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<\/a><\/p>\nSo here we are. The first Wildhearts live show in over a year. Yet the floor is not stick underfoot, there is no queue for the toilet and the general aroma is way more pleasant than the usual mixture of body odour, alcohol and dry ice. What gives? Well, this just happens to be The Wildhearts live \u2018By Request\u2019. An online virtual gig, going out live on a Saturday night. It\u2019s a pay-per-view show, a one-off gig experience that will not be shared or released to the general public. The rice of a ticket gets you access to the show for one live viewing only, \u00a330 gets you a 30-day deluxe pass with over 2 hours of bonus videos.<\/p>\n
With a set list chosen by the fans and the promise of a new song from the soon to be released \u201821st<\/sup> Century Love Songs\u2019 opus, tonight promises to be the best time many of us have had since this shitstorm hit the world. So, I hook up the laptop to the TV, and sit down for the virtual doors at 7.45pm with a few tinnies and a bag of Haribo to take in the virtual live Wildhearts experience.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2018The One Before The Lights Go Out\u2019 intro music plays as the camera pans around the dark depths of some Tudor building. Past silhouetted band members stood as still as statues, headphones on and instruments at the ready, before Ginger leads his band into a roaring version of \u2018Dislocated\u2019. Much like the coveted \u2018Live In The Studio\u2019 DVD, the cameras are close-up and personal and its actually like being down the front at a gig (remember them?). The band are in a small room facing each other, but this isn’t obvious for the majority of the 1 hour and 15-minute gig, as the camera focus is on the band members faces and their instruments for the most part. The wobbly camera work and the way the camera shots change quickly, mixed with the strobe lighting in a dark room, just adds to the drama and the intensity of the Wildhearts performance. Giving the sensation of being knocked about down the front but without the lasting bruises or the sweat and beer-drenched clothing. \u201cFuckin hell!\u201d quips Ginger as the final chords of the opening song ring out.<\/p>\n While the show is going out live, it has been pre-recorded and mixed by Dave Draper and I must say The Wildhearts look and sound phenomenal on my TV screen. Their debut album \u2018Earth Versus..\u2019 features heavily in a fan favourite set that doesn\u2019t really leave much to the imagination. The likes of \u2018TV Tan\u2019, \u2018Shitsville\u2019 and \u2018Suckerpunch\u2019 transporting us back to 1993. That breakdown and outro in \u2018Everlone\u2019 remains to me one of their finest moments all these years later.<\/p>\n \u2018Sick Of Drugs\u2019, \u2018Caffeine Bomb\u2019, \u2018The Revolution Will Be Televised\u2019 follow…you know the score, no real surprises, but every song a stone-cold classic, delivered by one of the tightest bands on the planet. Ginger and CJ\u2019s vocal harmonies are spot on, the pair\u2019s guitars crunch just as you want them to, one in the left speaker and one in the right, just like \u2018Live After Death\u2019, baby! And the bass and drums combo sound like there\u2019s a war going on coming out of my speakers.<\/p>\n