Artist: Saxon & Doro

Venue:  02 Academy, Newcastle

Date:  1 May 2009 

This tour and in particular tonight's show has to be the highlight of my year so far, gig wise at least.  I've been a massive fan of both Saxon and Doro/Warlock since I was knee high to a grasshopper and still thoroughly enjoy watching both bands perform live at every given opportunity.  Both bands were among the hallowed few to feature on my bedroom walls all those years ago and although the posters may have faded and been taken down a long time ago, the fire's still there for metal both in both my heart and theirs.  Now in my home town I was going to witness not just one but two of my childhood heroes live in action once again. 

First up tonight we had the very talented and extremely fit, and I mean that purely in the athletic way, although the male members of the audience may mean a totally different way, Ms Doro Pesch and her band Doro.  Now here is a lady who really knows how to work a crowd into a frenzy and an excited frenzy of fan action she did cause as she bounced onto the stage to join the rest of the band to launch us head-long into the fast and furious 'Earthshaker Rock'.  From the off the crowd was pushed hard against the barriers and giving it the horns, the fists and shaking what hair they had left for all it was worth.

Beaming from ear to ear the metal queen instantly knew she had the room eating out the palm of her hands as the band continued their set with 'I Rule The Ruins'.  A song that still sounds as fresh and powerful as it did all those years ago when it was first released.  

There's not been that many female singers to feature in the world of Rock & Metal over the years and very few can claim to come anywhere close to the longevity that Ms Pesch has enjoyed, and still very much enjoys to this day.  However, you only have to watch this little lady in action and you soon realise why this may be so.  

Ms Pesch is truly passionate about each and every performance she gives and her endless energy seems to know no bounds.  Whether she's playing in front of a few hundred or a few thousand fans, she gives it her all each and every second of her performance. 

 Tonight both her and the rest of her band looked genuinely pleased at the response they were receiving tonight.  Rather fittingly perhaps the next song of their set was 'You're My Family', a song dedicated lyrically to all the fans who have supported her for over two decades.  By now the Geordie choir had managed to wet their tonsils and were giving it their all vocally.

The set continued on in great style with songs stretching right from the very first Warlock album in the form of 'Burning The Witches', all the way up the newest release 'Fear No Evil' in the shape of 'Night of the Warlock' and 'Celebrate'.  Wow, what a fantastic night this was turning out to be.  Joining Ms Pesch here tonight were familiar faces in the shape of Nick Douglas on bass and Johnny Dee and drums.  Newest member of the band Luca Princiotta on guitar, and filling in for both Joe Taylor and Oliver Palotie tonight we had Bas Maas on guitar and keyboard.  Luckily the setlist consisted fewer songs that required a lot of keyboards so covering for 2 missing members at the same time wasn't as difficult as it might have been.

The band looked like they were having a whale of a time on stage and the crowd were most definitely having a wild old time in the hall.  It might have been impossibly hot in the Academy tonight but with the aid of plenty of bar staff we managed to make it through this scorching set without anyone passing out.  

Closing the set with a cover of 'Breaking The Law', which started slowly and gently with Ms Pesch's soft vocals before the band unleashed this metal beast from it's cage and Ms Pesch sang like a woman possessed.  Final song of the bands set tonight was actually the one that first got me into Doro, or Warlock as they were called then, 'All We Are', a metal anthem if ever there was one and a song that at the time enjoyed heavy rotation on the infamous Alan Robson's 'Hot N' Heavy' radio show.  

As the band left the stage I'm sure I saw grown men weep with sheer delight at what they had just witnessed.  You'd think Newcastle had gone to the top of the league, such was their reaction to Doro here tonight.  The whole band were absolutely fantastic and played from start to finish like men possessed.  Let's hope tonight's show has opened their eyes to the fact that they have a hell of a lot of fans in Newcastle, both old and new, who would LOVE to see them grace our friendly city with their presence again.      

Now on to Saxon, a band who have graced the North East with their presence right since those early days as 'Son Of A Bitch'.  Even after all these years it feels strange to watch the band perform in Newcastle at any where other than the City Hall, a venue that played host to the band for more gigs over the years than I care to remember.  However, one thing that the Academy has in it's favour over the City Hall is the room is bigger, it's not a seated venue and the stage is huge in comparison.  

When things started to slow down in the UK for Saxon a few years ago and the band decided to down-sized their UK tours and focused more over-seas, where the metal scene remained at it's strongest, they stopped coming 'Up North' and seemed to forget just how much we love these musical rascals.  However, truth be told they remembered damn quickly when they returned last Winter with Motorhead and were blown over by the reaction of the crowd that night.  Yes, we loved you then and we continue to love you even today, so stop messing about and make this a permanent stop-off on your tours in future guys!

At the end of their set last Winter I turned to Oor Lad and said I'd quite happily go home there and then and miss Motorhead entirely, because for the first time in a long time I felt musically fulfilled, something I hadn't felt in a long time.  Of course I didn't leave because he'd have killed me, but long forgotten emotions had well and truly been stirred that night and tonight the band were returning, not as support this time but as headliners, which is where they belong.

The venue was crammed full tonight and scorchingly hot after Doro had whipped up the audience nicely prior to Saxon coming on.  (Note to Academy - you've got air-conditioning so why not go wild occasionally and put the bloody thing on instead of letting the venue get hotter and sweatier than a camels arm-pit!).  Still I digress, the metal maniacs of Newcastle were out in force tonight, with at least 3 generations of Saxon fans present in the crowd.  If Biff and the boys wanted to see everybody go crazy then all they had to do was walk on stage, which they did and the crowd exploded with cheers as our heroes returned to show us how metal's really done, with style, grace and melody that's as infectious as nits in a nursery.

Ripping into 'Battalions of Steel' the band laid out their game-plan from the off.  Tonight's set would feature a number of well chosen tracks from the band's latest release 'Into the Labyrinth', all of which more than prove the band have found their balls again and aren't a load of gummy old pensioners ready for the knackers yard just yet as some would try and have you believe.  If this isn't laying the gauntlet down for all those young pretenders out there then I don't know what is.  This is pure blue-blooded metal at it's very best and a song that will no doubt step up to the heady ranks of metal anthems in no time.

Stepping back in time we moved on to 'Heavy Metal Thunder' with Doug and Paul fairly spewing out the riffs, while Nigel gave the drums a right good beating and Nibbs played bass and head-banged along with the frenzied crowd.  We were only two songs into the set and the crowd were already trying to raise the roof off the venue with their vocal efforts. 

Swiftly returning to the new album the band went for the deliciously wicked 'Demon Sweeney Todd', a track that 

starts off slowly with Biff's haunting vocal introduction before the guitars come in all guns blazing and the drums give your ear-drums the pounding of their life.  With songs like this it's no the wonder Saxon are firm favourites on the European Festival circuit and later this year they'll be performing at the UK's very own Bloodstock.  All ye who are Saxon virgins prepare for the biggest shock of your life because if Saxon play Bloodstock the way they've played here tonight, they're gonna blow the other bands off the stage and into the middle of next year.

Probably their most commercial single to date the ever popular Christopher Cross cover 'Ride like the Wind' followed, and how marvelous did that sound eh?  Been far too long since this song was played live by the band.  It took us back to the days when Biff squeezed his pigeon legs into those white spandex trousers and tried to look as butch as a bloke can wearing them while singing heavy metal.  I know it must be hard to give the fans a set they want when you have so many great songs in your back catalogue but I sure do hope this makes a regular outing in future shows.

Biff introduced the next song as a bit of a slow one, before the band launched us head-first into 'Witchfinder General'.  Ha ha, a slow one indeed, I don't think!  Still it showcased just how good Biff's lungs are these days since he packed in the cigs.  30 years on and still going strong, you gotta give this man credit for being blessed with one heck of a great set of pipes.

'Strong Arm of the Law' followed and helped rock back those years even further, much to the delight of the crowd who were thoroughly enjoying tonight's performance and taking every the opportunity to sing-along with every ounce of their very being.  

Another anthemic song by the band in the shape of 'And the Bands Played On' followed before the room exploded to newbie 'Hellcat', which saw Quinn really ripping it up while the crowd burst into action once more for more frenzied participation.  Every hand in the crowd was raised high as this song of epic proportions raised the temperatures even further up the scale.

I'm not sure what was going through the band's minds as they looked out across the sea of sweaty, insanely happy fans smiling like demented inmates from the local asylum,  but it would take a hard hearted man not to feel a lump rise by the un-bounding adoration that was being heaped upon the band here tonight.  

Reaching back into the archives for 'Dallas 1 pm' the band were ticking all the boxes on greatest show of the year and then some.  Scarratt's guitar solo was simply outstanding on this one and cemented the fact firmly in everyone's mind that Saxon really are a UK band to be proud of.  The hits just kept coming loud and proud in the form of 'Rock of Ages', 'Never Surrender', a song that Biff decided to dedicate to everyone who'd supported the band over the years.  He also took the time out to have a bit of friendly banter with the crowd.  Asking if anyone here tonight was in a band an eager young fella down the front stuck up his hand and was promptly passed the microphone from an inquisitive Biff.  

When asked what the band was called he replied ... 'we're changing our name' ... which wasn't in fact the name of the band but rather the fact the band were in a transition period.  However this totally cracked Biff and the audience up as Biff said that was a fantastic name for a band and he would recommend it to anyone coming to Newcastle, to go see this great new up and coming band called 'We're 

Changing Our Name'!  After spending so many of his early years on the North East club circuit himself I've no doubt this brought flooding back many happy memories of other bizarre conversations Biff's shared over the years with his North East fans.  'Only in Newcastle!' he said as he giggled his way back to centre stage with the mic before giving the rest of the band the nod to continue with 'Wheels of Steel'.  A song that reached ear popping levels due to the Toon army choir taking it up more notches than on a tart's bedpost.   

Never one to rob the fans short the band returned to do not one but two encores, which featured 'Live To Rock', 'Motorcycle Man', '747 (Strangers in the Night) and 'Denim and Leather'.  The set may have been a good 2 hours long but it flew over and left the crowd feeling both well and truly fulfilled, while at the same time chomping at the bit wanting to know when the band would be returning.  Biff said it was great to be back in Newcastle again and that he'd see us all again early next year.  Let's hope so as we've got a lot of missing years to make up for and with Biff, Paul, Doug, Nigel and Nibbs being so on fire here tonight, we're keen to keep that fire burning long and strong.  It's true the band really do 'Live To Rock' and here tonight I think we reminded them that the Geordie fans do too!

 

 

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