When I first read about the tour of 4 bands I hadn’t heard of I initially wasn’t too bothered or interested, until I read that it would be a) free and b) one of the dates was at Queen’s Hall in Nuneaton, just down the road from where I live.
For free and local, I figured it was a good thing to go checkout. I’d been to The Crew and Queen’s Hall (Queen’s Hall is upstairs of The Crew rock bar) previously for several gigs, most notably for me being Crϋshadows playing there after Eddies No. 8 in Birmingham burnt down.
As I’d not heard the bands before I wasn’t expecting a huge amount, especially as it was free, however I was expecting a good night out with reasonable rock or metal music, read on to see if I found that…
Line Up:
New Device:
- Dan Leigh – Vocals
- KC Leigh – Lead Guitar/Vocals
- Roz Ison – Drums
- Andy Saxton – Bass/Vocals
Lethargy:
- Phil Humphreys: Guitar & Vocals
- Andrew Hunt: Guitar & Vocals
- Marc T. Jones: Bass & Vocals
- Gareth Hunt: Drums
The Treatment:
- Matt – Vocals
- Ben – Guitar
- Tag – Guitar
- Dhani – Drums
- Swoggle – Bass
Million $ Reload:
- Phil Conalane – Vocals
- B.A.M – Lead Guitar & Backing Vocals
- Andy Mack – Lead Guitar & Backing Vocals
- Sean McKernan – Drums
- Kie McMurray – Bass & Backing Vocals
Million $ Reload
The first band on the bill, a 5-piece hailing from Belfast. Playing a blend of hard rock. I found the songs good, but sadly felt that the guitars were too loud and the singer screamed his vocals too much for my taste. The guitarists were a bit over-the-top too for my taste. I think with a bit of refinement in some areas they could be much better than they showed this evening.
Rating: 6/10
The Treatment
The second band on the bill, another 5-piece, this time hailing from Cambridge. This lot immediately seemed more coherent, with the levels right. They clearly are influenced heavily by the likes of Guns ‘n’ Roses by both their appearance and musical style. I found them to be one of the best bands on the bill this evening. Particularly liking the singer’s ability, although the bassist seemed to have a bit of a case of wanting to be more important than being a bassist and sadly came across as a bit of a idiot at times I and others felt. Impressive set I felt. Tone down the bassist’s antics and a winner.
Rating: 8/10
Lethargy
The third band on the bill, this time a 4-piece hailed from South Wales. They are a death metal sounding band I felt, in contrast to the others who were all more Rock/Rock ‘n Roll bands. Having a bit of variety is no bad thing. They’d travelled far, and from their performance I felt they could of done better, with their set sounding the same throughout. They gave it a lot of effort though and were really energetic.
Rating: 6.5/10
New Device
The final band on the bill, another 5-piece. This band hail from London. Along with The Treatment, I felt they were one of the better bands on the bill. Perhaps the better of the four I think, being quite close. The lead singer was very energetic and tried hard to get a small crowd energised. I liked their set and them in general. Good rock ‘n roll. Another one to watch I think.
Rating: 8.5/10
So, overall was it worth going to the gig? on the strength of the performances, I’d say yes, I enjoyed the night out, and as it was free it was doubly enjoyable. The only personal downside being my health really made it hard to stand up and listen/watch the bands. It really feels apparent that I cannot do the gigging that I did years ago, and that is a depressing feeling.
I think Powerage are onto a good thing with this though. I hope they do more tours like this in the future and perhaps encourage other promoters/labels to do similar. The price of tickets these days to see the big bands is in my opinion outrageous and simply unaffordable for most people I’d think – £75-150 for a gig?! crazy! – we need more affordable, decent rock/metal bands that people can go see and not have to break the bank to see.
Rating: 8/10
