Whitley Bay Wildcats

Wednesday 12th May: It's a Wednesday and a band from my past (sort of) has caught my eye, so it's time for a solo trip to Fibbers.

Tonight's support bands seemed to me to be suffering from a bit of an identity crisis. First to take the stage, to somewhat muted applause, were Kiss Kiss Kill, a local band whose overall sound sounded more "punk/pop" than the "alternative rock" they bill themselves as on the above link. The trouble was they appeared just a bit too clean cut to suit the sound, apart from vocalist Grace, who could easily have modelled herself on Debbie Harry. There was quite a high degree of noise distortion through their set and, while the band is relatively new, the individual members' histories should have meant a more polished performance than we saw tonight - songs were introduced before guitars were tuned for them and leads mysteriously parted company from microphones. There was, occasionally, some nice melodic guitar-work trying to prise its way out from behind powerful drumming. Grace's vocals improved from an apparently nervy start and, overall, the set improved as it went on. For me, the best song was Shake Down, although the final song (and Grace's favourite) was the best vocally. Reception to the band remained ambivalent through the set but I suspect they might have got more plaudits on a different bill. There's a germ of a decent band here, they just weren't what most of tonight's gig-goers were looking for.

Raw Deal, on the other hand, sounded more like the classic heavy metal that they bill themselves as, but at least some members of the band adopt a more punk-like image. This was a more polished and energetic performance, although the vocals, by diminutive Steph (a.k.a. Pixie) weren't quite as clear as those of Kiss Kiss Kill, as they were drowned out a little by the guitars. The music did fit the bill a bit more, though and songs such as Catch Me and Godspeed (I think that was the title, anyway) were excellent. Again, there was good, if over loud, use of guitar and, for a change, the drumming wasn't too intrusive.

I was a mere youngster, still at school, when the original New Wave of British Heavy Metal was at its peak. I don't remember hearing anything by Tygers of Pan Tang, although I'm fairly certain that at least one of my friends had one of their albums, but the name has stayed with through the intervening years. (Indeed, I was suddenly reminded of them last year, when I read Michael Moorcock's Elric Stories while on holiday - the band took their name from a group of chaos-worshipping warriors in said stories.) The band,originally from Whitley Bay, have now been going for over thirty years and the current line-up boasts just one original member (Robb Weir on guitar) and a singer from Italy in the form of Jacopo Meille. Apart from those two members, the rest only date back to the 2000 reformation instigated by Weir. They play exactly what it says on the tin - heavy metal in the classic late 70's, 80's style and, while the set featured songs from the latest album, Animal Instinct, a lot of material was taken from Wild Cat and Spellbound, the band's first two albums. Screaming guitar solos, guitar duets, the audience being "machine-gunned" by guitars and microphone stand and Meille's fantastically powerful and rangy voice, transported me back to a time when my gig venues were the likes of Queen's Hall in Leeds. (Sadly, Ronnie James Dio, whose band was either the second or third I ever saw at that venue, lost his battle with cancer this week.)

I didn't recognise any of the songs until the encore, which started with Love Potion Number 9. It might be a cover version but my fading memory also thinks that it might be the Tygers' most famous song. (A bit of personal trivia - this set also included, albeit briefly, the first "talk box" I have ever seen used.) The band's member might be getting on a bit now, even if they weren't there from the beginning, but they certainly put out a superb set and put on a fantastic show.

CD Review: The Reasoning - Adverse Camber

Tuesday 4th May: By now a lot of fans of The Reasoning will have already picked up their copy of the band's third album, Adverse Camber, which was available to buy on the tour before the general release date of yesterday. In fact, the original pressing of 3,000 has already sold out (but worry not, more are on their way.) I picked mine up at the York gig and it's been in and out of various CD players since.

First, a word about the cover, which is a radical departure from the artwork covers of the first two albums. While it doesn't scream "prog!" at you, something about it does remind me of Storm Thorgerson's work for Pink Floyd. I'm not sure what it is about it as, being honest, it looks nothing like any particular Floyd cover - maybe it's the slight surrealism in the background pictures - but from the first time I saw it, that was the thought that has popped into my head.

Adverse Camber is not as dark as the previous album, Dark Angel, or, even Awakening, the band's debut. It does, however, retain some of the heaviness which marks The Reasoning as a little different from most female-fronted prog bands. The lighter tone may have something to do with Dylan Thompson seeming to take more of a back stage in terms of vocals, allowing Rachel Cohen's almost choral vocals to be front and centre for almost the entire album, with Dylan really only sharing lead vocals with Rachel on Through The Now, which actually ends up being more of a triple-header as new backing vocalist Maria Owen also gets a chance to shine during parts of the song. (Not that she doesn't shine as a backing vocalist - in fact, along with Dylan, she provides some of the best backing vocals I can remember hearing, both on the album and during the live set.)

Musically, a lot of the album seems not to be made up of full tunes, but snatches of music which ebb and flow around the vocals, never allowing the listener to get bored or to guess what form the songs are going to take. The music on the album varies between the neo-classical, with the piano opening to Script Switch Trigger, and some very heavy metal-like guitar solos. The overall effect, when mixing the vocals and the music is something that hovers just to the light side of the mid point between traditional prog rock and the likes of Evanescence.

Highlights for me are the Eastern influenced keyboards and choppy guitars of The Thirteenth Floor and the aforementioned, ballad-like, Script Switch Trigger, my favourite song on the album, which showcases Rachel's crystal clear enunciation. (Apparently the title comes from a theory of humour but I didn't follow Rachel's explanation from the stage and have just been more confused by internet searches...) The Nobody Effect, contains the album's heaviest guitar work overlaid with some subtle keyboards but I'm afraid I am unable to listen to the chorus without being reminded of Genesis' Driving The Last Spike.

Adverse Camber is a well-above average album and, like its cover, is definitely a bit of a departure from the band's previous output. However, while there's nothing actually wrong with the album, I still find myself preferring Awakening.

Track listing:

1. Diamonds And Leather
2. The Nobody Effect
3. The Thirteenth Floor
4. Through The Now
5. Script Switch Trigger
6. 14

Musicians:

Rachel Cohen - Vocals & Percussion
Dylan Thompson - Vocals, Electric/Acoustic Guitars & Mandolin
Matthew Cohen - Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals, Mandolin & Percussion
Maria Owen - Vocals
Tony Turrell - Keyboards & Backing Vocals
Owain Roberts - Electric Guitar
Jake Bradford-Sharp - Drums & Percussion