It’s been something of a fairytale for The Answer in their comeback year. Releasing an excellent album at the start of the year with a tour, plenty of summer festival sets and one final tour to see out the year, along with releasing another couple of standalone singles. It’s been a banner year for them and one which has cemented their return. So with these final shows of the year, they’re not resting on their laurels and are instead out to make these nights as memorable as possible with a brand new setlist, additional personnel and a act with a hell of a buzz.
Indeed, by the time Kira Mac take to the stage, they’ve got a sizeable crowd in front of them and make good use of their time, setting out their stall with a good helping of their debut album as well as teasing what we can expect on album two. Blending modern hard rock with melodic metal twists and turns, bits of sultry blues and even a sprinkling of country/Southern rock twanging to bring it down on a couple of numbers. The fourpiece are out to impress more than just the healthy contingent of fans in attendance and deliver a tight and lean performance, making full use of KK’s massive stage and manage to be visually as well as sonically magnetic. Whilst they weren’t bad at this year’s Steelhouse, they just weren’t quite fully-formed and still had a bit of growing into their skin to do. But here, they become instantly memorable and warm both the crowd and the warehouse up several degrees.
Now, it’s time for The Answer, albeit in a slightly re-jigged format as they’ve become a fivepiece with the addition of Cara Bruns on keyboards for this run of dates. Setting the mood with the rollicking “Blood Brother” from this year’s Sundowners, it sets the mood immediately. This is good time classic rock and how better to spend a Friday evening? Unfortunately, the good times are quickly cut short as guitarist Paul Mahon runs into some technical trouble but the band roll with the punches and vocalist Cormac Neeson rolls out his acapella rendition of “Here’s a Health to the Company” much earlier in the night than planned. The entire situation is handled with grace and professionalism and met with understanding by the audience that when the guitar does finally kick in again, it’s met with encouragement.
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But from then on, The Answer don’t take any prisoners as they hammer through an impressive seventeen songs in total with evergreen hits like “Nowhere Freeway” and “Under the Sky” putting in early appearances. This is a band not messing about tonight. Yet similarly, it’s a band that have well and truly settled back into the rhythm of things and aren’t afraid of stepping out of the usual comfort zones. With previous sets going so hard on the new album and cherry-picking the best from the first four albums, the title track of Solas puts in an appearance tonight. And whilst the Celtic flavoured songs on the album didn’t quite hit the mark, this meat-and-potatoes version works perfectly, bolstered by the keys of Bruns, allow it to remain faithful to the recording to a certain extent but this twist allows it to sound like it could have come from Sundowners.
Speaking of Bruns, throughout the whole set she brings light and shade to both new and old numbers with the newer songs sounding closer to their album versions whilst the older material is bulked out to give some more depth and a new twist to them. She also manages to belt out some silky vocal harmonies to accompany the rest of the band and attacks them like she’s been singing them for years. Placed up front, Bruns isn’t occupying her own little corner, and it doesn’t feel like she’s simply a touring member of the band nor does it feel like a novelty. She’s got a great chemistry with the entire band and if she remains part of the band going forward – it would be a welcome addition.
New single “Wild Heart” is given an outing, particularly fitting given it’s release day (it’d be a bit awkward if they didn’t play it, really) for the single. The groove-based track picks up where Sundowners left off, presenting a more measured and contemplative band whilst still knowing how to rock. Naturally, the raucous “Living on the Line” signals the beginning of the end before Neeson is out in the crowd for the last song of “Preachin’”. So with the sombre “Always Alright” leading the encore, it’s the band still not afraid to take chances but ones that pay off to allow us to end on the crescendo of the rousing “Demon Eyes”.
It’s another stellar performance from The Answer tonight as all five are at the top of their game, performing as a well-oiled machine without being mechanical about it. There’s soul and ion from each one of them as individuals and when it all falls into place, they’re what they’ve always been – magical. A reworked setlist has managed to keep things fresh and whilst they have a lot of old glories they can lean on, they don’t go heavy-handed on them, simply garnishing the night with them. There’s calculated risks which pay off and whilst it would be great to hear some songs from Raise a Little Hell, The Answer have become one of those bands with so many great songs that one set isn’t enough to cram them all in. Truly, they’re a band that has nothing left to prove whilst simultaneously showing how it’s done.
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Photos by SRK Lens
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