It’s a cold damp evening in between Halloween and Bonfire night. the generals are gathering in their masses at the Waterloo Music Bar in Blackpool. This unlikely foothold in an otherwise sequined obsessed town has quite rightly become a real stronghold on the north-west gig scene. We are here to bear witness to an evening of no frills, uncompromising filthy rock n roll courtesy of the Black Spiders.
Read MoreBlackpool’s favourite rock n roll rabble-rousers Takeaway Thieves return to their spiritual home, to celebrate the launch of their long-awaited second album “Diamond Point”. The Waterloo’s Sunday Service feels like an apt way to kick off this next stage of the Takeaway Thieves career as we all come together to worship at the altar of good-time rock n’ roll in the company of some of its greatest disciples…
Read MoreIt’s a Thursday night in Blackpool, the weekend is almost within touching distance and what better way to bring a busy week to a close than to spend an evening in a great venue with an equally fantastic band providing some delicious rock n soul goodness. And no, that’s no typo, I did mean to type rock and soul; for that’s what Xander and the Peace Pirates deliver; music to provide a balm to the heart and mind and all points in between.
Read MoreAs Blackpool basks in what is probably the last gasp of summer, it definitely feels like change is in the air. And if it’s hot outside, in the confines of the Waterloo the sell-out crowd are pushing the temperatures up to the level of a day trip to fifth circle of Hell.
To say there is a level of excitement and anticipation ahead of tonight’s show, would be a colossal understatement. Such is the loyalty and passion that A’Priori inspire, that many have travelled big distances to be here, from the furthest reaches of the country and even internationally to witness the launch of A’Priori’s new album “Voodoo Love”.
Read MoreIt’s a school night and the Kickin’ Valentina rock n’ roll circus rolls into Blackpool for an evening of rocket-fuelled, high energy sleaze n’ roll, and with the weekend just around the corner the crowd seem intent on starting it a day early. Kickin’ Valentina have forged a hard-won reputation for delivering no-nonsense electrifying live performances, this time around bringing along the effervescent The Midnight Devils, for what is set to be a double-bill of legendary proportions, and another entry into the annals of unforgettable nights at the Waterloo.
Read MoreGypsy’s Kiss hold a special place in the storied history of Iron Maiden, being one of Steve Harris’ earliest bands, and to see them on the same bill as the legendary Paul Di’Anno has to be a Maiden completists dream. Formed fifty years ago Gypsy’s Kiss returned to action six years ago after a decades long hiatus and what is immediately apparent is that the six -piece band certainly still have something to say and play with a verve and flair that belies a half century pedigree.
Read MoreFresh 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.
Read MoreThere have been a lot of rumours floating around about who The Moodswingers are. Lots of speculation, lots of hints and teasers. So tonight is a bit of a scoop for the Waterloo, because the one thing we do know is that this is a secret gig and therefore the Waterloo has been chosen for a world first, even if we don’t know exactly who will be playing it! But more of that later….
Read MoreIt’s an unusual gig when, in many ways, what is said on stage is almost as important as the music that is played, but that’s very much the case with Toby Jepson’s show tonight. Billed as “My Life in Words”, this is a rare opportunity to sneak a peek behind the curtain of the rock n’ roll show, and hear first-hand what it’s really like, from someone who has lived the highs and the lows, and seen and experienced more than most.
Read MoreThere’s a single mic stand centre stage.
Draped with a leopard print scarf, it’s a striking visual in its own right, but it also means that at a glance you immediately know what to expect from tonight’s first band, Continental Lovers. Like the best band you were too young to see back in the day, Continental Lovers appear to have been cryogenically frozen in a trash can in an alley at the back of CBGBs sometime in the seventies or eighties, only to be reanimated for the 21st century. Wearing their tattooed hearts on their decadently debonair sleeves, the band fire off a riotous salvo of beautifully barbed two-or three-minute glitter punk anthems.
Read More“We have such sights to show you”, said the monstrous Pinhead in the 1987 movie Hellraiser. And just like Pinhead, so too do South of Salem, roaring into Blackpool, and showing a breathlessly expectant capacity crowd, just why they are such an electrifying and seemingly unstoppable force of nature.
Read MoreBlues rock, just like any musical sub-genre is a many headed beast, one where bands are often pigeonholed together into a single category for ease, often having little in common other than a shared musical DNA. And so it is with McHale’s Permanent Brew and Jared James Nichols. Whilst both are firmly rooted in the blues each has a very different approach and sound, and it is their contrasting interpretations of the form that make this evening’s gig so intriguing.
Read MoreThirty-five years is a long time in music…
Cast your minds back to the end of the eighties (if you can remember that far) and the musical landscape of the time was very different. Grunge was yet to come along and cause the sea change in the rock world whose ripples we are still feeling to this day, and nu-metal and the genre mutating new styles that would characterise the new century were still more than a decade away.
And it was at the tail end of that most glorious of decades that GUN released their debut album, the acclaimed “Taking on the World”, spawning the first of a run of chart bothering singles with ‘Better Days’, numerous Top of the Pops performances and increasingly successful tours.
Read MoreAt the start of last year, I’d never seen A’Priori play live; by the time twelve months had rolled around I had seen them numerous times, and they ended 2023 as the band I had seen the most during the year. And whether filling a support slot, appearing on a festival bill or headlining their own shows, the one thing that is blindingly clear, is that regardless of the venue or event, A’Priori are a ferociously entertaining and excitingly dynamic live proposition. Something they proved once again tonight.
Read MoreIt’s January, it’s cold, it’s miserable and the temptation is to just stay indoors and hibernate. So what better way to combat those mid-winter blues than with a three band sold out rock n’ roll show?
Openers Rubikon deal in a dense, throbbing, swampy sound that certainly makes an immediate impact. Somewhat constrained by the restricted stage areas, they make the absolute most of both the time and space afforded them.
Read MoreSo what could drag me out on a trip to the seaside on a cold, wet filthy night? The chance to spend the evening at The Waterloo Bar in Blackpool watching the original lineup of Wolfsbane of course! These rock stalwarts are back on their Tough as Steel tour and playing at the Waterloo Bar tonight.
The first of three bands, Spunk Volcano And The Eruptions kicked off proceedings at 7.15 pm prompt. I know very little about these, as the band enters the stage with a very definite punk attitude in tow. Then emerging from stage left, the main man Spunk Volcano himself, a very tall robust imposing chap resplendent in a spiky leather jacket and balaclava with safety pins complete with an orange Mohican on the top!
Read MoreIt’s very busy early doors at the Waterloo, seemingly with much of tonight’s Sold-Out crowd having already claimed a premium spot long before openers, the unusually monikered This House We Built, have played a single note. I must confess to being unfamiliar with this Yorkshire four piece before tonight’s gig, so wasn’t sure what to expect, but whatever those expectations might have been they would have been unexpectedly (and pleasantly) confounded by tonight’s performance.
Read MoreIt’s Friday night at the Waterloo and there’s a real buzz in the air for tonight’s co-headline show, that delicious electric anticipation you get before a night of rock n roll, this time round with a Southern edge.
Two of the most precious commodities in the rock world are credibility and authenticity. Ephemeral but vital, like trust they’re hard to gain and easily lost. Warner E Hodges has consistently had both across his entire career, whether it be with Jason & The Scorchers, Homemade Sin, The Bluefields (still in the top ten of all the gigs I’ve witnessed) or, as tonight, with his own band.
Read MoreI last saw Kim Jennett a mere couple of months ago on this very stage, supporting local Blackpool legends A’priori. On that occasion it was a much more understated acoustic set, but tonight backed by a full band, she seems firmly in her natural environment of full-on rock star and relishing every second.
Taking to the stage with a ferocious intensity, Kim is a whirling dervish, a blur of movement, colour and vocal histrionics. The Myke Gray penned ‘Psycho’ is an apt opener, Kim’s almost manic energy firmly in line with the lyrical content. It’s a heavy riffing number, Kim snarlingly delivering the lyrics, whilst poised on and over the barrier, pulling the audience into her orbit almost literally at times as she is within touching distance of the front row.
Read MoreA thudding drum beat and great washes of keyboard herald the arrival of White Skies to the hallowed Waterloo stage. A band I’d never seen before, (or to be honest, knew a great deal about), they are purveyors of melodic rock in the grand tradition of soaring vocals, big riffs, and even bigger choruses. ‘What Do You Know About Love’ is a great start to the set with all of those three elements firmly present and correct, with tonight’s crowd very receptive and obviously firm devotees of the genre (as becomes even more apparent later on when Romeo’s Daughter perform).
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