Phil X & The Drills / Collateral / Devils Dice
O2 Academy 3 Birmingham 12/3/20
Review by; DeeDee
Photo gallery to follow soon...
Another trip into Birmingham and prior to the onset of the Coronavirus restrictions, little did I know that this would be my last live gig for a while. With a festival already cancelled, this was a last minute alternative, although I was hoping to see Phil X somewhere on this tour. It isn’t always a glamorous day out, nevertheless, once at the 02 Academy it wasn’t long before the first band were on.
DEVILS DICE appear on stage in sunglasses and with plenty of swagger. Frontman Matt Gore, who impressed me with his other band ‘The Mighty Wraith’ recently, looks as ease in front of the 02 crowd. Despite being in the small Academy 3 venue, the audience is eager from the off, partly I think, due to the fact that the local 5 piece are quite the showmen. Holding their guitars to produce synchronised moves and heads swinging in unison. The set is from the last release ‘The Libertarian’ and ‘Feed The Flames’ is our introduction. A mighty powerful message, Devils Dice are rich in sound and the two guitarists are really good to watch. Matt keeps the populous audience at the front in the loop, as they continue with ‘Passive Resistance’ he is a sturdy frontman, able to control the flow while delivering some awesome vocals. More melodic rock with ‘Matter Of Faith’ and ‘Chameleon (Right About You) before ‘Destiny Calling’ which has a crisp chorus and stacks of good feeling. They rock out with ’Tush’ and it’s a stoking finale. Being a two man guitar band, there are a load of solos and in the 30 minutes or so given, they were palatable and energising. Look out for the new EP ‘War Of Attrition’ which is available via their social pages.
Devil's Dice are -
Matt Gore - Vocals
David Clark - Guitars
Chris Webb - Guitars
Adam Newbery - Bass
Ross Blomfield - Drums
4/5
COLLATERAL are probably one of the busiest bands about at the moment, having just seen them with Jared James Nichols, this week they are support to Phil X. They must also be one of the luckiest bands in the world, as they manage to win most of the competitions they enter. Including the Bon Jovi Cruise, where they beat 200,000 other hopefuls to get on that boat.
With the debut album in the charts, it is all happening for them and that is down to a lot of hard work and dedication. As usual with the Kent outfit, they take to the boards with cheers from their fans and buckle down with favourites like the opener ‘ Mr Big Shot’ and ‘Midnight Queen’. Bassist Jack Bentley Smith and vocalist Angelo Tristan encourage the 02 audience to participate with applause at every opportunity, this gets the atmosphere heated up in no time.
The rock and roll party, with soft lyrics and gentle, soothing guitar from Todd Winger, is well underway when they rack it up on ‘Merry Go Round’ and ‘Promiseland’ all off the self titled album. Ending on the superior ‘Lullaby’, with resounding sticks from Ben Atkinson, I think Collateral have come so far this last year, they have matured into a robust, tight as a ducks, outfit. I can’t wait for the return of live gigs (Coronavirus imposed ban at the time of writing) and hopefully more new songs to complement these we heard tonight.
4/5
PHIL X & THE DRILLS consist of Phil X real name Theofilos Xenidis, who is also seen alongside Jon Bon Jovi these days. The Greek/Canadian guitarist replaced Richie Sambora in 2013. Daniel Spree is on Bass and Andy Galeon on drums, who is a former member of Death Angel. Since I was supposed to be at a festival tonight, I hadn’t really done a lot of homework about Phil X, so in fairness I didn’t know what to fully expect. Oh wow, from the first minute I am in complete admiration, he’s actually appearing in front of us, in this tiny room compared to places he shares with his other band, I feel humbled. ‘We Bring Rock and Roll’ came out in 2011 and the first song is from that album, ‘You’re Not Happy ’Til I’m Not Happy’ a rousing number to start up with, the following number is ’Something To Say’ full of surging guitar, a little Led Zeppelin to fuel the middle section and Phils’ vocals that scream out at us. He chats in-between songs with affectionate wit, that’s matched with the sing along ‘I Wish My Beer Was As Cold As Your Heart’. There is a pile of Zeppelin interceptions, where Phil demonstrates his Robert Plant like ability, but the moves are top notch, playing parts of the classic tracks messy and loud, like they should be heard.
A couple of tracks from the 2019 EP ’Stupid Good Looking’s’ follow on, ’Too Much For My Own Good’ and the succulent ’No Woman Of Mine’. There’s time to lessen the noise with an acoustic version of ‘Beautiful Apartment’, which is just stunning, before a lengthy solo where Phil lets loose and indulges in some serious riffs, with slide and straining the strings to the maximum.
Angelo Tristan joins them on stage for the Kinks ’You Really Got Me’ and the songs just keep coming, the homage to Sabbath with ‘Fairies Wear Boots’ is a highlight, a magnificent cover. I think the decision to play for 2 hours was made earlier backstage, as due to the virus, the band will curtail the tour tonight and head home. Ending the main set on ‘Rock and Roll You All Night Long’, ’Saddest Girl In The World’ and a cover of ‘Fire’ by Hendrix, it has been a tremendous and extensive show. There’s an encore with ‘Playing Fair’ and some more Zeppelin with Galeons’ impressive Bonham like rhythm, gosh I think they would have played all night if they’d been allowed.
No frills, no airs or graces and it is a night of pure genius rock and roll, from a master guitarist and songwriter. So down to earth and full of humour, the banter with Daniel Spree is so funny, Phil X is beyond greatness. They even come out straight afterwards for photos and to sign merchandise and when we are ushered to leave, Phil leads us outside to continue talking to fans and share more photo opportunities. Safe travels guys and come back real soon.
5/5