Thunder + Heaven’s Basement @ Wolverhampton Civic Hall – 27th November 2008
Going to a gig at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall is always a joy; great lights, great sound, a nice big stage and friendly venue staff. Getting to Wolves on the M6 is not so much fun, and the motorway’s popularity keeps my support band viewing to the last three songs of Heaven’s Basement’s set. Too late to photograph them, but there was enough on show during those three songs to underline the huge talent and potential that this band has.
The band formerly known as Hurricane Party and then Roadstar has developed into a fine live act — their performance is tight, punchy, and has most of the room nodding theirs head and cheering loudly. Vocalist Richie Hevanz has the looks of Jim Morrison, the swagger of Steve Tyler and a stellar voice that both would be proud of, while lead guitarist Sid Glover has skill and energy to burn, soloing like crazy and indulging in some Richie Blackmore inspired equipment rearranging. With songs as good as finale “Executioner’s Day” they really should hit it big this time around.
Half an hour later, right on time, the lights go down and the opening bars of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” comes out of the PA — an intro tape not used by tonight’s headliners for some time now, but one that is welcomed back with open arms. Cue mass chants of “Thunder!” in time with the music, before it stutters to a stop and a brief silence, broken only by a huge bang (a handy reminder of the title of Thunder’s latest album) and then the opening chords of “Backstreet Symphony”. Instantly, everyone in the room is bouncing, singing and clapping in the kind of British rock and roll knees-up that only Thunder can evoke.
As always with Thunder, the setlist is very much a mixture of old and new, with long term favourites such as “Low Life in High Places” and “Don’t Wait For Me” broken up by cuts like “Carol Ann” and the excellent “On the Radio” — made even better by the sound of a room full of rock’s more mature fans screaming “Fuck you!” at the appropriate point in the song, much to the amusement of the band. There is a welcome return to the setlist for the powerful “Empty City” while the pairing of the more recent and very smutty “The Devil Made Me Do It” and “Dirty Dream” only underline that Thunder are growing old disgracefully, and they’re absolutely loving it. It’s also great to see Harry James back behind the kit after he had to miss the early part of this tour due to problems with kidney stones. His driving beats and pounding rolls show that he’s clearly back to full health.
The set gets bouncier the longer it goes on, with another new piece “Stormwater” going down a storm, before the wonderful “Can’t Keep a Good Man Down” ensures that anyone who wasn’t previously singing and clapping along were now doing so. A triumphant “I Love You More Than Rock and Roll” rounds the main set off, before a storming, if a tad short, encore of “Higher Ground” and “Dirty Love” bring the evening to a close. If ever you wanted to know how to put on a good show, then go and watch Thunder; they may not be the biggest band in the world, but they have a loyal following, a superb back catalogue to choose from, and one of the best British songwriters ever in the form of guitarist Luke Morley. But more than anything they have fun, in particular vocalist Danny Bowes who Dad-dances his way through the set with more bounce than most bands half his age, and the good time had by the band rubs off onto everyone else in the room.
The band is fast approaching its 20th anniversary — a hugely impressive achievement — but on tonight’s showing they should easily be able to stick around for many more years to come. You can’t keep a good band down, and right now Thunder are as high as they deserve to be. Here’s to the next time!
Setlist:
Backstreet Symphony
On the Radio
Carol Ann
Low Life in High Places
The Devil Made Me Do It
Empty City
Dirty Dream
Love Walked In
Stormwater
Can’t Keep a Good Man Down
Don’t Wait For Me
I Love You More Than Rock and Roll
Higher Ground
Dirty Love
Review and photography by Dave Musson
fantastic pics Dave
Great write up also keep the good work up
can i just ask what camera did you use at the Thunder gig ??
Burty
Hi Burty,
I used a Canon EOS 20D with a Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 lens.
Dave