the rest but if you know of something we have missed do let us know.
As much as we love cover bands and tribute acts we are just going to feature original bands for now. But once we have our new website up and running we will include EVERYTHING!
Thanks for all the kind words you have sent through. It sounds like we have hit on a great idea and its only going to get BIGGER and LOUDER ;-). Please do poke, tweet, blog about MR where you can.
We still need more reviewers, so if you can do a write up of the show you went to we would love to hear from you. It will get published here, on our BlogSpot and on Facebook, we will tweet it also.
Cheers all
theMR
www.midlandsrocks.co.uk
Join us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Hi all, please check out our latest gig calendar as we have added loads more gigs across the Midlands. MySpace restricts home page listings to just 10, so do view the full calendar.
We are working on the rest but if you know of something we have missed do let us know.
As much as we love cover bands and tribute acts we are just going to feature original bands for now. But once we have our new website up and running we will include EVERYTHING!
Thanks for all the kind words you have sent through. It sounds like we have hit on a great idea and its only going to get BIGGER and LOUDER ;-). Please do poke, tweet, blog about MR where you can.
We still need more reviewers, so if you can do a write up of the show you went to we would love to hear from you. It will get published here, on our BlogSpot and on Facebook, we will tweet it also.
Cheers all
theMR
www.midlandsrocks.co.uk
Join us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Saturday 6 June 2009
LIVE REVIEW - Tyketto + Crimes of Passion @ Wulfrun Hall Wolverhampton - Fri 5th June
LIVE REVIEW - Tyketto + Crimes of Passion @ Wulfrun Hall Wolverhampton (5/6/09)
I’ve seen Crimes of Passion, tonight’s support band, a number of times over the past couple of years and I’ve never taken to their music or live performances. Crimes of Passion were born out of the ashes of a great little melodic rock band called Deadline, whom I thought showed great potential with their one and only album “Mind The Step”. If you like traditional sounding Melodic Rock it’s definitely worth getting your hands on - “Out Of Reach” , “Only You” , “Love’s A Battle” & “As Of Now” are all little melodic gems!
When Deadline parted company with their singer they drafted in Dale Radcliffe and when the creative juices started flowing the band became a very different beast, darker, heavier and definitely Metal! If you like Bullet for My Valentine, Funeral for a Friend and bands of that ilk these guys may be of interest to you. Check them out at www.myspace.com/crimesofpassionrock
These guys have to be one of the hardest working band going. They get out and play and they push and promote and throw a lot of passion into getting their music out there and LIVE! I wish a lot of bands I like put in half the effort these guys do. There is talent within the band, Dale does have a good set of pipes but the style of the music fails to utilise his voice to its best. Andy Lindsay is a very good guitarist and I love his previous work with Deadline…
As for tonight performance? Although it was the best I’ve heard Dale’s voice, the rest was just a wall of noise and left me disinterested and bored. Despite the fact that these guys gig a lot, their stage presence and performance is the wrong side of wooden and lacklustre. They did seem to get a decent reaction from people towards the front but I believe there were a few heckles from elsewhere, selling this brand of Metal to a Melodic Rock crowd can’t be easy.
I’ve always been a massive fan of Tyketto and Danny Vaughn and to say I was little excited about seeing them again is bit of mild understatement! You are always guaranteed a fantastic performance whenever Danny’s involved, he is one of the greatest front men in rock.
Oddly to me they kicked off with “Sail Away”, a brave choice for set opener but it worked and the crowd lapped it up! The band managed to maintain a high energy set and it was one classic Tyke tune after another. Danny utilised all the space the Wulfrun Hall stage gave him, PJ was bouncing around the stage and throwing big dirty riffs at us, Bobby Lynch going totally insane on the boards, Mike thundering the drum kit and Steve McKenna keeping the music tight on bass! These guys are hugely entertaining to watch and all that was going through my head at one point was “This is why I love Melodic Rock, it’s these moments in time, where it all comes together and we just wanna ROCK!”
Song-wise we got, “Rescue Me”, “Catch My Fall”, “Nothin But Love”, “Seasons”, “Wings”, “Forever Young”, “Lay My Body Down”, “Last Sunset” and “Burning Down Inside”…
I think everyone loves “Standing Alone” and I’m sure most Tyketto fans have affection for the song for one reason or another - I know I’ve spent many a night annoying the neighbours screeching along to it! They did it a little bit differently tonight by bringing in Bobby on the keyboards and once people clicked what it was I could see people’s reaction of “this is the one”! This song always goes down well whether there are a thousand singing along to it or a hundred.
We got a couple of tunes from the rarities CD, the Cult-ish “Big Wheels” & “Till the Summer Comes”. I can’t say I’m a big fan of either song or indeed that album but they went down well with the crowd and that’s what matters! Also, we lucky few, were the first to hear “Write Your Name in the Sky” from the “Strength in Numbers” album, LIVE on English soil!
Now there is some controversy about whether this is the real Tyketto with Michael Clayton and Danny Vaughn being the only original members from back in the day. My opinion is that I don’t give a rat’s arse, when it’s as good as it was tonight, with this talent on display, I say keep the Tyke music alive & LIVE!!!
One of the things I like about Danny is he always has great between-song banter; he always shows a great passion towards his music and music in general. He made quite a few comments about not being trendy but not caring - as long as we turned up then he’d keep playing. He also commented on the bands line-up changes and hoped they we liked them keeping the Tyke music alive regardless and that new material will be on the way! He introduced “Forever Young” by saying - “I’m 48 this year but what the hell, just like you guys I’m gonna keep rockin’ till I die”!
This put a massive grin on my face ‘cause that’s fully what I intend to do! I live in the here and now and I wanna rock! I don’t care if anyone agrees with me. I’m not following the crowd. I’m gonna enjoy what I wanna enjoy, and tonight that was watching Tyketto rockin Wolvo to the ground!
Highlights of the night were “Strength In Numbers” a fantastic chest beating rock anthem, which everyone went nuts for. This song never fails to get me buzzing, along with my favourite Tyke song “Meet me in the Night”. As soon as I heard the initial guitar riff, I felt a wry smile creep upon my face and I thought “yeah, here it comes” and they blasted through the song giving it their all - awesome!
It was fantastic gig and insanely entertaining, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world!
Woody
http://www.myspace.com/shatteredheart78
I’ve seen Crimes of Passion, tonight’s support band, a number of times over the past couple of years and I’ve never taken to their music or live performances. Crimes of Passion were born out of the ashes of a great little melodic rock band called Deadline, whom I thought showed great potential with their one and only album “Mind The Step”. If you like traditional sounding Melodic Rock it’s definitely worth getting your hands on - “Out Of Reach” , “Only You” , “Love’s A Battle” & “As Of Now” are all little melodic gems!
When Deadline parted company with their singer they drafted in Dale Radcliffe and when the creative juices started flowing the band became a very different beast, darker, heavier and definitely Metal! If you like Bullet for My Valentine, Funeral for a Friend and bands of that ilk these guys may be of interest to you. Check them out at www.myspace.com/crimesofpassionrock
These guys have to be one of the hardest working band going. They get out and play and they push and promote and throw a lot of passion into getting their music out there and LIVE! I wish a lot of bands I like put in half the effort these guys do. There is talent within the band, Dale does have a good set of pipes but the style of the music fails to utilise his voice to its best. Andy Lindsay is a very good guitarist and I love his previous work with Deadline…
As for tonight performance? Although it was the best I’ve heard Dale’s voice, the rest was just a wall of noise and left me disinterested and bored. Despite the fact that these guys gig a lot, their stage presence and performance is the wrong side of wooden and lacklustre. They did seem to get a decent reaction from people towards the front but I believe there were a few heckles from elsewhere, selling this brand of Metal to a Melodic Rock crowd can’t be easy.
I’ve always been a massive fan of Tyketto and Danny Vaughn and to say I was little excited about seeing them again is bit of mild understatement! You are always guaranteed a fantastic performance whenever Danny’s involved, he is one of the greatest front men in rock.
Oddly to me they kicked off with “Sail Away”, a brave choice for set opener but it worked and the crowd lapped it up! The band managed to maintain a high energy set and it was one classic Tyke tune after another. Danny utilised all the space the Wulfrun Hall stage gave him, PJ was bouncing around the stage and throwing big dirty riffs at us, Bobby Lynch going totally insane on the boards, Mike thundering the drum kit and Steve McKenna keeping the music tight on bass! These guys are hugely entertaining to watch and all that was going through my head at one point was “This is why I love Melodic Rock, it’s these moments in time, where it all comes together and we just wanna ROCK!”
Song-wise we got, “Rescue Me”, “Catch My Fall”, “Nothin But Love”, “Seasons”, “Wings”, “Forever Young”, “Lay My Body Down”, “Last Sunset” and “Burning Down Inside”…
I think everyone loves “Standing Alone” and I’m sure most Tyketto fans have affection for the song for one reason or another - I know I’ve spent many a night annoying the neighbours screeching along to it! They did it a little bit differently tonight by bringing in Bobby on the keyboards and once people clicked what it was I could see people’s reaction of “this is the one”! This song always goes down well whether there are a thousand singing along to it or a hundred.
We got a couple of tunes from the rarities CD, the Cult-ish “Big Wheels” & “Till the Summer Comes”. I can’t say I’m a big fan of either song or indeed that album but they went down well with the crowd and that’s what matters! Also, we lucky few, were the first to hear “Write Your Name in the Sky” from the “Strength in Numbers” album, LIVE on English soil!
Now there is some controversy about whether this is the real Tyketto with Michael Clayton and Danny Vaughn being the only original members from back in the day. My opinion is that I don’t give a rat’s arse, when it’s as good as it was tonight, with this talent on display, I say keep the Tyke music alive & LIVE!!!
One of the things I like about Danny is he always has great between-song banter; he always shows a great passion towards his music and music in general. He made quite a few comments about not being trendy but not caring - as long as we turned up then he’d keep playing. He also commented on the bands line-up changes and hoped they we liked them keeping the Tyke music alive regardless and that new material will be on the way! He introduced “Forever Young” by saying - “I’m 48 this year but what the hell, just like you guys I’m gonna keep rockin’ till I die”!
This put a massive grin on my face ‘cause that’s fully what I intend to do! I live in the here and now and I wanna rock! I don’t care if anyone agrees with me. I’m not following the crowd. I’m gonna enjoy what I wanna enjoy, and tonight that was watching Tyketto rockin Wolvo to the ground!
Highlights of the night were “Strength In Numbers” a fantastic chest beating rock anthem, which everyone went nuts for. This song never fails to get me buzzing, along with my favourite Tyke song “Meet me in the Night”. As soon as I heard the initial guitar riff, I felt a wry smile creep upon my face and I thought “yeah, here it comes” and they blasted through the song giving it their all - awesome!
It was fantastic gig and insanely entertaining, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world!
Woody
http://www.myspace.com/shatteredheart78
Wednesday 3 June 2009
Black Stone Cherry & Heavens Basement - JBs Dudley - Tues 2nd June
Black Stone Cherry & Heavens Basement - JBs Dudley - Tues 2nd June
This review brought to you courtesy of our good friends at Bitchin Rock Photos by Bitchin Rock Mistress www.BitchinRockPhotos.com
With quite a few Heaven’s Basement t-shirts milling about JB’s tonight, it’s easy to see the sheer hard work and constant gigging are paying off for these guys.
They have an impressive gig calendar lined up for 2009, already having toured with the mighty Thunder and playing a packed headline tour of their own. Friday sees them jetting off to Italy for Bologna Rock and back into UK for Middlesborough live on Sunday. Next a UK tour with Shinedown, then it’s on to Holland with tonight’s headliners Black Stone Cherry. Support slots with Tesla and D-A-D to come and more headline tours of their own.
For some reason there’s a dry ice machine in front of stacks ….so every few minutes myself and fellow punters are smothered in smoke. Completely obliterating any view of Sid (lead guitarist) and choking us all into the bargain.
Heaven’s Basement don’t disappoint tonight , with only a small piece of stage to work with and a very short set, they make sure they make the most of every second. Richie works the crowd, commanding their participation during Can’t Let Go
Ending the set with the crowd pleaser Executioner’s Day…Heaven’s Basement’s very own F*ck You to the nay sayers in society.
JB’s have most definitely been warmed up!
Fresh from a support tour with Nickelback, tonight was Black Stone Cherry’s chance to play to ‘their’ own crowd.
A set of old favourites and a couple of covers, everyone went away with a smile on their face.
Pausing at times for the crowd to sing along Ben looked truly humbled. Half way through set there was a ‘change around’. Ben taking to the drums, John on vocals and the guitar tech on guitar.
Although a downside of the gig for me was the drum solo. I’m not a fan. For me a couple more songs from Heaven’s Basement and Black Stone Cherry would have been much more appealing. But the crowd seemed to enjoy it, cheering, clapping and yelling as John beat the crap out the drums with his sticks, his hands and his elbows.
Catch them at Download or one of the many gigs lined up through 2009.
This review brought to you courtesy of our good friends at Bitchin Rock Photos by Bitchin Rock Mistress www.BitchinRockPhotos.com
With quite a few Heaven’s Basement t-shirts milling about JB’s tonight, it’s easy to see the sheer hard work and constant gigging are paying off for these guys.
They have an impressive gig calendar lined up for 2009, already having toured with the mighty Thunder and playing a packed headline tour of their own. Friday sees them jetting off to Italy for Bologna Rock and back into UK for Middlesborough live on Sunday. Next a UK tour with Shinedown, then it’s on to Holland with tonight’s headliners Black Stone Cherry. Support slots with Tesla and D-A-D to come and more headline tours of their own.
For some reason there’s a dry ice machine in front of stacks ….so every few minutes myself and fellow punters are smothered in smoke. Completely obliterating any view of Sid (lead guitarist) and choking us all into the bargain.
Heaven’s Basement don’t disappoint tonight , with only a small piece of stage to work with and a very short set, they make sure they make the most of every second. Richie works the crowd, commanding their participation during Can’t Let Go
Ending the set with the crowd pleaser Executioner’s Day…Heaven’s Basement’s very own F*ck You to the nay sayers in society.
JB’s have most definitely been warmed up!
Fresh from a support tour with Nickelback, tonight was Black Stone Cherry’s chance to play to ‘their’ own crowd.
A set of old favourites and a couple of covers, everyone went away with a smile on their face.
Pausing at times for the crowd to sing along Ben looked truly humbled. Half way through set there was a ‘change around’. Ben taking to the drums, John on vocals and the guitar tech on guitar.
Although a downside of the gig for me was the drum solo. I’m not a fan. For me a couple more songs from Heaven’s Basement and Black Stone Cherry would have been much more appealing. But the crowd seemed to enjoy it, cheering, clapping and yelling as John beat the crap out the drums with his sticks, his hands and his elbows.
Catch them at Download or one of the many gigs lined up through 2009.
Monday 25 May 2009
Logan @ The Asylum, Birmingham - 23 May 2009
Logan @ The Asylum, Birmingham - 23 May 2009
I'd heard a lot about Logan without actually catching them live before. There are a much-talked-about hard rock outfit from Glasgow. Much talked about, mainly because the music industry appears to be bypassing them when all who comment on them say how good they are.
In the studio they appear to have a great sound. Check out their MySpace http://www.myspace.com/loganmusic site for evidence. Touches of Alter Bridge, Staind, even Shinedown, hard rock edged with grunge. Certainly its an Americanised sound but that's no criticism.
Live tonight at the Asylum, in front of around 70 or so punters, you would forgive Logan for going through the motions. Coupled with early sound difficulties and vocalist Kenny Collins fighting what appeared to be an all-night battle with his foldback volume, it did take them a while to hit their stride but with the quality of songs in their tank they cannot fail to win through.
Flanked either side by the Reilly twins (rather uncannily alike - oh the fun they must have with the girls!) they appear very comfortable with each other and that gets transferred to the crowd, with references to people's birthdays and acknowledgments to the roadcrew and merchandise guy, Rab.
Perhaps, just maybe, its a bit too comfortable in order to take them to the next level. I'd like to see a bit more desire and hunger rather then settling for the path they appear to be on. They should certainly be pulling in more than 70 on a Saturday night in Birmingham.
Their perseverance is for all to see and this attitude appears to have secured them a slot at this year's 'Classic Rock Day' @ Download (Sun 14th) and I for one will be interested to see how they fair in front of a larger festival crowd.
If they can catch a wave from that and roll it into a new release later in the year we could be seeing a lot more of Logan.
I'd heard a lot about Logan without actually catching them live before. There are a much-talked-about hard rock outfit from Glasgow. Much talked about, mainly because the music industry appears to be bypassing them when all who comment on them say how good they are.
In the studio they appear to have a great sound. Check out their MySpace http://www.myspace.com/loganmusic site for evidence. Touches of Alter Bridge, Staind, even Shinedown, hard rock edged with grunge. Certainly its an Americanised sound but that's no criticism.
Live tonight at the Asylum, in front of around 70 or so punters, you would forgive Logan for going through the motions. Coupled with early sound difficulties and vocalist Kenny Collins fighting what appeared to be an all-night battle with his foldback volume, it did take them a while to hit their stride but with the quality of songs in their tank they cannot fail to win through.
Flanked either side by the Reilly twins (rather uncannily alike - oh the fun they must have with the girls!) they appear very comfortable with each other and that gets transferred to the crowd, with references to people's birthdays and acknowledgments to the roadcrew and merchandise guy, Rab.
Perhaps, just maybe, its a bit too comfortable in order to take them to the next level. I'd like to see a bit more desire and hunger rather then settling for the path they appear to be on. They should certainly be pulling in more than 70 on a Saturday night in Birmingham.
Their perseverance is for all to see and this attitude appears to have secured them a slot at this year's 'Classic Rock Day' @ Download (Sun 14th) and I for one will be interested to see how they fair in front of a larger festival crowd.
If they can catch a wave from that and roll it into a new release later in the year we could be seeing a lot more of Logan.
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