Hurrah, it’s Friday and there is a gig to go to that features four very good bands for just ten of your English pounds. There is of course a downside to this – it’s in Wigan. Now, I have nothing against Wigan per se but I suspect its one-way system was actually designed by a bonafide demon one wet Sunday when he was bored with torturing individual souls. It’s worthy of being one of the outer roads of hell I think, so after driving around it aimlessly for far longer than I intended I finally find the Boulevard and somewhere to park that’s more or less in the same postcode as it. The Boulevard turns out to be a rather funky rock bar in a cellar under several much more “normal” pubs, so I settle in to enjoy the rest of the evening and try not to think about how the hell I am going to navigate home later!

First band of the evening are not unknown to me. Revival Black are from Liverpool and used to go by another name with another singer. I always liked them back then so when they got new(ish) singer Daniel in and re-branded themselves I was happy to tag along and see how things are going for them. I’m not going to go into huge detail about their set tonight as they are releasing their first album next week (Sat 5th October) and I will be covering the launch party for these hallowed pages too. Suffice to say that they play gritty but melodic hard rock with a bluesy touch, and Daniel has an amazing scream! Standout tracks are ‘Wide Awake’ and ‘Hold Me Down’. ‘Wide Awake’ is the current single, which I advise you to check out if you want a sample of what they can do. My personal favourite is ‘Hold Me Down’ with its bouncy beat and majestic riffage. All tracks played tonight will be featured on the album and I’m looking forward to giving it a good listen in due course. See you next week boys, save me some cake!

I’ve seen Sons Of Liberty play acoustic before (even though the drummer doesn’t like to!) but never the full set, so I thought I knew what to expect. I was expecting laid-back country rock, something in the Lynyrd Skynyrd line maybe. I was wrong. What I get is some upbeat stomp rock that’s more of a cross between AC/DC and Slade. Looking past the slouch hats and acres of conch, this is a competent good-time band who know how to party. The singer (I want to call him Doc, that’s not his name but it seems to suit him) is having a fine old time throwing out singalong party smashers and the occasional bit of harmonica. The riffs are big, the choruses are catchy. Sons of Liberty have an album coming out in October too, on the 25th, so the set contains quite a few of their newer songs. The current single ‘Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief’ has a military beat and reminds me very much of Massive Wagons’ ‘Fight The System’. ‘Start It Up’ is bluesier, and ‘Damned If You Do’ is faster and has a sound similar to American southern rock band Blackfoot. Overall this is a band who have a specific style to their playing and they do it very well. A set from them is great entertainment.

Third band tonight Piston are the only band on this bill that are new to me, and at first I am disappointed. The sound is terrible, tinny and muffled and I can see guitarists but not hear any guitars. Thankfully that turns out to be an issue with one side of the venue and when I move slightly it all suddenly gets much better. There’s a touch of sleazy attitude, a handful of decent songs and (now I can hear it!) some rather excellent guitar work holding it all together. There’s also a drummer who seems to be very much the star of the show, standing up at the kit and generally directing the mayhem. ‘Rainmaker’ has a touch of “Back In Black” era AC/DC about it, new single “One More Day” is faster, upbeat and cheerful, and ‘Blow It Away’ has a nod to Led Zeppelin going on. There’s a punked-up version of AC/DC’s ‘Gone Shootin’ which works surprisingly well. I always enjoy a cover when the band put their own twist on it and that’s exactly what Piston did. A song called ‘Carry Us Home’ is tinged with Southern blues and sounds not unlike The Black Crowes. Piston too, have an album release imminent, and the first release off it which sounds like it’s called “Doughnut” is a slice of funky bass-led rock goodness. Oh no, oops, it’s called ‘Go Now’ not Doughnut! There are a couple more originals and then finally a rousing cover of ‘Proud Mary’ which is also nicely done and gets a good crowd response. Yes, I like Piston. They have good footwear, the drummer is a hoot and the music isn’t half bad either. They’ll do for me!

And so we come to tonight’s last band. Collateral are also a band that I’ve seen before, as they have played at a couple of Hard Rock Hell events. I’ve been impressed with them previously and I was looking forward to seeing them again so I’m happy to be able to report that they too put on an excellent show and played a most enjoyable set. Pretty much the first thing you notice about Collateral is, to be fair, their frontman. Angelo is tall, pretty and tonight he’s wearing the tightest white trousers you can possibly imagine. He practically glows in the dark, which is just as well as the lighting in the Boulevard isn’t the best. Thankfully though this band is about more than just appearances and the songs come tumbling out of them in a hard-hitting medley of fantastic choruses and shredding guitar sounds.

Opener ‘Big Shot’ sets the pace and is a little slice of AOR heaven with its catchy chorus and high-energy groove. There are girls in the audience doing proper dancing, and the crowd, although not massive, is getting swept up and carried with the flow already. Angelo’s acoustic guitar comes out for ‘Going With The Wind’ and that’s followed by a new song ‘Won’t Stop You Dreaming’ which is a bit of a power-ballad anthem. Collateral’s album isn’t due out until next year (although there is an EP called 4 Shots available if you want to check them out) and judging by the songs we hear tonight it’s going to be an absolute belter. They have recently returned from playing alongside Bon Jovi on their “Runaway To Paradise” cruise and I can’t think of a better support slot for them. Although they don’t really sound like Bon Jovi, they are a of similar genre. There are big harmonies, big power chords, big guitar solos and of course big hair. It’s all good.

There’s another new song ‘About This Boy’ which has a more pop-country feel, think along the lines of Mellencamp or maybe Rick Springfield. It’s a little different and I like it. There’s a rose-tinted paean to the 80s ‘In It For Love’ that sounds like the Scorpions, and the energetic ‘Midnight Queen’ that has garnered them quite a lot of radio airplay in the last year or so. They finish with ‘Lullaby’, a whirlwind of a song penned by a whirlwhind of a band. Collateral have picked up a lot of momentum in the rock world over the last year or so, and I hope they can keep rolling with it because I think they are bloody awesome!

PS – it took me forever to get home. You’d have had this review days ago if it wasn’t for the pesky A49!