|
With the recent departure of long
standing vocalist Andrew 'Mac' McDermott, it was their original
singer Damian Wilson (from back in 93, yes they have been going for
that long!) who returned to the fold and along with second guitarist Pete
Morten completed the touring line-up with the more established members
of Karl Groom (guitars), Steve Anderson (bass), Richard
West (keyboards) and Johanne James (drums). They stormed through
a condensed set that was largely based around the new album "Dead Reckoning"
but with a spattering from "Subsurface" and "Hypothetical", and so was
entirely recent material. Opening with the immense power of "Slipstream" and
then slickly into the hook-laden "Pressure" (it stays in your head for
days), it was an impressive vocal performance from Damien who is also such a
good front-man, he effortlessly warmed the crowd to the band and solicited
an encouraging response from a largely shellshock audience. The rest of the
set just flew by with "Mission Profile", "Hollow", "Pilot in The Sky of
Dreams" (giving the mayhem a slight hiatus), "Light & Space" and after being
told they only have three minutes left (and Damien then deliberately
spending about that time telling us they only have three minutes left!),
they finished with "This is Your Life" and disappointingly never any sign of
a mosh pit despite Damian's efforts and his tentative stage dive at the end. |
|
   |
|
It was a powerful set with some great
vocals and melodies, it was very enjoyable to watch the crazy axe-wielding
frolics of Pete looking like a proper guitar maniac and the very strange
chicken strutting antics of bass player Steve. The synchronised twin lead
guitar solos and harmonies were particularly satisfying and added to an
already slick and entertaining performance.
After a thirty minute break, tonight’s
headliners It Bites took to the stage.
It was a standalone gig for the band as most recently they had to pull out
of the Classic Rock Society date in Rotherham, so maybe you subconsciously
prepared yourself for a slightly rusty performance. However, to all but
those closest to the band and the band members themselves, nobody
particularly noticed or probably even cared, as most were just glad of the
opportunity to see the band playing live once again. And not ever having
seen this band before, it turned out to be a pleasant surprise to discover
the enjoyable blend of heartfelt rock with pop sensibilities that It Bites
perform. |
 |
|
Their ring-rustiness was only really
obvious during show opener “I Got You Eating Out Of My Hand”, where things
were a little loose and craggy, but this soon settled down and they were
well in the groove during “All In Red” and “Plastic Dreamer”. It was also
great to see that on the whole the band seemed to be enjoying themselves,
with the exception of Dick Nolan (Bass) who looked as miserable as sin for
the whole set. Watching the interactions between them was almost as
enjoyable as hearing the music, the serious concentration and focus from Bob
Dalton (Drums), but particularly John Mitchell (Vocals/Guitar) and John Beck
(Keyboards) who were continually bouncing grins off of each other. That
pair seemed to put their heart and soul into the performance, with Mitchell
fitting in fantastically with both his stage personality and impressive guitar
skills, and of course Mr Beck the consummate performer and artist wearing
his emotions all over his face. And while on the subject of what John Beck
was wearing, he had obviously thought ahead to the end of the night and a
quick get-a-way as it appeared like he’d already changed into his pyjamas
(which was a minor improvement to the surgeons outfit he turned up to the
gig in!). Unfortunately, they don’t make them like him anymore. |
   |
|
After the mini-high of ‘…Dreamer’ they
played a new song entitled “Playground” that was familiar to some as it
featured on the recent live album. It was an expressive and absorbing song
that shows promise for their next studio recording (which the band pledged
to be not far away now - they just want to get it right!) and was followed
with renditions of the classics “Yellow Christian” and “The Ice Melts Into
Water”. But then it was time for something completely new and “Tall Ships”
was introduced by John M as a song about watching from the sea shores the
ships coming and going and wondering what it would be like if you were taken
away by one of these ships for your last journey from life. A pleasant
enough song but you felt there is definitely more work needed to make it
something more special and lasting. The rest of the set was a blur with “Old
Man And The Angel”, “Screaming On The Beaches” (with much singing from the
crowd), “Calling All The Heroes” into “Once Around The World” and with a
single song encore (we had reached the curfew) of “Kiss Like Judas”. They
played an entertaining show with a good clean sound (a tribute to their
soundman Tom who managed to get things sorted under quite difficult
circumstances and with very little time), and one that leaves you thinking
what a shame it is that they have only recently revitalised the band after
leaving it prematurely dormant for so many years - oh well they are back now
so watch out for the new album and hopefully for the fans an accompanying
tour.
Well this session of the Summers End
Fest was an enjoyable gig, with a sufficient mix of styles across the three
bands to keep most happy and Threshold being the personal highlight. Despite what seemed to be the local vicar
introducing the bands and announcing the results of the church raffle, the
atmosphere was largely maintained with very quick changeovers and good band
performances. This was the third year for this festival and judging on how
people enjoyed this weekend, it wouldn’t be a surprise if there was a fourth
year of this rare outlet for Prog rock. |
