THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT, Graveltones, Samuel Taylor @Leicester Academy 2 28/9/13

Back in the mid 1990s RTM went to see Feeder at the Wulfrun Hall. There were two support bands that evening. One was Straw, who we raved about and told everyone were going to be massive, the other was a new band that we had never heard of, didn’t like and confidently predicted we would never hear from again.

Straw split up after a second album that no one bought, a couple of them showed up in the Jeevas with ex Kula Shaker man Crispin Mills, while the first band that evening was from the West Country and called Muse.

RTM still doesn’t like Muse, but we tell that story to prove that we aren’t great tipsters when it comes to deciding what the public will enjoy. It does seem, though that we backed the right horse for once with The Temperance Movement.

Going to see a band whose album is riding high in the current charts is something of a new experience for us, but nonetheless that’s what’s happening right now. The group know they are on the crest of a wave too and intend to make the most of it, it seems. This is their third UK tour of the year, the second leg of which sees them finish in November after a trip to Europe and the size of the Leicester Academy 2 is a marked step up from where they played in the spring.  It is not without a sense of irony, you suspect that singer Phil Campbell begins tonight with the words: “Hello Leicester, it seems like we are rock stars….”

Before that there are two support bands to enjoy. Folkie Samuel Taylor, as he always does it seems, is performing opening duties for The Temperance Movement. This is not quite as odd a pairing as it first appears, given that two of tonight’s headliners produced his EP and play on the record. RTM liked Taylor when we saw him in May and he is even better tonight. There is a genuine warmth to songs like “Waiting For Nothing” which is allied to something quintessentially English and whimsical. It would be easy for this to get lost here and that it does not is great credit to Taylor.

About as different the acoustic charm of Taylor as you can get, The Graveltones are next up. The duo are making a name for themselves and are fast becoming experienced on the support band circuit. RTM saw them open for Rival Sons back in April and they largely play the same set tonight. Their massive riffs and drums approach draws obvious comparisons with a heavier and less eclectic White Stripes. “I Want Your Love” remains the pick of their songs, and they too could have a bright future.

Which brings us back to The Temperance Movement. Kicking off their set with the quite brilliant “Midnight Black” the 75 minute set is one that is well-honed and choc full of fantastic songs. The band are not re-inventing the wheel, in fact “….Black” is typical of many in that it sounds like prime Black Crowes jamming to a Free song with The Small Faces, but that is rather the point, and the Movement are proudly retro.

Their self titled debut record is superbly crafted and carries on where their EP from a year or so ago left off, and the likes of “Aint No Tellin’” and “Only Friend” benefit from repeated playing.

The bands true skill is that they make everyone feel part of it. “Chinese Lanterns” is played with no amps, just like when we saw them before and, rather than seeming pretentious, it actually seems like a really inclusive and fun thing to do.

They encore with “Know For Sure” and you just ….ahem… surely know, that in a few years time they will be headlining some festival with thousands of people singing it back to them, all of whom will claim they saw them on this tour.

If you have seen The Temperance Movement, you know what the fuss is about. If you haven’t, get to it, before they get so big they aren’t our band anymore, because they will be massive. Trust us…..

JOE BONAMASSA @Birmingham NIA 27/9/13

Walking into the NIA tonight about 10 minutes before show time, it strikes you just how big Joe Bonamassa has got in the past few years, still in his mid-30s this is comfortably his biggest ever UK tour, an arena hopping beast which is going all over Europe.

Some like to decry his achievements, – and it’s doubtful that his former Black Country Communion partner Glen Hughes is in the crowd tonight given the very public way that the two fell out over the ticket prices for BCC’s gig in Wolverhampton last Christmas – put what you can never take away from him is a series superb records and a reputation as a formidable live performer.

It is pricey here tonight, too – but it’s an arena show and you sort of expect that such a thing comes at a premium these days, and the place is packed, so it hasn’t put too many off.

The lights go down and Bonamassa strides out alone, in his usual suit and shades to play a short acoustic set before the main evening starts. Even this half hour unplugged section – which sees him joined at various points by keyboard man Derek Sherinian and drummer Tal Bergman is majestic. His cover of “Seagull” by Free is truly worth seeing alone, while the blues standard “Jelly Roll” is tremendous fun.

After this, the band return complete with bass player Carmine Rojas – a long time Bonamassa sidekick – for the electric part. Beginning with “Dust Bowl” the next nearly two hours fly  by as the guitar playing is majestic and the song writing warm.

Roughly divided, in the same way that his albums are, into half covers and half original songs, Bonamassa’s own “Story Of A Quarryman” sounds huge, while the covers, which include Clapton and Gary Moore are loving interpretations.

The big surprise is the title track of his most recent “Driving Towards Daylight” record, a quite superb song boasting a massive chorus. It proves that, rather like Clapton although his roots and background are in the Blues, Bonamassa has many more strings to his guitar than that.

He dips into BCC’s past – a band that he was in with Sherinian – for “Song Of Yesterday,” brings out Bernie Marsden for a jam (the same as he did when last in these parts) and plays a quite incredible version of “Mountain Time” to end the set.

There is an encore of “Sloe Gin” – complete with a genuinely funny story about why he “has” to play it – and “Ballad of John Henrys” massive riff brings the curtain down, and you file out of the arena knowing you have been in the presence of something special.

A genuine phenomenon of our age, Bonamassa had a tendency to perhaps overplay before – when last RTM saw him, at Wolves Civic a few years ago, there was a cast of thousands on stage. Now stripped down to the bare essentials, he provides quite marvellous entertainment. 

Y & T, Night By Night, Shyne @Robin 2, Bilston 17/9/13

Local lads Shyne can barely believe their luck at opening tonight. It’s easy to see why, men of a certain age (let’s not beat around this particular bush – about the same age as RTM) it is clear they were influenced by events on the sunset strip in the 1980s. Songs like “You Want It” and the angrier “You Are You” live up to their billing as being Wolverhampton’s “proper” hard rock band. Singer Toni Gale has more than a touch of the Stephen Pearcy’s about him and if you – like us – grew up listening to bands like Warrant and Pearcy’s Ratt, you could do a lot worse than check these boys out.

At the opposite end of the age spectrum to the Black Country based first band, Londoners Night By Night are the main warm up for this tour. With the endorsement of no less a rock luminary than Rik Savage ringing in their ears this mob are the very epitome of “hotly tipped” it is easy to see why. Their set begins with a banging bass not unlike The Prodigy, but that is about the only modern thing about them. Their stack harmonies would be worthy of “Hysteria” era Leps, while “Just Can’t Walk Away” gives all its mystery away in the title and new single “Time To Escape” rolls along like Heaven’s Basement. Their forthcoming album has been produced by Romesh Dodangoda who has worked wonders with BFMV amongst others, so keep an eye out for Night By Night, as they might just have something.

At one time Y & T were that young and hungry. Dave Menketti might be the only original member left, but the band – who in their day were very much the forerunners of the hair metal scene -  remain a good, fun, live draw.

They have all the experience of a band that has done this before, so when Menketti forgets his mic before the first song they can laugh it off. When it is finally underway that first track is “Mean Streak,” the eponymous song of the 1983 album they are nominally here to celebrate – playing a couple more songs from it than usual.

Always giving value for money, the group are on stage for well over two hours and they are essentially flawless throughout. “How Long” brings to mind Dio, while “Believe In You” boasts a quite superb guitar solo.

Of course, with record selling days behind them – although last album “Facemelter” was an RTM favourite a couple of years back – bands like Y & T are almost constantly on tour wherever there is a demand. That appetite appears to be there in the UK, indeed Menketti dedicates “I’m Coming Home” to their British fans.

What keeps people coming back to see them isn’t mere nostalgia, though, it’s far simpler than that. Everytime you see Y & T you are guaranteed to have fun. So it was tonight, and with supports such as these – one playing it seemed because they wanted to and one with genuine ambition – the hard rock scene is still a vibrant one. It is over 20 years since grunge was meant to kill music like this off…… Nice try Kurt, but the perm is still alive and well.

CHAS AND DAVE @Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury 13/9/13

If we didn’t like them so much then we would be tempted to sue Chas and Dave under the Trade Descriptions Act. See, when we saw them in Wolverhampton a couple of years back we were told it was their farewell gig. Now we are told that “Dave is out of retirement and Chas and Dave are back on tour…..”

RTM should point out at this point we don’t do guilty to pleasures, we turn up tonight wearing an Anthrax t-shirt and that is exactly how music should be viewed. As the world’s greatest ever critics Beavis and Butthead pointed out, music is either good or it’s not. People that like things in an ironic way frankly, well, cheese us off. We like Chas and Dave because they are fantastic, simple as that.

The set this evening follows the same lines as that Wulfrun show did. The band plays two sets. The first is largely the same one they used to play in the 1970s in the pubs of London, this includes some old bluesy tracks, some Lonnie Donegan skiffle and some good ol’ cockney knees-ups like “End of My  Ol’ Cigar.” Crucially it ends with “Gertcha” the song that began their fame of the 1980s, because when they return its almost wall-to-wall hits.

And if you can’t enjoy “London Girls,” “Down To Margate” and “Snooker Loopy” then, to be honest, you are reading the wrong blog. That the band follow this up with a new track they have just released for charity called “Got My Ticket For The Darts,” which is downright glorious as it sounds and “Diddly Umma Day,” which is feat of singing like you wouldn’t believe, says much for the consummate skill. The evening ends with “Rabbit” and “Ain’t No Pleasing You” before they encore with “The Sideboard Song” and people are literally dancing in the seats.

And therein lies the nub of this evening. It’s fun. It’s not trying to change the world, it is giving people entertainment. However the fact that Chas and Dave (and Chas’s son on drums) are damn fine musicians and even finer songwriters, often gets neglected, but it is absolutely true. They have a new album out in October, so there seems to be plenty of life in these old dogs yet.

Scoff all you like, as we don’t care (in fact as the boys themselves might say, we don't give a monkeys). Chas and Dave were quite marvellous this evening, this is one of the most fun gigs of the year. 

ATTICA RAGE, Dakesis, Captain Horizon @Roadhouse, Birmingham 12/9/13

Captain Horizon have been around so long that these days they can be described almost as stalwarts of the Midlands music scene. They have achieved this status largely by being rather blinking good. Frontman Witty still appears to be part singer, part force of nature – albeit, for him, he is restrained tonight, only lapsing into his American timbre once. The music, as ever, is all sorts of styles, from rock to prog and just about anything in between, but somehow, all the disparate styles fuse together to make something genuinely exciting, the likes of “Patch,” “Shadows and Vampires” and “My Town” keep people coming back to watch – and their fanbase is pretty strong if the amount of CH t-shirts on show tonight is anything to go by.

From one band who is well known in these parts to another. Things have not been settled in the Dakesis camp since we last saw them, around 10 months ago supporting Absolva. The then frontman Wayne has left the band with keyboard player Gemma taking the vocal duties. It would only be natural if they were nervous at this point – but they need not have worried, as they pulled it off with some panache. The band are clearly enjoying themselves and well they might, because despite everything, they are quite superb. “On Wings Of Steel” and “After The Storm” are huge sounding songs and they finish with “Valhalla” like always. Happily, all is well in the Dakesis camp – we will even forgive them the piped in keyboards, never our favourite thing, but given the circumstances it is perfectly understandable.

It is two years since Attica Rage played these parts. RTM was there and almost literally by the end, we were the only ones in the building, as the local supports all left along with their fans. It must have been a concern to the Scots that this was going to happen again. Whilst much of the crowd have disappeared is a decent smattering of people to watch.

Since that day man mountain bass man “Big C “ has gone and the band have a new album “88 MPH” out. The record contains much of what made the “Road Dog” record that preceded it so enjoyable.

Put simply, Attica Rage are biker metal, with very few pretensions to be anything else. Sort of like the first Almighty album, this is stuff to be played while wearing a greasy denim jacket – and as an owner of one these that has served me well for over 20 years, it is small wonder RTM is a fan of this group. Earlier songs like “Road Dog Forever” “36 Insane” and new track “Close Shave” are excellent songs, while “Long Ride Home” is a stellar new single.

If there is a small criticism of Rage it is that they occasionally do get a little samey, and perhaps they need some more light and shade, but they are enjoyable nonetheless. A snippet of “Iron Man” is aired before the closing romp through “Crazy Horses” ends things in an unexpected way.

Rock needs bands like this, and it needs a local scene. Tonight gave us the best of both worlds. 

JADE VINE, Eligh Toadd, Against The Wheel @Roadhouse, Birmingham, 10/9/13

Anubis were originally supposed to be here tonight. We had been looking forward to seeing them, given that their guitarist Simon Lees supported Magnum a couple of months back. To be fair, though, them dropping out means we get to have our first look at Against The Wheel and very impressive they are too.

On a prog themed bill they might be a trifle out of place, but no matter because the quality of their musicianship shines through. “Wolves” possesses a fine chorus, while “One Of These Days You Will Wake Up” has a heavy bass opening which always gets bonus points around here. They apparently have a new record coming out, and play a new track called “Gravity” which is excellent, before playing perhaps their most metal affair called “Bones.” Anubis are not missed and Against The Wheel are certainly ones we will look out for again.

Walsall’s Eligh Toadd are an odd proposition, in all sorts of ways. First, you look at them and think, “how the hell do these people know each other?” and one of them is wearing a cape. Aesthetics aside the music too is strange. Not bad at all, just strange. They sing songs about their native Black Country, “The Palmer Rope Case” is heavy and interesting, to our mind “Scenery In A Lucid Dream” spends a long time going nowhere and its overt Floyd-isms rather disrupt the flow, but “Up The Wooden Hill” redeems things. A very interesting band, which you would be well advised to check out.

Jade Vine (thanks Google) is not a girl’s name. Rather it is a type of plant that grows in the Philippines. It’s full name is Strongylodon macrobotrys – which if you think about it, would be a fantastic name for a prog rock band in its own right.

No matter, it is Jade Vine we are here to see and since their formation in 2012, the band (made up predominantly of brothers Marios and Costis Magdalinos) have become hotly tipped in certain circles. This is largely because Anathema main man Danny Cavanagh co-produced their debut album “Nothing Can Hide From Light.”

It is easy to see the influence of the Liverpool prog heroes all over the tracks that JV play in their 45 minute set. The title track of their new album, particularly, borrows heavily from Cavanagh’s latter day output.

That does not mean Jade Vine are mere copyists, however. Instead, they take elements of things like Steven Wilson, Sound of Contact and of course Floyd, to meld their own sound. Tracks like “Lose Control” and “Lost It All” are real growers, and you suspect would sound phenomenal when played late at night on your record player with the lights off (unless it’s just us that does that….?)

This is chilled out, lilting prog with much to commend it, swirling keyboards and intricate guitar lines are the order of the here and it’s easy to see why the band have such confidence in their own abilities.  This really is excellent stuff. 

PETER PAN SPEEDROCK, Desert Storm, General @Asylum 2, Birmingham 6/9/13

When last we saw General it was opening for Clutch at a packed Rock City. The Coventry band showed enough that night to convince us that they have something interesting going on. Tonight, it is a less than huge audience at the Asylum that greets them, but that somehow suits the band – they seem far more at home and somehow the riffs to songs like “Bullet Train” and “Better Dead” seem heavier tonight than back in July. Not trying to reinvent anything, instead General are a very passable Midlands version of Wiseblood era Corrosion of Conformity, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that whatsoever.

Desert Storm are another band that RTM has seen in the recent past. In this very venue, in July they performed opening duties for Karma To Burn and they impressed us hugely, with their take on what might be termed “The Clutch sound”. Certainly a couple of their songs owe a fairly huge debt to everyone’s favourite Maryland (Earth) rockers, but what sets them apart from most bands of this type is  Matt Ryan’s vocals. A touch more guttural than many stoner acts, it gives him the feel of Lemmy gargling razor blades. That delivery adds an edge to tracks like “Astral Planes” and “Queen Reefer” which has a huge riff and leaves no one in any doubt what it is about. If you thought that Oxford was all about Radiohead and dreaming spires then Desert Storm are here to change your mind.

If you weren’t aware of Dutch three piece Peter Pan Speedrock (and they are very much a cult act) then the opening acts – and the fact that they have been giving Monster Magnet an airing all night in the changeovers – might give you slightly the wrong Impression.

PPS deal with matters a little more punk rock than the other two bands tonight. Like Motorhead if they wrote two minute songs, or the glorious chaos of the first Hellacopters album, they are not a band to do “subtle”. Consequently their 45 minutes with us this evening is fast, loud, riff-filled and snotty.

During the course of the evening they play a song called “Donkeypunch” which finds them “horny and drunk” and another in “Resurrection” which tells us “we are gonna rock, you’re gonna roll”…. you get the picture.

They are one of those bands that seem eternally grateful that anyone has turned up at all, whilst at the same time seeming like they would have had just as much fun if we hadn’t. They end with “I’m A Big Boy With A Big Toy” which is dedicated to an audience member who is getting married and a track called “Rock City” which sounds just like all the others that have preceded it, and that, you suspect is the point.

This is fabulous, big, dumb fun to be enjoyed and not analysed. Not music concerned with how many roads a man has to walk down, but how much destruction he can cause on the way. An excellent way to spend a Friday night.