VEGA - H.E.A.T - BACKYARD BABIES - SKID ROW
25/1/2019 O2 Bristol
Review by; Diane D
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VEGA
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Six piece VEGA are on stage at the unearthly hour of 5.30pm, so it’s little wonder that the O2 isn’t packed for this
outfit, then again it’s not exactly empty either. ‘Lets Have Fun Tonight’ from last years ‘Only Human’ long player, starts
the proceedings. It has a potent riff and frontman Nick Workman uses his lungs to capacity, there is also strong backing
vocals from most of the band. This provides a full and satisfying sound, making VEGA quite enjoyable to witness from
the kick off. ‘Explode’ also sees Nick commanding the stage, he makes full use of it, loads of energy, he’s spinning and
bopping all over the place and still finds time to acknowledge the seasoned fans down the front. ’Kiss of Life’ is one that
has an amazing chorus, the keyboards hold it together. It’s one of those that you find yourself singing in your sleep.
‘Every Little Monster’ is a worthy song, but perhaps the weakest on the set tonight, it is followed with ‘Worth Dying For’
again from ‘Only Human’ precise and polished vocals and a chance for the guitars to show their credibility. A belter of a
chorus and we are bouncing around the O2 to whoa, whoa’s in utter joy’. With only 30 minutes to score tonight the setlist
is short, so we near the finale with ‘White Flag’ which is a softer number. The backing vocals and harmonies are so in tune
on this one. Last up ‘Savin’ Grace’ is from the 2016 ‘Who Are We’ album and is an epic song to go out with, totally sums up
VEGA with guitars, keyboards and drums all perfectly together. The musicians in VEGA are pretty exceptional and they
gel, this is what creates a popular band, also you can see they are loving it up there and the audience indulge and
participate, singing along to every note. These guys have a strong following, it’s not surprising, melodic hard rock with
riffs and whoa, whoa choruses, they are infectious. Upbeat and universally timeless, they can liken themselves to Bon Jovi
and Def Leppard and after almost 10 years together, they have found a perfect niche. VEGA are on the road again soon,
so go along and catch them, they are marvellous.
VEGA are -
Nick Workman - Vocals
Tom Martin - Bass
Hutch - Drums
James Martin - Keyboards
Mykey Kew - Guitar
Marcus Thurston - Guitar
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H.E.A.T.
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The lights go down and we are listening to the ‘Beverley Hills Cop’ soundtrack, ‘The Heat is on’. After a few moments H.E.A.T are in full view and they are truly on. It’s a ferocious beginning, from the 2017 ‘Into The Great Unknown’ album ’Bastard Of Society’ is an impressive opener. Catchy and pummelling, frontman Erik Grönwall immediately gets audience participation. The blond Viking with his half shaved head, gyrates across the stage, head banging and twisting his lithe body. Grönwall is a former Swedish Idol winner and is amazing, alongside the charismatic Dave Dalone on guitar and suitably named Crash
on Drums, they briefly slow down for ‘Redefined’ also from 2017 and ‘Living On The Run’. However, the Swedish band are already taking Bristol by storm, the fast rocker ’Beg, Beg, Beg’ is interfused with ‘Whole Lotta Rosie’ and Erik’s high pitch screaming is a turbulent and finely tuned testament. ‘Late Night Lady’ is a stomp including lots of ‘Oh, Oh, Oh Oh’s, while ‘A Shot At Redemption’ finishes off the set with a massive singalong. The band work neatly together, producing an awesome fusion of sound. Having listened to a couple of albums, they really up the dials for their live performance, quite a difference.
H.E.A.T had just 30 minutes to make an impact from their back catalogue and boy did they nail it. Ok I must come clean, this is the first time I’ve seen them, but it won’t be the last. A mixture of Punk and Rock with melodic interludes, laced with so much energy and they are just so damn good to watch.
H.E.A.T are -
Erik Grönwall - Vocals
Dave Dalone - Guitar
Crash - Drums
Jimmy Jay - Bass
Jona Tee - Keyboards
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Backyard Babies
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Punk Metal favourites the BACKYARD BABIES take to the boards with ‘Good Morning Midnight’, from the new album
‘Silver and Gold’. There’s a little more of a mature sound these days, but we still have rapid lyrics, God like strumming
throughout and even more tattoos. They follow with ‘Look At You’ from the early days and it’s considerably more edgy
and angry. The Babies were formed in the late 80s, so over the years they have acquired a mass of material to pick from.
Never losing the rawness that defines them, ‘Dysfunctional Professional’ from the 2006 ‘People Like People Like Us’ is
another chant of protest and the show is now in full throbbing gear. ’Shovin Rocks’ again off the the new release is bubbleg
um ‘Kiss’ a fun type of song, a bit different with some screeching guitar. There is more quality 6 stringing on ’Nomadic’,
again showing the band as being able to diversify and change the tempo whenever. We rummage into the distant past for a
while with the sulky ‘Highlights’ and then ’Heaven 2.9’ flicks along in true Swedish Punk fashion. An acoustic interlude with
‘A Song For The Outcast’ and ‘Roads’ gives us time to catch our breath. ‘Minus Celsius’ from the masterpiece of albums
’Stockholm Syndrome’ ups the ante, before ’Th1rt3en Or Nothing’ with the essential cowbell from Peder Carisson. One
of my favourites, it also has a massive build up from the guitars, before Nicke Borg steps in with dirty and sleazy vocals. After ’Abandon’ the Babies conclude on ‘Brand New Hate’ chaos reigns as they power it up to finish with riffs and more quick fire vocals. The punters are well pleased, the BACKYARD BABIES have delivered again tonight.
BACKYARD BABIES are -
Nicke Borg - Lead Vocals & Guitar
Dregen - Lead Guitar & Vocals
Johan Blomquist - Bass
Pedler Carisson - Drums
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Skid Row
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Anticipation is high, tension is mounting, as I wait for the headliners SKID ROW. With new vocalist ZP Theart formally of Dragonforce, up front, the Skids are back and re-generated. Yes I could name names and I suppose all of us, miss him being here just a little, but life goes on and divorce is never easy, so enough said, let’s move swiftly on. I witnessed the new SKID ROW onslaught last year when they were in the UK, particularly their headline show at the first Stonedeaf festival. Yes, the business has been tough for them over the years, they took a blow in 1996 and didn’t return until 2000, but what is so special about SKID ROW is that they remain resolute and remarkably fresh, the setlist tonight may be mainly made up from the self titled 1989 debut and ‘Slave To The Grind’ that came out in 1991, but these are never fading classics, that can
be aired for eternity. ’Big Guns’ ’Sweet Little Sister’ and ’18 And Life’ are rolled out and ZP is superb, making them his own. He holds our attention throughout, long black hair, tight jeans, dazzling us with his stunning vocal range. He doesn’t give us a long rant between songs either, remember those? The Ramones ‘Psycho Therapy’ gives Rachel Bolan a chance to let off some steam, sunglasses are dismissed and the punk from New Jersey is in his element. Afterwards, ZP returns and we are serenaded with ‘I Remember You’ intersected with beautiful acoustic guitar from Dave ’Snake’ Sabo. Who gives us heartfelt thanks afterwards and tells us, something like, that no matter what shit is going on in the world outside, we are all joined in here as a small community and for a while we can forget all of that and lose ourselves in music. I loved that, yeah he’s right. The stomping ’Monkey Business’ has all our heads nodding fie rcely, that intro from the ‘Slave To The Grind’ opener, God remember the first time you heard that, you didn’t know what had hit you. Awesome, everyone is suddenly nearly 30 years younger, well those like me, of a certain age. They continue with ‘Mudkicker’ and ‘In A Darkened Room’ where Scotti Hill moves centre stage and mesmerises us with a solo that words are hard to describe. Screaming yet eloquent, just phenomenal. Final song is the anthem ‘Youth Gone Wild’ which never fails to get everyone joining in, massive balloons are thrown about to ensure we find our innermost youth and punch them back. With a deluxe edition of ‘Skid Row’ released to honour their 30 years and a full length album currently being recorded as part of the ‘United World Rebellion’ trilogy. SKID ROW are back and more determined than ever to show us what they are made of. Headlining festivals around Europe and appearances at Download and Winterstorm later this year, you will only kick yourself if you miss them.
SKID ROW are -
Scotti Hill - Guitar
Rachel Bolan - Bass
Dave ’Snake’ Sabo - Guitar
Rob Hammersmith - Drums
ZP Theart - Vocals
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