Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons - Exeter Review

With December around the corner, 2023's gigging calendar is coming to a close. I have two more shows left this year, which both take place this coming weekend, and then a few weeks without live music will follow until I head up to London in mid-January to catch Orphaned Land. I managed to get to a lot of different shows this year, many of which were excellent, and 2024 is also shaping up to be a good one - with lots already to look forward to. My final November show this year took place last night, though, and it followed only a couple of days after seeing Marillion put on a customarily excellent show at the Roundhouse in London. Few bands could match the majesty and prowess of Marillion, so it was perhaps fitting that I was following it up quickly with something rather different. Seeing another progressive rock band so soon after Sunday's Marillion show would have likely made the band who followed seem rather ordinary, but the raw power and heaviness of Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons was significantly different enough to limit comparisons between the two shows. In recent years, Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons have become regulars on the UK touring circuit - as well as that of the rest of Europe. I first came across the band in 2016, when they played a set largely consisting of songs from Phil's (guitar/vocals) time with Motörhead at that year's Bloodstock Open Air, but I did not start following them properly until I saw them again at the 2018 iteration of Steelhouse Festival. By this point they had started to release their own material and I was grabbed by their snappy songwriting and powerful sound. I have followed the band ever since and have been to see them a few times locally in Devon and Cornwall - as well as a somewhat random show in Birmingham which replaced a postponed Trivium concert originally scheduled to take place on the same day. I have also caught them with other bands and last saw them back in February when they opened for Black Star Riders in London. Their headline tours generally include the South West, though, so I have managed to see them fairly often - and I headed up to Exeter yesterday to catch the band at the excellent Phoenix. They previously played at the venue in 2019, and put on a great show, so making the trip up to Exeter from Plymouth was a no-brainer. Unfortunately, though, the usually easy trip up the A38 was plagued with setbacks, including terrible traffic getting into the city centre itself and some road closures making the trip take around twice as long as it should have. By the time I got to Exeter and had had some food in the local Wetherspoons, which also seemed to be struggling with only one floor of the building open for business, the show had already started. I generally like to get to venues in time to catch full sets from all of the bands on the bill - but that was sadly not possible this time due to the aforementioned issues!

By the time I got to the venue, then, there was already a pretty healthy crowd gathered and the German five-piece Sweet Electric were around half way through their set. From what I saw of it, Sweet Electric put on a high-energy show - and showcased a relatively diverse sound which mined a number of 1970s rock seams. The song which they were mid-way through when I got into the venue had a bit of an AC/DC vibe, but later songs had a bluesier edge - and the last couple of numbers channelled some strong southern rock influences. With this disparate sound it was quite hard to get a handle on exactly what sort of band Sweet Electric want to be, but what they lacked in clarity they made up for in enthusiasm. The band's frontman barely stood still throughout their set and his raspy voice generally suited the material played - even if he felt a bit rough around the edges as a singer despite being an engaging presence. This summed up the band more generally, although in truth musically they were pretty tight - albeit with that looseness and love of a jam that many 1970s bands possessed. Most of the songs played were likely longer than they would have been if they had been recorded in a studio - and plenty of time was given over to explosive guitar soloing, with both of the band's guitarists impressing on that front. One song even featured a bit of a bass showcase and something a drum solo, so everyone had a moment in the spotlight. The crowd seemed to generally be into what Sweet Electric were doing, too, which is always nice to see. I cannot say that the songs really grabbed me, but the riffing and overall performance was a strong one packed with energy - and what I saw of the set was certainly a good example of no-nonsense hard rock which was welcome following the frustrating journey which preceded it.

Sadly, though, I cannot say the same about The Cards who followed. Featuring Saxon guitarist Paul Quinn (although perhaps that should say 'former Saxon guitarist' given that, following his 'retirement' from touring, he does not even seem to be featured on the band's upcoming album Hell, Fire and Damnation), I was keen to give the three-piece a try - but following a couple of songs it was clear that the bluesy rock band were not for me. Given Quinn's riffing on all of Saxon's albums, I was expecting something a bit better. I was not expecting The Cards to sound like Saxon, but I was expecting something more enjoyable and melodic - but the band's leaden sound really did not impress. Lumpy drumming, strange vocals, and some pretty average riffing and melodies from a guitarist who can do better summed them up - and I feel like The Cards are only getting the amount of attention they are because of their association with Saxon. Having attended many iterations of the Cambridge Rock Festival over the years, I have seen quite a few bands like The Cards - as the undercards often included a few bluesy trios. Most of those bands were forgettable and in truth The Cards were no better than any of those anonymous acts. I do not like being negative, but given who is involved The Cards should be better. I had hoped to come away from the show having discovered a new side to Quinn as a writer and guitar player, but the set ended up being a disappointment - which even a rather ragged cover of Saxon's Princess of the Night at the end could not salvage.

Thankfully things were about to get better, though, as after the stage had been cleared the lights went down and Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons powered through around 80 minutes of music which the large crowd lapped up from the off. Frontman Joel Peters has now been in the band for a couple of years and their first album to feature him, Kings of the Asylum, was released earlier in the year. Four songs from that album were played, but an older track, We're the Bastards, kicked off the set, and the fast-paced and anthemic track set the tone for most of what was to follow. The band sounded as powerful as ever with a great sound mix throughout. Peters' voice was clear and the guitar soloing of both Phil and Todd Campbell (guitar/vocals) cut through nicely. Phil really let rip during the solo section of current single Schizophrenia, whilst the first of four Motörhead songs featured, Going to Brazil, added some old-school rock 'n' roll energy to the night. As usual, the set was a pretty good mix of original material and nods with Phil's past with Motörhead. As the band have three albums and EP to their name at this point, though, I did feel that the set could have weighted a little more in the favour of their own material. I enjoy hearing the Motörhead songs, but I feel that the band could stand behind their own songs a little more - and a couple of strange covers featured later in the set only further cemented this view. That said, though, Born to Raise Hell is always treat to hear live, even if the crowd participation section part-way through was dragged out longer than necessary, and the groovy riff of Freak Show which preceded it leads one of the band's best songs. The new songs played shone, too, and I felt that a couple more from the strong latest album should have featured. The pounding Hammer and Dance certainly got the crowd going, particularly following the doomier Dark Days which was the set's only real slower number. Hammer and Dance is a great representation of the band's sound, though, and the chorus prompted quite a bit of singing. The first of the two aforementioned covers followed, with a rather straight rendition of the Sex Pistols' God Save the Queen feeling like an odd choice. Motörhead covered it of course, but I did not really need to hear Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons do it - and it seemed to start a bit of a fight in the crowd, too! High Rule and the ever-present Ace of Spades got things back on track, though, and one of the latest album's most anthemic pieces, Strike the Match, was a highlight of the latter part of the set. The main set then came to a close with David Bowie's "Heroes", a song I never need to hear again - whether by Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons or anyone else. I know that a cover of it was one of the last songs that Motörhead recorded before Lemmy's death, but that does not mean Phil and the boys needed to play it live. It felt quite flat to me and the main set finished in a limp fashion. The three-song encore which followed was more like it, though, with the rollocking Ringleader and one final Motörhead tune in Killed by Death restoring balance. It was left to one last new song, Maniac, to close out the night - and the profane track certainly got the crowd going, with everyone around me singing along. The setlist was:

We're the Bastards

Schizophrenia

Going the Brazil [Motörhead cover]

Freak Show

Born to Raise Hell [Motörhead cover]

Dark Days

Hammer and Dance

God Save the Queen [Sex Pistols cover]

High Rule

Ace of Spades [Motörhead cover]

Strike the Match

"Heroes" [David Bowie cover]

-

Ringleader

Killed by Death [Motörhead cover]

Maniac

My gripes with the setlist aside, I had a great time in Exeter with Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons. The band always put on a powerful live show and they attract healthy crowds for that reason. There are always great atmospheres at their shows, despite the aforementioned fight, and it is great to see Phil still out there touring and putting in the graft following the demise of  Motörhead. He could have retired, but he clearly loves to go out and play shows - and his current band are real fixtures of the UK rock and metal scene at this point.