Massive Wagons - Plymouth Review

It is always good to get to a gig locally. I usually get to a few things a year in Plymouth, but compared to cities of a comparable size relatively few bands make the trip down the M5 and the A38 to the west of Devon. This is a shame, as Plymouth gigs are often well-attended, but the city's relatively remote location off the beaten path means that trips down to Devon do not often make practical sense for many bands. The lack of venue variety over the years has not helped, either. Whilst the controversial Pavilions caters for some larger bands, there is nothing within the city of a medium size. Whilst I love a night at The Junction on Mutley Plain, it is simply too small for most bands - and the city has been crying out for years for a venue that holds around 1500 people. Whilst The Depo on Union Street is not that size, it is significantly larger than The Junction - so has the potential to plug something of a gap. Whilst the building has hosted occasional gigs over the years, and I saw Glamour of the Kill there around 15 years ago when it was called Crash Manor, its recent significant refurbishment and re-opening as The Depo after it was closed for a number of years has the potential to add to Plymouth's gig options. Sadly, though, the venue has not hosted that many live shows since it re-opened a couple of years ago. Generally the place is run as nightclub, but there is no reason why The Depo cannot successfully be both a nightclub and a live music venue - as many of the country's best venues are. I had tickets to see Wednesday 13 at The Depo a couple of years ago, but that tour got cancelled due to the pandemic, and the handful of other bands which have played there have done little for me - despite decent names such as Therapy? and Reef having pulled decent crowds. I finally made it down to The Depo for the first time last night, though, as the Lancaster-based five-piece Massive Wagons decided to make the trip down to Devon for a one-off headline show amongst a glut of festival appearances. Massive Wagons are one of a fairly significantly large group of newer British rock bands which are currently making waves. They are certainly not a true favourite of mine, but I have become a fan of the band over the past few years - and had seen them three times previously as a support act. They are not the sort of band whom I would travel to see, but I was not going to pass up an opportunity for a Saturday night out in Plymouth - so I picked up a ticket when the show was announced a couple of months ago. I had wondered what the turnout would be like, but the rock fans of Plymouth showed up to The Depo in force. The place was pretty full throughout the night, and everyone in attendance was up for a good time - leading to a strong atmosphere throughout. Due to the venue running a club night afterwards, too, the show had a 10pm curfew - although everything was over by 9:30pm. This meant that there was little time for messing about or hanging around - and the night was a snappy one in a number of ways.

The venue was supposed to open at 6:30pm, but the doors opened around 10/15 minutes late - meaning that the crowd had not been in the building long when the evening's sole support act The Outlanders took to the stage at 7pm. I had seen The Outlands previously, opening for Scarlet Rebels last year, and the local band impressed with a pretty riffy set. I remember the band having a bit more of an indie vibe when I saw them over a year ago, but this time they generally seemed to rock a bit harder. They rocked last time, too, but they seem to have moved in more of a hard rock direction - which is welcome. Frontman Kalum Wilmot's voice has a bit of an indie edge to it, but there is still enough grit there to sit nicely alongside the riffs of guitarist Jake Walke - and the band's modern sound was pretty strong from the off. There were a few slower sections during the set, but overall the band rocked pretty hard - with Walke's riffs driving everything. A few more lead-based sections added some melody, but the songs in general were pretty chunky. A few solos added some bluesy tinges to the tracks, and the mix of harder rock elements with a more indie-esque vocal approach worked well. There were a few decent choruses contained within the set, and Wilmot also showcased a strong vocal range at times, too - with a few higher-pitched sections during a couple of the songs. I remember enjoying The Outlanders' set when I saw them previously, and I enjoyed them again this time, too. It seems as if the band have consolidated their sound a bit over the past year and have decided to go in a harder rock direction - which is certainly welcome. It is always good to see a local band getting better - and I will be interested to see how they progress going forward.

Half an hour or so after The Outlanders finished their set, Massive Wagons took to the stage with no fanfare and just cracked on - kicking off at 8pm with everything coming to a close just before 9:30pm. Massive Wagons' sound is a bit hard to describe. They are very much a hard rock band, but there is not much of a classic rock strut to be found - and they are certainly not all that bluesy. There is quite a big punk influence throughout their songs, and, for me, they stand out as being one of the more original bands of the current glut of newer British rock bands. Their recent handful of albums are generally pretty strong, but the band are one that come over better live - and their high-energy performance kept the large Plymouth crowd entertained during their 80 or so minute set. They kicked off with Gone Are the Days, a fast-paced number which saw frontman Barry Mills getting fired up early. He has always been a great frontman, but seeing a headline performance from the band really highlighted his ability to get the crowd going - and he was busy throughout the night, interacting with those in the front few rows and generally delivering a powerful vocal performance (despite being a bit low in the mix at times). The rest of the band were generally a bit more reserved, letting Mills take the majority of the spotlight, but there were plenty of solos from both Adam Thistlethwaite (guitar/vocals) and Stevie Holl (guitar/vocals) which occasionally shifted the focus away from Mills. Massive Wagons are a pretty to-the-point band, though. They are not generally about instrumental prowess, and instead focus on big riffs and big choruses - as early cuts such as the older Tokyo and the punky A.S.S.H.O.L.E. proved, with the latter seeing Mills encouraging the crowd to chant the song's title back at the band one letter at a time. It was clear by this point, too, that the crowd were out to have a good time. There was even a bit of moshing going on near the front, which seemed to upset a few around the pit, and the overall energy was one of a punky outlet - with the staccato Hero and the anthemic Fuck the Haters whipping up plenty of excitement, with the latter seeing many middle fingers in the air. Please Stay Calm slowed things down a little, introducing a slight melodic rock edge, whilst the genre-bending Generation Prime impressed with its reggae inclusions - with a portion of Bob Marley's No Woman, No Cry thrown in for good measure. By this point, songs from the latest album Triggered! had largely dominated the set, but the final third or so was made up of older pieces. The storming hard rock of Bangin in Your Stereo had plenty around me singing along, but it was the snappy China Plates which seemed to get everyone going - which also included a bit of Judas Priest's Breaking the Law. Perhaps the overall highlight for me, though, was the boogie of Back to the Stack, the band's tribute to the late Rick Parfitt. It is the sort of song which is made for being played live, and the anthemic chorus was latched onto by the whole crowd as one of the night's big sing-a-longs. The band could have left it there and ended on a high, but there were a few more tracks still to come - with the punk-cum-hard rock of Nails mixing chaos and a big chorus proving to be another high-energy moment with plenty of singing. It was left to the excellent In It Together to wrap everything up, and the anthemic track from 2020's House of Noise proved to be an powerful way to close out the set - and the crowd were left chanting for more despite the night being over. The setlist was:

Gone Are the Days

Tokyo

Germ

A.S.S.H.O.L.E.

Sunshine Smile

Hero

Fuck the Haters

Skateboard

Please Stay Calm

Generation Prime/No Woman, No Cry [Bob Marley and the Wailers cover]

Bangin in Your Stereo

Ratio

China Plates/Breaking the Law [Judas Priest cover]

Back to the Stack

Nails

House of Noise

In It Together

Having seen the band a few times as a support act over the years, it was great to see them headline to a packed house in Plymouth - and Massive Wagons did not let the early start or the unfamiliar surroundings put them off. Everyone in attendance certainly had a good time, and I hope that the strong turnout persuades the owners of The Depo that there is a desire in Plymouth for more live music. Given the turnout I would not be surprised to see Massive Wagons come back to the South West on future tours, and I will make the effort to go and see them again if they do.