Bryan Adams rocks Inverness – live review, 16/7/17

Me outside the dressing room!

Bryan Adams rounded off his UK Get Up! Tour, with a sole Scottish date, in Bught Park Inverness. Thousands of fans rocked to a 2 hour set full of hits performed by Adams and his incredible 4-piece band, featuring legendary long-serving guitarist Keith Scott.

Kicking off the night however was Michael Bernard Fitzgerald, Canadian singer-songwriter, who started the show well with his energetic approach and catchy material.

Star of the show was of course Mr Adams who fed the crowd hit after hit with his distinctive, glorious vocals, which sounded mighty good live! The talented Canadian opened with one of his newer tracks, Do What You Gotta Do, before getting to the brilliant Run To You and the lush piano that signified the start of Heaven, which had the whole park singing their hearts out.

Bryan Adams and Keith Scott rocking

Summer Of 69 had the place going mad too of course, with almost everyone filming on their phones at some point, before Adams delivered a marvellous acoustic version of When You’re Gone.

Adding brilliant melodies throughout the whole night, was the incredible guitarist Keith Scott. His iconic riffs and rhythms truly added to the unmistakeable tunes that the band were blasting out all night. Paired with a sound that would put many other professional bands to shame, the band really did create a night to remember.

I was very lucky to meet Bryan Adams!!

Bryan Adams also received great applause and respect from those in the crowd after halting the set mid-song twice in order to tell a security guard to go easy on a fan having fun.

The night was rounded off with the beautiful All For Love, which saw the whole of Bught Park lit up by a sea of smartphone torches held aloft – a truly magical scene.

All I can say is that the incredible Bryan Adams and his band played an amazing set packed full of classics and favourites which the whole crowd thoroughly enjoyed. A wonderful night from one of the most talented men in rock.

Myself and the incredibly talented Keith Scott!

I was lucky enough to spend some time backstage with Keith Scott before the show, check out my interview here. Look out for a surprise appearance from Bryan too!

Watch as Bryan Adams photobombs my Keith Scott interview !

I was delighted to meet another superb rock guitarist last night, when I had the pleasure of talking backstage with Keith Scott from Bryan Adams' band, ahead of their outdoor show in Inverness, Scotland (live review here). Creator of some of the most iconic guitar riffs and solos ever, see what Keith had to say - and watch out for his boss joining in the fun!

My huge thanks to Keith, Bryan and Cee for their help.      

Blink-182 storm into Aberdeen - Live review 12/7/17

Last night saw American punk-rock trio Blink-182 hit Aberdeen’s AECC.

Travis Barker

Opening the show were indie rockers, The Front Bottoms (I would have chosen a different name!) who after their short set won over the fair-sized crowd of Aberdonians. Next up was Frank Turner and his band The Sleeping Souls who, if I hadn’t known better, could have fooled me into believing they were the headliners. With Turner’s humorous banter and energetic performance, he certainly seemed to have the crowd on side (a lot of whom appeared to know the material), a great way to start the show.

Matt Skiba showed he has fitted in really well

With a curtain drop and an explosion of pyros, the headlining trio were revealed on stage. Playing a set of old and new material, Blink-182 began their brief show (which didn’t feel short due to the amount of material packed into it!) with Feeling This, before roaring through 18 more tracks to bring them to the encore! Marching back on stage, Mark Hoppus, Travis Barker and Matt Skiba soaked up the warm applause from the crowd as they reached their biggest hit, All The Small Things. Despite most of the venue having sung along through the whole set, it was really this song which had everyone going wild. To finish the night, Barker’s young son Landon, completed an impressive drum solo warming the hearts of everyone.

Mark Hoppus

Having been with the band 2 years now, it was great to see that guitarist and vocalist, Matt Skiba seemed to have gelled nicely with the other 2 members. A great night of fiery pyros, wild singing and just straight-up punk rock music! 3 well-received bands and a night of fun.
Big thanks to the brilliant Dod Morrison for the photos. Check out his work here!

Amplified Festival set to rock Gloucestershire

I'm super excited to be heading down to Gloucestershire in just a couple of weeks for the brand new, family-friendly Amplified Festival (21-23 July). This looks like it's going to be a cracking event, with over 90 bands to see across the weekend! Headliners are Puddle Of Mudd on Friday, Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons (ex Motorhead) on Saturday, with Reef closing the show on Sunday night. Some of the other acts that I'm also really looking forward to catching are VEGA, The Amorettes, Massive Wagons and Fragile Things (featuring Richie Hevanz, formerly of Heaven's Basement).

You can get tickets for the festival here, and if you buy a weekend ticket you'll go into the draw to win an amazing prize. The organisers have teamed up with Blade Harley-Davidson Cheltenham to give away a custom built Harley Davidson motorbike! 

The ‘Iron Man’ themed Sportster XL833N up for grabs

 I'm will be covering the festival and catching a few words with some of the artists, so keep an eye on the blog!

Mason Hill - Now You See me (new video)

Here's a Friday treat for for you. Brilliant, young Scottish rockers Mason Hill, with their new single Now You See Me, their first since signing to the mighty Frontiers Records. 

I had the pleasure of first seeing these guys at the Winterstorm Festival in Troon, Scotland last year and they are something special. They went down so well, they've been asked back this year too.  You'll be hearing a lot more of these boys!

   

The Dead Daisies and The Amorettes storm Edinburgh

On June 12 just 650 lucky fans had the pleasure of seeing the incredible supergroup, The Dead Daisies at a packed venue in Edinburgh, for their only UK headlining club date of the year with special guests, all-girl trio The Amorettes. 

Doug, John and Marco of The Dead Daisies

Having embarked on their World Tour, The Daisies, consisting of vocalist John Corabi (Motley Crue), bassist Marco Mendoza (Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake), drummer Brian Tichy (Foreigner, Whitesnake) and guitarists, Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake) and David Lowy (Mink), made a stop in Edinburgh following a brief set at the Download Festival the day before, to play for all of their British fans. Although The Daisies were the main attraction, opening the special night were Scottish, hard rockers The Amorettes. Gill, Hannah and Heather sure know how to rock a venue, as they roared through a set including opener, Stealing Thunder, the catchy, Let The Neighbours Call The Cops before finishing with, Hot N Heavy. Their brief set was went down well and these girls definitely knew how to warm up the crowd for the headliners!

Gill and Heather of The Amorettes rocking out!

It was then time for The Dead Daisies to take centre stage, and boy did they rock! Promoting their new album, ‘Live & Louder’, the guys opened with popular single, ‘Long Way To Go’ before launching into songs old and new including ‘Make Some Noise’ and the extremely popular, ‘Lock ‘N’ Load’, originally recorded with Slash of Guns ‘N’ Roses. The guys delivered a rockin’ set with shredding guitar riffs and solos that got everyone jumping, dancing and having a great time. From the salsa dance moves and groovy bass lines from Marco Mendoza, to Doug Aldrich’s tasty guitar solos, the crowd were in complete an utter awe of the musical legends.

I was lucky enough to hold Doug's famous guitar!

There were many smiles as people received drumsticks and guitar picks during and after the set, as both bands patiently signed autographs and posed for photos with their supportive fans. An amazing night, and a pleasure to witness the only Dead Daisies headline show in the UK, with some of the nicest people in rock. Two astounding acts, be sure to catch them if you can! Check out my exclusive video interviews with The Dead Daisies here and The Amorettes here, from before the show!

I just adore Marco! I spent some time with all of the guys pre-show which was a real treat.

 

The Amorettes chat backstage, ahead of supporting the The Dead Daisies in Edinburgh - video exclusive

I caught up with fast rising Scottish rockers, The Amorettes in Edinburgh, just before they hit the stage for a brilliant set supporting The Dead Daisies. Watch what Gill, Heather and Hannah had to say about their next album, and why they are so looking forward to playing at Amplified, The Rock and Blues Custom Show and Rockingham this year. A big thanks to the band for talking with me, and their management for kindly arranging. Review of the show on its way!