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“Tavistock! Make some fucking noise!” Isn’t a phrase that can have been heard that often, but Inglorious bought the Rock to the sleepy little South West border town and the jam-packed audience responded enthusiastically!
Warming them up beforehand, however, a big shout out to A New Tomorrow. Reading their bio, the half-Italian, half-British band have been around since 2009 but I would love to know where they have been hiding! Showcasing a very “Alter Bridge” sound, the four-piece of Alessio Garavello on wide-ranging vocals, Michael Kew on ear-to-ear grins and guitar, Andrea Lonardi on bass, and Tim Hall on extremely energetic drums drew the growing crowd in and fed off their energy for their 45-minute set. With each song in their set, the reaction from the crowd grew warmer, which in turn spurred the band on to enjoy the set more and the cycle repeated in a feedback loop that made their set absolutely fly by. Talking to friends afterward I was far from alone in my enjoyment of their set and will definitely be keeping an eye out for them when they appear on tours in the future. Check out the new single Until The End and prepare to be impressed!
But it is Inglorious that have drawn the crowds and after a short break we are rewarded with the sight of drummer Phil Beaver bopping onto the stage to the theme from “Grandstand” before being joined by guitarists Danny Dela Cruz and Dan Stevens, and bassist Vinnie Colla, whilst he sits at his drums. Vocalist Nathan James is last to the stage and as he raises his arms the band kick into “She Won’t Let You Go”. I have seen Inglorious a number of times this year, most recently at Steelhouse and Firestorm festivals and, to my ears, Nathan’s voice sounded as one might imagine towards the end of a tour. The power and range were clearly visible, but a slight roughness suggested he was working around some limitations. Even within those limits though his voice is utterly spectacular. Couple that with the powerful rhythm section and the sheer virtuosity of Dan and Danny and you have one of the best “classic” rock vibe bands around.
The first half of the set bubbles along nicely. I have heard the songs so many times recently it is hard to single anything out as it all just “works”. The setlist is however a shortened one. Whether that is due to curfew or the aforementioned attempts by James to look after his instrument is unclear, but Barracuda is the first notable absentee. So far so good. A fun evening out. Great musicianship. But then Phil Beaver came out from behind his kit and the band disappeared to leave just Nathan, and Phil with his left-handed 12-string guitar. From where I don’t know, but they then managed to produce an utterly spine-tingling rendition of Glory Days that at one point featured a beautifully pure note from James that rang on and on, and then, just as you were wondering whether he actually breathed like other mortals, he somehow took the note higher and higher. Cue a spontaneous round of applause and general jaw-dropping. So much for my thoughts on protecting his voice! As if that wasn’t enough. The pair then played a tribute to Taylor Hawkins comprising My Hero (sung beautifully by Beaver) and Best of You complete with twinkling phone lights and palpable emotion when the crowd joined in. Out of nowhere, the acoustic section had become something memorable and special.
Once back together as a band, the set seemed to re-energise and the second half felt far stronger than the first. Even with Messiah and We Will Ride missing, a run of songs that allow the band to let rip and showcase their talents such as We Will Meet Again, He Will Provide, Eye of the Storm, Holy Water (where James heads into the audience for a walkabout), I Don’t Need Your Loving and set closer Until I Die keeps raising the ante until the last notes die away and the band takes a bow to Sweet Caroline.
Did Tavistock make some fucking noise? They certainly did!
Review and photos – Rob Wilkins/Celtography
