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Fast forward to The Fleece, Bristol at the end of April, and the chance to do it all again with a much longer set. No way was I going to miss this one. We started with Hand Of Dimes taking the stage and playing a set of their own music (along with a bit of Skin, because no way would the crowd let Nev and Neil leave their past completely behind. Even Kooga get a mention!). They open with “Looking At You”, and quickly follow up with “Moonlight Mile”, both of which showcase Nev’s sensational pipes, before Neil comes out from behind his keyboards for a gloriously dirty slide and harmonica battle. The quality of the songwriting of those two couldn’t be clearer than on, “Jacob’s ladder”, a massive slice of classic rock, if ever there was one. Bluesy and slow, full of passion and soul, it’s a simply beautiful song and Nev gives it everything. “Guilty” ramps the pace back up, and Garland lends his harmonica skills to the guitar of Colin Edwards, backed by the rhythm section of Mark Maybry and David Stephenson. The guys go digging, and next up is “Like I’ve Never Known” from that starting point of “Kooga”. Another of the stand out songs from “Raise” is “Pinstriped Arrogance”, and the band do it in style and with a swagger, before slowing things down for my favourite ‘Dimes song, “Sail On”, a song that has everything. Nev’s voice is at its most tuneful, as he brings things in slowly. The song then builds and builds to a glorious climax. There has to be some Skin, and tonight it comes in the form of “House Of Love”, and the set closes with more from the distant past and Kooga’s “Across the Water”
With a gentle smile and a self deprecating “Hello”, Bernie Marsden wanders on stage with an acoustic guitar to signal the start of a sublime 20 minutes. Anecdotes that are genuinely engaging mixed with delicious guitar work and bluesy vocals. We start with “Till The Day I Die”, and the crowd sing every word. Marsden then tells us that after playing the next song for the first time at a gig, the rest of the band were so “meh” that they never played it again! He likes it though, so we get “Time Is Right For Love” quickly followed by “Ain’t Gonna Cry No More” (a song Marsden said he wanted to hate because he didn’t write it, but actually loves). To finish, we are treated to a bit of The Beatles as the assembled choir joins Bernie for “From Me To You”
Another short break, and for the final act we get Hand Of Dimes and Bernie Marsden together playing a set of Whitesnake classics. Nev’s voice was made to sing these songs. (They sound far better than Coverdale of the present singing them). The set opens with “Kinda Wish She Would” from Bernie’s solo career, with “Young Blood” following. The set list then goes to a place very dear to me with some of my favourite songs ever. To list the treats we get: “Crying In The Rain” “Don’t Break My Heart Again” “Trouble” “Fool For Your Loving” “Ready And Willing” “Ain’t No Love” (complete with the reformation of the Whitesnake choir) “Shadow Of The Blues” Every song is a classic. The vocals are spot on, the band drive the energy onwards and upwards, and Marsden’s guitar playing is on fire. It all looks so effortless and easy, and then you realise your jaw has dropped open during a particularly incendiary solo, or your cheeks hurt simply because you are smiling so much, waiting for the next chance to sing along. The evening closes with “Here I Go Again” (Marsden pension fund!), and pretty much as soon as the last notes die away, Bernie is over to the merch stand to sign anything and chat to anyone, quickly followed by the rest of the band Glorious. Simply Glorious. Review and photos: Rob Wilkins [gallery type='flickr' user_id='132278830@N06' view='photosets' photoset_id='72157668664046278' columns='3' tag_mode='any' sort='date-posted-desc' per_page='23' layout='square' caption='title' thumb_size='s' main_size='z' ]]]>
