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Events and Reports - Saxon - Live with Doro and Sweet Savage at The ABC in Glasgow - April 28th 2009
The rise and rise in popularity of Heavy Metal in the UK over recent years can't be fully judged in terms of CD sales alone(too many people now illegally download records to use them to gauge how popular a band are). No, the real way to evaluate the stock of a band is in the live arena and there is no better illustration of this than Saxon.
A few years back in 2004 the band played a show at Glasgow's King Tuts Wah Wah Hut which has a capacity of around 300. Now they can count on packing a couple of thousand people into a venue without breaking a sweat as shown by this breathtaking show at The ABC.
Heading into the venue soon after the advertised doors opening time we were dismayed to find that Sweet Savage were already most of the way through their second song. The band's three remaining numbers were impressive enough to get a warm reaction from the just under half full hall.
New song Regenerator sounded intriguing but it was the band's most well known song Killing Time (As covered by..Ah you all know who) that got my head banging. The final song of a too-short set was a cover of Whiskey In The Jar (By..Oh come on you know this one too). Bizarrely enough I had seen the Faroese band Tyr play the night before and they ended their set with the same song. The Savage version was the stronger of the two with some excellent solo's courtesy of silver haired guitarist Ian "Speedo" Wilson. Front man Raymond Haller lead the crowd through a neat sing along ending which allowed the band to leave the stage with the crowd still singing the songs famous chorus.
I had been looking forward to the next band since they had been announced as support. As patchy as she can be on record, Doro has never let me down in the live arena and she wasn't going to start tonight, her first visit to Scotland since the eighties.
Her set was heavy with Warlock tracks, kicking off as it did with Earthshaker Rock and I Rule The Ruins. Doro looked as radiant as ever and showed that she really knows how to work a crowd. Her backing band too sounded excellent and the ABC's fantastic acoustics helped the bands sound fill the room.
A couple of new tracks from her latest release Fear No Evil were given an airing plus her ode to her loyal fans You're My Family from the Warrior Soul album. But it was Burning Witches, True As Steel and of course All We Are which got the biggest cheers of the night. Sadly guitarist Joe Taylor's axe cut out during this set closing classic but the rest of the band strode onwards without faltering and the roadies managed to get the sound flowing again just after the solo. A fine show and hopefully there won't be quite as long a gap before Scotland welcomes Doro back with open arms.
If Doro had laid down a challenge with her strong performance, Saxon didn't so much confront it as blast it off the face of the earth. Always impeccable in a live setting, the band played what will surely rank as one of the best of their tour and one of my gigs of the year.
Opening with the epic Battalions of Steel from the solid new release Into The Labyrinth, the band mixed the old and the new with ease in their masterful twenty song performance.
Its pleasing when a band realise that a audience don't want to hear ten of twelve songs from the latest album played close-up together during the evening and the band spread out just six cuts from it through a varied set.
The band looked to be loving every second of their time on stage and sounded fantastic, with the rhythm section of Nibbs Carter and Nigel Glockner laying down the foundations for Paul Quinn and Doug Scarratt's trademark rocking riffs and stunning solos.
After the exuberant Heavy Metal Thunder and newbie Demon Sweeny Todd followed in Biff's own words "a bit of a curve ball" Ride Like The Wind. I think even some of the more ardent Saxon fans out there would agree that their recorded version of the Christopher Cross original is pretty horrible but thankfully the live version was more direct and all round ballsier.
Strange then that they would follow a song that almost put me off Saxon completely with a song which was instrumental in making me a fan, Witchfinder General. The band completely nailed this one with its thrashing riff causing mayhem in the audience. Biff's vocals in particular sounded spot on during this bruiser.
Actually speaking off Biff, have you even seen a front man who is able to wrap the audience round his little finger within seconds of striding onstage? He has without doubt honed his act to a sharp and deadly blade with the ability to silence an audience in full voice with just the wave of his hand. And when you consider that it's a couple of thousand alcohol fuelled Glaswegians he is calming down during a steaming hot version of Wheels of Steel it's doubly impressive.
One of the definitive moments of the set was during Valley of The Kings where the band impassioned playing seemed to transport the entire audience to the Egyptian location of the lyrics. You really can't knock a band that has been around for as long as Saxon have and are still writing songs destined to become classics. And speaking of classics, how about the group following that up with a personal favourite of mind And The Bands Played On? Lovely stuff lads!
Never Surrender sounded as potent as ever and Biff dedicated it to everyone keeping the metal flame alive by starting their own bands. The band played a couple more numbers then left the stage for the first of two stunning encores. These wringed every last drop of energy from the room and left audience and band alike exhausted at the end of the marathon hour and forty five minute performance. Just cast your eye at the set list below and you will know why.
The rejuvenated blockbuster Crusader sounded immense, 747 (Strangers In the Night) always leads to pandemonium amongst the crowd as does the true Metal anthem Denim and Leather. The night was then rounded off with Princess Of The Night compete with multiple false endings. Now that's what I call a crowd pleasing encore.
The band said that they had been waiting to come back to Glasgow as soon as they stepped off stage supporting Motorhead last November and judging by their performance I don't doubt it. Next time I'll be in Saxon's company will be The Bloodstock Festival in August and after this latest experience I'm already counting the days.
Saxon's Set List:
1. Battalions of Steel
2. Heavy Metal Thunder
3. Demon Sweeny Todd
4. Ride Like The Wind
5. Witchfinder General
6. Strong Arm of The Law
7. The Letter/Valley Of The Kings
8. And The Bands Played On
9. Hellcat
10. Requiem (We Will Remember)
11. 20.000 Feet
12. Come Rock Of Ages
13. Never Surrender
14. Wheels of Steel
15. Live To Rock
16. Motorcycle Man
17. Crusader
18. 747 (Strangers In The Night)
19. Denim And Leather
20. Princess of The Night
| | Written by Stuart
Monday, May 4, 2009 |
This article has been shown 1706 times. Go to the complete list.
RevelationZ Comments
| Comment by Tommy (Member) - Saturday, May 16, 2009 | 
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Comments: 74
Ratings: 31 | | Excellent setlist, Valley Of The Kings is just meant to be played live. In my opinion Saxon has been one of, if not the best live band for years and I can't wait to catch them in three weeks time in my hometown.
I remember watching them play two evenings in a row in different towns a few years back, not a lot of people showed up but they delivered an electrifying performance and played like 7-8 different tracks on the second day, which other bands does that?
Afterwards the band had a round of beers and spend some time talking to the fans.
Their performances at Wacken over the last years also stand out as something truly amazing; Biff is THE perfect showman.
Posted by Tommy
Saturday, May 16, 2009 |
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| Comment by Craig (Member) - Monday, May 18, 2009 | 
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Comments: 134
Ratings: 29 | | My thoughts exactly, Tommy. I will never, ever get sick of seeing Saxon.
Posted by Craig
Monday, May 18, 2009 |
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