Last minute gigs can always be the most enjoyable and surprising, when you just grab and go without worrying about build-up and expectations. So there I was awaiting the early doors with three acts on the bill for the first date of the UK winter tour for The Dead Daisies.
I mention the early doors time – it was 5pm with a start around 6.15 and by the time I arrived just before the first act Rock City was honestly already at capacity, even up at the balconies and the stairwells.
First up was Graham Bonnet Band, and for a man approaching his 75th birthday… boy can he still belt out some tracks. He started off with “Eyes Of The World” and “All Night Long” from Rainbow’s 1979 album Down To Earth. Wedged into the set, solo track “Night Games” made an appearance alongside a couple of Michael Schenker Group tracks “Desert Song” and “Assault Attack”.
Yes, “Since You Been Gone” was in the set, I mean how could it not be? The last track of the night was the last track from Down To Earth – “Lost In Hollywood” – which was a great way to end the set. Honestly I don’t think I’ve danced that much in ages.
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Up next were the phenomenal FM, who for me personally were the highlight of the night. They were genuinely glad to be back at Rock City as it was where they had their comeback gig 14 years ago. My only criticism was that the set seemed incredibly short at six songs and I would have liked to hear a few more. Still, they fired off tracks like “Killed by Love” and “Tough It Out” the latter being my all time favourite FM song, and concluded with “Turn This Car Around” from this year’s album Thirteen.
I didn’t think any more more people could fit in the venue but by the the time The Dead Daises began it felt like the capacity had increased by at least 20%. The band came on with a combustible energy which immediately translated back to the audience. Their set consisted of 17 tracks in total, including the two for the encore.
Amongst songs such as “Rise Up” and “Born To Fly” the audience were treated to a drum solo from Brian Tichy alongside covers from Creedence Clearwater Revival, Deep Purple and even the Tony Iommi / Glenn Hughes version of “Face Your Fear”.
For the first night of a tour all the bands tonight completely gave everything they had, and the audience definitely got every single penny’s worth of their ticket price. A wonderful night of unfiltered rock.
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Photos by Sean Larkin Photography
