FM/Dare - London Review

When two of the best British melodic rock bands announce a short co-headline UK tour, it would be remiss of any self-respecting rock fan to miss out. While melodic rock, or AOR, is definitely more of America's forte, there have still been a handful of bands from these shores which have released material to rival the likes of Journey and Survivor. FM and Dare are two such bands, and yesterday the two descended upon the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in London for the first of five co-headline shows which are taking place over the next month. Both bands were formed in the 1980s, and both bands found early success; but in the intervening couple of decades both have settled down to a much more modest existence. Neither FM or Dare trouble the charts any more, but both have strong fanbases, both home and abroad, and are always worth making the effort to go and see. I would have travelled to see either band on their own, but an evening featuring good-length sets from both made the journal from Devon to London a no-brainer. I had seen FM a handful of times previously over the past few years, so I knew exactly what to expect from the London-based band. Dare on the other hand were a more unknown entity - at least in the live context. My only previous experience of Dare live was a short support slot with Europe at the Roundhouse a couple of years ago, where they had only around 30 minutes on stage and had to battle throughout with a less-than-helpful sound mix. I was confident that they would shine at their own show however, and was really excited to see more or less a full set from the band. It was also announced that former Little Angels and current Wayward Sons frontman Toby Jepson would be opening all five shows, which added an extra layer of excitement as I have been a fan of his for a while. This bill seemed to appeal to plenty of others too, as the Empire attracted a good-sized crowd. Some of the sections of seating were closed off, but the main balcony was pretty full and there was a strong contingent of fans down in the pit. There was plenty of space to move about if required however, showing that there were more tickets that could have been sold, but the amount of people that were there managed to create an excellent atmosphere throughout the evening and made all three acts feel welcome.

Jepson took to the stage armed only with his acoustic guitar not too long after the doors opened, and soon warmed the crowd up with a selection of songs from across his career played in a stripped-down way. A couple of songs from his current venture Wayward Sons were featured, including the opening Ghost, but the vast majority of the songs featured were from his days with Little Angels. I was fortunate enough to catch the reformed Little Angels back in 2012, so it was great to see Jepson performing some of those songs again. One of the early highlights of his set was the ballad I Ain't Gonna Cry which turned out to be the first real sing-a-long of the night. There were clearly a lot of Little Angels fans in, and they revelled in helping Jepson sing some of the band's best songs. There were solo numbers and a song form his time with Fastway thrown in too, but it was the Little Angels material that stole the show. Towards the end of his set, he threw together a little medley of some of the band's rockier singles, including Young Gods (Stand Up, Stand Up) and Too Much Too Young which certainly went down very well with the crowd. Jepson received a deserved cheer when he left the stage, and I made a mental note to check out Wayward Sons' debut album soon.

There was barely five minutes between Jepson leaving the stage and Dare starting their set. With their gear already set up, the band clearly wanted to capitalise on Jepson's good work and they hit the stage with a crowd who were ready for more. Dare were formed by frontman and songwriter Darren Wharton in 1985 after his previous band Thin Lizzy's demise and found early success with a couple of melodic hard rock albums and their accompanying singles. The Dare of today has a much more sedate sound however, and they display a strong Celtic influence throughout their work. The first half of their set showcased this perfectly, as they opened with Sea of Roses from 2004's Beneath the Shining Water and then proceeded to play five songs from 2016's excellent Sacred Ground. Wharton's smooth voice is perfect for this brand of atmospheric Celtic rock, and he sounded great throughout the band's 75 minute set. The first half of Dare's set was quite one-paced, with Vinny Burns' (guitar/vocals) slow, melodic guitar leads often cutting through the soft rock backing and Wharton's crooned lyrics really filling the venue. There is something about Dare's modern sound that just washes over you, and it was great to hear half of their latest album featured. A highlight was the slightly rockier Days of Summer which is easily my favourite from the new album. It has one of the best choruses in the band's catalogue, and there were many around me who clearly agree as they joined me in singing it back at Wharton. This half of the set was rounded off with a rendition of Thin Lizzy's Emerald, but with the pace slowed down greatly to turn it into almost a piece of Celtic folk rather than the twin-guitar hard rock of the original. It worked well in this format however, and led nicely into the set's second half which, as Wharton quipped, took in their 'heavy rock' period. Songs from 1988's Out of the Silence and 1991's Blood from Stone were featured here, and the set certainly moved through the gears somewhat. Marc Roberts' keyboards moved from providing dense atmospheric soundscapes to melodic 1980s synth leads and each song was met with a big cheer. We Don't Need a Reason was an early highlight from this portion of the set, with Burns attacking his guitar for the muscular riff and the shredded solo. Abandon probably received the biggest cheer of the night, and Roberts' keyboards cut through the mix perfectly and the crowd really helped Wharton out with the powerful melodies. The set did slow again somewhat towards the end, as ballads King of Spades and Return the Heart brought the 14-song set to an end. The former was a real highlight however, as it has been a favourite of mine for a while. Wharton sung the song, which was written for Phil Lynott, with real passion - and this Lynott tribute continued with Burns playing a portion of Róisín Dubh (Black Rose): A Rock Legend as part of an extended solo section. Like Jepson, Dare also received a well-deserved cheer from the crowd as they left the stage and there were many around me towards the front of the stalls area who seemed shocked by just how good they were. The setlist was:

Sea of Roses
Home
Until
I'll Hear You Pray
Days of Summer
Every Time We Say Goodbye
Emerald [Thin Lizzy cover]
Wings of Fire
We Don't Need a Reason
Abandon
Into the Fire
The Raindance
King of Spades/Róisín Dubh (Black Rose): A Rock Legend [Thin Lizzy cover]
Return the Heart

Despite Dare being a tough act to follow, FM were more than up for the task and seemed up for the evening as soon as they took their position at around 9:40pm. I had last seen the band at Castel Roc, held at Chepstow Castle, last August where early technical issues seemed to knock them off guard a bit, but this 90 minute set saw them running on full power from the first number to the encore. Black Magic, from the new album Atomic Generation, proved to be a powerful opening number and Steve Overland (vocals/guitar) prowled around the front of the stage singing the lyrics while Jim Kirkpatrick (guitar/vocals) handled all of the guitar parts himself. Only two numbers from the new album were played, and the set acted as a bit of an FM history lesson with songs from throughout their career, including some lesser-played numbers, featured. The ever-present I Belong to the Night, with Jem Davis' keyboards perfectly cutting through the mix, got everyone going early on before the early single Let Love be the Leader only heightened the party atmosphere. For the most part the set was built around the band's rockier material, which ensured that the energy was constantly at a high level. It only took a few numbers for the crowd to be totally on board with FM, and everyone was singing along with the band in no time. The rarely-played smooth AOR of The Dream That Died was an early highlight. Overland commented that the band had not played it since the late 1980s so it was great to see the song brought out the vaults for a much-deserved airing. It was great to hear the catchy Over You, preceded by Kirkpatrick's guitar showcase Metropolis, again too and it saw Overland, Kirkpatrick, and Merv Goldsworthy (bass guitar/vocals) harmonising well during the poppy chorus.

The soaring ballad Closer to Heaven was a rare change of pace, and saw Overland taking on the lead guitar duties for a tasteful solo. By this point it was clear just how excellent the live sound mix was. Much like a recent Marillion show I attended, the mix was just about perfect. There was a great separation between all of the instruments, enough backing vocals to re-create those famous harmonies, and Pete Jupp's drums had just enough punch to give the band a slightly heavier feel. This was particularly evident towards the end of the band's set when many of their best-known songs were wheeled out. Tough it Out sounded more powerful than ever as Overland belted out the anthemic chorus and Kirkpatrick nailed the snaking riff. The Desmond Child-penned single Bad Luck might have been the best-received track of the night, with everyone around me singing along, before That Girl received a similar reception which brought a big smile from Davis as he hammered away at the chorus' riff on his stack of keyboards. Killed by Love, the only other song from Atomic Generation featured in the set, brought the main set to a close. It seemed like an odd move to end with a new one, but plenty in the crowd seemed to know it already and gave up a huge cheer as the band left the stage. It was past 11pm by this time so I assumed it was all over, but the band defied the curfew and came back for a couple more. The bluesy romp of Burning My Heart Down got everyone's feet stomping and hands clapping before Overland brought Wharton back onto the stage for a fiery rendition of Thin Lizzy's The Boys are Back in Town. FM seem to enjoy covering songs with their touring partners as part of their encore, and it worked well providing one last chance for everyone to sing-a-long with Wharton, who took the lead vocals, and the band. The setlist was:

Black Magic
I Belong to the Night
Life is a Highway
Let Love be the Leader
Someday
The Dream That Died
Other Side of Midnight
Metropolis
Over You
Close to Heaven
Does it Feel Like Love
Story of My Life
Tough it Out
Bad Luck
That Girl
Killed by Love
-
Burning My Heart Down
The Boys are Back in Town [Thin Lizzy cover w/ Darren Wharton]

Overall this was a fantastic evening of melodic rock from two of the country's best exports of the genre - not forgetting Jepson who warmed everyone up nicely with his preceding acoustic set. It was great to finally see a full set from Dare, who really impressed and sounded so much better here than during their small support set with Europe a couple of years ago, and FM knocked it out of the park with a great career-spanning set that proves why they are still so loved around the world.