No more weeks like last week please.

Well that was a terrible week on the gig front.. Mix-up Saxons management end meant no pass for the wolves gig.. Tommy Castro gig cancelled because he needed a few days break and passes for tomorrows Magnum gig revoked!!   Such is the life of a gig tog..

This I can live with. but the real kick in the balls is finding out that some retarded tosser that doesn't know one end of the camera from the other and consistently produces blurred images will be shooting at both Saxons and Magnum's gigs...  To say I'm ever so slightly pissed off with things at the moment is an understatement..

Roll on next week..  it has to get better!  doesn't it?

John Waite - Rough & Tumble Review

Right before we start its confession time. I never liked John Waite! I always found his music to be dull, boring, bland etc. the list of negative verbose diarrheic from my POV is endless, but I’m in a pretty good mood so I wont bore you with it. Other than to add that if I had my way his 1982 single “Missing You” would be made illegal and any radio station found guilty of playing it would be nuked!!

By now I suspect that several of you may be wondering why the hell I’m reviewing a CD by someone that I obviously dislike so much? The answer is quite simple. I was kidnapped by aliens and forced to go to go to his gig at the Robin last year and I’m not ashamed to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed it. But in my defence It was quite obvious that here was an artist going through a period of change and finally starting to find his own groove, so when the option to review the “Rough and Tumble” CD came up I jumped at it.

For this cd we have a new writing partnership of Waite and Kyle Cook for most of the tracks and it shows.. In the promo pack we get Waite says that “it’s not what people would expect from me, it’s a step to the left” and for most part he really isn’t kidding.

By the 3rd note of the title track “Rough and Tumble” you’re tapping your feet. It has a great hook that just pulls you along and by the 2nd chorus you’re singing along and the air guitar makes an appearance… damn this is good this is what I wanted to hear.

My hopes for the rest of the cd are soaring and then dashed in an instant.. “Shadows of Love”.. what is this shit?.. noooo 80s regression.. this has to be the worst track on the cd.. it encompasses everything you don’t want to hear in a rock song.. “you go your way, I’ll go mine, but you’re still my girl”.. wtf is this crap? THIS IS NOT WHAT I WANT TO HEAR.. god I thought “Missing You” was bad!! Tip.. might be an idea to skip this track if you’re feeing a little suicidal.. you’ve been warned.

After the above glitch the cd starts to sort it out again.. “Its Evil’s” got a funky kind of groove going on and although the air guitar stays in its case for most part its still enjoyable fare as are most of the 12 tracks. There’s also a cracking cover of Turners “Sweet Rhode Island Red” which gets me up and dancing round the room again with plenty opportunity to once again practice the air guitar.

Now in the promo pack it says that all 12 tracks are single contenders, but I’m not sure. On the whole it’s a damn good cd and I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve listened to it over the last week or so but there are 4 tracks that really stand out for me. We have a reworked “Mr Wonderful”, which was originally released on his debut solo album “Ignition”. Then there’s “Rough and Tumble”, “Further The Sky” and the absolutely beautiful last track “Hanging Tree”… yep I said beautiful!! This single track makes you forget the not so good stuff and makes the journey worth while.

For me this CD is a massive improvement on anything that Waite has released before and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a shame it has taken him so long to get there but I for one hope that Waite continues down this path of enlightenment.

Rant and rambles..

The Slade Rooms in wolves... one major subject that pisses me off is lighting.. now i know not all small venues can afford the greatest kit, but when a "new" venue has a great set of lightting, but for whatever fucking reason known only to themselves, refuses to use it really PISSES me off..  if I wanted to work in darkness I'd become a coal miner..  get your act together!!  and while i'm ranting.. get shot od those chanddeliers.. they make more noise than your PA system..

other news... looks like the company where i've been storing all my archives pictures has ceased opperation.. this means that the "archived models & gigs" part of the site is down until I can find another relaible storage provider.  as soon as one is found i'll look at uploading it all again.

Quick update

Have  added the recent Revamp & Epica shoot to the site.. full screen flickr slideshow here.

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/midlandsrocks/sets/72157626245781596/show/

Virgil & The Accelerators shoot can be found here.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/midlandsrocks/sets/72157626075259301/show/

Also.. looks like the server where I store all the archived gig/model shoots has gone tits up.. currently looking to find a new location to store these images. 

Mitch Laddie and Danni Wilde @ The Robin 2

Mitch Laddie

Right so its first gig of the year and I’m at the Robin 2, here in sunny Bilston to catch  a couple of up and coming blues performers; Mitch Laddie and Dani Wild..  Although I’ve not seen either of them live before, I have been playing their latest cd’s constantly ‘which I’d like to add are both enjoyable’ over the past couple of months so my expectations for tonight are rather high.

First to step up to the plate (my new catchphrase) is Mitch Laddie who kicks off with “Awakening”, which is the first track from his new “This Time Around” cd.  It’s jazz funk style intro tickles your ears in a very Geoff Achison kind of way, lulling you into a false sense of security and then WHAM it hits you full on like a bloody freight train.  In many ways its quite reminiscent to the outro of Fleewood Macs “The Chain” only this is a thousand times better.. On the cd this sounds good, live sounds absolutely fantastic. 

The mood is set and Mitch keeps things ticking nicely over for the next hour, taking the tempo up and down.  From ground level raw blues of “Here’s a drink” to the jazz, blues, funk feel of  “Me Johnson” , both from the new cd and both potential classics.

As for Mitch himself it’s really hard to label him with any specific blues style.  He plays with the emotion of Sayce and Achinson and the maturity of Santana.  There’s also glimpses o; f Martin Taylor, Alex Skoinick and Greg Howe in there too.  Not only does this make his playing style both complete and unique, but it also makes him a joy to watch.  It really is hard to believe that this guy is still only 20 years old.  Definitely one of the best young British blues players I’ve had the pleasure to see in a very long time.

It’s not all about Mitch though; I’d also like to take the time to mention his bass player Rhian Wilkinson, who, lets be honest is not the most charismatic bass player that I’ve ever seen, BUT, he is the first person that has ever made me want to learn to play the bass.  His interaction with Mitch was superb, never understating or overstating his place on stage, no competing egos, just a perfect musical marriage.  Now I finally understand why it’s cool to play the bass.

Great set guys.. Look forward to seeing you again in the future.

Set list:

Awakening, So Excited (SRV), Get You Back, Out Of My Mind (John Mayer), What Are You Living For?, Here's a Drink, Mr. Johnson & This Time Around.

http://www.mitchladdie.com

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Dani Wilde

With 2 cds now under her belt Dani is getting quite a reputation for being a damn good blues player / songstress, so I’m looking forward to this set, possibly more than I normally would.

She kicks off the set with “Little by Little”, which is one of my favourites from her first cd “Heal My Blues“.  However the delivery doesn’t quite grab and she seems a little nervous, but this seems to settle down as we make our way through the first song. “Red Blooded Women” is next up from the new “Shine” cd and wow.. what a difference, what a voice.  Not quite as raunchy as Joanne Shaw Taylor, she’s quite a bit more soulful and has a tonal range that reminds me of Skin from “Skunk Anansie”  which is good.

Joining Dani on stage is her brother “Will ‘Harmonica’ Wilde” who when not gigging with Dani has his own band “The Neptune Blues Band”, but I digress.  Now as you might have guessed from the hint in his name Will plays the harp, which, as anyone that really knows me will tell you is quite possibly my favourite instrument of all time.  Now getting back to the cd “Shine”.. I like it, but there’s something missing and I realized what it was tonight and that’s the harp.. Although it is there on the cd its too far in the background and not a dominant force, but tonight its in your face and its bloody beautiful, this is how it should be and not over produced out of existence.. Short rant over.

Halfway through the set Dani loses a string.  Un-phased Dani brings the acoustic out a few songs earlier than planned and carries on with the original set, leaving Will to cover the big solos on the harp.  However,  whilst as a harp lover this was great for me, I just find it hard to understand why she didn’t have a spare guitar in the wings?

This aside it works well and we get to the end of the set and then Will is kicked back onto stage to do an impromptu solo whilst Dani restrings her guitar, which was pretty impressive to ay the least, not the stringing of the guitar, but Wills singing.  Guitar restrung were treated to one more song before the lights go up and its all over.

Well I walked into the Robin with very high expectations and I wasn’t in the least disappointed,  Dani was a revelation to me and a joy to behold.  The added bonus for me though was Will.. I don’t think he will ever be remembered as a great harp player, but he’s pretty good and he managed to introduce a new dimension to Danis music that I hadn’t heard on the CD.  

In brief - A fantastic night that was over far too quick and left me wanting more.

Set list:

Little by Little, Red Blooded Woman, Shine, Some Kinda Crazy, Abandoned Child, Slow Coach, Love Me Like A Man, Bring Your Lovin Home, Miss You & In The Mood.

http://www.daniwilde.com/