Live Review : The Damn Truth + Ashley Sherlock @ Waterloo Music Bar, Blackpool, on Sunday 24 November 2024

“I think my eyeliner’s running…”

There are not many bands that can reduce a hardened rocker to tears.

But when The Damn Truth last played the Waterloo, twelve months ago, that’s precisely what happened. Stood in the crowd with tears in his eyes, he wasn’t the only one to be caught up in the emotion of this incendiary, emotionally charged and supremely talented band. For many, that night was their first time seeing the band, although everyone left a convert, utterly blown away by what they’d witnessed. This time around, the crowd is bigger, no doubt driven by the evangelical fervour that The Damn Truth foster in their fans, a fervour that means you’re going to tell absolutely anyone who’ll listen about just how utterly wonderful they truly are. That so many are gathered in the intimate surroundings of the Waterloo’s Backstage Bar, over ninety minutes before the doors even open is proof of that, if indeed any proof was needed.

Live Review: Takeaway Thieves @ The Waterloo Music Bar, Blackpool on October 6th 2024

Blackpool’s favourite rock n roll rabble-rousers Takeaway Thieves return to their spiritual home, to celebrate the launch of their long-awaited second album “Diamond Point”. The Waterloo’s Sunday Service feels like an apt way to kick off this next stage of the Takeaway Thieves career as we all come together to worship at the altar of good-time rock n’ roll in the company of some of its greatest disciples…

Live Review : Xander and The Peace Pirates @ Waterloo Music Bar, Blackpool, on October 3rd 2024

It’s a Thursday night in Blackpool, the weekend is almost within touching distance and what better way to bring a busy week to a close than to spend an evening in a great venue with an equally fantastic band providing some delicious rock n soul goodness. And no, that’s no typo, I did mean to type rock and soul; for that’s what Xander and the Peace Pirates deliver; music to provide a balm to the heart and mind and all points in between.

Live Review : These Wicked Rivers + The Fargo Railroad Co. + Lythium @ The Ferret, Preston on September 14th 2024

The Ferret is making a very welcome habit of putting on the highest quality rock and metal gigs of late, bringing in a fascinating and eclectic mix of bands to their stage and invigorating the Preston scene at the same time. And tonight, is no exception, pulling off something of a coup hosting An Evening with These Wicked Rivers, for their first ever visit to the city.

Live Review : A'Priori + We Three Kings @ Waterloo Music Bar, Blackpool on September 6th 2024

As Blackpool basks in what is probably the last gasp of summer, it definitely feels like change is in the air. And if it’s hot outside, in the confines of the Waterloo the sell-out crowd are pushing the temperatures up to the level of a day trip to fifth circle of Hell.

To say there is a level of excitement and anticipation ahead of tonight’s show, would be a colossal understatement. Such is the loyalty and passion that A’Priori inspire, that many have travelled big distances to be here, from the furthest reaches of the country and even internationally to witness the launch of A’Priori’s new album “Voodoo Love”.

Live Review : Kickin' Valentina + The Midnight Devils @ Waterloo Music Bar, Blackpool on September 5th 2024

It’s a school night and the Kickin’ Valentina rock n’ roll circus rolls into Blackpool for an evening of rocket-fuelled, high energy sleaze n’ roll, and with the weekend just around the corner the crowd seem intent on starting it a day early. Kickin’ Valentina have forged a hard-won reputation for delivering no-nonsense electrifying live performances, this time around bringing along the effervescent The Midnight Devils, for what is set to be a double-bill of legendary proportions, and another entry into the annals of unforgettable nights at the Waterloo.

Live Review : Paul Di’Anno + Gypsy’s Kiss @ The Waterloo Music Bar, Blackpool on August 22nd 2024

Gypsy’s Kiss hold a special place in the storied history of Iron Maiden, being one of Steve Harris’ earliest bands, and to see them on the same bill as the legendary Paul Di’Anno has to be a Maiden completists dream. Formed fifty years ago Gypsy’s Kiss returned to action six years ago after a decades long hiatus and what is immediately apparent is that the six -piece band certainly still have something to say and play with a verve and flair that belies a half century pedigree.

Live Review : The Mercury Riots + Heartbreak Remedy @ Vinyl Tap, Preston, August 18th 2024

Vinyl Tap continues their fine run of bringing the best rock n roll, both international and home-grown to their small but perfectly formed venue in the heart of Preston. And tonight’s bill illustrates that perfectly, with the exquisite grooves of L.A’s The Mercury Riots sharing a stage with Cumbrian heroes, Heartbreak Remedy. And whilst the two may be thousands of miles apart geographically, musically they share a common DNA, a desire to deliver good time, life-affirming rock n roll, that lets you forget your problems and worries for a couple of hours, and leaves you with a grin on your face and a lighter spirit. And tonight, both bands proceed to do precisely that…

Live Review : Crypta + Odysseus @ The Ferret, Preston on June 11th 2024

Tonight is ROCKFLESH’s fourth trip of the year to Preston’s Ferret, the recently saved venue seemingly undergoing a brilliant rock/metal renaissance, with a string of top genre bands already under their belt, with more lined up for the second half of 2024. Grabbing international bookings of the calibre of a band like Crypta is quite the coup for the grassroots venue, giving North West death metal devotees the chance to witness this stellar band up close and personal in a sweaty, raucous display performance of epic proportions, as well as cementing their position as the city’s most vibrant live scene.

Live Review : Marco Mendoza Trio + Loz Campbell @ Waterloo Music Bar, Blackpool on June 6th 2024

Fresh from pulling double duties at the recent Call of the Wild festival, Loz Campbell tonight swaps the fields of Lincolnshire for the bracing seaside air of the Northwest coast. A firm fixture on the circuit over the last few years, Loz and her band have certainly been paying their dues and this constant touring seems to be paying off, as they tear through a strong set with both commitment and style.

Live Review : Toby Jepson + Pete K Mally @ The Waterloo Music Bar, Blackpool on May 16th 2024

It’s an unusual gig when, in many ways, what is said on stage is almost as important as the music that is played, but that’s very much the case with Toby Jepson’s show tonight. Billed as “My Life in Words”, this is a rare opportunity to sneak a peek behind the curtain of the rock n’ roll show, and hear first-hand what it’s really like, from someone who has lived the highs and the lows, and seen and experienced more than most.

Live Review : When Rivers Meet + Dusk Brothers @ Gorilla, Manchester on May 2nd 2024

Gorilla’s stage is packed. Not the venue - although there is a healthy crowd assembling to catch The Dusk Brothers set – but the stage itself. Sandwiched between When Rivers Meets drums and back line is what looks at first glance like a veritable junkyard but on closer inspection is actually the self-assembled and DIY instruments that are the band’s trademark. There are drum kits made out of repurposed oil drums, sheets of metal hanging from a frame as another percussive element, a bright red megaphone, even a theremin.

Live Review : Midnite City + Continental Lovers @ Waterloo Music Bar, Blackpool on April 27th 2024

There’s a single mic stand centre stage.

Draped with a leopard print scarf, it’s a striking visual in its own right, but it also means that at a glance you immediately know what to expect from tonight’s first band, Continental Lovers. Like the best band you were too young to see back in the day, Continental Lovers appear to have been cryogenically frozen in a trash can in an alley at the back of CBGBs sometime in the seventies or eighties, only to be reanimated for the 21st century. Wearing their tattooed hearts on their decadently debonair sleeves, the band fire off a riotous salvo of beautifully barbed two-or three-minute glitter punk anthems.

Live Review : South Of Salem + The Nocturnal Affair @ The Waterloo, Blackpool on April 16th 2024

“We have such sights to show you”, said the monstrous Pinhead in the 1987 movie Hellraiser. And just like Pinhead, so too do South of Salem, roaring into Blackpool, and showing a breathlessly expectant capacity crowd, just why they are such an electrifying and seemingly unstoppable force of nature.

Live Review : Fury + Bastette + Pulverise @ The Ferret, Preston on April 12th 2024

There seems to be something of a rock renaissance in the Preston live music scene with this the fourth gig ROCKFLESH has reviewed in the town in recent months. At the forefront of the charge is The Ferret, long a bastion for live music and until recently under threat of being lost, but now fighting back with a vengeance. And tonight, it plays host to a three-band bill encapsulating three very different branches of the rock family tree.

Live Review : Spike of The Quireboys @ The Vinyl Tap, Preston on March 23rd 2024

Back in the Middle Ages, a Troubadour was someone who turned up in town, told stories, played music, instigated singalongs and entertained the people. Fast forward a few hundred years and things haven’t really changed that much, as tonight, in Preston’s Vinyl Tap, Spike proves he is probably the closest thing to a modern-day Troubadour that the 21st century has to offer.

Live Review : Jared James Nichols + McHale’s Permanent Brew @ The Waterloo Music Bar, Blackpool on March 21st 2024

Blues rock, just like any musical sub-genre is a many headed beast, one where bands are often pigeonholed together into a single category for ease, often having little in common other than a shared musical DNA. And so it is with McHale’s Permanent Brew and Jared James Nichols. Whilst both are firmly rooted in the blues each has a very different approach and sound, and it is their contrasting interpretations of the form that make this evening’s gig so intriguing.

Live Review : GUN @ Waterloo Music Bar, Blackpool on February 28th 2024

Thirty-five years is a long time in music…

Cast your minds back to the end of the eighties (if you can remember that far) and the musical landscape of the time was very different. Grunge was yet to come along and cause the sea change in the rock world whose ripples we are still feeling to this day, and nu-metal and the genre mutating new styles that would characterise the new century were still more than a decade away.

And it was at the tail end of that most glorious of decades that GUN released their debut album, the acclaimed “Taking on the World”, spawning the first of a run of chart bothering singles with ‘Better Days’, numerous Top of the Pops performances and increasingly successful tours.

Live Review : Stone Broken + A'Priori @ The Waterloo Music Bar, Blackpool on February 1st 2024

At the start of last year, I’d never seen A’Priori play live; by the time twelve months had rolled around I had seen them numerous times, and they ended 2023 as the band I had seen the most during the year. And whether filling a support slot, appearing on a festival bill or headlining their own shows, the one thing that is blindingly clear, is that regardless of the venue or event, A’Priori are a ferociously entertaining and excitingly dynamic live proposition. Something they proved once again tonight.

Live Review : Ginger Wildheart + Ben Marsden & Carol Hodge + Baz Francis @ The Ferret, Preston on January 27th 2024

It’s a rare hometown gig tonight as Ginger hits Preston’s The Ferret. Only the second gig reviewed by ROCKFLESH in the town in the last twelve months, with gigs on the horizon in the coming months from Fury, Spike and Acid Reign to name but a few, hopefully that trend is set to be reversed in 2024. And with a capacity of only a couple of hundred in The Ferret, the first Preston gig of the year promises to be an opportunity to witness one of the mainstays of the scene for over three decades, up close and personal.