Artist:  Motorhead, Saxon, Danko Jones

Venue: Carling Academy, Newcastle 

Date:  7 November 2008 

With a somewhat hectic week finally coming to a close, we decided why not go out on a high and what better way to set us up for the weekend than a dose of good old school Heavy Rock, and they don’t come any more old school than Motorhead and Saxon!  Two legendary bands that have stood the test of time and stuck to their guns no matter what, it didn't matter if they weren't trendy or not, and tonight's sold out show proves the power these two mighty titans have.

Due to prior commitments and some confusion over the door opening times, we only caught the last few songs of opening act Danko Jones, who by all accounts went down a storm with their own style of Canadian Hard Rock and Metal Preaching’s, so no doubt we’ll probably see them when they return in the New Year.  From what we did catch the crowd were really digging them.

Now the first of the two metal titans Saxon, a band that I have followed since their humble Barnsley beginnings and who hadn’t been back to Newcastle for quite sometime, so it was great to hear frontman Biff explain that this would soon be rectified when the band return again to play the Toon in the New Year.

The band opened up in tremendous style with the classic ‘Motorcycle Man’, which nearly blew the roof off the place as the capacity crowd just roared with approval, which I must say seemed to take the band back a bit by surprise and left them wondering why they'd left it quite so long between their Newcastle shows.  The performance they gave tonight was very much like a headline show as the band ripped into the first of the new material from the forthcoming new album ‘Let Me Feel The Power’, which again sent waves around the venue as middle aged men once more clad themselves in denim and leather and returned to their youths for one night only.  And I'm talking the fans here not the band! 

The classics are what the majority of the crowd wanted to hear and when Biff announced that tonight's show was going to be something a little different, explaining that the band had changed the set around a bit especially for tonight's show as it had been so long since they'd played here in Newcastle, the room erupted once more into an almighty cheer from the capacity crowd.

 Then it was on with the classics as ‘The Bands Played On’ echoed around the venue, with Newcastle virgins Nibs Carter and Doug Scarrett rocking out hard as they experienced the full might of a Newcastle rock crowd at its finest, raw and hungry. 

The set continued with something new this time, ‘Live To Rock’, the band's latest single and a storming one at that, with Biff showing he still has one hell of a pair of lungs and with the might of Nigel Glockler powering out the back beat behind him, these two warhorses showed you're only as old as you feel.

Now it was time for three timeless classics to raise the temperature even more on this cold November night.  First up ‘Heavy Metal Thunder’, which pushed the sound system to its limits with Nibs as animated as ever on bass, whilst Doug and Paul Quinn were just superbly sublime on the guitars, spewing out the classic riffs while Biff, well Biff was Biff - enough said and we wouldn't want him any other way. 

Next up ‘Never Surrender’ and 'Denim and Leather’, which made tonight's capacity crowd punch the air with such enthusiasm as they could muster, before another two new tracks for the crowd to get their teeth into from the bands forthcoming release ’Ashes To Ashes', which went down a storm even though this was the first airing for the crowd, and equally well received was ‘Hell Cats’. Both songs having that special Saxon magic about them.

But it was the classics that the crowd wanted to hear more of and more they got with the final two songs ‘Princess Of The Night’ and 747 (Strangers In The Night)’.  Believe me there were no strangers tonight as we were all friends united in Metal and I and many more like me, can't wait till next year when the band returns for a headline tour, so keep you diaries at the ready!

Now for a band that needed no introduction but got one anyway as Lemmy announced in his usual manner ... "WE ARE MOTORHEAD AND WE PLAY ROCK N' ROLL!!!" ... and the venue shook as the trio got things started with ‘Iron Fist’.  The sheer force of the PA simply rocked the very foundations on the venue because with Motorhead you not only get a show, but a vibrato massage as well, as every bone in my body shook, and no doubt a few fillings were gonna need seeing to Monday morning.

Thundering through the set (and I mean THUNDERING THROUGH) with ‘Stay Clean’, before the first of the songs from the bands latest (and best for 15 years) album ‘Motorizer’ was ‘Buried Alive’, another monster during which Mickey Dee on drums just exploded and with the big screens behind the band, you could see him working overtime as always, pummelling the skins like a man truly possessed.

Again it was full throttle Motorhead all the way with another song off 'Motorizer' this time the superb ‘Rock Out’, with Campbell taking the six-string razor to new heights as he spewed out the fast riffs like no other.

The band seemed to have been forgiven by the fans for their 'Another Perfect Day' album as the band have included the title track into their set, and like all the songs on the set went down a storm with the manic North East crowd, who by this point were just a sweaty head-banging mass and thoroughly enjoying every minute of it.

Next up was one for the older crowd as ‘Metropolis’ echoed out sending yet more vibrations around the room.  It literally was was one eye on the band and one eye on my pint as it moved ever closer to the edge of the self it was sitting on, such were the mighty vibrations from the overworked PA.

The intensity was increasing with every passing moment as Lemmy and the rest of the band mixed classic Motorhead with the new material as 'Over The Top’ stood side by side with likes of ‘I Got Mine’ and ‘One Night Stand’.

We were then treated to something special as Lemmy gave his own tribute to Phil Lynott with a stomping version of 'Rosalie', which was met with massive approval from the capacity crowd.

Any fan of the band who have seen them on one of their more recent tours will know, that any band who have had countless albums released, that unless the band play a four hour or more hours set, then some fan favourites are going to have to be missed out.  Motorhead as a band have such a vast back catalogue that any nineteen song set was bound to include something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue, and that just what we got tonight.

The set powered on through with 'In The Name Of Tragedy’, ‘Just Coz You Got The Power’ and ‘Going To Brazil’, all songs written by the trio over the years.  We were then treated again as the first few chords of 'Born To Raise Hell' went out Lemmy was joined by Biff Byford as this pair of old warhorses stood side by side on this classic.

But fear not, the Fast Eddie and Phil Taylor days weren’t forgotten, as always the best was left for last.  First they slowed things down just a touch with the first of the two encores as the bands sound was stripped down as they gave us a taste of country and western Motorhead style for the sublime ‘Whorehouse Blues’.

The band soon returned with what else but ‘Ace Of Spades’ before rounding off one hell of a night with my personal favourite all time Motorhead song ‘Overkill’.  This monster was the icing of the cake of a great night of old school Hard Rock with two of the biggest masters of the genre and two bands just won't sit down and die and god bless them for it.

Saxon setlist: Motorcycle Man, Let Me Feel The Power, Bands Played On, Live To Rock, Heavy Metal Thunder, Never Surrender, Denim And Leather, Ashes To Ashes, Hell Cats, Princess Of The Night, 747 Strangers In The Night.

Motorhead's setlist: Iron Fist, Stay Clean, Buried Alive, Rock Out, Metropolis, Another Perfect Day, Over The Top, One Night Stand, I Got Mine, Rosalie, In The Name Of Tragedy, Just Cos You Got The Power, Going To Brazil, Killed By Death, Born To Raise Hell, Whorehouse Blues, Ace Of Spades, Overkill.

 

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