Rock Goddess, Diamond Head, Maganum, Saxon - Hull City Hall 25 Feb
When
I saw the line-up for this show I had to get a ticket.
Having
originally seen them in the mid 80’s with Y&T, this was the first time I’d
seen the re-formed Rock Goddess and I was very impressed. As the opening act they
set the bar really high with a great set including some classics like Satisfied
Then Crucified, God Be With You and Back to You as well as songs from the
current EP Back Off and the great It's More Than Rock and Roll. We also had a
new song called, Why No One Ever Learns, from the forth coming album which I’m look
forward to listening to. The band closed the set with a great singalong
version of Heavy Metal Rock 'n' Roll. I hope to see them on the road again
soon.
Diamond Head were next up and they
produced a fine set, which featured all the classics – It’s Electric, The
Prince, Lightning to the Nations etc. This was the first time I’d seen new singer
Rasmus Bom Anderson and what a great voice he has, it was also nice to see
guitarist Brian Tatler loving every minute of the show. Of course proceedings
could only be brought to a close with Am I Evil, what a classic rock song that
is, and the band delivered a great rendition of it. Was it Evil? Yes it was!
Riding high on the success of the
new Lost on the Road to Eternity album Magnum are currently going from strength
to strength. Tonight’s set feature three songs from this great collection -
Peaches and Cream, Show Me Your Hands (which involved a lot of audience
participation) and the title track. There were also a couple of classics from
Story Tellers Night and of course everyone was brought to their feet for
Vigilante. I was slightly surprised by the last song, Don’t Wake the Lion. I’m
not complaining, I like this song, and have heard it played live before, but tonight
I thought a couple of more familiar shorter songs would have complimented the
set list better. As always Bob Catley’s voice was in fine form, as he directed
proceeding throughout with exaggerated hand gestures – the man is a living
legend.
Saxon hit the stage with the title
track from their fantastic new CD Thunderbolt. There were some issues with the
sound from Paul Quinn’s guitar in this opening number, but a quick swap to a back-up
instrument solved the glitch for the second song, Sacrifice. The band got the
set list just right mixing new numbers like Sniper, Predator etc. with classics
like Dallas 1pm and Motorcycle Man. (I’ve put the full set list at the end
of the review).
Thunderbolt has made it into the top
30 album chart and as Biff said it’s their first album since 1984 to do that. I
loved every minute of the show and it is great to see Saxon headlining and
selling out venues like this once more. As always Biff had the crowd in the palm
of his hands joking with fans and encouraging full audience participation. He
was fully supported by two great guitarists in Paul Quinn and Doug Scarrott and
backed up by the tight powerhouse rhythm section of Nibbs Carter (bass) and
Nigel Glockler (drums).
The main set was closed with
Princess of the Night before the band came back for two encores. The first was
Heavy Metal Thunder and the of course Wheels of Steel which included a singalong.
The whole evening was brought to a wonderful end with Denim and Leather.
I think Rock Goddess hit the stage
around 5:40 and Saxon ended the show at 11:00 so a great value evening. Perhaps at my
age I need a seat for when Saxon are back in the UK in autumn with Y&T.
Saxon Set List
Thunderbolt
Sacrifice
Nosferatu (The Vampire Waltz)
Motorcycle Man
Strong Arm of the Law
Battering Ram
Power and the Glory
Snipper
The secret of Flight
Dallas 1PM
Never Surrender
Predator
They Played Rock and Roll
And the Bands Played On
747 (Strangers in the Night)
Crusader
Princess of the Night
Heavy Metal Thunder
Wheels of Steel
Denim and Leather
NH