| 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.
Setlist
included: Bulletproof, Young, wild & Free, Barricade,
Nothing to Lose, One more Try, Hangin' high n' Dry, Hollywood Shuffle,
Nightstalker, Rebel with a Cause, Power Overload, Immigrant Song |