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Review by Rob.

W is for Wonderful.

It takes a pretty special gig to get me to drive a 200 mile round trip after work midweek through dodgy weather and across one of the worst motorways in the UK, but tonight was potentially one of those nights. One of the most underrated bands in the UK over the last 20 years, supported by reformed heroes of the late 80's Brit Rock scene, playing one of only a handful of dates. I knew where I had to be then, as we walked into the excellent Academy venue I wondered, would all the effort be worth it?

First off then a brief history lesson in late 80s British Rock. Following stella changes in the climate in the US where everything seemed to be either glammed up hair rock, or high octane powered thrash metal, the UK responded by producing a plethora of diverse acts most of whom ended up being ignored by the music public at large, except for The Quireboys, Thunder and the Little Angels commercial success proved elusive. Instead bands such as Crazyhead, the Almighty, Claytown Troupe, Neds Atomic Dustbin and Diesel Park West developed fierce devoted fan bases and earned their corn by constant touring up and down the country. Into this bracket fell Wolfsbane, a band from the midlands who played simple heavy metal. Live they demanded the audience had a good time and their excellent live shows grew them a hardcore bunch of fans called the Howling Mad Shitheads. Tonight some of those fans are back in the audience looking a bit more weathered by time, as the band reunite for a few shows. I was a bit worried about this, after 15 years away would they have the energy, technical ability and charisma to carry it off, or was it an exercise in making a quick buck. Well you know it is going to be a good show when the drummer walks on wearing a tee shirt with the slogan 'I am a c**t' emblazoned across the front. However most of the focus is on lead singer and one time Iron Maiden vocalist Blaze Bailey, who springs from the back of the stage as the chords to 'Steel' leap forwards. At first it seems awkward, Bailey looking like he's had a few too many dinners (but not as many as guitarist Jase Edwards who resembles darts player Andy Fordham) and a bit ropey in the vocal department. But suddenly it clicks into place, the voice is found and the abuse of the audience and demonic rants between songs starts and at the end its as if they never went away. Song wise they are really tight and play the best of their acclaimed Kathy Wilson EP, plus great party tunes such as 'Money to burn' and 'Manhunt'. They finish with their best song, 'Paint the town red', and the audience which has swollen to almost capacity is left demanding more. Not quite as good as discovering them first time round but almost, and if we never see Wolfsbane again then it was a great way to remember them.

Following that performance up would be daunting and for some bands impossible. No such worries for The Wildhearts though, who were seen in the audience watching Wolfsbane's set. In truth they can be a little patchy and this is mostly due to the moods of frontman Ginger and his battles with booze and substances. Happily he has been free of these for a while now and it clearly shows tonight. They play an hour and a half of their best tunes and have the happy knack of mixing fan favourites with their biggest hits almost without pausing. 'TV Tan', 'Suckerpunch', 'Geordie in Wonderland' and 'Sick of Drugs' sit alongside more obscure stuff like 'Destroy all Monsters' and 'Nita Nitro'. The highlight of the night for me was the rare outing for 'Urge' one of those great tunes you had forgotten all about. Ginger is on fine form too babbling on about this and that, and though no one really knows what he is on about it's great fun. The band have splashed out on a jazzy new light show too, all pin prick red and blue star like lights, which gives the show something of a Vegas feel, the smart stage set up may have been inspiring Ginger too, as he has cut off his trademark Dreadlocks and looks like he could almost work in a bank now - almost. Adding to the carnival atmosphere they also break out their version of 'Cheers', and the audience responds with a healthy version of 'Don't worry about me', when they leave the stage. They encore with several classics including 'I Wanna Go', 'My Baby is a Headfuck' and '29 x the Pain' then its a quick "Merry xmas" and that long drive home didn't seem so bad with memories of this excellent night floating about.

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