The small venue with the massive attitude serves as a worthy backdrop on this bitterly cold December evening. The L.A. Maybe are perhaps one of those bands you may or may not have heard of, and I confess to being one of them. A couple of You Tube videos later and I can report back being suitably impressed by this American quintet. One video, a beautiful power ballad called ‘When I’m Done’ blew me away. Apparently, the new singer is the old singer who doesn't sing that tune on the video. Would they play that tonight? I’m ready to find out.

Bolton 4 piece Unknown Refuge may have changed half the band in recent months, but after a handful of gigs now, the new drummer and rhythm guitarist seem to gelling well. It’s a short set full of familiar tracks to many although there’s a gritty rough edged new track in ‘Drop a Gear’. In fact you could say that about the whole set; it’s raw and edgy and there are some great tunes. Alex Mancini comes over as a confident burgeoning frontman who still draws those comparisons with Volbeat. Is that a bad thing? Probably not, as those raw powerful vocals combine nicely with some great guitar work from Jack Tracey. You forget that they are all barely 21, as they play with a maturity beyond their years. Next year promises to be an eventful one with more new music planned and an album in the pipeline. There’s a nod to some early Maiden esq harmony guitar work with final number ‘Journey’, and they’ve created an impact with the early evening punters.

Powerful, dynamic and straight at your throat are some ways to describe opening track ‘Watch the World Burn’ from Blackpool 3 piece A'priori. Busy causing somewhat of a stir of late, including a recent support slot here with Kira Mac where they went down an absolute storm, their USP lies in the fact that they have no bass guitar; just a power trio of guitar, keyboards and drums. It’s certainly interesting to watch their brand of heavy blues driven rock being underpinned by the stunning drumming of Mouse; one of two brothers in the band; and whilst that sibling is busy ferociously beating his drums within an inch of their lives, Tony Lang is entertaining the audience with his considerable guitar and vocal abilities. They’re playing to the home crowd and do so with a performance that gives them the opportunity to build on the strong following built so far. Songs like the groovy ‘Better Man’ to title track off the album ‘Black Church’ are well crafted affairs, full of ballsy riffs, powerful vocals, strong beats and dynamic drumming. Those keyboards of Mark Wilson add an edge that revolutionises the songs, giving a unique twist with something always going on to keep you on your toes. The boogie feel stomp of '‘Shotgun Blues’ is an instantly catchy sing-along with its heavy chugging rhythm. The crowd certainly warm to them and during the Nah-Nah-Nah song there’s even a chance to join in and help sing the song. Final track ‘Wasted Years’ isn’t an Iron Maiden cover instead it’s a track that encompasses that whole USP thing and serves as a fitting end to a high impact set.

The L.A. Maybe hail from the good ‘ol US of A, the Carolinas in fact, and are currently up and down the country on their The Long Road tour in support of their debut album “Dirty Damn Tricks”. The quintet hit the stage with a confident swagger determined to bring the party down hard to a cold Wednesday school night, and it was safe to say that yep, they certainly did.

Technically speaking, these guys aren’t doing anything new or different; they’re a 5 piece with 2 guitars and combine the sounds of lots of your favourite bits of ‘80s rock and metal. But what they do they do it very well; incredibly well actually. Coming under that NWOCR banner they seem to effortlessly blend and embrace those bands in all their glory, sprinkling some fairy magic dust over it all creating a wonderful new old sound.

There’s something stirring up on that stage right from the start, and it’s all under the command of returning vocalist Goliath Furr. He cuts the mean biker look to perfection, and armed with shades he could have won on the Pleasure Beach, he’s not afraid to take the piss out of himself either. There’s a distinct raunchy swagger to songs like ‘She’s Reckless’ or ‘Sucker Punch’ which could have been written by a thousand artists that spring to mind but they haven’t, instead they’ve been done by these guys and they’re bloody good. There’s a real raw energy to them and the guys like to entertain too. The guitars of Dallas Dwight are sublime throughout and there’s some serious riffing going on. The set takes an early curve when they pay homage to one of their big influences Skid Row with a raucous ‘Monkey Business’. Not sure why there’s a cover in there but apparently they do that quite often. It’s a great version and delivered on more than a par with a certain Mr. Bach.

What’s not to like about these guys? They write catchy tunes crammed full of swagger, raw energetic power and its’ electrifying to watch. The cock sure swagger of ‘Take Me Away’ is fun, it could be Aerosmith or The Black Crowes but it’s not it’s the L.A. Maybe. They have given their roots a polish, tipping their hat to the forefathers, yet firmly heading in another direction up the NWOCR road. Being The Long Road tour, we get that tune ‘Up Next to You’ before we’re asked where we are- and apparently it’s in the jungle as the Guns n’ Roses classic ‘Welcome to The Jungle’ is unleashed. It’s awesome, and the songs balls are nailed firmly to a plank. There’s most definitely a party going on up on that stage, with the whole thing grooved to perfection by the fan tailed funk edged bass playing of Rahsaab Lacey and Ryan Fosnow on the drums. It’s energetic and pulsating now as we head into the bouncy and fun ‘Peace of Mind’. What comes next though takes everyone by surprise. As Goliath exits the stage, and as the song continues, there’s a display of some of the best twin harmony guitars with Drizzle Silvera, who up to this point has been playing mainly rhythm, now shows us his considerable talents too. An effortless segues of ‘Hotel California’, ‘Master of Puppets’ and ‘Boys Are Back in Town’ completes this jaw dropping medley. Totally left field and unexpected, it’s a joy to watch, but wait, there’s more as Dallas puts his balls into a vice to sing and deliver a cracking pair of aces in Prince’s‘Kiss’ and ‘Purple Rain’.

Putting a smile on everyone’s faces, Goliath returns to a cheer, sporting a bandana and we get the stonking new single ‘Down To Fight before we go all serious and, with almost a tear in his eye we get that hard message about suicide and looking out for our fellow brothers. A simply heart wrenching ‘When I'm Done’ is rolled out to an almost spell bound crowd and quite possibly, this could be one of the world’s best undiscovered gems of a track that thoroughly deserves to be heard. The musicianship is outstanding and, rightly so, there’s a big show of appreciation.

The night ends for many way too soon with the comical and entertaining ‘Oh Sugar’. You seriously need to check these guys out; you can’t fail to be blown away by The L.A. Maybe, the band are tighter than a Yorkshireman’s wallet, and like all the bands here this evening are genuinely lovely folks who appreciate people turning up, supporting them and spending their hard earned cash. In a nutshell, brilliant.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
The L.A. Maybe, A'Priori, Unknown Refuge