W.A.S.P - 27 October 2017, O2 Forum Kentish Town, London

Confession time! I think I might have been the only person here tonight that had not listened to the "The Crimson Idol" album in full! Apart from the singles ("Chainsaw Charlie" & "The Idol", the rest of the album was a mystery to me.In the age of Spotify, I should have listened to the album before going to the concert. I didn't so my mistake! I got the impression that this was good album, however I went home from the concert disappointed. The clue was the title of the tour - "Re-Idolized: The 25th Anniversary of the Crimson Idol".Don't get me wrong, I like W.A.S.P but playing an album in it's entirety that I'm not familiar with, well that's my fault.Despite my misgivings it was a packed Forum and all around me the crowd were really getting into it. On stage were video screens showing film snippets that were specially made to back up the album. I found them a bit distracting especially when they kept repeating themselves.Once the album had been played in full, the encore consisted of a 'classic hits' set of 5 songs. Again I was disappointed, why play "Golgotha", when they have plenty of other songs in their back catalogue! W.A.S.P these days just consist of Blackie and as he is now religious some songs won't even get a look in ("Animal" for example). Hopefully next time I see them I would have finally got round to listening to "The Crimson Idol"!

Rating: 5/10

Setlist: The Titanic Overture, The Invisible Boy, Arena of Pleasure, Chainsaw Charlie (Murders in the New Morgue), The Gypsy Meets the Boy, Doctor Rockter, I Am One, The Idol, Hold on to My Heart, The Great Misconception of Me, (ENCORE): The Real Me, L.O.V.E Machine, Wild Child, Golgotha, I Wanna Be Somebody.

Great White & Marco Mendoza - Friday 20 October 2017 - Camden Underworld, London

Preceding their appearance at the Rockingham Festival in Nottingham, Great White managed to squeeze in a long overdue gig in London on the Friday night. This was a great chance for me to see them having never seen them live. This is the “original” Great White version now with Terry Ilous on vocals. However Jack Russell’s version will be in the UK next March (sadly no London date planned though). Promoting a new album “Full Circle”, this proved to be a greatest hits set with only “Big Time” being played from that aforementioned album. Kicking off with “I'm Alright”, it was quickly followed by “Call It Rock n Roll” and “Lady Red Light”. Despite the early start ,both band and crowd were both on good form and up for an energetic night. However the pace slowed down when the stools came out for “House of Broken Love”.  Both guitarists, Mark Kendall and Michael Lardie proved that they are still excellent players. By the time we got to the last 2 songs of the night, “Rock Me” and sing-a-long favourite “Once Bitten Twice Shy”, the crowd were well and truly hooked!

I must make a mention to Marco Mendoza who was a very special guest that night. As part of his ‘Viva La Rock Tour’ he played a highly enthusiastic 10 song set. Not only a great bass player (and singer) he was really humble and entertaining (especially his walk out into the crowd). Promoting his compilation album (Viva La Rock), the best of the set  were “Let the Sun Shine” and “Lettin’ Go”. The gig wouldn't have been complete without a Thin Lizzy song, finishing with “Chinatown”. Now I need to see him play with The Dead Daises.

Rating: 8/10

Setlist:
(Great White) - I'm Alright, Call It Rock n Roll, Lady Red Light, (I've Got) Something for You, Big Time, Desert Moon, House of Broken Love, Save Your Love, Mista Bone, Face The Day, Can't Shake It, Rock Me,   Once Bitten Twice Shy.
(Marco Mendoza) - Let the Sun Shine, Hey Baby, Lettin’ Go, Hole in My Pocket, Look out for the Boys, God Bless the Child, Still in Me, Higher Ground, Chinatown, Your Touch.

Marco Mendoza

Great White - Michael Lardie, Terry Ilous & Mark Kendall

LA Guns - Saturday 25 March 2017 - O2 Academy Islington, London

Who would've thought it then, but Phil Lewis & Tracii Guns are back together again in LA Guns for the Reloaded 2017 UK Tour.However sadly no Steve Riley on drums for this tour (Shane Fitzgibbon replacing him). The last time LA Guns played in London was in 2011 when the 2 versions were doing the rounds; Phil Lewis & Steve Riley and Tracii Guns (with Jizzy Pearl on vocals).Both played the Camden Underworld. However this time they are at the slightly larger Academy which had nicely filled up by the time they came on. An odd choice to kick off their set was "Hollywood Tease", a song from Phil Lewis's first band Girl. This proved to be a good choice which fitted well in their set. What followed was the classic LA Guns songs; "Electric Gypsy", "Sex Action", "Ballad of Jayne" and finally finishing off the set with "Rip and Tear" (with support band Stone Trigger joining them on stage). It was a shame that the set was only 75 minutes long but they played the songs that we wanted to hear. It was good to see both Phil & Tracii enjoying each others company. Ably assisted by Michael Grant on guitar and Johnny Martin on bass this was good dose of LA Guns nostalgia. They are currently making a new album so we await later in the year for some new music from the classic (reunited) LA Guns.

Rating: 8/10

Setlist: Hollywood Tease, Electric Gypsy, Killing Machine, Over the Edge, Bitch is Back, Sex Action, One more Reason, Kiss my Love Goodbye, Don't look at me that Way, Malaria, No Mercy, Ballad of Jayne, Never Enough, Rip and Tear.

Jizzy Pearl Love/ Hate - Sunday 19 March 2017 - Camden Underworld

With the ever increasingly popularity of a band playing one of their albums in its entirety, Jizzy Pearl's Love/ Hate is celebrating 25 years of "Wasted in America" by playing this album in full. Less than 18 months ago the same band did exactly the same for "Blackout in the Red Room" (see previous post's review). Considering how recently he tortured  the UK this was a surprisingly packed Underworld for a Sunday night. Of course these days Love/Hate only consist of the singer Jizzy Pearl. Backed up by a group of UK musicians, we are treated to the whole album plus a selection of favourites from "Blackout". This was a great gig as i had forgotten how good some of these songs are from "Wasted". Great concert! Jizzy, you're always welcome back at the Underworld at any time.

Rating: 9/10

Setlist: Wasted in America, Spit, Miss America, Tumbleweed, Fuel to Run, Cream, Yucca Man, Happy Hour, Tranquilizer, Mary Jane, Time's Up, Don't Be Afraid, Don't Fuck with Me, Social Sidewinder, Straightjacket, She's an Angel, Spinning Wheel, Why Do You Think They Call it Dope?, Evil Twin, Blackout in the Red Room.

Lita Ford - Sunday 12th March 2017 - O2 Academy Islington, London

I didn't know at the time but this was the first time Lita Ford has played London since 1988! This was at the height of her fame supporting Bon Jovi at Wembley Arena which I was there! To be fair I don't remember her playing that night, so I was eager to catch tonight's show. Maybe that is why the Academy was packed for a Sunday night having not played the Capital for 29 years!. Before she came on the intro tape was "Balls to the Wall" by Accept which was certainly played tongue in cheek! Kicking off with "Gotta Let Go", the majority of songs played tonight were taken from her solo career. Naturally we got a great version of "Cherry Bomb" from her former band The Runaway's. These day's her band consist's of Patrick Kennison (guitar), Bobby Rock (drums) and Marty O'Brien (bass). It was Kennison who duetted on "Close My Eyes Forever". Highlights for me was an Elton John cover of "The Bitch is Back" and finishing off the set with "Kiss Me Deadly".  Certainly worth the wait, Lita still proved that she is still better than most guitarist's out there. One final point, she plugged her biography - "Living Like A Runaway". I managed to read a copy a few weeks after the show and I must say that was a great read with some great rock n roll stories. Lita's a true rocker!

Rating: 9/10

Setlist:  Gotta Let Go, Larger Than Life, The Bitch is Back, Playing With Fire, Relentless, Living Like A Runaway, Hungry, Can't Catch Me, Back to the Cave, Falling In and Out of Love, Cherry Bomb, Black Leather, Out for Blood, Close My Eyes Forever, Kiss Me Deadly.

RATT - Sunday 13th November 2016, O2 Academy Islington

So who’s in Ratt these days? Well the version we get tonight is Bobby Blotzer’s and he’s the only original member left. Because he has the rights(?) to the name, this is his version of Ratt.  Not sure what the ‘voice of Ratt’ - Stephen Pearcy (and other Ratt fans) has to say about this, but here is not the time to discuss. Maybe that is why the Academy is only half full. Although it’s been 8 years since Ratt played London, I thought more would be here. However tonight is the chance to hear all the classic Ratt tunes in a small venue. Ably assisted by Joshua Alan (vocals), Stacey Blades & Mitch Perry (guitars), and Brad Lang (bass) we get all their great songs in this 14 song set. They start off with “Back for more” and end with of course with their MTV breakthrough hit “Round and Round”.  All the musicianship was excellent especially Blotzer who was giving it all. Half way through the set he stepped out from the drum kit to address the crowd, thanking us for coming and supporting them.It’s a shame that all original members can’t resolve their differences and get back together. Hopefully more people will then come out and see them.

Rating: 8/10

Setlist: Back for More, Lovin’ You’s a Dirty Job, Dance, Lay it Down, You’re in Love, Closer to my Heart, You Should Know by Now, Way Cool Jr, Nobody Rides for Free, I Want a Woman, Shame Shame Shame, Lack of Communication, Slip of the Lip, Round and Round.

Chris Holmes - Saturday 1 October 2016 - Camden Underworld, London

Saturday night in London town and the Underworld is not even half full. That's a shame as Chris Holmes (legendary ex W.A.S.P lead guitarist) is headlining a series of solo shows.Older and more grizzled looking, not surprising really with all the drinking he did back in the 80's heyday! As with most of these bands I review he is still out there performing. I guess it's not about the money (the merchandise sales may certainly help) but playing in a live environment to those dedicated fans (myself included). However he does have a new album to promote, "Shitting Bricks" which the title song he opens the gig with. The sound and tone of his guitar is pretty clear, even though it is very loud. The set is a mixture of tracks from his 2 solo albums (the aforementioned "Shitting Bricks" and "Nothing to Loose") and W.A.S.P songs. Despite a 14 song set list, there are only 4 W.A.S.P songs. He doesn't play "Mean Man" which is odd, as he advertises himself as Mean Man! We do get "Animal", "Wild Child", "L.O.V.E Machine" and surprising (for me) "Sleeping(in the fire)". All these songs are inter spread with choice cuts from his solo material. After an incoherent diatribe about the world today(?), he finishes off with the Neil Young cover "Rockin' in the Free World". A good night out to those who attended. All we need now is a reunion with Blackie and the original members of W.A.S.P. Here's hoping.

Rating: 7/10

Setlist: "Shitting Bricks", "Get With It", "Let It Roar", "L.O.V.E Machine", "Loser", "Sleeping(in the fire)", "TFMF", "Don't Care", "Nothing to Lose", "Born Work Die", "Wild Child", "Animal (F*ck Like a Beast)", "Way to Be" and "Rockin' in the Free World".

Chris Holmes