Black Aces and The Quireboys, The Picturedrome, 7th April 2018


Reviewed by:
Rating:
4
On 11 April 2018
Last modified:12 May 2018

Summary:

a high-quality evening of first-rate music , it was excellent to see two different sides of rock being brought together

Tonight, rock n roll was well and truly alive in the picturesque village of Holmfirth.  The Quireboys, currently touring their latest album ‘’White Trash Blues’’ have brought with them Australian rockers Black Aces as their main support band and The Picturedrome was the host for the nights event!

Ripping open their set with Let it Roll, Black Aces were like a can of shook up ‘Fosters’ spurting their energy across the stage. This four piece played tight and brought a pulsating energy with their musical prowess and sound that was obviously influenced by their Aussie musical heritage. You can see why they want to the raise the flag and play homage to such legends like AC/DC and Rose Tattoo with their musical style.  With cool riffs, tub thumping drums and stage performance that included throwing ‘Status Quo’ shapes to wielding their guitars like battle axes. Not  forgetting Tyler with his sugar wouldn’t melt vocals – Black Aces certainly brought their ‘A’ game to a very responsive crowd.  Playing a good mixture of songs from both their albums Anywhere but here and Shot in the Dark. They certainly did show you how to rock roll,  and to be honest you only needed the one support act as these guys had the showmanship of two support acts!

If the Quireboys had been 20 years younger, I am sure they would be thinking how do we   we follow that act?  Luckily, The  Quireboys don’t have to worry about such things as they are pioneers of what they do.  And what they do best is to play their unique style of  good old fashioned blues influenced rock n roll.  Having spent the past few years extensively touring across England and Europe they have honed their craft and built up a good fan base. You can tell this from the almost sold out crowd but not just that; Quireboys fans just can’t seem to get enough of the band that they have been emulating their look from sporting waistcoats to flat caps. And spotted were quite a few  Keith Weir (keyboardist) clones out in the crowd but  as the saying goes imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  So remember folks, The Quireboys got there first long before the hipsters did!
The air is thick with excitement and  as the Quireboys take the stage you can feel the anticipation of the crowd as they open with Too much of a good thing.  You can never have too much of a good thing in my book.  Playing classic hits such as Hey You, There she goes again, and I don’t love you anymore; singer Spike kept everyone entertained in between songs with his jovial  banter.  Taking a polite dig at Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters), he joked about the fact that his leg was in a pot but unlike ‘other’ rock stars he didn’t need to sit down to perform the show!  After playing a blustering 14 songs spanning their career, Spike thanked  the fans on behalf of the band for making their album White Trash Blues no 1 and he dedicated  7 o’clock to the late great  dart player Eric Bristow but not before asking  the  infamous  question ‘what time is it?’ to which the crowd enthusiastically erupted  and  replied  ”7’o clock, time for the  party!!”

After partying, we were entertained with a further two songs from the magnanimous Quireboys. And I say magnanimous because the band are praise worthy of such a title;  having earned and paid their dues on the rock scene since reforming back in 1995, and long may they continue with their success!  Tonight was a high-quality evening of first-rate music, it was excellent to see two different sides of rock being brought together.  Both bands were full of passion and energy for what they do and you can catch them both on tour right now, and I certainly would if I was you.

a high-quality evening of first-rate music , it was excellent to see two different sides of rock being brought together

About Alex English