Well the venue is not full but by no means is it empty. There are enough people here to generate a good atmosphere regardless. HammerFall make for a good support band. They work the audience in true metal fashion and put on a tight show. They are not quite as heavy as I expected them to be. It’s more melodic rock to these ears but like I say, they get the juices going.
SAXON enter to an alien green stage and keyboard atmosphere and then proceed to bring it on. They open with a track from the new album (When Doomsday Comes) and follow with an old favourite (Stand Up And Be Counted) and they continue with the one new one old format for most of the set. This works really well and it means we do get to hear how the new tracks work live. They are a resounding success, sometimes even surpassing the power of the old favourites. In fact, I think the only track from Call To Arms that doesn’t get played is Ballad Of A Working Man. I am personally gutted. I was hanging out for it all night, especially with work to go to in the morning! You could say it’s the odd man out on the album so I can perhaps understand why.
Throughout the set Biff’s vocals come across as effortless which they probably are. How does a man of his age do it? And how does he not keel over from heat exhaustion in that massive heavy overcoat? Quinny coaxes beautiful sounds from his axe all night and Doug locks it down with his stellar rhythms. We even get a drum solo from Nigel although as with the majority of drum solos it is slightly unnecessary. It doesn’t help that you can’t really see him playing the damn things! A special word for Nibbs on bass. The baby of the band at forty-eight but now Saxon’s longest serving bass player. This guy is a rock god and he looks to me like he could play anywhere, anytime, anyplace for anyone. He chooses to play with these boys and that’s the great thing about Saxon. They are mates who play together in the same way as say Sabbath were and that always makes for the best bands. It’s a shame it doesn’t happen a bit more often these days. Maybe I’m wrong about that.
|
For old favourites we get Wheels Of Steel, Crusader, Street Fighting Gang, The Eagle Has Landed, Heavy Metal Thunder and a few more besides. They encore with 747 and that gets everybody grooving, old and young alike. It was great to see people here with their kids and in an ideal world I would have watched them play for another two hours but the clowns that run this place want to kick us out so they can bring the kids in for a boom boom party til six in the morning. Next time I see these cats it will be somewhere else on a weekend night that’s for sure.
Saxon online
|
