For those who don't know this is Jake E. Lee new band. Having been the guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne (circa 83-88) and also Badlands (circa 89 -91) with the late Ray Gillen, Jake finally returns with a great new band. It seems that he has been out of the music scene for ages, however he returned last year with his new band and a self titled album. I saw Badlands play London Astoria over 20+ years ago (yes really!) and so I was looking forward to seeing this new band of Jake's. I've listened to the album and there are some good songs on it. However I've heard some mixed reviews of some of their gigs so I was keen to see for myself. For a Friday night the Academy was not packed. Despite that it was still a good show. Although he might have aged somewhat, Jake can still certainly play. Opening with 'The Ultimate Sin', the gig was a mixture of Badlands, Red Dragon Cartel and Ozzy songs. Jake certainly proved that he is still a fantastic guitar player and on all songs he proved why with some great guitar work. His band were also a bunch of great musicians; DJ Smith on vocals, Ronnie Mancuso on bass, and Jonas Fairley on drums. After 75 minutes they finished their set with another Ozzy track, 'Bark at the Moon'. Pity they only played 2 Ozzy songs. Jake was the last to leave the stage after applauding the crowd. He seemed genuinely happy to be back playing. Welcome back I say we missed you. Roll on Download Festival.
Setlist: The Ultimate Sin (Ozzy cover), Deceived, War Machine, High Wire (Badlands cover), Shine On (Badlands cover), Shout it Out, In a Dream (Badlands cover), Rumblin Train (Badlands cover), Sun Red Sun (Badlands cover), Feeder, Bark at the Moon (Ozzy cover).
Rating: 7/10
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| Jake E. Lee |
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| D.J. Smith |
