Everyone and their dog will be aware of Phil Campbell at this point. Joining a new look Motörhead in 1984, Campbell was a mainstay of the band until they disbanded after Lemmy Kilmeisters unfortunate passing in 2015. These days the Welsh guitarist can instead be found playing alongside the Bastard Sons. In case anyone was unaware of who they were, opening song ‘We Are the Bastards’ made sure that anyone yet unaware would quickly learn the name and what they were about. Campbell and Co. Perform a mixture of very safe yet infectious Hard Rock. They’re never going to take the prize for innovation or technical prowess, however what they did offer would be sure to hit the right notes with tonight’s crowd which consisted of a primarily of the Golden Generation, with scatterings of youth here and there. 

I’ve always found Classic/Hard Rock to be a little bit silly. When it comes to music, what appeals to me most is the lyrical content, and how the music played behind these lyrics can emphasise and epitomise the emotions coming from the singer. Whilst this obviously means I'm partial to a power ballad here and there, the quote-unquote “Seedy Side” of this coin does absolutely nothing to me. I’m not arsed about tales of Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll and Heavy Masculinity, and whilst Phil Campbell & The Bastard Sons were only minor offenders with this, songs such as ‘Get On Your Knees’ & ‘Bite My Tongue’ evoked audible scoffs from myself. 

That’s not to say however that I didn’t enjoy this performance, like I said, I found them to be quite infectious. Vocalist Joel Peters has a real great Hard Rock voice, he has the trademark gravel at the back of his throat, as well as a pretty impressive range and commanding stage presence. Phil himself was also on the top of his game. Despite being the namesake of this project, he was more than happy to just stand stage right for the duration of the set, letting his guitar do the talking. It was also refreshing to see that despite making his name as part of probably the most iconic band to come from this country (in my humble opinion anyway), we weren’t subject to Motörhead v2.0. Instead, Campbell and co. Presented a contemporary twist to an outdated genre instead of leaving it stuck in the past. Despite saying this, we were however treated to 3 Motorhead songs, ‘Going to Brazil’, ‘Born To Raise Hell’ and of course, ‘Ace Of Spades’. These obviously garnered the heaviest responses of the show, ‘Ace of Spades’ especially, however they came across more like tributes to the band that gave Phil his name, as opposed to using them to pad their set and pander to the crowd inside the O2 Ritz. They weren’t perfect depictions of these songs. The Bass didn’t have the trademark chest destroying distortion, and Peters voice simply didn’t compliment the raspy, intense vocals of Lemmy – however asking someone to be on the same level as Lemmy, both as a bass player and vocalist, would be absolutely absurd, so I'm more than happy to look over this. 

Despite these days looking like a MAD Magazine caricature, Michael Monroe’s energy at the ripe old age of 60 is nothing short of admirable. From the first second of his set, to the last, Monroe bounced around the stage like an absolute lunatic, jumping from the stage to the guard rail, climbing speaker stacks and everything in between. As a result of passing the age in which falling over instead changes to “having a fall”, the idea that if he slips, he’s fucked it, was definitely in the back of my mind, however it was severely impressive, nonetheless. 

Monroe made his name as being the vocalist of Finnish Band, Hanoi Rocks, who developed quite the following in the late 70’s/early 80’s and it wouldn’t be out of the realms of possibility that pockets of this crowd were here just for Michael rather than Black Star Riders, as the response he received was similar, if not greater than the night’s headliner. It’s easy to see why though, as Monroe’s music consisted of absolute bloody earworms. Much like Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons before him, he’s not going to win awards in terms of lyrical maturity or musical innovation, however if you hear a song like ‘Last Train to Tokyo’ and don’t think it is as addictive as Glam Rock bands rider, then you’re an absolute liar.

There was some hiccups during the set, including Monroe’s Saxophone deciding it wanted the night off. Monroe spent the first half of the song trying to put the reed in the saxophone, with much difficulty, however his effort was in vain as the microphone connected to saxophone was knackered anyway. Ever the professional though, Monroe used his quick thinking to instead hold the sax up to his own microphone, however this was to little avail, as this microphone just didn’t compliment the sound necessary to give off the full impact of the saxophones sound. This was a tad disappointing as I'm an absolute sucker for a saxophone and it’s luring presence just in front of the drum riser got me excited to see how Monroe would use it. Rock isn’t meant to be perfect though, and despite it failing him on the night, it instead shown that Monroe is an absolute professional, using his quick thinking to make the most of a shit situation. 

Despite having an extended set fitting of his “Special Guest” Status, Monroe’s set flew by relatively quickly. Despite finding it corny and parodical in parts, the absolute showmanship and infectious nature of Monroe and his band was nothing to be scoffed at, even if he sometimes transcended the boundaries of silliness at times. I’m not exactly a convert and I'm in no rush to delve into the back catalogue of Hanoi Rocks, he got a “Fair Play” from me – a hard feat for someone who admittedly cannot usually stand this part of our world. 

Embarking on their 10-year anniversary tour, tonight's headliners, Black Star Riders are one of the most recognisable purveyors of the new age of Classic Rock. Formed by former Thin Lizzy guitarist, Scott Gorham, the looming shadow of Lizzy hang over the heads of BSR, yet they refuse to be just Thin Lizzy 2.0. They’ve instead used these past 10 years to carve their own name, and their own sound in order to service as long as they have. Unfortunately, however, when they break away from the trademark Thin Lizzy style, they just become another run of the mill band. 

To say Thin Lizzy where innovators of the genre is an absolute understatement. The offbeat vocal style of Phil Lynott and one of the first uses of dual wield guitar solos helped establish them as one of the most iconic bands of 70’s/80’s. This is why, when BSR utilise this sound in their own music, they sound absolutely superb. Despite trashing Classic Rock, a bit, Thin Lizzy were always that band that were the exception and are probably my favourite band of that era. As a result of this connection I have, I had a second-hand connection to Black Star Riders as a result of their similarities. Songs such as ‘When The Night Comes In’, ‘Another State of Grace’ & ‘Bloodshot’ elicited a genuine smile from myself as I thought these were moments of genuine brilliance. 

As mentioned previously though, it was my connection to these so called “Lizzy-isms” that made these songs so enjoyable. Unfortunately, when Black Star Riders played Black Star Riders songs, I found that they had a tendency to drag on a little bit. There wasn’t much in the way of redeeming qualities and my smile turned instead to a straight face, admittedly still nodding along to the beat, but I was still deflated, nonetheless. This also seemed to be the same reaction from a lot of the crowd. There wasn’t little in the way of movement from the crowd, and I can’t even blame it being “that type of crowd” either, as there was a genuine sense of energy during Michael Monroe. But alas, this is my first time seeing BSR, so it may have been the case that there’s are generally just a stand and nod kind of band.

I’m a fair guy though, I'm not going to say this was a bad show. I genuinely thought they shown signs of absolute brilliance in scatters, the first 10/12 songs especially. I even messaged one of my friends, a huge BSR fan saying “I get it now, these are class” as it’s been a long running joke between the two of us that I'm as stubborn as anything when it comes to my enjoyment of “Dad Rock” and that was my genuine feeling during this set. Unfortunately, however, they just didn’t have the longevity to captivate me for their full 90-minute set. Give me a 30 minute set of them busting out the “Lizzy-Isms” at a festival set however, and I would have absolutely lapped it up and then some. 

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!

Black Star Riders, Michael Monroe, Phil Campbell and The Bastard Sons