Tonight’s offering on a grim, grey night in Wolverhampton is a triple header of Brit Rock spanning a generation.
Up first are a band we’re very familiar with, Collateral (8). They owned this stage a couple of months back at the NWOCR Fest and although they are on first and only have 30 mins, they play as if they are headliners. A big portion of the crowd are, like us, well acquainted with the lads and the room is pretty full for them with lots of Collateral t-shirts on view. A sign that the band have been growing exponentially these last 12 months or so, especially since the release of their new album Should’ve Known Better. Not much we can say that we haven’t already said about this band, they are exciting, vibrant and continue to impress and gain new fans whenever they play.
Kira Mac (8) are new to me, despite being Planet Rock favourites and at the forefront of the latest wave of brilliant young rock bands that we are lucky to have in this country. Dynamic and full of energy, this band pull no punches with their lively set full of catchy songs that’s made them such a favourite on the radio. Vocalist Rhiannon is an imposing figure on stage and exudes an aura of sheer brilliance. Her bluesy vocal style is the key to this hard rocking outfit, that leans heavily on Americana roots rock. It’s that little spark of magic that makes them stand out.
They open up with One Way Ticket and Dead Man Calling a swift one/two that pulls you in and they waste no time in blasting through their short set before closing out with new tracks Falling and Climbing. 2025 looks like it will be a big year for Kira Mac, they kick it off with a headline appearance at Planet Rock’s Winters End festival at the end of January and fingers crossed we’ll be getting a new album and tour announced soon!
35 years on from their debut single and the Gizzi Bros are still going strong. Dante is still loving life as the man that’s front and centre, with brother Jools by his side, Gun (9) are as vibrant and powerful as ever and they are busy promoting the new album Hombres which has been critically acclaimed and their best selling release since 1994’s Swagger. And no surprise really with every track a banger in their usual style of rock that is easy to listen to, very radio friendly and even able to cross genres into catching the attention of non-rock fans. Stand-out tracks are All Fired Up and Falling which both get an airing tonight.
35 years on from their debut single and the Gizzi Bros are still going strong. Dante is still loving life as the man that’s front and centre, with brother Jools by his side, Gun (9) are as vibrant and powerful as ever and they are busy promoting the new album Hombres which has been critically acclaimed and their best selling release since 1994’s Swagger. And no surprise really with every track a banger in their usual style of rock that is easy to listen to, very radio friendly and even able to cross genres into catching the attention of non-rock fans. Stand-out tracks are All Fired Up and Falling which both get an airing tonight.
As well as the new songs we’re treated to plethora of classics from their long career - Inside Out, Taking On The World, Vicious Heart all get the crowd singing along, and of course there was their classic cover of the Cameo song Word Up, but the emotional highlight was hearing their debut hit Better Days. It’s still a belter 35 years on and sounds as fresh as ever. The obligatory encore was back to 1989 and the aforementioned Taking On The World plus Shame On You before ending the night with a party classic, a cover of the Beastie Boys Fight For Your Right (To Party). Gun have shown tonight that they are still a force to reckon with, can still write great songs and can still entertain big crowds, not a single blank was fired tonight, they blew us away.
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