08 April 2017 (gig)
09 April 2017
On the hottest night of the year so far I found myself in what can only be described as a pit.
The Roadstars tour finished last night at the Borderline and the newly refurbished dive was packed to the gunnels for two bands who have been busy building a reputation as dynamite live.
The show opened with Bad Touch and I must admit that I was particularly looking forward to seeing them. They didn’t disappoint. Lead man Stevie Westwood is a rock vocalist in the truly classic mould – long hair and tight pants to go with a belting voice and he was ably supported by Daniel Seekings and new recruit Harry Slater on guitars plus some awesome bass and drums courtesy of Michael Bailey and George Drewry. A couple of things stood out about the band; number one, they have a deep and abiding love of classic ‘70’s rock and tow, they seem to have a truly good time playing to0gether. The crowd was loving what they were laying down and the positive vibes were almost feral. Every number seemed to have echoes of bands like Skynrd or early Doobie Brothers, elements of Molly Hatchet sneaking in and even early Alice Cooper. But they sound totally original and there is no sense of them doing it other than because they dig the music. ‘99%’ and ‘Heartbreaker Soulshaker’ are great rock songs whether you are a child of the ‘70’s or the Aughties while ‘Outlaw’ should be taught in schools as the way to capture a moment.
Broken Witt Rebels followed and I think this is the fifth time I’ve seen them live. They just keep getting better. The sheer class and professionalism they have developed is incredible considering how short a time they have been around. Between Danny Core’s cheeky grins and impassioned vocals and through James Tranter’s superb choppy guitar licks, Luke Davis’ fluid basslines and stoic look and James Dudley’s maelstrom on drums they really do have an enormous presence live. The crowd was synched in to the set from opening number ‘Low’, singing the chorus and giving Danny Core massive cheers. The new numbers went down a storm with ‘Snakeyes’ and ‘Turn Me On’ really getting the jivers going. ‘Georgia Pine’ and ‘Guns’ were, as ever, great crowd pleasers. BWR are a band who will be going a long way and selling out venues like The Borderline shows what they are coming up to.
Both bands were properly appreciative of each other and even though they couldn’t be much more different in terms of style and approach they both grabbed the crowd and made themselves a lot of new fans.
A helluva night in old London Town.
Picture by Laurence Harvey
