Artist: Stolen Sun, Whitefire & The Valves 

Venue: The Studio, Hartlepool

Date:  4 May 2006 

This gig was originally billed as Adam Bomb with support from Stolen Sun, but as Adam had to return to the US for personal reasons at the very last minute, it was up to Stolen Sun to save to day.

I don't mind admitting that this was a bit of a relief that Adam Bomb wasn’t playing here tonight as recently his shows have become a bit samey and to be honest I was only really going to check out Stolen Sun again.

The bands that were replacing Adam Bomb were all bands I had seen before except Station Road, who were somewhat of an unknown quantity to me at this point.

The first band up were The Valves, who I must say have improved a great deal since I last saw them at this very venue a couple of months ago.  They really seemed to be going from strength to strength and did enough tonight for me to warrant me wanting to check them out again.

Although they did only six songs they gave it they’re all and seemed to enjoy playing, something that was sadly missing from the last time I saw them.

With songs like ‘The Outlaw’ and ‘Fast Lane’ sounding just superb this time around and even the Aerosmith cover ‘Mama Kin’ was good to hear.

The band even introduced a slide guitar into their set something I haven’t seen since Sammy Hagar’s Bad Motor Scooter days.  They definitely showed great promise and would recommend anyone to check them out if they are playing at a venue near you.

The next band Whitefire are a band who I have been greatly impressed with ever since seeing them perform for the first time.  I personally think that they are one of the hottest young prospects I’ve seen for a long time.

They'd put together a not too dissimilar set to the one they had performed at the Chillingham Arms a few weeks ago.  But what a difference a proper PA system makes to a show, tonight they were simply phenomenal firing on all cylinders from start to finish. The band relished the bigger stage and seemed a lot more confident on stage with each band member dramatically improving their stagecraft no end.

They only did a short set but they crammed in 30 minutes of sheer quality into that short set, with songs like ‘Give It Up’ and ‘Outspoken’ still sounding like real classic songs.  With the vocals of head honcho Jon sounding really good tonight, while the rest of the band sounded as tight as a drum.

The band continue to impress me every time I seen them perform, and with personal favourites of mine being ‘Pretty Little Lady’ and the stupendous ‘SLR’ being included in their sets, I have no doubt they will continue to do so for a long time.  I would love to see this band do a longer set and put in a few slower tracks like the ballads ‘Run And Hide’ and ‘Nothing Left’ off the bands demo ‘The Damage Is Done’.  So lads, if your reading this, maybe next time yes?

Next up were the unknown quantity of tonight’s proceedings Station Road, they are a band that certainly has that rock star look about them as they came on stage.

The band got off to a great start with a big guitar intro which reminded me of mix between The Alarm and Bauhaus but a maybe a bit more meatier.  Playing songs like ‘You Found The Love’ and ‘Having A Good Time’ which stuck in my mind as highlights from their set.

The only criticism of the band would have to be the keyboards that were almost subdued, I don’t know what they sounded like on stage but they were hardly audible out front.  I suspect this had a lot to due with the mix because even the keyboard player seemed bewildered at times and kept checking they were actually plugged in.

But this aside Station Road still impressed me, only not as much as the first two bands, although I wouldn’t go out of my way to avoid seeing them again and hopefully the next time the sound guy will bring the keyboards into the mix a little more so we can all appreciate them.

Now for Stolen Sun, another band that have well and truly made their mark on me over this past year.  Don't be led into a false sense of security thinking they're going to be a quiet band because once they kick off there's just no stopping them.

The band are another local band that should be getting more exposure than they are getting and hopefully the bands new album due for release later this year will bring them the recognition they deserve.

They opened up in typical Stolen Sun style with both Polo and Gav just churning out some great guitar riffs, and the new Flying V of Polo brings a warmer guitar sound to the mix.

The set included some familiar songs and some new stuff like ‘I Feel Fire’ that really impressed me, but it was the old favourites like ‘You Really Got A Hold On Me’, ‘Show Me Love’ and ‘I Want You’ that really got me singing along.

With new material in the pipeline and a new album due, Stolen Sun will always remain on my roster of bands that I must see come hell or high water.  Their live performances really lift the hairs on the back of my arms.

All in all the nights performances were another reason why I’ve found new faith in the young bands of today, and I can't wait till Christmas when all this Emo rubbish is due to come a halt and proper bands like the four seen here tonight can have their fifteen minutes of fame, or longer if the music gods are feeling particularly generous

 

 

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