PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
THE WILDHEARTS ‘The Renaissance Tour’ comes to Stylus, at Leeds Uni, with support from Towers of London and Massive Wagons.
There are lots of smiling happy faces at Stylus in Leeds tonight and that’s just in the queue before the doors have opened to the venue. Fans are adorning t-shirts of all three bands that are playing and that’s good to see them showing their love for not only the main act The Wildhearts but supports Towers of London and Massive Wagons.
The venue fills up fast and as friends save places as their mates fetch them a beer from the bar. You can feel the anticipation building for what’s to be one hell-of-a rock show.
Towers of London aren’t the same crazy lads who were renowned for their rock and roll debauchery or basically acting like dicks, that milked the media’s attention for all it’s worth back in their heyday when they released Blood, Sweat and Towers album in 2006. 13 years on, from the release of said album, the original line-up featuring Donny and Dirk Tourette, The Rev, Snell and Tommy Brunette are back together. Have they matured? ‘Highley unlikely’ but they’ve got their shit together and are sounding tight with new material to boot!’
Taking to the stage clad in black boiler suits, they played 30 minutes of energetic punk ass sounds from classic opener I’m a Rat and the fist-pumping Air Guitar, you were taken back to those wild days of rock excess. Playing a good mix of old and new songs, the anthemic Shot in the Dark released in 2017, caught my attention. Demonstrating how much the band had honed their sound whilst still pleasing their diehard fans. Tearing a new one on the old favourite Fuck it Up, they explode the place with their closing number. Love or hate Towers of London, it’s great to see them back on stage doing what they love.
For the setlist and more info about Towers of London see the links below:
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/towers-of-london/2019/stylus-leeds-england-2390dc13.html
https://www.facebook.com/towersoflondonband/
Massive Wagons has to be the best thing out of Lancashire, since Betty’s hotpot. The five-piece band has been hard working the underground scene since 2009. Finally getting themselves a record deal and the recognition they truly deserved with some great support slots and their own headline shows. With three albums under their belt they aren’t short of song choices but which songs do you pick to put into a 45-minute set, some corkers I can tell you.
There’s no messing about on opener Dirty Little Secrets, singer Baz Mills exudes that rock and roll richness that comes with having a high pitched gruff voice akin to Bon Scot. Although not seedy Wagon’s sound is earthy and is made from dirty hardcore rock and roll, the kind born in the ’70s with a rough edge, call it pub or working man’s rock, it worked for AC/DC and it works for Massive Wagons.
Hitting hard, the band are fired-up on Nails, they drive their sound to the audience of fans old and new. Back to the Stack sees the band pay homage to Rick Parfitt as they take on a Status Quo stance, as the crowd rocks back and forth for maximum attack.
Closing with Fee Fi Fo Fum this song has become a bit of a Wagon’s anthem. As Baz worked the crowd, they sang back “Fee Fi fo fum, I wanna party with an English rock n’ roll band” and party they did!
For the setlist and more info about Massive Wagons and their upcoming tour dates see the links below:
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/massive-wagons/2019/stylus-leeds-england-3390dc1d.html
https://www.facebook.com/MassiveWagons/
The Wildhearts are invigorated and back with a new album ‘Renaissance Men’ which saw its release on 3rd May, the same date as the start of ‘The Renaissance Tour’. And already it’s topping the charts. Success seems to be on the side of the band that has had its fair share of up and downs over the years. The positive saw Danny McCormack rejoin the band for the 25th Anniversary of the album Earth Vs The Wildhearts and much to the joy of their hardcore fans a mini-tour ensued with the album played in full.
Tonight the crowd are packed in tight and eagerly await their heroes to take the stage. Opening with Dislocated this raucous new number kicks things off, fast, hard and heavy. The fans are familiar with the lyrics and it’s no surprise they’ve sucked them up as it’s been 10 long years since the last Wildhearts studio album.
There’s a stream of classics that follow: Everlone, Vanilla Radio and Suckerpunch, each number is accompanied with the biggest grins and cheers from the crowd to the band and back. I swear The Wildhearts are infectious, once you get some you want more. If you could bottle the electric atmosphere here tonight, you’d make a mint!
Ginger’s vocals are on top form, as he delivers each track with vigour and his band plays like a well-oiled machine. It’s like Ginger, Danny, CJ and Ritch never spent any time apart. Another new song Let Em Go could easily have been part of The Wildhearts greatest hits. It fits in so well and reverberates who The Wildhearts are, and rides nicely along in the same vein as the timeless hit Caffeine Bomb. Like the lyric on new song Renaissance Men that also got an airing tonight ‘’you can’t keep a good man down’’ and you certainly can’t keep one of the best-underrated bands down.
As closing track I wanna go where the people go surmises, it would be at a Wildhearts show as it would seem all the right people are here tonight.
For more tour dates from The Wildhearts and tonight’s setlist – see the links below:
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-wildhearts/2019/stylus-leeds-england-2b90dc1e.html
https://www.facebook.com/TheWildhearts/
