{"id":2651,"date":"2018-12-06T05:00:25","date_gmt":"2018-12-06T05:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=2651"},"modified":"2018-12-03T18:22:13","modified_gmt":"2018-12-03T18:22:13","slug":"the-alarm-ryan-hamilton-the-harlequin-ghosts-york-fibbers-30th-november-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=2651","title":{"rendered":"The Alarm\/Ryan Hamilton & The Harlequin Ghosts – York, Fibbers \u2013 30th November 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Author: Ben Hughes<\/p>\n

Photography: Marc McGarraraghy<\/a><\/p>\n

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Recently signed to Little Steven\u2019s Wicked Cool Records label, Ryan Hamilton and his newly renamed band The Harlequin Ghosts are an exciting proposition, facing exciting times.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Recently announcing they would be knocking the headline tours on the head for a while to concentrate on other opportunities, I didn\u2019t think I would be catching them for a while here in the UK. Yet, here they are on a high profile tour opening for Welsh legends The Alarm, which should hopefully widen their appeal to larger audiences than they have been reaching in recent times. It seems the image change and the name change is no coincidence, as this band is stepping things up to the big league.<\/p>\n

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There\u2019s a glint of something different in Ryan Hamilton\u2019s eyes tonight. A new sense of determination and seriousness to his delivery. \u00a0There\u2019s less of the between-song jokes and banter, although he is still obsessed about learning new English swear words.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s the matching sharp suits and the heavier (yet still catchy) material, I don\u2019t know, but this bunch of musicians seem more cohesive now, more like dare I say it…a band.<\/p>\n

Faced with an over-loud and dodgy sound mix and an audience unfamiliar with their material, Ryan Hamilton & The Harlequin Ghosts are up against it tonight and they rise to the challenge. When a band are up against the wall with something to prove, when they have to fight for attention, that is when a band are at their best.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>So out of the relative comfort zone of a room of people who will sing along to your mighty fine power pop ditties, the band reel off song after song to a small but growing crowd of The Alarm fans, sipping their beers waiting for their heroes. Maybe tonight, just a few of those fans may have found a new band to check out in the morning.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a good job Ryan and the guys have the songs then. \u00a0\u2018Karaoke With No Crowd\u2019 with it’s over cool \u201cwhoo hoo\u2019s\u201d, \u00a0the sublime power pop of \u2018Records and Needles\u2019 and the following \u2018Medicine\u2019 should be enough to reel in even the staidest of observers.<\/p>\n

Ryan, his hair in plaits and wide-brimmed hat, making him look like some spaghetti western preacher leading his congregation. He uses his hands to gesture as he addresses the audience, whether playing the guitar or just in control of the mic. The Tom Petty like drawl of \u2018Never Should Have Moved To LA\u2019 is mighty fine as always, they then transport us back to Texas with the country twang of \u2018Oh My God\u2019.<\/p>\n

Introducing final song \u2018Freak Flag\u2019 Ryan tells us he is the living proof there are second chances, that it is possible to get a second chance at the rock \u2018n\u2019 roll dream. Tonight\u2019s performance is a testament to a rock \u2018n\u2019 roll survivor and long may he keep returning to our shores. A sublime set from the probably the best support band you will see this year or next.<\/p>\n

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Now, Mike Peters is a true survivor and a legendary rock \u2018n\u2019 roll talent. He may not be as famous or as revered as Bono or Springsteen, but he has the songs, the road-weary years of experience and the passionate fan base to match.<\/p>\n

I guess I\u2019d call myself a casual fan of The Alarm, and I\u2019ve never seen them live, so tonight is a truly monumental experience for me, as I never imagined they would be this good.<\/p>\n

This live incarnation of The Alarm, with Mike Peters on vocals and acoustic, his wife Jules on keyboards, longtime Alarm guitarist come bassist James Stevenson and drummer Steve \u2018Smiley\u2019 Barnard is as good as it gets.<\/p>\n

Anthem follows anthem tonight as Peters and the gang dig deep into the 35 years plus back catalogue to deliver a set that will satisfy even the most casual of fans. From opener \u2018Blaze Of Glory\u2019 to main set closer \u201968 Guns\u2019, it\u2019s a masterclass of rousing, alternative rock \u2018n\u2019 roll. From the \u201980s, through the \u201990s and beyond, all bases are covered.<\/p>\n

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Peters has free reign of the stage as the rest of the band are pretty much rooted to the spot. I\u2019ve never seen any frontman use 3 vocals mics for a performance. The only advantage I can see if for the vocalist to reach every corner of the venue, so as not to be confined to one spot due to him being the sole guitar player. Fair play, he uses it to its full advantage, switching between left, right and centre stage at will during songs.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s an energetic and passionate performance as the man plays to his crowd, and The Alarm fans are as passionate as it gets. Being down the front, I witness it firsthand; 2 ladies of a certain age next to me sing and dance together having the best night of their lives, a middle aged gent in a suit jacket is reliving his youth, precariously swinging from the railing with one hand and punching the air and pointing at his hero as he mouths the words to the anthems of his youth.<\/p>\n

This is nostalgia at its finest, people. There are no teenagers here, we are all of a certain age, gathered together to hear the songs that transport us back to a time that was simpler, better and much more fun than most of us have now. True escapism, am I right or am I wrong?<\/p>\n

I would usually argue that no one wants to hear new songs at this sort of show, but The Alarm do have new songs and they ain\u2019t too shabby to be fair. \u2018Beautiful\u2019 fits the bill nicely and 2 new songs bookend \u2018Strength\u2019 come encore time. \u2018Neutral\u2019 and \u2018Two Rivers\u2019 are as good as it gets and rightly deserves a place amongst the classics.<\/p>\n

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The feel of a stadium show in a small local venue, you can\u2019t beat the power of rock \u2018n\u2019 roll old or new. Two excellent world-class bands in my local venue and certainly one of the best shows I\u2019ve seen this year.<\/p>\n

Buy The Alarm ‘Equals’ Here<\/a><\/p>\n

Love Hope And Strength Foundation\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Website<\/a><\/p>\n

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Author: Ben Hughes Photography: Marc McGarraraghy   Recently signed to Little Steven\u2019s Wicked Cool Records label, Ryan Hamilton and his newly renamed band The Harlequin Ghosts are an exciting proposition, facing exciting times. Recently announcing they would be knocking the headline tours on the head for a while to concentrate on other opportunities, I didn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2657,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[113,856,112,51,855],"class_list":["post-2651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-live-review","tag-lhs","tag-mpo","tag-ryan-hamilton","tag-the-alarm","tag-yellow-mustang-photography","post_format-post-format-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651","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=2651"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2665,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2651\/revisions\/2665"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}