I bought tickets to see Blue Oyster Cult sometime last year and have spent the last couple of months looking forward to seeing not only a cracking Classic/Hard Rock band playing iconic tunes but also my favourite guitarist absolutely killing it on guitar.
Man, was I disappointed.
I saw Blue Oyster Cult a couple of days ago at the O2 Academy in Leeds and whilst I didn't hate the evening's performance, I certainly expected better from these guys. However, the show didn't start with BOC; instead, we were treated to a short set by The Temperance Movement, a band I've discussed a few times on this blog and generally like. Despite a few odd choices in their set, they did a damn fine job of warming up the mostly elderly crowd with their loud Blues Rock and stage presence.
Phil Campbell belted out his raw vocals with album-quality precision whilst dancing around the stage like Thom Yorke and the majority of songs picked were bangers ("Take Me Back", "Caught In The Middle", "Midnight Black") although there were some issues. For starters, even though Phil was maintaining a high level of energy throughout the entire gig, the rest of the band were pretty static. They didn't have to prance about the stage like Mick Jagger but it would've been good to see some enthusiasm from the guitarists.
Then there was their choice of opening song, "Only Friend". It's a good footstomper but a terrible opening song choice; they would've been better off with a slightly faster, more energetic song like "Built-In Forgetter" or "Oh, Lorraine", something that isn't too powerful but enough to set the tone for their portion of the concert. There was also a portion towards the end where they played two slower songs that successfully brought the energy attained throughout the show down to levels where most of the audience felt comfortable chatting over the top of the music.
Despite these critiques, I would recommend seeing The Temperance Movement if you like their material although if you asked me the same thing about Blue Oyster Cult, I'd genuinely need to think about it for a while. It's not a good sign when the band come on stage and two songs into the main set, you find yourself asking "...wait, are these guys Blue Oyster Cult?" They kicked things off with an unintentionally hilarious rendition of "Dr Music" with Buck Dharma performing the high pitched chorus vocals traditionally done by female backing singers followed by a forgettable stab at "Before The Kiss, A Redcap".
From there, the show had ups and downs but there were a couple of things that could be argued either way. Firstly, there was the bizarre choice of deep cuts that seemed to make up the majority of the setlist. I was surprised that Blue Oyster Cult played "Golden Age Of Leather", "E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)" and "Hot Rails To Hell" live but never in a million years would've guessed they'd pick those over classics like "Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll", "Joan Crawford" or "Astronomy", none of which were played.
Whilst I can understand the desire felt by older bands to mix setlists up so they're not just playing the same hits over and over again, I doubt they've played many UK shows recently so omitting certain fan favourites in place of songs like "She's As Beautiful As A Foot" so they could have a Proggy jam felt questionable, which brings me onto the next point; the jamming. Blue Oyster Cult must've gone off on random, instrumental jams on at least every other song they played. Long, tedious jams that genuinely nearly sent me to sleep.
In my opinion, a band has a free pass for one live jam session, two tops if one of them is the final song of the night (ignoring the encore). Some bands are known for excessive jamming on stage and maybe Blue Oyster Cult are one of those, since they definitely have some heavily kooky/psychedelic songs in their arsenal of Classic Rock. As someone who likes an even mix of their early heavy, Riff-Based-Rock and their mystical, synthy Arena Rock, I would've preferred one extra song instead of all the constant jamming.
Now, let's move onto some of the undeniably negative aspects: the band were not on top form. I don't know if it was a dud night for them or if they just couldn't give a shit about a night at a venue they'll almost certainly never play again but the overall vibe they were giving was one of not being prepared. Instead of bantering with the audience in between songs or telling anecdotes about the myriad of deep cuts they were playing, there were multiple moments of awkward silence as the band chatted with each other.
Band members also showed little enthusiasm for the gig with Buck Dharma playing as stiff as a mannequin and drummer Jules Radino changing tempo an embarrassing number of times with his double bass WAY too loud in the mix. However, at least some band members conveyed a little personality; Danny Miranda had some fun on stage in between laying down bass licks and Richie Castellano wasn't afraid to go full-Slash during some of the guitar solos. Eric Bloom was a pretty bland frontman but at least he engaged with the crowd now and then, mostly during the encore.
In fact, that was when the band was the most animated; during the two songs they played after buggering off stage for a few minutes. If they had that level of energy throughout the entire gig, I probably wouldn't have been so let down. Unfortunately, despite having some solid moments (excellent performance of "Godzilla", awesome additional solo in the "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" outro that sounded better than the first, great riffing and pitch-perfect lead vocals from Buck Dharma), there were too many flaws for this to reach one of my favourite gigs. This is somewhere in the middle; below Saxon, Bad Company and The Darkness but above Deep Purple, Judas Priest and Muse.
If you just want to hear a band you like play songs you may or may not enjoy without getting cute with the arrangement, a Blue Oyster Cult show probably isn't the gig for you. If you like bands winging it and maybe creating one memorable section over the course of two hours, tickets are almost certainly still on sale. I'm glad I got a chance to see Blue Oyster Cult before they threw in the towel with the rest of the 70s Rock bands currently bowing out gracefully though. Hopefully next time I see middle-aged rockers belting out classics, it'll be a better experience!
Showing posts with label The Temperance Movement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Temperance Movement. Show all posts
Thursday, 28 February 2019
Saturday, 2 December 2017
Taster Session #9
Unlike last year, I don't believe I'll be doing a Taster Session post looking at 12 singles from albums I didn't get around to listening to from each month (although I may change my mind). Instead, here's another standard edition one looking at five new singles from upcoming Rock/Metal studio albums.
"Thunderbolt" - Saxon (listen here)
From the album Thunderbolt (02/02/18)
The title track off a new Saxon album and it's about as Saxon-y as it comes. This is both good and bad, as it means Saxon are still kicking ass in their old age although compared to standout modern tracks like "Hammer Of The Gods", this sounds a little too similar to some of their recent stuff to impress me. Sure, it's got heavy riffs, fast solos and a powerful chorus, ticking all the Heavy Metal boxes without fail, but if you've heard material off Sacrifice and Battering Ram, you've heard it already. I might check the new album out as I still love Saxon but I may also need to hear something a bit more unique than this to convince me that they're more than the next Motorhead.
"Caught In The Middle" - The Temperance Movement (listen here)
From the album A Deeper Cut (16/02/18)
I can't remember too much about the last album by The Temperance Movement other than it had some solid tracks and a rip off of "The Last In Line" - Dio but this sounds like the band have adapted their sound slightly to sound more like Queens Of The Stone Age or some other Josh Homme side project, at least in the guitar department. It's a punchy little Rock track that doesn't go on too long and has a catchy if not slightly uninspired chorus. I doubt I'll listen to their new album unless I'm struggling for a blog post next February and want something to review but that's based more on their last album than this track. It's OK; nothing more, nothing less.
"Freedom Is Mine" - Wolfmother (listen here)
From the album ???? (??/??/??)
Once again, Wolfm...well, Andrew Stockdale has decided to be a bit different by spontaneously releasing a single that sounds exactly like Wolfmother. So innovative of him. Credit where due, this doesn't sound identical to Victorious or even material off their debut. It sounds muckier, less pristine and overproduced than their previous work which is a polite way of saying it sounds a bit shit. The main reason for this is that Andrew Stockdale recorded and produced it himself away from record labels and professionals, the sort of people who might push the band to do something other than the same song with different lyrics. Same as Saxon, if you like the band's sound, you'll like the song. However, hopefully future singles (as Andrew has hinted that he'll be releasing periodic singles rather than a complete album) will sound less like they were recorded through the wall of the studio.
"All That Once Shined" - Black Label Society (listen here)
From the album Grimmest Hits (19/01/18)
What a shit album cover. Anyway, this track sounds like Zakk Wylde wants to go one step further into his campaign to become Ozzy Osbourne by writing the best original lineup Black Sabbath track since "Never Say Die". Unlike the majority of tracks on the terrible 13 album from a few years ago, the faster section of this song actually has some life to it and adds energy to the track before bringing it back to the sludgey riff and droning vocals. With it being a Zakk Sabbath track, there's a furious shredfest of a solo that sounds as hollow and forgettable as all his others, but other than that it's not bad. However, speaking as someone who isn't the biggest Doom Metal fan, this track isn't exactly to my tastes although I can appreciate that this is probably awesome to fans of the genre and band.
"Alone" - Toto (listen here)
From the album 40 Trips Around The Sun (09/02/18)
Unlike previous singles in this post, "Alone" is one of the new songs written specifically for a greatest hits compilation being released next year. Having listened to some Toto recently, they're definitely one of those bands with a strong start, weak middle and great end as their modern material pisses all over most of their 80s ballads (unpopular opinion time: I genuinely prefer "Orphan" to "Africa", although I like both tracks a lot). Whilst this song still sounds like something that could've been rerecorded after an initial release in the 80s, as the band weren't strangers to semi-progressive song structures in their Classic Rock tracks, it's good to hear that the band still have life in them despite being around for four decades. I mean, that's more than you could say for The Rolling Stones when they'd been around for three decades!
COMING SOON! A post looking at great vocalists in Rock/Metal and maybe a Rapid Fire post...with a twist!
"Thunderbolt" - Saxon (listen here)
From the album Thunderbolt (02/02/18)
The title track off a new Saxon album and it's about as Saxon-y as it comes. This is both good and bad, as it means Saxon are still kicking ass in their old age although compared to standout modern tracks like "Hammer Of The Gods", this sounds a little too similar to some of their recent stuff to impress me. Sure, it's got heavy riffs, fast solos and a powerful chorus, ticking all the Heavy Metal boxes without fail, but if you've heard material off Sacrifice and Battering Ram, you've heard it already. I might check the new album out as I still love Saxon but I may also need to hear something a bit more unique than this to convince me that they're more than the next Motorhead.
"Caught In The Middle" - The Temperance Movement (listen here)
From the album A Deeper Cut (16/02/18)
I can't remember too much about the last album by The Temperance Movement other than it had some solid tracks and a rip off of "The Last In Line" - Dio but this sounds like the band have adapted their sound slightly to sound more like Queens Of The Stone Age or some other Josh Homme side project, at least in the guitar department. It's a punchy little Rock track that doesn't go on too long and has a catchy if not slightly uninspired chorus. I doubt I'll listen to their new album unless I'm struggling for a blog post next February and want something to review but that's based more on their last album than this track. It's OK; nothing more, nothing less.
"Freedom Is Mine" - Wolfmother (listen here)
From the album ???? (??/??/??)
Once again, Wolfm...well, Andrew Stockdale has decided to be a bit different by spontaneously releasing a single that sounds exactly like Wolfmother. So innovative of him. Credit where due, this doesn't sound identical to Victorious or even material off their debut. It sounds muckier, less pristine and overproduced than their previous work which is a polite way of saying it sounds a bit shit. The main reason for this is that Andrew Stockdale recorded and produced it himself away from record labels and professionals, the sort of people who might push the band to do something other than the same song with different lyrics. Same as Saxon, if you like the band's sound, you'll like the song. However, hopefully future singles (as Andrew has hinted that he'll be releasing periodic singles rather than a complete album) will sound less like they were recorded through the wall of the studio.
"All That Once Shined" - Black Label Society (listen here)
From the album Grimmest Hits (19/01/18)
What a shit album cover. Anyway, this track sounds like Zakk Wylde wants to go one step further into his campaign to become Ozzy Osbourne by writing the best original lineup Black Sabbath track since "Never Say Die". Unlike the majority of tracks on the terrible 13 album from a few years ago, the faster section of this song actually has some life to it and adds energy to the track before bringing it back to the sludgey riff and droning vocals. With it being a Zakk Sabbath track, there's a furious shredfest of a solo that sounds as hollow and forgettable as all his others, but other than that it's not bad. However, speaking as someone who isn't the biggest Doom Metal fan, this track isn't exactly to my tastes although I can appreciate that this is probably awesome to fans of the genre and band.
"Alone" - Toto (listen here)
From the album 40 Trips Around The Sun (09/02/18)
Unlike previous singles in this post, "Alone" is one of the new songs written specifically for a greatest hits compilation being released next year. Having listened to some Toto recently, they're definitely one of those bands with a strong start, weak middle and great end as their modern material pisses all over most of their 80s ballads (unpopular opinion time: I genuinely prefer "Orphan" to "Africa", although I like both tracks a lot). Whilst this song still sounds like something that could've been rerecorded after an initial release in the 80s, as the band weren't strangers to semi-progressive song structures in their Classic Rock tracks, it's good to hear that the band still have life in them despite being around for four decades. I mean, that's more than you could say for The Rolling Stones when they'd been around for three decades!
COMING SOON! A post looking at great vocalists in Rock/Metal and maybe a Rapid Fire post...with a twist!
Saturday, 19 March 2016
White Bear - The Temperance Movement
I've been meaning to check this album out for a couple of weeks now and luckily, I didn't have anything else to write about. Hardly a great intro for this review but hey, at least I'm shooting straight.
Not heard of these guys? Well here's a brief lesson that you're probably better off ignoring in favour of a Wikipedia summary. The Temperance Movement sprung up a few years ago with a solid debut featuring a couple of great standout tracks blending modern songwriting with riffing and supporting music inspired by 60's Rock, right down to Phil Campbell's raw Bluesy vocals (no, not THAT Phil Campbell). It wasn't the incredible commercial breakthrough that something like Royal Blood's debut achieved but it was enough to make me want to hear more of their material.
Album opener "Three Bullets" is a solid introduction to the new album that does more to appropriately tease the following half an hour of music than the flimsy title track. It's not as punchy as one of my personal favourites from their last album ("Take It Back") but it establishes a few key things about the band that have changed since 2013. Firstly, they're still Rocking out but have toned it down a little. Secondly, whilst there are noticeable influences from older Rock bands here and there which I'll get onto later, they've evolved into more of a modern sound.
The Garage Rock guitars have been swapped for contemporary Hard Rock ones and the bass has grown some fuzz since it was last played, although the drums are still pounding and the vocals are still suitably abrasive. I'm not sure if the band have chosen to adapt because it's the musical direction they want to follow or if it's an attempt to attract a more modern audience but the change in sound is somewhat commendable if it was down to the former decision, although maybe a little premature seeing as how the band's debut is arguably stronger.
I've praised bands for sticking with their original sound across albums when they're still in their salad days, as there's no point changing a successful formula when it clearly works. Mixing things up is fine when you're a few albums in and don't want to become stale but when you've only released one or two albums, you can probably ride the train a little further before changing lines. Either way, what's done is done and The Temperance Movement haven't made a complete fuck up like many other bands before them.
One of the album's lead singles blends the band's Southern-inspired riffing with contemporary Rock ("Oh Lorraine") and it's not the only one on-disc, although it's probably the strongest. "The Sun And Moon Roll Around Too Soon" is a perfect example of 21st Century Rock, from the simplistic but effective rhythm to the needlessly lengthy song title and "Get Yourself Free" could easily be a Bluesy B-side from a modern Aerosmith album, in a good way. However, despite transitioning into Temperance Movement 2.0 in both songwriting and musical tone, someone in the band still likes his Rock to be Classic.
"Magnify" has the upbeat footstomping feel of a 70's Rolling Stones track, "Battle Lines" inadvertently plagiarises a Dio title track from 1984 in both riff and structure (although I do like the song) and "Do The Revelation" closes the album on a positive note with some Funk Rock reminiscent of Lenny Kravitz, all tuned up and performed for the Spotify generation. Then there are the softer almost Indie/Alternative tracks such as the title track and "I Hope I'm Not Losing My Mind" that have no place on the album, presumably included to add a bit of variety OR land better with the kind of trendy blogging audience that listen to The Lumineers or Family Of The Year or some other Pitchfork wank-material.
If I had to focus on one negative trait, I'd say that White Bear decidedly vaults over the line separating Varied and Inconsistent. The album covers Hard Rock, Funk Rock, Modern Rock, Alternative Rock, Southern Rock, Blues Rock and bog standard Rock Rock, admittedly all done quite well although ultimately unnecessarily. Covering this many genres is something established bands or solo artists can get away with about a decade into their career when they're "experimenting" and trying to redefine themselves after their particular musical subgenre has died/is dying, not fresh new acts that have barely finished coning their first groupies.
Overall though, it's a good follow-up to their self-titled debut if you have a wider appreciation for Rock music old and new. Compared to albums like World On Fire - Slash or Dystopia - Megadeth that were made for fans of the respective Hard Rock and Metal genres, there's no specific classification or demographic for this album that can't be disputed. I guess if you're happy listening to anything with a strong rhythm and decent riffs, this album is probably for you but if you prefer more focused albums firmly belonging to just a couple of genres, you might enjoy a couple of tracks although it's unlikely you'll rate the album as a whole.
Speaking of rating, I'm giving it a 6/10. It's well recorded and fairly well written, if not a little plain at times, but it's also here a bit too soon. The cynical part of me that thinks this is the band's attempt at appealing to the festival-going crowd (possibly at the request of the producer) without wanting to alienate existing fans is overpowering the optimistic part of me that believes it's just the band trying a new flavour out. You might rate this album higher if you prefer modern sounding Rock but I like my Rock to Rock, which is what about 60% of this album does.
Whether or not The Temperance Movement will return to their rough-edged sound or go full-on Indie Folk for their third album is up in the air although if they release another White Bear, I doubt I'll lose any sleep.
Not heard of these guys? Well here's a brief lesson that you're probably better off ignoring in favour of a Wikipedia summary. The Temperance Movement sprung up a few years ago with a solid debut featuring a couple of great standout tracks blending modern songwriting with riffing and supporting music inspired by 60's Rock, right down to Phil Campbell's raw Bluesy vocals (no, not THAT Phil Campbell). It wasn't the incredible commercial breakthrough that something like Royal Blood's debut achieved but it was enough to make me want to hear more of their material.
Album opener "Three Bullets" is a solid introduction to the new album that does more to appropriately tease the following half an hour of music than the flimsy title track. It's not as punchy as one of my personal favourites from their last album ("Take It Back") but it establishes a few key things about the band that have changed since 2013. Firstly, they're still Rocking out but have toned it down a little. Secondly, whilst there are noticeable influences from older Rock bands here and there which I'll get onto later, they've evolved into more of a modern sound.
The Garage Rock guitars have been swapped for contemporary Hard Rock ones and the bass has grown some fuzz since it was last played, although the drums are still pounding and the vocals are still suitably abrasive. I'm not sure if the band have chosen to adapt because it's the musical direction they want to follow or if it's an attempt to attract a more modern audience but the change in sound is somewhat commendable if it was down to the former decision, although maybe a little premature seeing as how the band's debut is arguably stronger.
I've praised bands for sticking with their original sound across albums when they're still in their salad days, as there's no point changing a successful formula when it clearly works. Mixing things up is fine when you're a few albums in and don't want to become stale but when you've only released one or two albums, you can probably ride the train a little further before changing lines. Either way, what's done is done and The Temperance Movement haven't made a complete fuck up like many other bands before them.
One of the album's lead singles blends the band's Southern-inspired riffing with contemporary Rock ("Oh Lorraine") and it's not the only one on-disc, although it's probably the strongest. "The Sun And Moon Roll Around Too Soon" is a perfect example of 21st Century Rock, from the simplistic but effective rhythm to the needlessly lengthy song title and "Get Yourself Free" could easily be a Bluesy B-side from a modern Aerosmith album, in a good way. However, despite transitioning into Temperance Movement 2.0 in both songwriting and musical tone, someone in the band still likes his Rock to be Classic.
"Magnify" has the upbeat footstomping feel of a 70's Rolling Stones track, "Battle Lines" inadvertently plagiarises a Dio title track from 1984 in both riff and structure (although I do like the song) and "Do The Revelation" closes the album on a positive note with some Funk Rock reminiscent of Lenny Kravitz, all tuned up and performed for the Spotify generation. Then there are the softer almost Indie/Alternative tracks such as the title track and "I Hope I'm Not Losing My Mind" that have no place on the album, presumably included to add a bit of variety OR land better with the kind of trendy blogging audience that listen to The Lumineers or Family Of The Year or some other Pitchfork wank-material.
If I had to focus on one negative trait, I'd say that White Bear decidedly vaults over the line separating Varied and Inconsistent. The album covers Hard Rock, Funk Rock, Modern Rock, Alternative Rock, Southern Rock, Blues Rock and bog standard Rock Rock, admittedly all done quite well although ultimately unnecessarily. Covering this many genres is something established bands or solo artists can get away with about a decade into their career when they're "experimenting" and trying to redefine themselves after their particular musical subgenre has died/is dying, not fresh new acts that have barely finished coning their first groupies.
Overall though, it's a good follow-up to their self-titled debut if you have a wider appreciation for Rock music old and new. Compared to albums like World On Fire - Slash or Dystopia - Megadeth that were made for fans of the respective Hard Rock and Metal genres, there's no specific classification or demographic for this album that can't be disputed. I guess if you're happy listening to anything with a strong rhythm and decent riffs, this album is probably for you but if you prefer more focused albums firmly belonging to just a couple of genres, you might enjoy a couple of tracks although it's unlikely you'll rate the album as a whole.
Speaking of rating, I'm giving it a 6/10. It's well recorded and fairly well written, if not a little plain at times, but it's also here a bit too soon. The cynical part of me that thinks this is the band's attempt at appealing to the festival-going crowd (possibly at the request of the producer) without wanting to alienate existing fans is overpowering the optimistic part of me that believes it's just the band trying a new flavour out. You might rate this album higher if you prefer modern sounding Rock but I like my Rock to Rock, which is what about 60% of this album does.
Whether or not The Temperance Movement will return to their rough-edged sound or go full-on Indie Folk for their third album is up in the air although if they release another White Bear, I doubt I'll lose any sleep.
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