I am not
sure that I can remember a start to a calendar year being so busy when it comes
to gigging. Generally, I find the spring and autumn to be the busiest times of
the year - but following my first show of the year in January things have barely let up. In truth, both March and April are
much quieter, before May gets busy again, but January and February 2025 have
been packed full of gigs. I had a rare weekend at home last weekend, even
though much of Saturday morning was taken up with travelling back from Bristol,
but I am now in the midst of what is likely to be my busiest gigging weekend of
the whole year - as I am taking in four gigs in four days in three cities. As I
write this I am currently in London, having travelled up from Bristol this
morning, and am looking forward to seeing Marilyn Manson for the first time
shortly, but this post is about last night's excellent show in Bristol - where
I saw Uriah Heep rock a packed Beacon at the start of their long goodbye. Dubbed
The Magician's Farewell, the band's current tour is stated to be their
last extensive globe-trotting affair. The band have not ruled out festival
appearances and the odd shorter jaunt following the conclusion of this lengthy
trek, which is likely to take two or three years, but in terms of an
all-encompassing and traditional tour this appears to be it. Given that the
band formed back in 1969, though, this want to slow down is not a surprise.
Considering all of the talk surrounding Black Sabbath's recently-announced
farewell show, and how much an ailing Ozzy Osbourne will be able to contribute,
the fact that Uriah Heep can even contemplate such a lengthy tour is
impressive. Admittedly, only Mick Box (guitar/vocals) remains from the band's
founding - but some of the 'newer' members are not exactly young so it is great
that much of the world will get at least one last chance to see Uriah Heep
live. Since I first saw the band at the 2009 iteration of the Cambridge Rock
Festival, I have been a big fan. Including last night, I have now
seen them live nine times - and each night has been memorable. Whether it was
the most recent show, where I saw them deliver a short set opening for
Judas Priest last year, or the most memorable show, a lengthy set in 2022
belatedly celebrating the band's 50th anniversary, Uriah Heep always
deliver. It helps that the current line-up is long-solidified now, with newest
member Dave Rimmer (bass guitar/vocals) having been in the band since 2013, and
also that they have stayed creative - putting out a number of strong albums
this century. I was always going to get to a farewell tour, then, and luckily
the Bristol show slotted in nicely alongside other pre-existing plans. It
was also my first visit to the Beacon since its lengthy closure and re-brand -
and only my second ever visit to the once-legendary venue. When I went in 2018 I thought it looked very tired, but last night it was clear that a lot was done
during its closure - and given that I will be visiting the venue a few more
times in the near future this facelift is a welcome one.
There was
plenty of good stuff to come before Uriah Heep's set, though, as the crowd were treated to a couple of support acts before things got underway. The
crowd was pretty large, too, and even when Tyketto took to the stage at
7:15pm there was already a healthy number of people in. I have seen Tyketto
many times, and they are always a great live band. I have travelled all over
the country to see them previously, so seeing them open for another band I like
relatively close to home was something of a treat. I had previously seen them
in Bristol, on board the Thekla back in 2017, a gig which frontman Danny Vaughn
referenced from the stage, so it was nice to see them on a bigger stage - even
if they only had a limited time allotted to them. They managed to make a strong
impression during their seven-song set, though, and all of the power of Tyketto
as a live band shone through despite the crowd not always seeming that
receptive. The set was largely made up of anthems from the past, but the newer Reach
kicked things off, with Vaughn armed with his acoustic guitar for the smoother
verses as Ged Rylands (keyboards/vocals) laid down a big synth hook. Tyketto
have weathered many storms in terms of line-up changes, with Vaughn the only
original left standing, but the current line-up is as good as any from the past
- with Harry Scott Elliott (guitar) nailing all of the key riffs and solos. This was evident during an early double-salvo of Wings and Rescue
Me, which upped the tempo following the mid-paced smoothness of Reach
- and, with the exception of one song, the band generally rocked pretty hard.
Johnny Dee (drums/vocals) has also slotted in nicely over the last couple of
years, and the returning Chris Childs (bass guitar/vocals) just meshes
everything together with his years of experience. He even got to show off
during a pretty shreddy bass solo during Lay Your Body Down - but before
this Vaughn managed to whip up a bit of a sing-a-long during the muscular and
bluesy Strength in Numbers. Despite the crowd being a bit on the
stand-offish side at times, both of these songs did attract a bit of singing
during the chorus - but given how upbeat and easy on the ear Tyketto are it was
a shame that more did not join in. The band still rocked, though, but did
slow it down one song from the end with the gorgeous ballad Standing Alone
- which is generally the centre piece of any Tyketto show. Vaughn always
sings the song with real emotion and last night was no different - and Elliott
later nailed the distinctive and flowing solo to take things to the next level.
Sadly there was only time for one more at this point, but Forever Young
always works well as a set-closing anthem - with the mid-paced rocker's huge
chorus soon filling the venue thanks to Vaughn's voice which has lost little of
its power over the years. The band certainly got the evening off to a flying
start, but there was still plenty more to come. The setlist was:
Reach
Wings
Rescue
Me
Strength
in Numbers
Lay Your
Body Down
Standing
Alone
Forever
Young
Following a
brief changeover, the lights went down again and the four members of the
Canadian hard rockers April Wine took to the stage. Whilst I am not hugely
familiar with them, I have heard some of their late 1970s/early 1980s
albums and enjoyed them - but I would not say that I went into this set with
huge expectations. April Wine are now one of a growing numbers of older bands
with no original members - although Brian Greenway (vocals/guitar) has been in
the band since 1977 and was therefore part of their classic era. Their founder and driving force Myles Goodwyn died in 2023, but Greenway has kept
things going with Marc Parent (vocals/guitar) taking Goodwyn's place. As such, Parent was largely the focal point of the evening - and his bluesy guitar
playing and strong voice helped bring I Like to Rock to life (which, of
course, featured on the official Monsters of Rock LP following the
band's appearance at the first ever Monsters of Rock in 1980). April Wine
seemingly had a brief love affair with the UK back in 1980 and 1981, but this
current tour marks their first return to these shores since. Only Greenway
remains from those days, but the meat and potatoes rockers still delivered
an enjoyable set - even if they lacked the flair and star power of Tyketto.
Tyketto are often hard to follow, as H.E.A.T found out last summer at Chepstow
Castle, but April Wine had enough straight forward riffs and decent choruses to
make it work. I knew some of the songs played, with I Like to Rock
working well an opener - but during the set we also got to hear snappy tracks
like Crash and Burn and the more expansive Before the Dawn, which
was sung by Greenway. He sang a couple of tracks, but generally Parent did the
singing - with anthems like Big City Girls certainly enjoyable. Greenway
did much of the talking between the songs, though, and he made reference to the
band's long absence from the UK. The band even played the same venue back in
1981, so the night must have held some nostalgia, but like Tyketto the band
were generally only afforded a polite reception. Things did pick up somewhat as
the set went on, though, with minor hit Just Between You and Me seeing a
bit more of a reaction - as did the harder rocking Sign of the Gypsy Queen
which morphed into a bit of a wig out with both Parent and Greenway soloing. It
was left to the bluesy hard rock of Roller to see thing out, then, and
it capped off what had been an enjoyable set. April Wine were not a band I was
desperate to see, but I am glad I have had the opportunity to given their lack of
recent visits to the UK - and I will need to revisit those few albums of theirs
I have and delve a little deeper into their vast catalogue.
Following a slightly longer changeover, Uriah Heep hit the stage at just after 9:15pm and for the next 90 or so minutes rocked the house with a set that largely consisted of their best-known songs. The more expansive set from a few years ago, which featured a lengthy acoustic portion to kick things off, was filled with deeper cuts - but the setlist for this tour feels like a celebration of the band's best work throughout the years. A couple of deeper cuts were included, alongside some newer material, but generally the set was a sing-a-long affair based in their 1970s heyday. Despite this, though, three newer songs kicked things off - with Rimmer's two compositions for the band, Grazed by Heaven and Save Me Tonight, opening the set in furious fashion. There were slower moments during the evening, but generally Uriah Heep's set was a high-octane one - with plenty of wah-drenched soloing from Box and roaring Hammond organ from Phil Lanzon (keyboards/vocals). The sound mix was generally pretty good, too, although frontman Bernie Shaw was occasionally a little low in the balance - but he still sounded as powerful as ever, with the band's trademark harmonies bring the bombastic 2008 anthem Overload to life. The track is one of my favourite recent cuts so it was great to hear it live again - and it capped off this opening salvo of recent material perfectly. Bar a couple of other new songs, though, the rest of the evening was very much rooted in the past. A rare outing for the lengthy and progressive Shadows of Grief was up next, with spooky vocal harmonies and a lengthy instrumental mid-section which saw the band really giving it their all. The crowd had not exactly covered themselves in glory during either support band, but the atmosphere throughout was still decent. Uriah Heep received a warm reception throughout the show - but the sing-a-longs were a bit poor, with Stealin' not raising the roof as it should. Seated shows often sap away at an atmosphere and whilst some did stand there were plenty of others rooted to their seats not joining in. This was a shame, and is often the case when seeing legacy bands, but there was enough singing to let the band know that there was a crowd out there. The remaining newer songs, Hurricane and Hail the Sunrise, both felt at home in a set full of classics - and a later juxtaposition of the acoustic-based The Wizard and the party anthem Sweet Lorraine showcased both sides of the band's diverse sound. The rollocking Free 'n' Easy also showed the band's likely influence on the NWOBHM movement which would follow a few short years after the song's 1977 release - but the set was then turned over to one of the two big epics played: the deeper cut The Magician's Birthday. I had not seen the song done live before, and it was a progressive rock epic - with Box taking a lengthy solo in the middle accompanied only by drummer Russell Gilbrook. There was not too much time left at this point, but a hard-hitting take on the proto-metal of Gypsy and the lengthy July Morning, with plenty of Hammond from Lanzon, saw the main set come to a close. Following a brief step off stage, though, the band were back for a two-song encore. The cinematic and harmony-filled Sunrise was up first, before the band's signature track Easy Livin' brought the curtain down on another great night of live music. The setlist was:
Grazed by Heaven
Save Me Tonight
Overload
Shadows of Grief
Stealin'
Hurricane
The Wizard
Sweet Lorraine
Hail the Sunrise
Free 'n' Easy
The Magician's Birthday
Gypsy
July Morning
-
Sunrise
Easy Livin'
Given that this UK tour is the start of the band's wider farewell tour, I may have just seen Uriah Heep live for the last time. Hopefully they will be back, as they have not ruled out further UK shows, short tours, and festival appearances - but given the age of the band it makes sense for them to start winding down whilst they can still deliver a world-wide tour with the power they are known for. If last night was it then they certainly went out on a high - and I am glad that I got to see the band quite a few times over the years.
No comments:
Post a Comment