PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
When is a gig not a gig? When it’s an event and I can honestly say that every Wildhearts gig I’ve been to since the early 90’s has been an event as they are a rare breed of band who have never let me down. I’ve always wondered how they choose their setlist when you look at the wealth of material they have to choose from and they have added to that arsenal by releasing a full length album (Renaissance Men) and a six track mini album (Diagnosis) in 2019 from which a total of five songs from these made up almost a third of their set at the Tivoli in Buckley, their second visit here this year and once again they packed it out!
The fantastic four of Ginger, CJ, Ritch Battersby and Danny McCormack plugged in and blasted out set opener ‘Dislocated’, the first of the new tracks that powered out of the p.a system with a full on Motorhead like bluster. There was hardly time to get our breath back as ‘Greetings From Shitsville’ got us in fine voice, followed by another blast from the past courtesy of ‘The Revolution Will Be Televised’. After all these years I can still hear touches of ‘I Fought The Law’ in the verses as we bellowed back “I’m calling” towards the stage during the choruses. ‘My Kinda Movie’ saw some powerful snare work from Ritch Battersby and the human dynamo thundered throughout ‘Caffeine Bomb’ with Ginger and CJ spitting out the lyrics at auctioneer speed. The Tivoli went mental as Danny pumped out the bass guitar intro for ‘Liberty Cap’, a truly crushing song. Some of Gingers most caustic lyrics came during ‘Diagnosis’, a powerful piece as we duly sang back “I’m not an animal, I’m a human being”.
Their knack of writing hooks that get under your radar and stay there came from ‘Top Of The World’, as did a multitude of them for ‘Vanilla Radio’ and we bounced whilst singing “Where’s my Elvis?”. ‘Stormy In The North, Karma In The South’ was introduced by Ginger as a surprise hit for them as it swept along like a cool summer breeze from the stage. A gnarly ‘The Fine Art Of Deception’ was matched in ire by the turbocharged ‘Action Panzer’. My set highlight ‘Let Em Go’, an adrenaline rush of sugar sweet choruses was introduced as “Getting all the wankers out of your life”. The infectious guitar lines of ‘Sick Of Drugs’ preceded the massive singalong of ‘My Baby Is A Headfuck’ and we had one more chance to lose our minds with the perennial set closer ‘I Wanna Go Where The People Go’, a gig I never wanted to end!
Setlist :-
Dislocated.
Greetings From Shitsville.
The Revolution Will Be Televised.
My Kinda Movie.
Caffeine Bomb.
Liberty Cap.
Diagnosis.
Top Of The World.
Vanilla Road.
Stormy In The North, Karma In The South.
Fine Art Of Deception.
Action Panzer.
Let Em Go.
Sick Of Drugs.
My Baby Is A Headfuck.
I Wanna Go Where The People Go.
Wildhearts band line up :-
Ginger – Guitar/vocals.
CJ – Guitar/vocals.
Ritch Battersby – Drums.
Danny McCormack – Bass guitar/vocals.
