Those of you who know me, know how much I love the Wildhearts. They are (for those unfamiliar) the perfect combination of Beatles pop tunes, Therapy? riffola and Aerosmith attitude and cool. Their first album, Earth Vs The Wildhearts is, quite simply, perfect and has been in my top five ever since I've had a top five. Glad was I when frontman Ginger announced that he was following the trend and doing a 15th anniversary show, playing the album beginning to end, with an encore of B-sides from the era.
The show took place one Saturday in September at the Shepherds Bush Empire. The Empire is a lovely venue, four storeys high but not too deep. There's a good view from everywhere and, due to The Academy Group's standardised pricing, the beer's cheaper than the pub across the road.
The sound was spectacular (not so onstage, apparently, but the band held up admirably), perhaps a little too loud for the Earth Vs set, to get over the volume of the crowd, but reduced to a more delicate level for the encore.
So, those who know me will also know that I, more dubiously, adore Andrew WK, who, as fortune would have it, was playing his first UK show in about 3 years at the Astoria 2 the very same night. I mean, that kind of timing only happens in London!!
There was no band, just him, a keyboard and a backing track, but that's all you really need. Pit injuries, the walk from Shepherds Bush to Charing Cross and the late hour (went on stage about 1.30am!) notwithstanding, Mr Wilkes-Krier got a very drunken me, very excitable indeed. No doubt much to the embarrassment of my companions.
But fuck 'em. Best night out ever.
Photos of the Wildhearts, plus supports The God Damn Whores and Eureka Machines are below. AWK photos will follow shortly.
 |
| The Wildhearts, God Damn Whores, Eureka Machines |
No comments:
Post a Comment