Live Review : Marco Mendoza Trio + Loz Campbell @ Waterloo Music Bar, Blackpool on June 6th 2024

Fresh from pulling double duties at the recent Call of the Wild festival, Loz Campbell tonight swaps the fields of Lincolnshire for the bracing seaside air of the Northwest coast.  A firm fixture on the circuit over the last few years, Loz and her band have certainly been paying their dues and this constant touring seems to be paying off, as they tear through a strong set with both commitment and style.  Opening with ‘Evil’ from 2019’s “Back Biting the Bullet” EP, the band set their stall out early with a tight punchy sound, all stop-start vocals and guitars, following it up with the titular track from that release. ‘Back Biting the Bullet’ itself is dramatic and impactful, with its chugging riff, a great vocal from Loz and some excellent double-kick drumming at play, expertly deployed for punctuation and emphasis, but never dominating as sadly can often be the case. ‘Bad Girl’, too has a memorable drum part, with an almost tribal rhythm on the floor tom driving the verses, and a crashing China cymbal cutting through to provide a different texture on this mid-tempo stormer. 

The band come over far heavier and punchier into the live arena than their recorded output might suggest. With just three musicians on stage, with Loz on both lead guitar and vocals alongside bass and drums they produce an impressively big sound.  Loz tells us that one of the support slots the band did was for Cherie Currie, which leads nicely into their fiery version of The Runaways’ classic Cherry Bomb. ‘The World Was Made to Destroy You’ ends their nine-song set in a suitably emphatic and memorable style, with a meaty bass line, and more tasty double kick drumming driving band and song to a fiery crescendo. 

Marco Mendoza is a bona fide rock star, pure and simple. It's evident from the second he takes to the stage, that this is a musician and performer of supreme charisma, as well as phenomenal technical ability. Leonine in black leather, his stage presence simply demands your attention; he yelps, preens, blows kisses, fist bumps and throws shapes, with a devilishly playful glint in his eyes, and a permanent 1000-megawatt Hollywood smile. Oh yeah, and he also plays bass; hell, does he play bass!   

But refreshingly, in this increasingly self-obsessed media-driven world, Marco possesses none of the negative attributes usually associated with stardom. He's humble, self-effacing and eminently likeable, a performer who relates easily with his fans, and doesn't take them for granted. And across the range of his set, he shows that it doesn't matter whether he's performing to 180,000 people in a stadium or, as tonight, in a much more intimate venue, he is determined to connect with everyone and send them home with a smile on their face and an uplifted spirit. Marco is a genuinely positive force of nature, pulling you into his orbit and taking you along for a technicoloured ride through the strength of his music, his performance and his personality. 

The list of bands and musicians with whom Marco has worked is a veritable who's who and with that in mind, you might expect the material he covers in this solo outing would be culled from his time with these heavy hitters. But, a couple of exceptions aside, this isn't the case, with the lion's share of the songs drawn from his solo albums, “Viva La Rock” – whose eponymous title track constitutes tonight’s set opener - and “New Direction”.   

As you would expect, his songs showcase his extraordinary bass abilities as befits someone who has long played with the great and good of the rock n roll scene, but he never falls into the trap of being self-indulgent or self-serving.  There are no extended solos or prolonged exercises in navel-gazing to derail the flow of the set, everything is done in service of the songs and the performance, and as a result the set and energy level on and off stage never falters.    

A distinctive wonderfully psychedelic, almost 70ish hippy vibe pervades the set at times and it’s a glorious thing to be there to witness.  ‘New Direction' encapsulates this approach, it’s groovy and funky and feels like something left over from the original summer of love and dragged kicking into the light of the 21st century.  And with Marco encouraging the crowd to throw up peace signs, in those few minutes we are catapulted back five or six decades. In a similar vein later in the set, ‘Hole in my Pocket’ swings and wails, Drew Lowe’s liquid dexterity and impeccably precise soloing on lead guitar sitting alongside the funky edge of Marco’s effortlessly cool, funky bass line.  Segueing into ‘Give Peace a Chance’, Marco disappears off stage only to reappear moments later in the centre of the crowd where he proceeds to conduct the singalong involving pretty much everyone present; it’s a lovely moment of positivity, solidarity and hope, made all the more relevant by its inclusion on today’s date…  

As the leader of his own band Marco Mendoza is able to showcase his consummate abilities as a showman and frontman, playing the crowd as expertly and effectively as he does his bass guitar.  It’s all hugely good-natured and massively enjoyable, from tales hanging up on long-distance phone calls from David Coverdale to heartfelt stories of love and family, Marco and his trio are a delightful concoction of powerhouse musicality and out and out fun. Endlessly inventive and unpredictable (as rock n roll should be), having the crowd finger clicking together for example is a somewhat unusual bit of audience participation, but like much of tonight, it may be surprising at first but it really, really works... 

The hour and forty minutes of the set disappear remarkably quickly due to everyone being so engaged and invested, both band and crowd alike. Back-to-back renditions of Stevie Wonder's ‘Higher Ground’ and Thin Lizzy's ‘Chinatown’ may make for odd bed fellows on paper, but work brilliantly together on stage, before ‘Scream and Shout’ rounds out a wonderfully transcendent set.  With his bass left on the stage floor, feeding back and thrumming physically through our bones, we know Marco is coming back for at least one more song, and he does so, with a final run through of a joyously funked ‘Sweetest Emotions’.  

Tonight's crowd was treated to a fantastically upbeat performance from a true rock original. Nights like this one are few and far between, where you come away, not just entertained but uplifted. So next time Marco's in town, do yourself a favour and check him out, you won't be disappointed... 

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Marco Mendoza Trio + Loz Campbell