This gig had been on my list for a good while. Another one postponed from earlier in 2022 as a result of the pandemic hangover. Never mind, better the last gig of the year than not at all.
The Tramsheds is rapidly becoming one of my favourite venues for all genres of music from new artists to well established ones like Magnum. All the security staff are exceptionally pleasant to work with, the bar staff are polite and efficient, and the artist tech crew have developed an ability to make all the artists, irrespective of genre, sound exceptional. Long may it continue.
Anyway, to the music. Theia used to be a three piece band but have developed into the duet of brothers Lamley, Kyle and Ash. Kyle has an exceptional voice and guitar sound that just fills any venue. Accompanied by his younger brother on drums (and a fine drummer he is) they really engaged the audience from the start to end of their set. The entrance to ‘I like To Move It’ from ‘Madagascar’ was unusual and the use of large printed boards to get the crowd going worked well.
‘Fire’ was a heavily bass driven/low end track (with no bassist!) that the duo hammered from start to finish. It had a very rapid fire lyrical section towards the end, a good start to the set that was well received by the growing crowd. They write songs that are poignant yet engaging and the dedication of ‘Blue Heart‘ to workers in the NHS was still valid, with the lyrics reflecting the feelings of those who I know who work for the NHS. I have seen Theia in their previous guise and actually own all their back catalogue so the chance to get the new EP, ‘The Day‘, was one I didn’t miss.
One of the older tracks, ‘No Crisis’ was given an airing and Ash really gave the kit a bit of a hammering during it. Another track with some valid observations at this time. Wrapping up with some banter about liking bass lines (but not enough to have one in the band) raised a chuckle before ‘Back in Line’ led to Kyle’s soaring vocals and thumping bass lines carrying the song to its conclusion. Its been too long since I saw them last so hopefully it wont be too long again.
A 20 minute change around saw Vega enter the stage and kick off with a huge guitar riff and some tub thumping for the opening of ‘Worth Dying For’.
This is a six-piece band that I have seen at Steelhouse in 2016 (was it really that long ago?). A mix of blues-based AOR rock continued with ‘Every Little Monster’. ‘Kneel To You’ from ‘Anarchy And Unity’ has a serious Journey feel to it, from the keyboards through the guitar and vocals, which continued through the opening guitar riff of ‘Live For Me’.
Nick Workman has a good, powerful voice that carried all the songs throughout the set very well. ‘Kiss Of Life’ was another good track in the same genre but there was a good hook to it and it was accompanied by some good instrumentation from all the others in the band but the stand out for me was the drumming throughout the set. These guys (with few exceptions) rarely get a mention, so its only fair that Pete Newdeck gets the praise he deserves for keeping the rest of the band on point.
Whilst Workman has stated that they are a rock band in some interviews, for me there is nothing wrong with the AOR label/genre they have been tagged with. Boston, Journey and Asia made a pretty good living owning that tag. ‘White Flag’ from ‘Who We Are’ was rapidly followed by ‘Sooner Or Later’ from the latest album and to be fair it was more rock driven (but still had an AOR feel).
Having been on tour with Magnum for a while, they stated they were going to do a cover: with five albums you had to wonder why, but a good cover of Def Leppard’s ‘Animal’ followed, which really got the now swollen crowd to a sonorous crescendo.
My review of ‘The Monster Roars‘ earlier this year was the main reason I wanted to get to this gig. I loved the album which, as number 22 for the band, is an impressive body of work. When you consider the strength of previous tracks such as a ‘Days Of No Trust’, ‘Les Mortes Dansante’, ‘On A Storyteller’s Night’ and ‘Vigilante’, you have to wonder where the inspiration still comes from. If there was any doubt that Bob Catley and Tony Clarkin, Rick Benton, Dennis Ward and Lee Morris can still rock, then look no further than the lyrics of ‘Rockin Chair’.
Kicking off with ‘Days Of No Trust’ was a good way to start. Then ‘Lost On The Road To Eternity’ carried on the huge sound the band have engendered over the past 50 years. ‘The Monster Roars’ carried on with this from the last offering. I could list the entire set but then why, there would always be calls from fans for different tracks from the albums they have released.
Whilst it was sometimes obvious that Bob’s voice was a bit “tired” in parts it is hardly surprising. With three gigs in three days and being the tender age of 75, I can understand it. The set started at just after 9.25pm and finished with a three song encore at 11.00 after ‘Vigilante’, with ‘Kingdom Of Madness’, ‘On A Storyteller’s Night’ and ‘Sacred Hour’.
That is how you leave a crowd feeling satiated. Tired or not it was still a damned good performance from all concerned.