Devil's Gate Music
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Tonight it is absolutely rammed. So much so, that it feels like the only way to get a drink to your lips is to synchronise lifting your arm with those besides, in front, and behind you. It is hot, sweaty, loud, and cramped… and we don’t have any bands on stage yet! Opening the evening are Leader Of Down, Würzel’s former band, welcomed on stage to Status Quo’s “Down Down” (the misheard lyrics of which gave rise to the band’s name). Their set is raw and energetic and goes down a storm with the sweating horde. They are on a mission to raise the heat even further with a set of fast and heavy rock ‘n’ roll, throughout which singer Matt Baker and guitarist Alex Ward are never still. ‘People Say I’m Crazy’ opens the set in cracking style, and the pace never slows throughout the 12 song set. Mission accomplished, and the anticipation grows for the headliners. Phil Campbell wanders on stage, the epitome of the cool rockstar, all shades and laid back attitude and the Bastard Sons smash in to “Big Mouth”. The crowd throw the energy back at the stage, and somehow even more people seem to have filled the space. Now, even breathing has to be synchronised. Then, everything stops and the somewhat bemused band wander off stage looking very confused. Only when there is relative silence is the reason clear – the fire alarm is going off! Now this is Plymouth, and there is no way people are giving up those hard won spaces at the front or those sight lines, so NOBODY moves! We all have drinks, if there is a fire, we can put it out with beer! Finally, the alarm is silenced and Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons return to play ‘Step Into The Fire’ with almost gleeful irony. From this point on, there is nothing but raw, heavy, ear-shattering rock music. You can actually feel the floor flex! The staff must have had a quiet night, as getting to the bar and back was an absolute impossibility. The crowd surge and press against the stage so that at times it is hard to see who is playing and who is watching. At one point, the surge is so irresistible that I find myself taking out the monitor speakers and backing vocal mics as I am catapulted forward. We get dedications to those of Motörhead no longer with us (poignant that so many have now passed) in between songs from ‘The Age Of Absurdity’ and also Motörhead classics played with as much speed and musical violence as they ever have been. ‘Silver Machine’ is loud and proud, and sounds as fresh as the day it was written. ‘Ace Of Spades’ pretty much takes the roof off after the chant of “Fuck You, Tyla Campbell” encourages him to launch into that bass line. The set closes with ‘High Rule’, but there have to be encores. Nobody is going anywhere until they are exhausted. If the residents of Plymouth had so far managed to ignore the waves of raw power coming from The Junction, or even watched TV through the fire alarm, the wailing of the air raid siren must have taken them back to the time when the city was under a blitz of a different kind, or made them think that things had gone horribly wrong in the nuclear depot down at Devonport, as ‘Bomber’ blasted out. ‘Just ‘Coz You Got The Power’, ‘Going To Brazil’, and ‘Rock And Roll’ ensured that from first to last, the pace didn’t relax for a second. Standing by the doors as the crowd left was like watching a platoon heading back from a particularly difficult skirmish, with dazed looks, soaked clothing, and occasional victims leaning on their friends for support. Arenas? Light shows? Big screen views from a hundred yards away? Nah – this is what it’s all about! Carnage, bruises, and ringing ears for the rest of the week. Review and photos: Danni and Rob Wilkins [gallery type='flickr' user_id='132278830@N06' view='photosets' photoset_id='72157673874747087' media='photos' columns='3' tag_mode='any' sort='date-posted-desc' per_page='36' layout='square' caption='title' thumb_size='s' main_size='z' ]]]>
