By DJ Astrocreep
A local gig with a not quite so local headliner is the band de jour, as rock troubadours The Wildhearts bring their manic take on rock n roll to the stage in Liverpool once more. With a single support band in Silveroller and a new for me venue in Hanger 34, a venue already picking up renown for its sound, it promises to be a great night of music.
Silveroller come on and the vibes are immediately The Black Crowes… the entire ’90s throwback to the ’60s. Thing is, they actually do it really well. The band are really tight, nailing the sound, and they do a great job of winning the busy crowd over quickly. Their organ-infused rock goes down an absolute treat and it’s because of how good their set is, really setting a high bar for our headliners.
The performance actually belies the fact that the group are still relative newcomers, having only released their debut single in 2023. The applause they got is loud but still barely adequate for how good their half hour set actually is. They show real promise and could go on to achieve a lot if they keep themselves centered and focused on the prize. A great opening set.
On to our punk ‘n’ roll veterans, now, as Geordie rockers The Wildhearts finally take to the stage.
There’s a lot of love aimed at Ginger, which he remarks on quite early on in their set, and it’s clearly reciprocated. The atmosphere is absolutely spot on, just so energetic and uplifting, even more so than on previous occasions I’ve caught them live. Within a few songs, they’re already going off the prepared setlist as Ginger decides to play something else from the scheduled, a notion that goes down well with the rammed crowd.
We actually get a joke from Ginger a couple of songs in, after the drummer breaks his snare during ‘Nothing Ever Changes But The Shoes’, one I’m probably best not repeating here! It’s taken in quite good humour, but an indication of the turmoil in Ginger’s private life. We even get treated to ‘Verdict’, which Ginger describes as, “impossible to play live, as we’re just about to show you”, though with a remarkably good take on it.
Ginger and co are in absolutely electric form. The sharpness belies any off stage issues and it’s clear that they live for being up on the stage, same as the likes of Ozzy and Lemmy before them.
With songs like ‘Verdict’, ‘Nothing Ever Changes But The Shoes’ and ‘Spider Beach’ from an album to come later this year in the setlist, it’s a great night of raw rock n roll and promises great things ahead for the rest of the tour.
There’s still plenty of life in the old dog yet, on this showing.
- The ‘Easter Satanic Rites’ tour concludes at the sold-out Signature Brew in E17 tonight (Sunday 5 April).
- The Wildhearts then tour again in May:
