Tag: rock

The Hives - Alexandra Palace - 29 Nov 2025

Review: The Hives – Alexandra Palace, London – 29 Nov 2025

On By markosgigarchiveIn gig reviewLeave a comment

Well I never expected that, a thoroughly enjoyable evening with 3 bands (with Spiritual Cramp and  Yard Act as support) all excellent in their own way.  The Hives are pretty new to me, I know a few of their songs but never got any further than that.  They formed in 1993 in Fagersta, Sweden so the band should be used to the coldness of the cow shed that is Ally Pally – it was brass monkeys! Luckily being surrounded by bodies and bopping does warm you up somewhat.  It would appear that the show was a sell-out – so based on the great hall capacily that would be roughly 10k people (not that it felt like it) and not the 2 million Pelle cheekily kept referring to 😊.

Spiritual Cramp opened it up with a killer set of slashing riff garage-rock.  I’m unsure of their image – as they literally don’t have one – given their lead guitarist looked like he was off to studies in his shirt and jumper and their singer Michael Bingham looked like he should be in a 70’s shop window display – they were really dressed very dull.  However, that’s not to distract from the music – they put on an entertaining 30 minute set which gave me enough confidence to go and check them out further.  This was a good introduction for what was to come.

Spiritual Cramp set list

  1. Slick Rick
  2. Go Back Home
  3. Earth to Mike
  4. At My Funeral
  5. Young Offenders
  6. Better Off This Way
  7. Automatic
  8. You got my number
  9. Talkin’ On The Internet
  10. Blowback

Yard Act are an indie band from Leeds and comprise of: James Smith (vocals); Ryan Needham (bass); Jay Russell (drums); and Sam Shipstone (guitars).  James spends most of the time talking the lyrics as opposed to singing them – and boy are there lots of words to get through.  It was hard to pick up on a lot of the lyrics as they were spewed out at ferocious pace but there was plenty of swearing and political/ philosophical references so I’m going to investigate them further.

Their performance was tight and James as the focal point in his loud trousers was both eccentric frantic, in a good way.  Sam reminded me of a Victorian gentleman with his big sideburns and huge moustache, and Ryan looked a tad Trevor Horn 😊.

Yard Act set list

  1. Tall Tales
  2. Dead Horse
  3. Dream Job
  4. Payday
  5. Witness (Can I Get A?)
  6. Petroleum
  7. Dark Days
  8. Thrill of the Chase
  9. We Make Hits
  10. The Overload
  11. New Beginnings
  12. The Trapper’s Pelts

The Hives are a black and white extravaganza of a show, sometimes less is more and this was choreographed to monochrome perfection.  Where to start – the bands suits obviously.  Impeccably dressed all in black, a mix of evening suit meets the rhinestone cowboy.  The detail lines on the sleeves, pockets and shoulders were bright white led lighting and synced perfectly into various patterns e.g. flashing, pockets only etc.  Flash bastards 😊.  In front of the drummer were 3 kick  drums with the words THE one them, and above the band 5 big inflatable balls with HIVES on them – just in case we didn’t know.

The band is:

  • Pelle Almqvist – vocals
  • Niklas Almqvist – lead guitar
  • Vigilante Carlstroem – rhythm guitar
  • Christian Grahn – drums
  • Johan Gustafsson – bass

Thanks to my mate Nick for getting the tickets, he said I’d like them even though I knew very little of them before last night.  Well he was right, I had a smile on my face throughout their set.  They are a fun band to watch – loads of energy and a front man that is par excellence.  At the helm of the chaos is Pelle Almqvist, a consummate frontman charisma overflowing.  Pelle reminded me of Mike Myers and was pretty much as maniacal and funny as him throughout.  Shyness is not in his vocabulary, and he engaged in many monologues between most songs that were very entertaining.  He constantly extolled the virtues of how great the band, himself and the audience were (watch the video links in the set list to get an idea of his banter), smile permanently intact.  Their arrogance is deeply charming and amusing throughout.  Lots of repetitive banter to get the crowd clapping, singing, cheering.  I particularly liked it when the band stopped frozen dead during ‘Paint a Picture’, for about a minute, whilst milking the applause and waiting for more.  My other main takeaway is that Per gobs a lot – there was spit all over the stage and walkway – he must be Sweden’s world champion gobber!

Pelle and Niklas cover every inch of catwalk stage, with Pelle frequently over the barrier and in with the crowd ably supported by their ninja dressed roadies sorting out the extremely long mike cables.

They kicked off with ‘Enough is Enough’ of their new album, which pretty much set the tone for the next 95 minutes of high energy R’nR riffs with no let-up, one crashing song after another.  ‘I Hate to Say I Told You So’ and ‘Tick Tick Boom’ got the crowd to explode into a few mini mosh pits.  ‘Legalize Living’ kept up the momentum for the 1st encore and then they went off script by playing ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ by public demand no less (some ladies in the audience kept showing him a placard with the song title on it) before finishing with a song that defines the group and their faux arrogance totally – “The Hives Forever Forever The Hives”.  For the new songs Pelle smirks “These songs are classics too, you just don’t know it yet”.

The Hives set list (click on links to see the YouTube videos)

  1. Enough Is Enough – (The Hives Forever Forever the Hives, 2025)
  2. Walk Idiot Walk – (Tyrannosaurus Hives, 2004)
  3. Rigor Mortis Radio – (The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons, 2023)
  4. Paint a Picture – (The Hives Forever Forever the Hives, 2025)
  5. Main Offender – (Veni Vidi Vicious, 2000)
  6. Born a Rebel – (The Hives Forever Forever the Hives, 2025)
  7. Stick Up – (The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons, 2023)
  8. Bogus Operandi – (The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons, 2023)
  9. Hate to Say I Told You So – (Veni Vidi Vicious, 2000)
  10. O.C.D.O.D. – (The Hives Forever Forever the Hives, 2025)
  11. I’m Alive – (Live at Third Man Records, 2020)
  12. Here We Go Again – (Barely Legal, 1997)
  13. Countdown to Shutdown – (The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons, 2023)
  14. Come On! – (Lex Hives, 2012)
  15. Tick Tick Boom – (The Black and White Album, 2007)

Encore:

  1. Legalize Living – (The Hives Forever Forever the Hives, 2025)
  2. Bigger Hole to Fill – (The Black and White Album, 2007)
  3. Smoke and Mirrors – – (The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons, 2023)
  4. The Hives Forever Forever The Hives – (The Hives Forever Forever the Hives, 2025)

So roughly third of set from new LP, and 40% of pre 2020 material – covering most of their output.

At the  end he introduces the band and invents wildly amusing characters for them all.  When he comes to the bass he says “and now for a man that needs no introduction, because I introduced him earlier” 😊 tee hee.

The Hives are infectious, the gig is definitely a wild spectacle, long live The Hives!

Marko [30 Nov 2025]

Graham Nash - More Evenings Of Songs & Stories tour 2025

Review: Graham Nash – London Palladium 19 Oct 2025

On By markosgigarchiveIn gig review4 Comments

Graham Nash has in my world always been part of the CSNY story and I never really paid any attention to his career past the mid 70’s.  However, given his eminent status from the 60/70s and the fact that he is referenced my many musicians I thought it was about time I went and saw him live (before one of us dies 😊).  So checking out the setlist.com web site and seeing the songs he was playing on this tour I must admit I was very much looking forward to it (especially the bit about stories), and he didn’t disappoint.   We got to learn a bit about his history and how some songs were inspired.

The stage was simple (a roadies dream), adorned in candles and carpets, the lighting was calm and soothing.  All were seated and it was nicely setup to be easy on the eye and let the audience concentrate on the harmonious melodies and songwriting of undoubted quality.  This was a musical event and a celebration of songs  and stories that have endured for good reason – they are timeless.

The sound was well mixed – crystal clear which let Graham’s crisp voice and the melodic harmonies excel.  It was also loud enough, when the band went at it full pelt, to ensure a few deaf ears the next day 😊.

The band were Todd Caldwell (keyboards), Adam Minkoff (bass, drums, guitars), and Zach Djanikian (guitars, mandolin, drums).  Adam and Zach are both clearly adept musicians and they constantly switched instruments between songs which allowed them to showcase their skills especially when it came to extended guitar solos – impeccable musicianship and singing harmonies.

Graham introduced most of the songs with a brief anecdote on how the songs emerged e.g. ‘Immigration Man’ was written after he was refused entry back into the USA in 1970 after a CSNY tour.  In fact the introductions were a pretty good summary of his extraordinary career and the famous musicians he has hung around with along the way.

He told a great story of being begged by his then Hollies manager to go and see a kid whose mum was constantly pestering him about her songwriting son.  So Alan Clarke and he went over to the kids house.   It turns out that this 17 year old kid was burgeoning songwriter Graham Gouldman and he played them a few tunes of which they took a couple, and Alan kept asking if he had any better tunes and they finally got their hands on ‘Bus Stop’, which was a massive hit for the Hollies.

We also had lots of stories from Peter Asher, the support act, a man with an equally interesting life story, from which I learnt a lot.  He was entertaining to listen to but the music was simply not for me, old, dull and dreary.  I’d have preferred him just talking TBH.  This is a classic example of someone that should not be on the road at his age, plus the sound mix was as awful as the songs!

For Graham’s set the songs were split roughly two thirds CSN/CSNY and the other third to his solo output.  A wonderful mix of stonewall 1969-1975 classics and excellent solo material. 

Set List (click on the link to see the YouTube video)

  1. Wasted on the Way (Daylight Again, 1982 – CSN song)
  2. Marrakesh Express (Crosby, Stills & Nash, 1969 – CSN song)
  3. Military Madness (Songs for Beginners, 1971)
  4. I Used to Be a King (Songs for Beginners, 1971)
  5. Bus Stop (Bus Stop, 1966 – The Hollies song)
  6. Immigration Man (Graham Nash David Crosby, 1972)
  7. Better Days (Songs for Beginners, 1971)
  8. Love the One You’re With (Stephen Stills, 1970)
  9. Love of Mine (Now, 2013)
  10. To the Last whale… Wind on the Water (Wind on the Water, 1975 – Crosby & Nash)
  11. Just a Song Before I Go (CSN, 1977)
  12. Our House (Déjà Vu, 1970, – CSNY song)
  13. Teach Your Children (Déjà Vu, 1970, – CSNY song)

encore

  1. Find the Cost of Freedom (So Far, 1974 – CSNY song – B-side of Ohio)
  2. Woodstock (Déjà Vu, 1970, – Joni Mitchell song)
  3. Suite: Judy Blue Eyes (Crosby, Stills & Nash, 1969)

‘Marrakesh Express’ he revealed was written about a train journey between Casablanca and Marrakesh that he took in 1966 while with The Hollies and to this day it’s one of his most famous songs.  The lyrics made reference to ‘animal carpet wall-to-wall’, ‘coloured cottons’ in the air, referring to the people and sights on the train.

‘Military Madness’ about his father’s experience during WW2 and ‘I Used to Be a King’, the latter written about his relationship with Joni Mitchell.

There was a lot of audience participation with the chorus of Stephen Stills’ ‘Love the One You’re With’ and ‘Our house’ based on a cold morning when Joni Mitchell bought a vase on their way back to their Laurel Canyon home. Upon entering the house, Nash said, “I’ll light the fire; you place the flowers in the vase that you bought today”.

The encore featured ‘Find the Cost of Freedom’, Joni Mitchell’s ‘Woodstock’, and a thundering version of ‘Suite: Judy Blue Eyes’ that took the well-aged audience back in time to CS&N’s heyday.  Some of the song lyrics resonate as much today as when they were first written 50 odd years ago.  That said Nash didn’t need to go political with regard to comments made around current wars and free speech, the former based around the middle east split the audience and there was audible dissent and booing to which he said “we are all entitled to our opinions” – quite right he should have kept his opinions to himself and just sang the bloody songs!!

I’m old but the audience were truly old and this was perhaps their last chance to engage in a nostalgic victory lap from an 83 year old legend in his twilight years.  I’m glad I experienced it, thanks for an entertaining evening – end of the story.

Marko [21 Oct 2025]

PS – Neil Young didn’t even get a mention 🤔

Airbag - Live London 2025

Review: Airbag The Dome London – 26 April 2025

On By markosgigarchiveIn gig reviewLeave a comment

I can’t quite remember how I discovered Airbag many moons ago but when I did, early on in their career, I said to myself finally the rightful heirs to the Pink Floyd crown. They create sonic, sometimes barren, soundscapes that suddenly bursts into life with a rollicking riff or a Dave Gilmour inspired solo.  File them under Prog Rock!  To confuse matters it turns out there is another Airbag, an Argentine hard rock band whom seem to come to the for on internet searches – it fooled a few of my friends who checked out the wrong band 😊 until I told them to go to AirbagSound.com.

So a quick history lesson, Airbag were formed in Oslo in 2004 by school friends and their current mainstay line-up is Asle Tostrup (vocals/guitar), Bjørn Riis (lead guitars), and Henrik Bergan Fossum (drums).  Live they also have Jørgen Hagen (keyboards) and Anders Hovdan (bass). They have released the following LPs – check them out all mighty fine listens.

  • 2009      Identity (a compilation of previously released EPs)
  • 2011     All Rights Removed
  • 2013     The Greatest Show On Earth
  • 2016     Disconnected
  • 2020     A Day at the Beach
  • 2024     The Century of the Self

So finally after 20 odd years they made it to the UK and I was so looking forward to this evening.  Dressed all in black Airbag took the stage at 8:50 for an atmospheric 80 minute set interspersed with a splattering of songs from all their albums bar ‘Disconnected’.  They start with the pulsating bass drone of ‘Machines and Men’, and it’s repetitive chord sequence before it explodes into life.  They certainly know how to build a layered musical canvass. Excellent throbbing bass from Anders and guitar work from Bjørn.  Next comes ‘Redemption’ with another slow impressive build-up of bass and layered Korg synths.  Asle took a couple of songs to get the mix of his voice right (but more of that later) given it was lost during the loud parts where all instruments were at full tilt.

‘Never Coming Home’ is one of my personal favourites and is one of those songs that always makes the hairs on the back of my arm stand out! Atmospheric keyboard work from Jørgen, a lovely melody and aching guitar licks – plus great lyrics – what’s not to like.  ‘Dysphoria’ slow burns and showcases Asle’s vocals at their best when not fighting the other instruments and Bjørn’s virtuoso guitar work is excellent.  ‘Erase’ is punching bass lines, thumping drums, guitar licks and gripping vocals.

‘Megalomaniac’ commences with its irresistibly haunting repetitive guitar riff and vocals before busting into life with huge riffs and dynamic guitar solo.  All parts of the band working in total harmony – a joy to behold.

Airbag Set List (click on link to see YouTube videos)

  1. Machines and Men – (A Day at the Beach, 2020)
  2. Redemption – (The Greatest Show On Earth, 2013)
  3. Never Coming Home – (All Rights Removed, 2011)
  4. Dysphoria – (The Century of the Self, 2024)
  5. Erase – (The Century of the Self, 2024)
  6. Megalomaniac – (A Day at the Beach, 2020)

Encore:

  • Colours – (Identity, 2009)
  • Homesick I-III – (All Rights Removed, 2011)

The band leave the stage to rapturous applause from a fixated audience.  They are quickly back for an encore of ‘Colours’ and ‘Homesick’ – wow and both these were just fantastic.  Asle strums away on acoustic guitar before the synths and slow guitar kick in and the whole sound just flows slowly through you like a mist – ‘Colours’ is such a beautiful record. 

Airbag - London 2025

So in the end they only played at 80 minute set ☹ – they have such a wonderful rich back catalogue of work and so many classics not played.  I’m sure they could have snuck a couple more songs in?  The final song ‘Homesick’ is an opus epic a beautiful mix of melodic guitar backed by multiple rolling keyboard layers, deep bass and drum rhythms. A dark moody atmospheric piece with scorching guitar licks and evocative melodies that freely roams into ‘Wish You Were Here’ territory.

A couple of low points for me were the lighting and merchandise.  With the correct lighting and backdrop this would have made the gig even more spectacular.  It didn’t detract from the music but certainly didn’t add to it.  But that’s the trouble when you play in a smallish venue and have to use their rig.   Also, the merchandise (or what there was of it) wasn’t very inspiring and lacked imagination.  I’m sure they can come up with far better designs e.g. the ‘Identity’ cover.

The anticipation of a great evening’s music was certainly fulfilled and more.  I loved every minute of the gig and managed a brief chat with Asle and Bjørn as they were clearing up – top blokes!  An all-encompassing immersive experience from start to finish.

Please come back soon chaps 🙏🏻, else I’ll just have to go to Norway or the Netherlands for an away trip!

Marko [27 April 2025]

Review: GBH live at the 100 Club, London, 11 January 2025

On By markosgigarchiveIn gig reviewLeave a comment

Before I start the blog I’d like to thank John (their US tour manager) for getting me a backstage pass and to GBH for taking time out to chat with me during the day.  They are a lovely courteous bunch of fun loving Brummies 😊.  So the good news was I got to see the soundcheck for both GBH and their support act Split Dogs who were also golly good fun. And then off to the pub around the corner for a few jars with the band, hear some stories and back in time to watch the Split Dogs set.

The 100 club is still as dingy, divey and sweaty as always, apparently the gents was refurbed a while back but it’s seriously hard to tell!  Both bands used the house back line and basic lighting – well it’s bloody hard shifting gear down those steps at the back of the venue, plus less gear to be stolen 😊.

Support Band – Split Dogs

I’d never heard or Bristol’s Split Dogs before today but my interest was spiked during their soundcheck – they play Rock ‘n Roll with a punk attitude.  I’d describe the sound as Punk meets Status Quo on crack/steroids and as it turns out speaking with Mil after show he’s a massive Quo fan. I spotted more than a few quick Quo inspired riffs during their blistering in your face set.  In Harry they have an all-out in your face front man, she is a fucking force of nature.  Brilliant poses, facially expressive, aggressive, style in abundance – just look at the girl go (you can’t take your eyes off her).  Mil reminds me of a young Brian Setzer – loud guitars, tattoos and a “I don’t give a fuck” attitude. They are ably supported by the bass/drums laying the groove in support of Mil’s manic guitar. 

They seem to have had a few line-up changes but currently Split Dogs are Harry Martinez – vocals, Mil Martinez – guitar, Suez Boyle – bass, Chris – drums.

Split Dogs

This lot are going places – go catch them while they are still raw and eager. If you want to see them in action follow the links below:
Live 100 Club

Soundcheck 1 – 100 Club

Soundcheck 2 – 100 Club

GBH Review

GBH 1st played the 100 Club 44 years ago supporting Discharge.  In the intervening years not much has changed, GBH’s brand of hardcore metal-punk headbangers give you no respite throughout their 75 min set.  Highly charged riff driven powerhouse songs that grab the audience by the proverbial balls.  Those of you that know the 100 Club will know there is a pillar just in front of the stage middle and either side of the pillar small groups developed into mini mosh pits with studded leather clad Mohicans (or baldies) leaping about with gay abandon.  Die hard fanatical fans seeing their hero’s in action.  On numerous occasions the stage was ‘invaded’ by various fans just wanting to either sing or dance or in fact just use the stage as a launch pad for a quick bit of crowd surfing. The local bouncer intervened on a few occasions but towards the end Colin seemed to warm to it and was more than happy for the fans to sing the chorus’s on stage with him or to hand the mic over to the front row to shout the words. 

As always Colin’s lyrics are undecipherable on stage, but that matters not if you know the words anyway.  The band have been at it for so long it’s seamless to watch, a well drilled machine. Colin still looks the part as he battles constantly with the mike stand and generally looks angry throughout – a top front man.  Jock does his thing effortlessly, guitar and man in perfect harmony riff after riff (now that sounds like a good album title 🤔). Scott beats the shit out of the drums all night long as if his life depended on it and the back line interplay with Ross on bass really lays the sonic back beat to Jock’s powerhouse guitar riffs and solo’s.

Set List (click on the link to watch the YouTube videos)

  1. Diplomatic Immunity (City Baby’s Revenge, 1984)
  2. Drugs Party in 526 (City Baby’s Revenge, 1984)
  3. Sick Boy (City Baby Attacked by Rats, 1982)
  4. Slit Your Own Throat (Leather, Bristles, Studs and Acne, 1981)
  5. Am I Dead Yet? (Leather, Bristles, Studs and Acne, 1981)
  6. Warpigs
  7. Maniac (City Baby Attacked by Rats, 1982)
  8. Gunned Down  (City Baby Attacked by Rats, 1982)
  9. I Am The Hunted (City Baby Attacked by Rats, 1982)
  10. The Prayer of a Realist (City Baby Attacked by Rats, 1982)
  11. Heavy Discipline (City Baby Attacked by Rats, 1982)
  12. Boston Babies (City Baby Attacked by Rats, 1982)
  13. Bellend Bop (City Baby Attacked by Rats, 1982)
  14. I Never Asked For Any Of This (Momentum, 2017)
  15. Generals (Leather, Bristles, Studs and Acne, 1981)
  16. No Survivors (Leather, Bristles, Studs and Acne, 1981)
  17. Fifty What? (Momentum, 2017)
  18. Momentum (Momentum, 2017)
  19. Give Me Fire (City Baby’s Revenge, 1984)
  20. City Baby Attacked by Rats (City Baby Attacked by Rats, 1982)
  21. City Baby’s Revenge (City Baby’s Revenge, 1984)
  22. Time Bomb (City Baby Attacked by Rats, 1982)
  23. Bomber – [Motorhead cover, 1979]

    Extra gift for you all – ‘Momentum‘ at the soundcheck…

So Birmingham’s GBH are the flag bearers of the 2nd wave of punk rock and probably the most famous of the movement.   They obviously have staying power, three of the originals are still in the band and Scott has been with them since 1994 which says a lot about their camaraderie.  They bond on stage each knowing their place and the interaction is very real.   The vast majority of their set comes from the 1981-84 heyday period with the addition of 3 tracks from 2017’s Momentum (my personal favourite is ‘I Never Asked For Any Of This’) plus an anarchic cover of Motörhead’s classic ‘Bomber’ to finish off their intense set.

GBH are: Colin Abrahall – vocals; ‘Jock’ (Colin Blyth) – guitar; Ross Lomas – bass; Scott Preece – drums.

I for one knew little about GBH before tonight, except for their name and iconic band pictures, especially from the early days.  So I listened to some of their stuff and liked both the old and new so another band in my catalogue to check out more and to watch live again. I really enjoyed watching them live as a newbie but for the diehards this was a massive deal.

In my experience having spent a few hours with the band during soundchecks, in the pub and backstage, they may have a ‘rock ard’ image but they are a wonderfully down to earth, not up their own backsides, set of blokes who still reside around their home turf of Birmingham.  It was a pleasure to meet them and see them in action.  A new fan to their ranks.

Marko [15 Jan 2024]

Review: Body Count live at the O2 Forum Kentish Town – 30 June 2024 (Merciless Tour)

On By markosgigarchiveIn gig reviewLeave a comment

Amidst the sirens and flashing blue and red lights the Gangsta rap metal boys from south central LA launch tonight’s sonic onslaught with “Body Count’s in the House” or their eponymous 1st LP and for the next 90 minutes the noise never lets up.  It’s no frills, Rock N Roll! 

The tone for the night was set as they launched into Slayer’s ‘Raining Blood/Postmortem’, then ripping into ‘Bowels of the Devil’, and ‘There Goes the Neighborhood’ before introducing us to a new song ‘The Purge’.   Ice-T told the crowd that he judges how good Body Count concerts are by how brutal the mosh pits are. Que circle in the pit ready for the mayhem about to begin for a new song written especially for a good old mosh ‘The Purge’.  To be fair the pit started on the very first song and continues throughout the night – high-energy moshing, circle pits, crowd surfers and beer flying everywhere.  Fun to watch.

Ice dedicated “Manslaughter” to the death of real men “ladies have you noticed your man has a vagina” and “they have more products on the cosmetics shelf than you” 😊..   ‘Necessary Evil’ and ‘Psychopath’ were ace, for the latter Ice took off his cap and put tights over his face – very bank robber!  “Talk Shit, Get Shot” and “No Lives Matter” are great singalongs before the last song ‘Cop Killer’ brought mayhem and middle fingers in the air along with an impressively loud ‘F**K the police’ chorus.

Body Count Set list (click on links to see YouTube videos)

  1. Body Count’s in the House – (Body Count, 1992)
  2. Raining Blood / Postmortem – (Slayer cover)
  3. Bowels of the Devil – (Body Count, 1992)
  4. There Goes the Neighborhood – (Body Count, 1992)
  5. The Purge – (Merciless, 2024)
  6. Point the Finger – (Carnivore, 2020)
  7. Manslaughter – (Manslaughter, 2014)
  8. Necessary Evil – (Born Dead, 1994)
  9. Psychopath – (Merciless, 2024)
  10. No Lives Matter – (Bloodlust, 2017)
  11. War / UK 82 / Disorder – (Exploited Cover)
  12. Drive By – (Born Dead, 1994)
  13. Voodoo – (Body Count, 1992)
  14. Talk Shit, Get Shot – (Manslaughter, 2014)
  15. Cop Killer – (Body Count, 1992)

Encore

  1. Born Dead – (Born Dead, 1994)
  2. This is Why We Ride – (Bloodlust, 2017)
  3. Comfortably Numb ‘rap’ – (Merciless, 2024)

Ice then introduced us to what he said he invented i.e. a virtual encore.  Basically at 66 he’s too old to piss off backstage only to come back on so the lights are dimmed for 15 seconds, the band pretended to leave the stage before turning around and playing ‘Born Dead’.  He then explained revenge is the answer to killings and not reporting them to the police and engaged us to listen to the lyrics of ‘This is Why We Ride’.  They were about to call it quits but as the crowd was so good they agreed to play one last new song.  He teased us about what band they would cover this time and to everyone’s surprise it was Pink Floyd.  A wonderful rap full of emotive lyrics that make your hair stand on end all to the sounds of ‘Comfortably Numb’ – what a fucking way to go out, seismic – check out the video link.  This will be a staple set finisher for years to come a total classic on first hearing.  “Can you mother fuckers hear me?”.

Review Body Count playing "Cop Killer" live at the O2 Forum Kentish Town 30 June 2024

Body Count are:

  • Ice-T – Lead vocal
  • Ernie C – Lead guitar
  • Vincent Price – Bass
  • Juan Garcia – Rhythm guitar
  • Will “Ill Will” Dorsey Jnr – Drums
  • Sean E. Sean – Vocals
  • Little Ice – Vocals

Awesome riffs and blisteringly fast solos from Ernie C (looking like a deranged Donald King), ably supported by Juan on rhythm flying V.  The back beat was delivered lightning quick from Ill Will attacking the drums and in your face bass lines from Vincent Price.  Ice-T was a magnificent sweary beast of a man all night full of passion and humility.  Plenty of social commentary “shut the fuck up bitch” to a lady annoying him at the front; racial equality has been his main aim since he started; the hopelessness of war and why can’t we all live together?  Oh and the odd gun reference 😊…

The ‘skull n gun hoody’ black stage set back drops pretty much explain all you need to know about Body Count and rap superstar Ice-T – thank fuck he went metal!!  Body Count still matters!

Marko [1 July 2024]

Ps – I’ve decided to have a new feature to my blogs called ‘Nick’s view from the bar’ – which involves my mate Nick’s take on the gig stood propping up the bar and drinking way too much 😊.  More to follow..

Review: The Bites – The Black Heart, Camden 8 Dec 2023

On By markosgigarchiveIn gig review2 Comments

A strange one this for me – I didn’t know they were in town until I saw a gig list in Classic Rock magazine 12 hours earlier. So bought a ticket and at £14 an absolute steel for a band I’m sure are set for much bigger things.  I decided to go based on their ‘Do Me a Favor’ single and their great band logo!  Apart from that I know jack about these LA boys.  Also I’d never been to the Black Heart either, and as I discovered it’s a proper RnR bar with an upstairs capacity of 170 which sold out. A low ceiling, poor lighting, suspect mixing (drums out did the guitars) and crowd face to face with the band made the evening quite interesting.

The stage is tiny, and with 2 supporting acts – Circus 66 and White Raven Down there was lots of squeezing around the kit. It was good to see the support bands loading/unloading their kit, reminded me of the old days.  White Raven Down looked interesting but pressed for time they only played 5 songs which were a good introduction to this hard rock power trio.  Worth delving deeper.

So it turns out my intuition was right, The Bites look the part, they kick ass, they have top riffs, they have a charismatic lead singer, they are a bit tongue in cheek, they look like they are having the time of their lives – living the dream – they may well be the next big thing in rock n roll.

The band consist of: Singer – Jordan Tyler; Drums – Mark Highlander, Guitars – Dustin Coon, Jono Richer, Bass – Zack Currier.  All accomplished musos on a mission to be the next Motley Crue/Poison/GnR. It’s all about the sex, drugs and rock’n’roll lifestyle!! They are indeed a good time party band with a gratitude to their audience!

So they played their Squeeze LP in full tonight and they attacked every song with attitude and vigor. Given they had very little room on stage they managed well to take centre stage with the twin guitarists vying for attention with Jordan and even the bassist coming out of his tiny corner occasionally. Every song is high octane delivered with maximum pleasure, the raw energy and enthusiasm are commendable.  Jordan has all the hallmarks of a great frontman, tattoos a plenty, swagger, audience interaction/participation, the moves etc. I’d love to see him work a bigger audience.

The engaged audience knew the songs and sung along when requested.  The young girls next to me were loving it and headbanging away to most songs.  An interesting mix of audience to be fair, old rockers to teenagers – so they have appeal to a wide demographic.  You can’t help loving watching them strut their stuff without a smile on your face. So to pigeon hole them it’s a bit of 70s glam, 80’s hair metal/sleaze, and retro rock meddling the present and the past together nicely.  As I didn’t know the songs prior to the gig It’s hard to say what the highlights were – lets just say not a dud number all night.

‘Do Me A Favour’ extended into a 10 minute affair with band introductions and oh no a drum solo 😊!  Now Jordan may be full of bravado but hyping up Mark as the “the greatest RnR drummer of our generation” may be a bit wide of the mark, good as he is!

Setlist (click on link to see YouTube videos)

  1. Knockin’ on the Door
  2. Squeeze
  3. Dirty City
  4. Medley – inc. Black Sabbath’s ‘War Pigs’
  5. Love Affair
  6. Wild Animal – Bad Bad
  7. Good Love
  8. Cold Clean Lady
  9. Heather Leather
  10. Do Me A Favor
  11. Pretty Boys
The Bites – Black Heart pub Camden
The Bites – Black Heart pub Camden
The Bites – Black Heart pub Camden
The Bites – Black Heart pub Camden

At the end of the gig they took the time to chat with the audience, sign stuff and pose for photo’s and were very polite and friendly and engaging in conversation.  I think they would be a good bunch to got out  for a beer, or 8, with.

So to sum up – big riffs, big solos, big attitudes and big ambitions.  A gig bursting with energy throughout which connected with the audience and created a party atmosphere.  Their single ‘Do Me A Favour’ is as catchy ass as anything you’ll hear.  After a very promising start it will be interesting to see if their next LP can continue the solid base they have built.  I think they have a bit of The Darkness about them – lets hope they make it to the next level – routing for you guys!

Marko [9 December 2023]

PS – Thanks for signing the vest and posing for pictures!