Here we are again back at Bannermans, Edinburgh, to catch up with the legend that is Chris Holmes. Back on tour after COVID delays and his recent throat cancer issues, he has come through leaner and meaner to take on the current Mean Man tour.
There is no band tonight as they had to pull out, so Chris does an informal Q&A session before his set where he touches on his favourite and worst W.A.S.P. songs, favourite solos, how he got his Jackson guitar endorsement, and life on the strip back in the day. A great way to keep the early attenders happy, and hopefully the “main band only” fans will be kicking themselves for not arriving earlier!
The cancer has had an effect on his singing voice, understandably, so while his throat recovers from the treatment we have Oliver Tindall from The Wicked Jackals on lead vocals and guitar. We also have band member Lex Gifford on bass, and from Heartbreak Remedy on drums we have Stephen Jackson. We get a selection of W.A.S.P. tracks from his days in the band along with a number of tracks from his solo output.
We are told to get “On Your Knees” from the first W.A.S.P. album with Oliver doing a nice job on vocals (albeit he is struggling with a dodgy throat!), ably backed up by his fellow band and Chris. A couple from Chris’s solo 2015 albums – “Get With It” with its slightly Motorhead vibe, and the rocking “Let It Roar” before we head back to 1984 for the iconic “L.O.V.E. Machine”. It’s always a joy to watch Chris on guitar on these older tracks having seen him with W.A.S.P. from 1986 onwards.
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We also get the fabulous “Sleeping (In The Fire)”. It’s been a few years since this one was in a W.A.S.P. setlist. Now we get a double whammy from his excellent 2020 Under The Influence EP, starting with the rip-roaring rocker “The Devil Made Me Do It” with its singalong chorus, followed by the crunching “Am What I Am” which at times reminds me of Anvil. The guitars crank up the levels as we get all “Blind In Texas”, one of my favourite tracks from The Last Command album. The hard hitting “Had Enough” kicks in before we get the slightly smoother “Born Work Die”. It would be good to see this live with the acoustic guitar pieces as featured on the album, though.
That iconic guitar intro means we are meeting the “Wild Child” before “Animal (F**k Like A Beast)” kicks in with its fan-loved chorus line. The band end the night with three covers starting with Steppenwolf staple “Born to be Wild”, followed by CCR’s “Fortunate Son” and ending the night with “Rocking in the Free World” from Neil Young.
The band played with a great intensity along with Chris on guitar and backing vocal duties. He is still tremendous on guitar and has lost none of his fire on stage, he is articulate and funny as ever. Oliver has a great voice and is no mean guitar player himself. Once his voice clears up a bit it he’ll be even better. Lex did an outstanding job on bass and Stephen was tremendous on drums.
This was a great night of classic and new songs with a band playing on top form, with the Mean Man himself in fine fettle and obviously enjoying himself in front of this packed venue. The crowd loved every minute of it. He may not be the Wild Child he used to be, but he can still rock out with the best of them.
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Photos by Gary Cooper Photography
