LITTLE ANGELS, Skin @Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall 7/12/12

The late 1980s and early 1990s are an often neglected period in British music, which is tremendous shame as it was an era that really should be celebrated.

We had bands like The Quireboys, Terrorvision and three of RTM’s all-time favourite bands in The Almighty, The Wildhearts and Thunder making fantastic records.  Most of those bands are still going, even if past glories are some way behind them – indeed we have seen a couple recently.

To that list of active groups we can now add the Little Angels. Toby Jepson and the boys were an odd case. Over the course of three full-length albums (the last of which went to number one in the charts) they made a series of fantastic songs. And then they split. For 18 years they pretty much all went their separate ways – bass man Mark Plunkett managing Boyzone, guitarist Bruce Dickinson forming a music school and Jepson becoming a frontman and producer for hire – before the tragic death of former drummer Michael Lee drew them back together last year.

They played a couple of warm up shows in June before a return at Download, which has now become a proper tour. And moreover a sold-out one at that, as the Wulfrun is absolutely rammed.

Opening act for this here shindig are another band that reformed last year for some shows and are back for more. Skin’s debut album was, to RTM’s ears more a collection of decent singles and whilst we were never the biggest fans of the band, rather gratifyingly they sound just like they always used to.

In fact we do feel rather transported back to the early 1990s at the Irish Centre in Digbeth, which is where we last saw them. Frontman Neville McDonald is still all flowing locks and vocal power and songs like “Tower Of Strength” and “Take Me To The River” are premium quality nostalgia, in fact the only thing that has seemingly changed is the physique of guitarist Myke Gray. Now a top Personal Trainer, he is firmly in the wouldn’t-like-to-meet-down-a-dark-alley category. Perhaps, as their closing number – and still best song – says “Look But Don’t Touch” indeed.

So what so you do if you are trying to make a comeback after 18 years? There are ways to do it, of course, but reeling off your four best known songs one after other might be just about the best. That is exactly what Little Angels do here.

“She’s A Little Angel” kicks us off and is quickly followed by “Kicking Up Dust,” “Boneyard” and “Radical Your Lover” before we even have a chance to draw breath. Jepson – who keeps chatting to a minimum – says hello before “The Way That I Live” and “Back Door Man go past in a blur.

This really is a night that is as good as you might have dreamed it was, and seldom has a 90 minute set gone by so fast. A poignant “Don’t Prey For Me” – the song they played at Lee’s funeral – is given an airing, but this is not a night to feel anything other than a celebration. The band themselves are clearing enjoying themselves, with Jepson laughing with The Big Bad Horns during “I Was Not Wrong,” before “Young Gods” closes things off.

There is still time for a semi-acoustic sing-a-long of “I Aint Gonna Cry, which sees the frontman playing the first half before being joined by his bandmates and the cover of Bryan Adams’ “Kids Wanna Rock” that always used to finish Angels’ gigs off.

A definite contender for one of the top 10 gigs of the year, this was just great fun. It might have taken tragedy to bring them back together, but sometimes something truly wonderful comes out of despair. As long as they don’t leave it 18 years to do this again.

RED FANG, El Caco @Birmingham Institute Temple 6/12/12

The last time Red Fang were in these parts they were opening for Mastodon downstairs in the main institute. It seems that a spring spent touring with the Georgia legends has paid off as the venue is packed to the rafters despite the horrendous weather conditions outside.

The early beneficiaries of the heaving crowd are Norway’s El Caco. The band are a mixture of hard rock and stoner rock, although RTM detects more than a hint of Therapy? In their songs. Indeed they seem to be enjoying their first visit to Birmingham, as although relative unknowns over here they are on to their sixth album in their homeland. The three piece are led by bassist/vocalist Oyvind Osa, who combines nicely with guitarist Anders Gjesti, but as they don’t actually introduce any of their songs nothing quite sticks in the mind the way it might have done.

Sticking in the mind is exactly what Red Fang did back in the spring. RTM saw them perform opening duties for Mastodon at the Brixton Academy and couldn’t help but be impressed at what was essentially four beardy fellas plugging in and playing some great heavy, Black Sabbath-inspired songs. Good job, then, that pretty much the same thing occurs here.

Most of their songs are built on immense riffs, but occasionally they can get extremely catchy to go with it. Second song in “Throw Up” with its “say what you gotta say” refrain is everything that tonight’s opening act didn’t have. If most of their set came from 2011’s stellar outing “Move The Mountains, then the move back into their first album for “Bird on Fire” is a very successful foray indeed.  Elsewhere, “Human Remains” sounds epic in this setting, while “Number Thirteen” and “Malverde” most echo Mastodon.

Fang do share something else in common with their more illustrious touring partners too, a reluctance to communicate with the audience. Frontman Bryan Giles is not an especially charismatic man – even to the point where a new song is played but not introduced.

However, this is a minor quibble, because this type of music, perhaps more than any other, doesn't need to rely on charisma, more just great songs. And beards, obviously.

Luckily, as Red Fang have proved tonight, they have both those things in abundance. 

BEN FOLDS FIVE @Academy Birmingham 3/12/12

When we don’t even bother with the support band, when someone in the main group, about halfway through the set refers to the singer of Metallica as “James Hatfield” and makes the devil horns sign in an ironic way to general tittering from the crowd it is clear that RTM is not on safe ground.

This is one of the rare occasions that we come blinking into the light and into the mainstream. However, us being here isn’t quite as odd as it first appears. In the mid 90s a band emerged that was genuinely different from the grungey norm and played piano rock n roll with quirky lyrics. Their first two albums were actually very good indeed. Splitting up after album number three in 2000, they released a comeback album earlier in the year and guess what? That’s pretty good too.

That band is Ben Folds Five, the name seemingly a student-type joke as there are only three members of the band, led by the eponymous star banging away on his piano like a nerd version of Little Richard and they have a drawn a near sell-out crowd at the Academy.

Both crowd and band are soon reliving the past as “Jackson Cannery” kicks off with some fine vocal interplay between the band members, while “Erase Me” from the comeback album “The Sound Of The Life Of The Mind” features more harmony vocals than your average Queen song.

For a band that uses the piano as its driving force there is an amazing amount of difference in the songs – “Uncle Walter” evokes the spirit of 1950s rock n roll for example, while the seemingly spontaneous “Rock This Bitch” with its bluesy references to Birmingham comes from a different place all together.

The encores of the crowd pleasing “One Angry Dwarf And Two Hundred Solemn Faces” and “Song For The Dumped” take things up a notch and Folds’ geeky charm carries the whole thing along in a jaunty way.

There are a couple of problems with the gig, though. First it is very, very long – clocking in at two hours 15 minutes – and it just isn’t, well, for want of a better word, exciting. There is nothing visceral about what goes on here. In fact, for part of the evening it feels more like a recital than a gig and doesn’t quite hold the attention. It is, after all, essentially three fellas just standing there playing some piano based songs.

We will forgive them appalling lack of knowledge when it comes to Metallica and we will forgive the rather plodding nature of some of what happened. File under glad we’ve seen them but probably won’t bother again. 

DAN BAIRD AND HOMEMADE SIN @Wolverhampton Slade Rooms 1/12/12

At 9pm precisely, after having had no support (the covers band that were originally scheduled to open had cancelled – playing their “final ever” gig the week before) the band that is in RTM’s opinion the greatest rock n roll band in the world strides out on stage.

Ok so, it’s the Wolverhampton Slade Rooms in front of barely 100 people, and a world away from the overpriced and overhyped Rolling Stones gigs at the O2 Arena, but if anyone doubts the validity of our opinion then the second Dan Baird and Warner E Hodges begin the opening bars of “Younger Face” then it becomes clear that Mr Baird and Homemade Sin are pretty damn incredible.

The bluesy “Crooked Smile” follows, before the band plays a new song. The true skill of the band is shown here, as Baird totally forgets how it goes, playing the bridge in the wrong place, while the grinning members of Homemade Sin follow his lead, before laughing with each other – and the crowd.

There is a tremendous warmth in the room throughout, as band and audience – although small – really connect, although it is not hard to enjoy songs like “Julie and Lucky and “Ain’t A Damn Thing To Be Done”

Baird, as might be expected, dusts his old Georgia Satellites past off for a pair of 80s classics in “Keep Your Hands To Yourself and “Railroad Steel” which sound as fabulous today as they ever did. Actually, that does Homemade Sin a disservice, as so good are the aforementioned Hodges, bass man Keith Christopher and drummer Mauro Magellen, that they, In terms of musical ability perhaps eclipse anything Baird has done before.

However, their real strength is just how much fun they are – and how off the cuff everything feels. This is rock and roll the way it was meant to be. There is no setlist for example, and Baird is happily playing Elvis songs before Hodges – very much the Keith to Dan’s Jagger if you will – reminds the frontman there is a strict curfew. Baird is forced to apologise, but didn’t need to, as everyone was just swept along.

A singalong “Shelia” follows, before what would have been the encore of “Two For Tuesday” complete with a segue into Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Hey Tonight”, and a bar room boogie of “Hard Day’s Night” finishes things.

After two almost faultless hours Dan Baird and Homemade Sin prove that they are the kings of this type of music. None of it would have been possible without Creedence, of course, as Baird would himself acknowledge, but as rock and roll bands go, this is the best on planet. And they didn’t charge £400 for the privilege of seeing them.

Simply stunning.

The Twins Of Evil: Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson @NIA 29/11/12

Back in the day RTM quite liked Marilyn Manson. In fact, sometime around the turn of the century we saw him play the NEC Arena as it was then and he was thoroughly exciting.

This was at the height of his most dangerous phase, and moreover at the height of his creative peak. Say what you like about Manson, but for a spell back there he was very, very good. Albums like” Holly Weird” and “Mechanical Animals” stand up with anything that came out in that period, but let’s be honest, that was a long time ago.

Fast forward to 2012, and Manson is bloated, hasn’t released a decent album in a long time (this year’s” Born Villain” is a partial return to form, but won’t win album of the year any time soon) and worryingly, he appears to have totally lost both his voice and memory. RTM will give him his due, he remembered some of the words and sometimes in the right order, but it’s a fleeting moment where he gets it right.

Then there is the show itself. It’s all very dated. “The Dope Show” rocks along, but sounds as much of its time as, say, Limp Bizkit’s “Rollin’” would. It might just be us, but is it really shocking in 2012 to have a LED video screen flashing up the word AIDS behind the band? Or is it just a bit silly?

After his hour – which includes a truly execrable version of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of These) by the Eurythmics, which sounds even worse than it did on the record years ago – you are left to conclude that, rather like all those bands that made the horrible Cool Britannia movement in the late 90s, Marilyn Manson has very little to offer anymore.

Still, surely Rob Zombie will be better, though?

Well, the answer is yes, but it is a yes with a but. First of all opening song “Jesus Frankenstein is lost in a terrible sound, and when you can actually hear what is being sung Zombie’s voice sounds terrible. To be fair, he explains this himself, saying he ruined his vocal chords the night before in Glasgow, but this merely tells half the story.

"More Human Than Human” you see, still sounds fabulous. At this point you are left to reflect that while White Zombie might have released a couple of good albums in the mid-90s the rest of Mr.Zombie’s career hasn’t quite lived up to that. “Sick Bubblegum” and “Never Gonna Stop (The Red Red Kroovy) are good enough songs, but they pale into insignificance compared to band material like “Thunder Kiss 65.”

Also, having heard a lot about how good Zombie’s show was – and indeed having seen his previous band years back –RTM was disappointed in it. Yes there were lights and screens, but precious little else. Indeed there is nothing here that any arena band worth their salt doesn’t do.

There is a cover of “Schools Out” that makes you long for Alice Cooper to do it properly, before a disappointing evening ends with Zombie’s best song in “Dragula”, but really, the only thing scary about this show, considering that it was billed as “The Twins Of Evil” is just how poor it was.

MAGNUM, Trillium @Leamington Assembly 27/11/12

Trillium might be from Lake Michigan, but their classical, symphonic style has much more in common with European symphonic metal bands than it does with their homeland.

Vocalist Amanda Somerville has a formidable voice and carries songs like “Ego” along. In fact, the band seems ostensibly to be a Somerville solo project. They are worth having a listen to, but don’t, on this evidence, have the chops to overhaul the genres big boys.

By contrast Magnum have been one of the big boys of British Prog Rock since the early 70s. This is their second tour of the year and there is a more than decent crowd here to watch this show.

Helped no doubt, by the fact that new album “On The 13^th Day” is extremely good. It is with a song from this, “All The Dreamers,” that they begin tonight’s festivities, but while there a smattering of new songs, this really is a show that takes in the full breadth of their career.

And what a career it’s been. No one could argue with the quality of songs like “When We Were Younger” with its Marillion-ish overtones, while “The Flood” (somewhat topical given the weather outside) rolls along nicely and the epic “How Far Jerusalem” sounds so good it could almost be a Dream Theater song.

Towards the end of the set “All England’s Eyes” is worked up into a mighty crowd participation number along with the catchy “Vigilante.” For the encore “Rockin’ Chair,” their foray into hard rock from the “Goodnight LA” album is dusted off and sounds as good as ever, before “Days Of No Trust,” with its rather prescient lyrics rounds things off exceptionally.

Magnum’s true strength lies in their quiet confidence. They have never strived to be cool – this is never better shown than when frontman Bob Catley starts dancing, think your geriatric uncle after one too many at a wedding and you would be somewhere close – but that is part of their charm. Exceptional musicians, guitarist Tony Martin stands stage right, happily in the shadows while the songs he wrote are played, and while drummer Harry James always looks happy to be a stage, but the Thunder man looks even more chuffed than usual tonight as he takes the applause,

If you have been one of the top bands in a genre for a generation there is usually a reason for it – and that reason is that you are very, very good indeed. That is just what Magnum showed in Leamington. Their quiet, understated skill made for a magnificent show.

Quireboys, Burning Crows @Slade Rooms 25/11/12

One of the joys of going to gigs is seeing a band that you have never heard before and thinking, “blimey.”

And that is exactly what happens with Norwich’s The Burning Crows tonight. The four-piece give a magnificent showcase of their talents here, with their brand of 80s influenced hard rock going down a treat.

The band’s sound is built around guitarist/vocalist Whipzz and fellow six stringer Lance Daniels, giving a welcome twin guitar twist to songs like “Best Damn Everything” and party anthem “You, Me Tonight.” Really, if like us,  you grew up listening to the likes Guns N Roses and Skid Row and still occasionally hanker after some honest to goodness hard rock to mix with made up genres that end with suffix “core” then these boys could be the ones for you. They are to release a debut full-length album in 2013 – they play a track called “All the Way” from it tonight – and are ones to watch. Very, very good indeed.

If Burning Crows are giving retro rock a modern twist, then tonight’s headliners are just, well, retro. Back in 1989 RTM can remember the excitement when we heard “7 O’clock” and the thrill of buying the “A Bit Of What You Fancy” album when it came out the following year. That debut CD reached the dizzy heights of number two in the charts, then along came a scruffy blonde man with a chorus that said “here we are now, entertain us” and the musical world changed.

Quireboys all of a sudden were dated, out of fashion and album number two “Bitter, Sweet And Twisted” stiffed. The band plodded on, releasing records periodically over the years, and are here touring with two original members – singer Spike and writing partner Guy Griffin – which is more than a lot of bands of their era can manage.

Throughout that time, while the records might have been slightly patchy (with the honorable exception of the quite brilliant “Homewreckers and Heartbreakers”) the band have remained a superb live act. Their Faces/Stones type songs always translate better to a live setting anyway, and so it is tonight.

Geordie he may be but Spike now lives in Wolverhampton, so always produces the goods at his adopted hometown show and it is all smiles when “Tramps And Thieves” from “Bitter….” Kicks things off. Whilst the gig contains songs from most of their albums, it is fair to say it is concentrated on material from their debut. A stone cold classic of a record, the likes of “Hey You” “There She Goes Again” “Whippin Boy” and more sound just as good now as ever.

Later tracks are not neglected, though “This Is Rock N Roll” is tossed out with gusto and “Lorraine” is full of the cheeky charm of their early stuff. They even include a new song in “Mother Mary” a lilting, almost country ballad that hints even in 2013 the band will have plenty to offer.

There is a tremendous camaraderie on display on stage – guitarist Paul Guerin and keyboard man Keith Weir grinning their way through – and this obviously includes Burning Crows too. Whippz is back on stage to duet on “Sweet Mary Anne” and “7 O’clock” with Spike.

The encore sees them run through “I Don’t Love You Anymore” and “I Love This Dirty Town” before Spike invites us back to his to continue the party. Here is a band that might not sell many records these days and plays smaller venues, but still appears happy just to be onstage. Seeing the Quireboys live is, was and hopefully will always remain, a joy and sometimes that is all that is needed. A fine night.