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 : Black Spiders + Crowley @ The Waterloo Music Bar, Blackpool on November 2nd 2024

It’s a cold damp evening in between Halloween and Bonfire night. the generals are gathering in their masses at the Waterloo Music Bar in Blackpool. This unlikely foothold in an otherwise sequined obsessed town has quite rightly become a real stronghold on the north-west gig scene. We are here to bear witness to an evening of no frills, uncompromising filthy rock n roll courtesy of the Black Spiders.

Live Review : Geoff Tate + Kim Jennett @ Academy 3, Manchester on October 9th 2024

Nostalgia is a potent force. It’s your own personal Time Machine, allowing us to revisit the sounds and the essence of our past exploits. It also has highly redemptive and restorative powers. It allows the whitewashing of career indiscretions and focuses on the highs, while simultaneously burying the lows. Queensryche are case in point, as the 80’s morphed into the 90’s they seemed poised to join Maiden and Metallica in the really big league of metallic heavy weights. “Operation Mindcrime “had position them as the thinking person’s metal band and follow-up “Empire” increased tenfold their commercial clout, thrusting them into arena status. For a short smidgen of time they had the Midas touch and could do no wrong. Then grunge happened.

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 : Tyketto + Little Caesar + Dan Byrne @ Academy 2, Manchester on September 20th 2024

If ever there was a band made of teflon, you would probably call it Tyketto. For over 30 years the lineup changes have come and gone, the fashion for their kind of music has circled around, and the great and good have risen past them only to fall by the wayside. Yet through it all this band remains solid, powerful, uplifting and entertaining. If there have been Issues they just slide away like a freshly-fried egg in a well-seasoned pan. Tonight they are back in Manchester for the umpteenth time, bringing both a local(ish) lad and a not-often-seen band as support.

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 : Nile + Hideous Divinity + Intrepid + Pestifer @ Rebellion, Manchester on September 10th 2024

Death metal was envisaged as a repugnant knee-jerk reaction to the excess and blatant commerciality of eighties hair metal. It was meant to burn bright and leave a grizzled corpse. However, something caught and nearly 40 years later Death Metal is in rude health. Tonight is an interesting and potent mix of obnoxious upstarts, cult heroes and venerated legends of the genre. Rebellion is heaving and the generational mix is both fascinating and varied.

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 : Bruce Dickinson + Black Smoke Trigger @ Academy, Manchester on May 19th 2024

These days Bruce Dickinson is irrevocably tied to Iron Maiden. His air-raid siren shrills and cries of "Scream for me (enter name of town)” are as synonymous to the band as is their gargantuan mascot Eddie. However, for the vast majority of the 90’s he was AWOL, jumping ship in 1993 citing a combination of burnout, musical differences, and inter-band tensions. As the ubiquitous hyperactive kid at the back of the class who always has 16 different projects on the go, Bruce was never one to let the grass grow under his feet. During his six-year sabbatical from, arguably, heavy metal's biggest band he managed to produce four rather spiffing solo efforts (his debut effort, Tattooed Millionaire had appeared pre-split in 1990 and very likely hastened his exit.

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 : Blind Guardian + The Night Eternal @ Academy, Manchester on April 13th 2024

The signs of a good time had by all is when the echoes reverberate long into the night. For an hour after Blind Guardian exit the stage, the refrain “Valhalla, Deliverance, Why've you ever forgotten me” can be heard being sung by the dispersing masses as they meander away from the Academy down the Oxford Road corridor. It may not have made much sense to the glammed-up masses heading off to identikit soulless nightclubs, but it was an indication that Mancunia had a rare and thoroughly wondrous visitation from the Teutonic gods of power metal.