War Memorial Hall, Broadstone
It’s that weird time between Christmas and New Year when all there is to do is eat turkey leftovers and chocolate while watching repeats on TV or playing argumentative board games with the family. To break the cycle a bit of live music is just the tonic to get out of the house…
Tonight we are at the War Memorial Hall in Broadstone for the first of what is going to be an ongoing list of events here, put on by local promoters Dr. John Surgery Records/Legends on Tour. We have two acts for our entertainment: Americana duo The Hardcore Troubadours and local rockers “PV” aka Poole Vigilantes. Regular gig-goers will understand this… have you ever been to a gig where the acts are complaining about the sound, saying that they have problems and stood in the audience things just sound fine to you? Well, this is to be one of those nights. Apparently both acts had some issues during their soundchecks, which is understandable considering it’s a new venue.
Up first are Rich Baxter and Leigh Crowe of The Hardcore Troubadours who is to furnish us with some tunes from their electric and acoustic guitars, coupled with some nifty electronic rhythms. Opening with the bluesy number “Low Down Ramblin’ Blues” by Chris Knight these guys show us just what they are capable of with some skilful work up and down their fretboards. Rich has the vocal duties and shows off his style somewhere along the lines of Steve Earl, John Mellencamp, and Bruce Springsteen; with his own English twang. His vocal really suits the chosen songs which include a reworked version of Elvis’s Heartbreak Hotel, Sell Out by Levellers and One of Rich’s favourite songs “Copperhead Road” by Steve Earl; with Rich’s foot-driven percussion gives the songs the added depth that they demand. While we are on the subject of Earl, the band take its name from one of his songs “Hard-core Troubadour”.
The duo perform one of their own original songs in the form of the fine “Voodoo Man”, an ode to Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child”. Leigh really lets his hair down with some impressive guitar solos using some atmospheric effects, along with the Hendrix-style Wah Wah pedal. The two guys have real chemistry and their individual skills really complement each other and it’s a real pleasure to see them both in action. Personally, it’s a little disappointing not to have heard more of their own material. Their set ends with the crowd-pleasing “Thuderstruck” and the audience show their appreciation as they leave the stage.
After wetting the whistle with a few lagers at the reasonably priced bar, it is time for the headliners Poole Vigilantes. These guys have been treading the boards of local venues and pubs for the past 20 years. They have mainly been a Rock covers band up until recently when they have started to create their own tunes. Their EP, Chase The Ace, was released earlier this year and their album Midnight Alley is being readied for release in 2023. The band through their own hard work have earned some notable support slots, and festival appearances and even after all their time together, still have many goals that they aim to reach. Tonight the band who feature Neil Law on Vocals, Martin Davies on Bass, Matthew Birley on guitar and Terry Bernard on drums are giving the first part of their set to playing the whole of their new album, giving the audience a taste of what musical gems are to come in the new year.
Opening with “Warrior” the four-piece show themselves to be in fine form; pulling every shape out of the Rock directory, with bass player Martin having a fan directed on him with the air blowing straight through his hair. Despite the sound issue and lack of a proper soundcheck, to my ear, the band sound fine and each musician can be heard clearly in the high-roofed hall.
This quartet undoubtedly have a kinship between them and plays together like a well-oiled machine, their original tunes feature influences from all areas of the Rock spectrum. Anyone who hears them will probably guess what they have been listening to on their Spotify playlists or vinyl turntables. There are plenty of standout moments including “30 Days” about being sin-binned from Facebook for being particularly outspoken; the powerful “Chase The Ace” and the album title track “Midnight Alley”, where Neil impresses with his powerful vocal range. They save the best until last with the epic ‘Hard Rock Angels’ dedicated to all their female fans and the band’s own theme tune “We Came Here To Rock” featuring a wondrous guitar solo from Matthew.
The second half of the set is where the band relax and find their true comfort zone, playing tunes from some of their favourite artists. To be fair the tracks they play are not ones that you would commonly hear a pub-Rock band do. They like to challenge themselves with classics like “Wrathchild” (Iron Maiden) and the epic “Emerald” by Thin Lizzy, you’ve got to be a half decent guitar player to pull those off. Matthew does not disappoint, however at times it would have been nice to introduce a second guitar to some of the tracks. Ozzy’s “Bark at The Moon”, Van Halen’s “Panama” and even Alice in Chains “Man In A Box” gets the full double-barrelled PV treatment. The audience lap up everything that the band have to offer and I honestly cant understand why I have taken so long to see these guys perform live. A clever mash-up of AC/DC’s “Whole Lotta Rosie” and “Let There Be Rock” is to be the final track of the night, but their audience don’t want it to end and the band return for one more song before taking their bows.
Ok, so tonight’s turnout wasn’t as good as it should have been, but every event has to start somewhere and tonight is hopefully the start of something that could build. Credit to the organisers to take the risk putting on the event and putting on two great acts that really entertained all who turned up. Dr John Surgery Records/Legends on Tour’s next event is here over two days on the 27th/28th January featuring tributes to Iron Maiden + Rage Against The Machine, along with a host of other bands Darker My Horizon, Eulogy, Sonic Kingdom, Fatties, Regional One and more. Full details and tickets can be found here.
Set-Lists
Poole Vigilantes
Warrior
Chase The Ace
Broken Wings
Look Me
30 Days
Midnight Alley
Overboard
Hard Rock Angels
We Came Here To Rock
Don’t Believe a Word (Thin Lizzy)
Wrathchild (Iron Maiden)
Bark at The Moon (Ozzy Osbourne)
Panama (Van Halen)
Man In The Box (Alice in Chains)
Emerald (Thin Lizzy)
Sin City (AC/DC)
The Spirit of Radio (Rush)
Just Live Paradise (Dave Lee Roth)
Animal (Def Leppard)
Here I Go Again (Whitesnake)
Ace Of Spades (Motorhead)
Whole Lotta Rosie/Let There Be Rock (AC/DC)
Encore
Can I Play With Madness (Iron Maiden)
The Hardcore Troubadors
Low Down Ramblin’ Blues (Chris Knight)
Sell Out (Levellers)
Heartbreak Hotel (Elvis)
I’ll Make Love To You Anytime (JJ Cale)
Voodoo Man
Copperhead Road (Steve Earle)
Running Down The Dream (Tom Petty)
It takes A lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry (Bob Dylan)
Thunderstruck(AC/DC)
Videos
Links
https://www.facebook.com/TheHardcoreTroubadours
https://www.facebook.com/pvrecordingsinc
Words & Media By David Chinery (Chinners)
