The Jokers
Hailing form Liverpool, The Jokers have been around for a few years now building up a decent fan base and earning themselves quite a good name in the business as a good “rock and roll” band.. of which there are not enough of IMO..
They come on stage and attack right from the start.. Wayne dressed in leather wearing a a Kevin Kegan perm providing good and confidant vocals, Paul on lead obviously loving every minute of being on stage and demonstrating his fret skills and showmanship 80’s stylee at every opportunity, with good support from Simon and Cris on drums and bass.The bulk of the material comes from their cd “The Big Rock n Roll Show” which has received some very good reviews and is extremely well produced, but we have the sounds like Aerosmith track, then there’s the sounds like RHCP track etc.. which is a pet hate of mine, but were not hear to review the cd.. In conclusion the lads put on a damn good set.. The only downside for me is that it was far too short and left me wanting to hear more...
The Jokers one of those bands that you know deep down have the potential to be huge with the right managerial backing and direction.. As it stands at the moment they’re just a melting pot of styles with no real defined identity of their own and although they’re up there playing their own material ‘and doing it very well too’ they still come across as a very good cover band.
Hawkwind
Im really not the best person to review this band as I’m just ever so slightly biased where Hawkwind and Dave Brock are concerned.. and it’s going to be a fantastic gig, no matter what happens!!
The good ship Hawkwind has been sailing the astral plains now for over 40yrs and from what I can see there’s no sign of them stopping in the near future. Captain of the ship, Dave Brock presently has , as far as I’m concerned, one of the strongest crews/line-ups this band has ever seen over it’s illustrious career.. with Richard Chadwick (drums) Naill Hone & Mr Dibbs sharing guitar duties and the exceptional Tim Blake on keyboards .. One of the main downsides of any Hawkwind gig is that they simply aren’t an exciting band to watch, listen to YES, but not watch.. So to make up for this Brock has always provided secondary visual stimulus. Originally it would have been an oil light show and the occasional naked dancer, but Brock was one of the first to embrace projector technology to produce visually stunning images whilst not really leaving the original oil concept behind. We also have the dancers at key parts of the show and the obligatory stilt walkers towering menacingly over the audience. Old hat maybe, but it simply wouldn’t be a Hawkwind gig without it.
During this near 2hr inter-stellar journey wrapped neatly around the new “Blood and Earth” cd ‘which has received mixed reviews, but I loved’ were taken down paths old and new and as they launch into “Sonic Attack” it suddenly dawns on me how well this music travels in time.. and how comfortably older tacks such as “Masters of the Universe”, “Spirit of the Age” sit encompassed within the newer material and still retain credibility.. not many other bands can achieve this feat without being boring and Hawkwind are far from boring. If you think of Hawkwind as a book and each new album is a chapter of that book, then it all begins to make sense and explains why everything flows and crosses over so cleanly through time..
Highlight of the night for me had to be “Spirit of the Age” which is one of my personal favourites.. For Brock who has to be in his late sixties to still be able pull this track off with credibility was a joy to witness and from the best seat in the house too… oh the joys of being a gig photographer.
All in all this was a stupendous night and one of the best gigs that I’ve had the privilege to see this year and one I won’t forget for a long time.. The band once labelled ‘the peoples band’ are still sailing strong.
http://www.hawkwind.com/
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