Voodoo Six @ Nuneaton Queens Hall – 7th September

It’s great to be back here at the Queens Hall — a venue that really has made a hugely positive impact on the Nuneaton music scene. Once a town content to only book tribute bands, the Queens Hall has seen some impressive names pass through its doors over the past couple of years, hardly surprising given that the beer is cold and the music is loud! The latest ‘name’ to stop here; London rockers Voodoo Six.

For those of you who don’ t know, Voodoo Six are one of the brightest lights in the British rock scene, and on tonight’ s showing it’s easy to see why they are doing so well for themselves. While their debut album, ‘First Hit For Free’, was impressive (Steve Harris, no less, called it “The best debut album I’ve heard in years”), on stage Voodoo Six are stunning. Right from the start of opener “Crawl”, the Nuneaton crowd are left in no doubt of the band’s talent, as the band launch into their classic influenced modern heavy rock. The rhythm section is supremely tight — led by bassist Tony Newton but superbly aided by the pounding drums of Grav — the dual guitar workings of Chris Jones and Matt Pearce have members of the crowd looking on in awe, while Henry Rundell’s vocals are nothing short of amazing, giving you a reason other than his half-painted face to stare at him. “No Friend of Mine” has the whole room singing along, while the live rendition of “Walking on Nails” is incredibly heavier than its recorded version, and all the better for it.

The majority of the set is taken from the aforementioned debut album, with “Faith” and the excellent new single “Feed My Soul” being particularly noteworthy, but the band also manage to fit in three new numbers — “Show Me the Way”, “Break My Fall” and “ Killer”, the latter being the best of the new offerings, but they are all good enough to get you excited about the prospect of a new record. What is perhaps most surprising about Voodoo Six is just how dedicated a fanbase they have already built up — tonight there’s people paying homage to Harry with half-painted faces, there’ s a mass of Voodoo Six t-shirts being worn around the room, and, bizarrely, there’s two guys dressed as Wayne and Garth (from Wayne’s World of course). Not only do the crowd know how to dress, but they simply adore this band; every word of every song from the album is sang back at the band, the band’s name is chanted between numbers without any prompting, and there is much banter between crowd and band. One female fan also manages to plant a kiss on Harry’ s cheek, mid-song! How refreshing to see this many people going so crazy over a young British band for a change.

The band manages to fit 12 songs into their hour-long set, with finale “Slip Inside” having been demanded by the crowd in another impromptu chant. When they finally do finish, there is the scent of triumph in the air; this is a hard-working band that is slowly getting the recognition it deserves. Their blend of classic influences with an original and contemporary sound has appeal across generations — evidenced by the wide age range of the crowd tonight — and you can’t help but feel that the only way for them is upwards. If you like rock then make sure you check them out; Voodoo Six won’t disappoint.

Review and Photographs — Dave Musson

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