Rock Goddess/Heavy Pettin - Bristol Review

The NWOBHM era was certainly a strange one. On the one hand it was great to see so many new heavy metal bands emerging after the punk boom that dominated the British music scene for a short-but-significant spell; but on the other hand it saw the market flooded with a huge amount of acts - some of whom really were not anywhere near the quality required to succeed. There were certainly more losers than winners when it came to the NWOBHM lottery, and while there were plenty of bands that certainly never deserved much success - there were others that did and never really received it. London's Rock Goddess and Scotland's Heavy Pettin were two such bands. Both started out promisingly, with a couple of strong albums released during the early and mid-1980s, but both folded prematurely and never really fulfilled their potential. The NWOBHM era has been the subject of much nostalgia in recent years however, with some of the bands reforming and finding that there is still an audience for their work. Both Rock Goddess and Heavy Pettin have reformed relatively recently, and are giving things another go. The former are a bit ahead of the latter, with a few tours and a new album in the form of This Time already under their belts, but Heavy Pettin's reunion is a much newer venture. A new album is planned, but the band's current tour which sees them co-headlining with Rock Goddess is their first major run of UK shows since the mid-1980s. Rock Goddess and Heavy Pettin make for an excellent touring package. The bands are cut from similar musical cloth, and fans of the NWOBHM era should relish the chance to see two underrated bands from that time on the same bill. Their current tour is not huge, but it includes shows all over the UK - including a show last night in Bristol which I attended. I am not sure that I would have travelled further than Bristol from Plymouth for this tour, but a show in the South West was an exciting prospect. The tickets were cheap and I found somewhere affordable to stay, so it made sense to make the effort. The show was originally scheduled to take place on board the Thekla, but with the boat undergoing some refurbishments, it was moved to the smaller Exchange. This was probably a good move in hindsight as the crowd, despite looking of a decent size in the Exchange, may have looked sparse on the Thekla.

There was no support act, and Heavy Pettin were on first. They took to the stage at around 8pm, and played for probably around 50 minutes - shorter than what the running order by the door stated, which gave the show more of a typical headliner-with-a-support feel rather than a true co-headline vibe. It would have been nice if Heavy Pettin had played for longer, but the five-piece stormed through an eleven-song set with ease that was lapped up by all in attendance. As the band took to the stage the crowd looked extremely sparse, but the sound of music brought everyone in from the bar area, and the venue suddenly looked somewhat full - despite there still be adequate room for plenty more. Frontman Stephen 'Hamie' Hayman and Gordon Bonnar (guitar/vocals) are the only original Heavy Pettin members in the band's current line-up, but the Heavy Pettin of 2019 proved to be a powerful live force that did the old material justice. A couple of new tunes were played, including the heavy set-opener Get Back To You, which gave the crowd a taste of the album that is currently in the works. Most of the set was made up of songs from the 1980s however, and it was great to hear so many tracks from the band's first two albums. The b-side Roll the Dice was also featured early on for the die hard fans, but in truth everyone seemed to be on board with the Scottish band after only a couple of numbers. There was a good atmosphere in the venue throughout the night, and Hamie and co. seemed really pleased with the reactions that they got, with big smiles all round. The band all played fantastically, but Hamie was the stand-out performer for me. Many singers of his age loose the high end of their voice, but his is still very much intact. He sounded great throughout the night, and belted out chorus after chorus with ease. His vocal performance made one of the set's stand-out numbers Sole Survivor such a highlight, and during one number he jumped down into the crowd to greet many of the fans - which was a nice touch. The band's other founder Bonnar was a little more reserved, but still turned in a great performance laying down plenty of heavy riffs. Much of the lead guitar work was handled by new guitarist Dave Aitken, who impressed with some excellent soloing, but Bonnar still had a few chances to shine in that department despite his primary role as a riff-maker. By the end of the set the favourites were coming thick and fast, and there was plenty of singing to be heard from the crowd. The anthemic Rock Ain't Dead unsurprisingly got a strong reaction during its simple chorus, and the band's first single In and Out of Love was possibly the best-received song of the set. Everything came to an end with a raucous version of Throw a Party, which was drawn out to include some audience participation and to allow Bonnar to also venture into the crowd and trade licks with Aitken from across the room. It capped off a great 50 or so minutes of melodic NWOBHM from the Scottish act, and it left me wanting to hear more! The setlist was:

Get Back To You
Roll the Dice
Love Times Love
Break it Down
Rock Me
Sole Survivor
Victims of the Night
Rock Ain't Dead
Hell is Beautiful
In and Out of Love
Throw a Party

After half an hour or so, the evening's headliners got underway after a low-key start and proceeded to impress the crowd with a sixteen-song set that included songs from throughout their career - including a healthy number from the newly-released This Time. It was an oldie that kicked things off however, with Satisfied then Crucified roaring out the blocks, before newer numbers in the form of Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right and Back Off brought Rock Goddess' sound into the 21st Century. For a three-piece, the band make a racket - but it is Jody Turner (vocals/guitar) than runs the show. She writes the band's songs, and is the main focal point up on the stage - which was no different in Bristol. The band had impressed me last year when I saw them in Cardiff with Saxon - but at their own show they had more of a presence and showed more confidence. The new single Are You Ready? was an early highlight, and saw plenty of singing from the crowd, while the shuddering rhythms of the oldie Start Running proved a bit of a change of pace. My only real criticism of Rock Goddess' songs is the fact that after a while they do start to sound a bit the same, but the band's energy helps to reduce the impact of that live. While Jody Turner is the main focus on stage, new bassist Jenny Lane was also a strong presence and seems to have fit in with the Turner sisters really well. Lane did her bit to get the crowd going throughout, and helped to keep the set moving. Another highlight for me was the anthemic It's More Than Rock and Roll, the title track of a 2017 EP, which also saw a lot of audience participation. Lots of Rock Goddess' songs have very simple choruses that are made for the live arena, and there were a few moments throughout the set where the band stepped back somewhat to let the crowd take over. This was one such moment, and the song led nicely into the slower chug of Hell Hath No Fury which got some heads banging. Much of the rest of the set was made up of newer tunes, with the bold Calling to Space standing out the most - before the main set came to a close with the band's first single Heavy Metal Rock 'n' Roll was proved to be another strong sing-a-long moment. The song was sung with gusto by the crowd, and the band very briefly left the stage afterwards before being called back for a more. A two-song encore followed, featuring tracks from their self-titled debut album. Another early single in My Angel came first, before a heavy version of Back To You rounded everything off. Both songs were well-received by the crowd who were loving every minute of their evening - and also ensured that the evening began and ended with songs with the same name! Rock Goddess took their bows to large cheers, and they could revel in a job well done. The setlist was:

Satisfied then Crucified
Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right
Back Off
To Be Betrayed
Are You Ready?
Start Running
Flying to See You
It's My Turn
It's More Than Rock and Roll
Hell Hath No Fury
Hold Me Down
Calling to Space
Drive Me Away
Heavy Metal Rock 'n' Roll
-
My Angel
Back To You

I had taken a few LP sleeves with me to get signed, and managed to get the original members of both bands to sign them at various points throughout the evening - which was excellent. That was a nice addition to the evening, and I came away with a new Heavy Pettin shirt too. I would definitely make the effort to go and see both bands live again in the future, so hopefully neither will leave it too long before touring again.