28 September 2019 (gig)
29 September 2019
Last night at Club 666 was – under the banner of NWOCR – an eighties rock revisited night with two of Britain’s up and coming rock bands let loose to an appreciative crowd.
It should be said that the two bands were playing under some difficult circumstances - the sound in the room - it is essentially a nightclub - was poor and where I was sitting there was a lot of distortion. The stage is tiny and for hard rock bands they were cramped into a very tight space.
The two bands worked their asses off to give a good performance which was appreciated by the rockers in the crowd.
First up were Piston, who recently released their eponymous album on their own label and given full rein to show off some powerful and classic rock stylings. Lead vocalist from Rob Angelico is a fine focal point alongside lead guitarist Jack Edwards and together they grab all the eyes in the place. They make a powerful noise, anchored by superb drumming from Brad Newlands and bass player Stuart Egan and clearly have developed a sound of their own. Standout numbers for me were the powerful ‘Go Now’ and the title number from their latest album, ‘Rainmaker’. They closed on a punked up version of ‘Proud Mary’ that worked on all sorts of levels. Good band with a lot of potential.
After a short break Collateral took the stage and you really could see and hear the difference. The sheer confidence and brio that the band bring is something to behold. This should have been part of their album launch tour but it has been delayed – no matter, it was a great way to introduce the crowd to the new songs. Angelo Tristan is a sight to behold with his flowing hair, bare chest and rips but he also has the vocal power to go with it. Their sound is very much based in LA rock of the eighties and early nineties and guitarist Todd Winger has more licks and faster fingers than most of the guitarists from that time could ever wish for. From the opener ‘Mr Big Shot’ and a stunning version of ‘Merry Go Round’ they were full of the joy of playing hard rock to a crowd that dug their music and when the hit ‘Midnight Queen’ they were in full throttle rock mode. This bunch have the capacity to be huge.
A god evening of modern rock with a retro flavour – worth dragging out in the rain for
Picture by Andras Paul.
