By Monk
It’s hard to believe that it has been more than a year since we last boarded the beer bus and climbed the stairs to one of our favourite venues, nestled deep in the County Antrim hills; yet, here we are taking that long overdue trip back to Ahoghill Rock City, this time to be ushered into the company of a man, making his third visit to this little corner of the Überverse, who can only be described as one of the true rock ‘n’ metal survivors of his generation… the Mean Man himself, Chris Holmes \m/
Opening up proceedings are local alt-rockers Divides/Unfold, making their DRC debut. This means that they are an entirely new prospect for many of the locals – but fortunately not for your Uber Rockin’ crue, as our paths have crossed several times in the past. On each occasion, we have found D/U to be tight and highly proficient at what they do, and this evening is no exception.
The first thing to note is that they sound a lot more intense than in some of the larger venues in which we’ve seen them play: that is perhaps as much down to the intimacy of the DRC as anything else. As they ignite the ‘Fire Of The Sun’ they treat us to yet another set of tightly delivered, rich and dynamic alt rock, characterized by big, thick guitar harmonics, a sonic mix of the Manics and DQ faves Alter Bridge, with tribal beats that slowly pull the crowd to the front of the stage.
Losing little time, the quartet concentrate on keeping the momentum going during their 40 minute set, with no needless chatter between the songs, proving that anyone previously in the dark about this damn fine group of musos definitely came out the other end well and truly enlightened…
Talking of keeping the music pumping, Chris Holmes is so keen to get on with things that he danders on stage even before the background music has stopped and plugs in as the house lights dim… With his Mean Men (actually three-quarters of Watford-based NWoCRers The Wicked Jackals) quickly joining him, there is absolutely no fucking about as the guitarist launches into a set peppered with the expected mix of W.A.S.P. classics and solo offerings…
We’re only just getting off our knees as the bais plug in the good ol’ ‘L.O.V.E Machine’ before that the flame still burns as brightly as ever with yet another rendition of THAT solo: you know, the one that sends tingles down your spine each and every time you hear it… yes, that one \m/
With Ollie Tindall once again proving that he can give Holmes’ mime artist of a former bandmate more than one lesson in how to deliver a series of surefire rock’n’roll classics, the guitarist takes time to avail of the intimacy of the venue by talking lovingly of his old friend Phil Taylor, before proving that the devil definitely made him do it…
Despite having lost a fair bit of weight as a result of his recent cancer battle, Holmes is still an imposing presence stage left, looming large as he pumps out solo after solo in a manner which is almost so laid back its horizontal, making everything look so easy with narry the sort of grimace or gurn that so many guitarist pull for unnecessary effect. Yes, he makes this stuff look so easy…
Of course, there’s only one way to end the main set, and that is with the beautifully segued ‘Wild Child’/’Animal’… with it sounding like Blackie has finally risen to the challenge of resurrecting on of his most notorious tunes, it will be interesting to see who curries the most favour with the fans: Holmes has been owning the song for many years now, so I’ll stick with his version for the time being, thanks very much…
As mentioned above, this was the original Mean Man’s third visit to this corner of the Überverse. To be honest, it was not his strongest set, but it still proved to be a highly entertaining and rewarding visit, and we look forward to welcoming him back again soon \m/
- PHOTO CREDIT: Photos © Brian Bain/Über Rock.
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