Artist:  Red Star Rebels & Rollin Thunder 

Venue: Rios, Bradford

Date:  16 September 2006 

Originally tonight was supposed to be part of the "Faster Pussycat vs. Enuff ZNuff" tour, but as both bands had spectacularly cancelled at the eleventh hour, it was left up to British support act Red Star Rebels to save the day.  At the time of writing this review there has still been no official statement made from the Faster Pussycat camp as to why they decided on the no show, and Enuff ZNuff's camp have simply stated 'The UK tour is cancelled as other band pulled out'.  

With the lack of 'official' statements from both camps rumours have spread like wildfire, one reporting differences between Faster Pussycat and a US promoter on a previous tour, another reporting Enuff ZNuff arrived at the airport but decided not to bother boarding the plane minutes before they were supposed to.  Whatever the reasons behind it both of these bands have let a lot of their fans down in a big way, many of whom have lost considerable amounts of money in trains fares, hotel room bookings and even the booking fees on tickets returned for refunds.  All in all a total shambles and one that will no doubt cost both bands considerably on future in attendances.  

How refreshing to see the Red Star Rebels not only remain true professionals in the face of disaster by trying to salvage as many dates as possible so as not to disappoint their many fans, but also retaining their dignity and not slagging of said bands during their appearance tonight at Rios.  Well done lads, you are worth a hundred of these washed out ego-maniacs and long may it continue.  It's great to see someone still cares about the fans and continues to put them first above all else.

Now on to the show and first up we had the St Helens based band Rollin Thunder.  This quintet are fronted by Ted Poley look-a-like Rik Clayton, with the twin guitar sound of Lynan and Stone, and a rhythm section consisting of Danny on bass and Wolf on drums completing the line-up.

The band open up their set with ‘Forever’, a track taken from the bands ‘Young Blood Album’.  The bands whole persona is one of good time rock n' roll and this was immediately visible as vocalist Rik climbs the lighting rig on the opening song.

The set continued with the rocker ‘Everybody Wants’, with Rik doing his best Poley impression and ‘Back To Life’, another great song.  The only criticism I have about the band at this stage is they lack a little substance in their overall live sound and they don’t seem to make the most of the two guitar sound, but other than this they are a band who have great potential.

The band continue with ‘Free As Bird’ and ‘No Work, Just Play’, yet another two good songs that could perhaps do with a little more punch, but band started to come into their own with the excellent ‘Suicide’.  With this the band really start warming up and are all a lot more animated by this point.

The band closes their very impressive set with two great songs ‘ Rest Assured’ and my favourite of the night ‘Let Her Cry’.  These two songs have the bite that the first few numbers by the band were lacking and shows the band have the ammunition in their armoury and just need the motivation to use it right.  I'll be keeping a close eye on how they progress from here and look forward to catching them in action again soon.

Now to the headliners and savours of the night the mighty Red Star Rebels, a band that seem to improve with every show that I see them perform.

The band takes their usual positions throughout the venue with only guitarist Meady and drummer Steve on stage.  With Meady doing his best Steve Vai impression with two guitars, he got things started with a nice solo intro which led into on of my favourite Red Star songs, ‘Too Young To Care’, as the rest of the band gradually join them on stage.

The band continued their Guns n' Roses/Poison fusion sound with ‘This Love is Cold’ and ‘Aint Love A Bitch’, before slowing things down a touch with another favourite of mine ‘The Young Die Fast And Pretty’, which went on to blend nicely into the rip roaring ‘In It For The Kicks’.

Then it was cover time with a little bit of classic rock and the bands own rendition of Zeppelins ‘Rock N' Roll’, not the best version of the song I’ve ever heard but it had Rebels firmly stamped all over it.

With vocalist Blackie in fine voice it was time for a song new to me ‘Victor Victoria’, a great song from the band who were taking full advantage of their lengthened slot to put on a full Rebels show.  By now they were in full flow and continued to impress with ‘Bullet Proof Love’ and ‘Another Heartache’, before really going for it with the stunning ‘On My Way To Hollywood’ and ‘Let It Ride’.  The band finished off yet another amazing set with their current single ‘Just Another Drug I Gotta Have’.

Without these guys the whole weekend would have most definitely been a bust, but once again they did the business and showed the good folks of Bradford just how to party.  I for one will be whole heartedly looking forward to catching both bands perform live again at the Wildside Festival in Nottingham later this year.

 

 

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