I got into The Guildhall while Cooper Temple Clause were on stage. I can't say that I know too much about them, but I thought that they seemed pretty cool. Plenty of noise and lights. They looked pretty cool despite having what appeared to be Mickey Pearce from Only Fools And Horses on stage! My only slight complaint was that the Bass seemed to be very overpowering (probably down to the sound being geared more towards the three-piece headliner rather than the six piece support act!). I will certainly make the effort to watch them again. After TCTC left the stage I had a little wander to the merchandise stall and the bar before going towards the front. I noticed that just to the left of where I was, stood Robert Turner ( BRMC 's bass player and vocalist) who was happy chatting to various people. He was still next to me when the lights went down for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club to take the stage. A slightly surreal moment ensued. Here I am watching a band stood next to one of the bands members (or perhaps I am next to a very convincing looky-likey!). Only Pete Hayes (BRMC's guitarist and vocalist) took to the stage to play a couple of acoustic songs ' Complicated Situation' and ' Shuffle Your Feet' before Robert decided to move from next to where I was stood and quickly leapt onto the stage for an acoustic version of ' Love Burns'. Nick Jago joined the both of them during this song to shake a tambourine. Nick then got behind the drums, acoustic guitars were exchanged for electric bass and electric guitar before Pete anounced that they were now going to do the 'noisy stuff' and straight into the 'lets get the audience to jump up and down and go generally mental' sonic sound of ' Spread Your Love'. The set basically didn't slow down from that moment. No time to catch my breath before ' Six Barrel Shotgun' through the excellent ' Stop' until the set ended with ' Heart and Soul'. The band came on for an encore when Pete announced that they could only do one more song due to Pete having a broken hand. And what a song to end on! ' Whatever Happened to my Rock'n'Roll (Punk Song)' . Nick gave a shout out to Winchester before they all left the stage. Although the band were only on stage for just over an hour I thought that they were superb as usual - this was the fourth time that I had seen this relatively new band. Better to see quality for a short space of time than a pile of doggy do-do's for three hours from more boring artists. Get well soon Pete and when all is well, be sure to bring BRMC back to the South Coast of England asap.


Ric Mansell


Check Out The Official Website Of The Band BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB