Brighton Rock

The day was already flying over at a frightening pace when Brighton Rock appeared. Oh my goodness! What on earth were you thinking of when you were getting dressed? Here before us we had a band who's lead singer had a very bright shirt on and a pair of long white cotton shorts. Gerry! What were you thinking of?

I'm sorry chaps but knees are not to be seen and this was Manchester you were playing and not Hawaii you know. It made you look a tad silly I'm afraid to say, I thought Duncan Norvell's dad had taken to the stage!

However once the initial shock of seeing Gerry's bare knee-caps stareing down at us, the band did actually sound rather good. Not only that but they looked totally relaxed and like they were having a whale of a time performing before us. I can honestly say that this was the first band we'd seen all day who had looked 100% comfortable to be playing in front of so many strange faces.

Perhaps you'd realised we don't bite, either that or you'd had a better chance to sink a few pints before you went on. Whichever it was it certainly seemed to work. They really were enjoying being up there and playing their songs for us. If they had nerves then they certainly didn't show.

I know from speaking to people afterwards there was quite a few that were pleasantly surprised by this band and their music. It may have taken them the best part of 13 years to get their act back on track and full steam ahead, just a shame regular guitarist Greg Fraser couldn't make the trip over for the festival.

However we had a very youthful looking Derek McGowan acting as his replacement and what a good job he did too. Perhaps a little strange that he didn't try to copy any of Greg's signature solo's for which he is so famous for (Greg, not Derek).

Whether this was done on purpose, or perhaps he wasn't quite up to speed on them yet, it was hard to tell as he certainly knew his way around all the other parts. Either way he did a cracking job and is definitely a worthy stand-in.

About half way through their set we'd actually moved to the rear of the room for some food and continued to watch them perform in all their glory from the safety of the rear of the room. This actually worked very well for me as it meant I could listen to their songs rather than be hypnotized by a pair of naked knees.

What an amazing band to listen to, wonder just how long it will be before they return to these shores. Canada is a heck of a way to go watch a band perform! These guys gave everything in this set, it was very tight and professional but without sounding forced.