{"id":21338,"date":"2023-02-27T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-27T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=21338"},"modified":"2023-02-26T20:47:14","modified_gmt":"2023-02-26T20:47:14","slug":"black-star-riders-michael-monroe-phil-campbell-the-bastard-sons-leeds-02-academy-19th-february-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=21338","title":{"rendered":"Black Star Riders\/Michael Monroe\/Phil Campbell & The Bastard Sons \u2013 Leeds 02 Academy \u2013 19th<\/sup> February 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

I rarely venture out to academy size gigs these days, not for lack of wanting I hasten to add, it just seems most of the bands I\u2019m interested in play smaller more intimate venues. But after catching The Interrupters last summer, it sure reminded me of a lot of the rock shows I used to attend back in the day at academy size, and who doesn\u2019t like a full-on rock show?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, with Black Star Riders coming into town promoting their highly acclaimed new album \u2018Wrong Side Of Paradise\u2019, and bringing with them not only the Michael Monroe band but also Phil Campbell & The Dirty Bastards, well it would be a shame to miss this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wouldn\u2019t say I\u2019m a massive Mot\u00f6rhead fan, but Phil Campbell once came to my flat and I made him a cup of tea, but that\u2019s another story. Anyway, Phil Campbell & The Bastard Sons are not Mot\u00f6rhead, but in the same way as Black Star Riders they channel the spirit of the band that came before them. What The Bastard Sons are though, is a full-on, old school hard rock band, and a good one at that. The sole non-Campbell onstage, new singer Joel Peters, works the crowd like a pro tonight. A larger-than-life personality with a larger-than-life voice, he splits the crowd for audience participation, mixing up originals like \u2018We\u2019re The Bastards\u2019 and \u2018Get On Your Knees\u2019 with Mot\u00f6rhead classics like \u2018Going To Brazil\u2019 and \u2018Born To Raise Hell\u2019, the band are mightily impressive. The rhythm section is tight, the guitar tone fantastic and Phil must be proud having his sons up there keeping the spirit of Mot\u00f6rhead alive for fans and the younger generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biggest cheer of their set goes up as bassist Tyla thumps out \u2018that\u2019 bass line. They were always gonna end with \u2018Ace Of Spades\u2019, right? The crowd go wild, and so they should.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen Michael Monroe support anybody before, and I\u2019ve never seen him do such a short set. This band don\u2019t do bad shows, never give less than 100% onstage. The opening salvo of \u2018One Man Gang\u2019 and \u2018I Live Too Fast To Die Young\u2019 works a treat. The die-hards down the front know the words and the uninitiated are getting a shock treatment in high energy rock n\u2019 roll. The Finnish Iggy Pop is on fire and the usual onstage chaos surrounds the whirlwind vocalist, who as ever is mesmerizing to watch, as he gets tangled up in microphone cables, does the splits and climbs the rigging. He swings the mic stand precariously close to guitarist Steve Conte\u2019s head, but its all in a day\u2019s work for the Michael Monroe band.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Older singles \u2018Last Train To Tokyo\u2019 and \u201978\u2019 go down well and get the crowd singing them back to the livewire singer as he bounds about the stage. If this is mainly a Black Star Riders fanbase tonight, I would say the band have won them over by now. And any who are not convinced may be shedding a tear by the time they finish the Hanoi Rocks classic \u2018Don\u2019t You Ever Leave Me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Ballad Of The Lower East Side\u2019 is arguably the strongest song in the band\u2019s solo discography and it sounds killer live, yet as Michael climbs the rigging for the second time, the power is cut and the band stop playing mid-song! Seems the 02 don\u2019t like rock stars climbing on their equipment. Funnily enough, the last time I saw this band, at The Brudenell up the road, there was an actual power cut on the equipment on the exact same song. What are the chances of that?<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The band shrug it off and launch into \u2018Motorvatin\u2019 to get things back on track. \u2018Dead, Jail Or Rock N Roll\u2019 and \u2018Up Around The Bend\u2019 end a killer set that didn\u2019t exactly go to plan, but rock n roll\u2019s like that sometimes. I like it when a band has to work for it and I pity any band who has to follow The Monroes night after night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black Star Riders have that unenviable task, and while Ricky Warwick doesn\u2019t possess the maniacal stage presence of Michael Monroe, he is one of the last of a dying breed of classic rock frontmen who are still out there doing it and doing it well. A 10-year anniversary for any band these days is something to celebrate, and Black Star Riders have morphed into quite the classic rock band now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With original members drummer Jimmy Degrasso, bassist Robbie Crane and the Richard Branson of rock n\u2019 roll Scott Gorham back in the fold for this tour, tickets have flown out, and the 02 is buzzing with anticipation as the band break into newbie \u2018Pay Dirt\u2019. In a leather jacket, his hair greased back and a Les Paul swinging from his hips, Ricky Warwick looks mean, moody and healthy, and his gritty voice is as powerful as it ever was back in The Almighty days. With the ever-smiling Wayward Sons guitarist Sam Wood by his side (who looks uncannily like a young Scott Gorham) the band sound impressive too.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The first half of the set weighs heavily on the new album. The single \u2018Better Than Saturday Night\u2019 is a killer highlight, \u2018Riding Out the Storm\u2019 and the title track \u2018Wrong Side Of Beautiful\u2019 showcase Warwick\u2019s songwriting ability and suggests this album could go down as their strongest effort. They even breathe new life into their cover of The Osmonds \u2018Crazy Horses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ricky introduces Scott Gorham to great cheers and the 71-year-old Thin Lizzy guitarist joins Black Star Riders for the rest of the set. The likes of \u2018All Hell\u2019s Breaking Loose\u2019, \u2018Testify Or Say Goodbye\u2019 and \u2018Bound For Glory\u2019 all hit the spot and are welcomed like old friends to a crowd of a certain age. The spirit of Thin Lizzy seems omnipresent and of course a couple of choice songs get aired tonight. Phil Campbell joins them for \u2018Don\u2019t Believe A Word\u2019 and a sublime \u2018Jailbreak\u2019 comes later in the set and understandably gets the biggest reaction of the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the first half of the set was strong, I felt the latter half suffered and felt ploddy and a bit so-so. Only the addition of the Lizzy covers lifted thing for me. Hey, but I\u2019m just nit-picking, really.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Big academy rock shows are always an event and tonight was no different. 3 bands who are well suited, all channelling the sprits of the bands who came before them, yet all with strong material that sets them apart from the legacy of those classic bands. And whether you\u2019re a fan of Mot\u00f6rhead, Hanoi Rocks or Thin Lizzy, all had great new things to offer, as well as dipping into the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But finding out The Academy takes 25% of profits from the band\u2019s merch and the fact that a pint and a G&T cost \u00a317 reminds me why I favour the smaller shows these days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author: Ben Hughes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I rarely venture out to academy size gigs these days, not for lack of wanting I hasten to add, it just seems most of the bands I\u2019m interested in play smaller more intimate venues. But after catching The Interrupters last summer, it sure reminded me of a lot of the rock shows I used to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21339,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[726,2126,165,8142,1833],"class_list":["post-21338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-live-review","tag-ben-hughes","tag-black-star-riders","tag-michael-monroe","tag-phil-campbell-the-bastard-sons","tag-tourlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21338"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21344,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21338\/revisions\/21344"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}