Live Review : Smith / Kotzen + The Dust Coda @ The Academy 2, Manchester on February 27th 2022

The Dust Coda open this evenings show. The London based 4 piece play a short set that gets the burgeoning crowd jigging about nicely. Playing tunes from both their albums to date; “The Dust Coda” and the recent “Mojo Skyline”, there’s lots of bluesy soul and melodies with that new wave of classic rock sound, which they seem to do rather well, combining that with some classic Led Zeppy riffs and vocals with the kind of swagger and anthemia power of Guns ‘n’ Roses or Velvet Revolver, They did what it said on the tin, they were entertaining and John Drake certainly has an impressive set of pipes that are put to good use on tracks like ‘Breakdown’. There’s plenty of light and shade in their set and the atmospheric set closer ‘Limbo Man’ brings a rousing cheer from the packed crowd. Well worth a listen!

There’s an electric atmosphere building, in fact you can almost feel the static in the air it’s that charged. Tonight the packed to the rafters Academy 2 welcomes the two guitar legends of Smith / Kotzen to Manchester. Before the first thunderous bars of ‘Taking My Chances’ are unleashed, Adrian Smith and Ritchie Kotzen are met with a massive cheer from an audience ready to be entertained by the considerable combined talents of these chaps.

These two virtuosos hardly need any introduction, both highly respected elder statesmen and journeymen of rock; it’s an exciting partnership that has grabbed the attention of everyone who has heard their material so far. It’s the first night of the UK tour, you feel privileged to be here and perhaps even quite happy to be stood behind someone who is rather tall for their height and obscuring your view. The whisper is the roof is about to be lifted off the building and right from the onset, the chaps are certainly trying their best to oblige.

The sound is absolutely HUGE; it immediately penetrates through your chest with a pulsating thud. The opener is a perfect introduction into exactly why this partnership are held in such high regard- impeccable guitar playing, juicy riffs, tempo changes, and the incredible range of Ritchie Kotzen’s vocals. It’s the sheer power of the delivery that you notice first, almost Chris Cornell or say Glenn Hughes, and combine that with Adrian Smith’s more laid back approach and you have something that works brilliantly together, trading vocal lines and harmonies throughout. The pace is kept up with ‘Better Days’, with the pair again effortlessly swapping licks and lead lines throughout. It’s a glorious hook laden slice of rock and another firm favourite on Planet Rock’s playlist. There’s a Soundgarden kind of feel to it, and it’s a belter. ‘Some People’ gets an airing; Its Adrian’s birthday today, and although careful not to share his age, he’s more than happy to share the celebrations with everyone here this evening. There are flags aplenty, and he even gets a new scarf handed to him. It’s also the 5th year anniversary of Richie’s marriage to Julia Lage who also happens to be the band’s bass player. We’re in for a bit of a party, and for the next hour and twenty we’re pulled hook, line and sinker into the sheer energy and raw power of Smith Kotzen.

They have managed to do something some other collaborations and partnerships can’t quite seem to do- they complement each other perfectly. There’s this mutual respect and understanding for each other’s styles and vocal abilities- and their styles couldn’t be more different, yet it blends beautifully- Adrian Smith’s meticulous bluesy based solos flow effortlessly, entwining with Ritchie Kotzen’s technical brilliance. The songs are a stunning combination of their various influences, evocative of the classic rock bands of the 70s brought bang up to date with punchy hooks, harmonies and sheer guitar virtuosity. ‘Glory Road’ with its hard Bad Company sound and Paul Rodger’s esq vocal a perfect example. ‘You Don’t Love Me’ and its exhilarating display of that virtuoso playing leaves you scraping your jaw back up off the floor. In fact there’s many a moment where you can almost see a 1000 sets of eyes craning their necks trying to see exactly what this pair are doing up on that stage, and there’s always something going on.

Tonight we get all the songs from both their releases, the self-titled album and the Better Days EP. The songs are blues rooted, they groove, they stomp and they get into your head. Tracks like ‘Hate & Love’, ‘I Wanna Stay’ and ‘Till Tomorrow’ fly out in similar fashion. If someone had said that these two would have formed a partnership like this a couple of years ago more than a few people would have turned their noses up, yet it has resulted in probably one of the best albums of 2021 and an inspired pairing for sure. We’re bearing witness to a complete master-class this evening. Backed by the aforementioned Julia Lage on bass and Bruno Valverde on drums it’s a band full of talent, nailing and grooving, ebbing and flowing, a true backbone and spine of the band. Vocally it’s a blend of rough and smooth yet forms a mighty collaborative, full of soul and skill. They are really enjoying this gig, and Adrian Smith, the man behind Maiden demonstrates a side to his style that seems to get better with age. ‘Scars’ is a love song, monstrous in its delivery, soulful, delicious and once more with that modernised sound full of energy and tension. The song writing is so fresh and memorable; it’s colossal and full of hooks throughout. It’s quickly followed with ‘Hold on Me’ and ‘Rise Again’ both from the Better Days EP.

They are literally on fire, so much so that when we eventually get to set closer ‘Solar Fire’ it’s been a journey of delving into an evolving musical collaboration where the creativity is nothing short of sublime- all killer no filler. Richie lets slip the possibility of another album in the pipeline, which causes a reaction from the crowd by now hanging off every note that’s played and sung. On ‘You Can’t Save Me’, he again combines many different techniques, playing with his fingers, strumming, stroking caressing the strings. A perfect lead almost into ‘Wasted Years’ and one of Mr Smith’s main song writing gems from Maiden’s glory days of the ‘80’s. By the time the song ends that roof was certainly beginning to wobble, and it did almost come off by the time hard rock classic in the making - the first song they wrote together; ‘Running’ ends the evening. Tonight was one of those times at a gig where you literally were lost for words on every level. Hearing words like amazing and incredible being lauded about, well, I think you get the idea and anyone who is going to see them on subsequent dates- be prepared to be blown to smithereens.