Day Two of Richie Sambora's tour of the island of Ireland: Review

Review by Darren Seaton

In the Dublin review from yesterday I wrote “tonight was brilliant, not perfect, not flawless” and if you’re looking a summary of tonight in Belfast, that pretty much does it!

 

Taking the stage at 8.30 with a pretty similar set list to the previous night, again opening with A Song For You and by the time we reached Lay Your Hands On Me the crowd were sparked into massive sing a long mode!

 

Tonight probably wasn’t as tight as Dublin, but as I said in the previous review rock n roll is supposed to be flowing and entertaining, not sterile and over produced!

 

While the set was broadly the same, there were more extended solos and jamming on some songs, there were also occasions where the set list basically went out the window, none more so than when the opening bars of Seven Years Gone started and Richie called a halt, had a quick word with the band then spoke to the crowd about what the song meant to him, and that he’d also had another song come into his head that day that related well, there was then a brief gap while they tried to work out if the band knew it etc, then in typical Sambora humour he asked the crowd what they wanted to hear, queue hundreds of voices all shouting at once before a laughing Sambora announces “you know what I’m just gonna play the shit I wanna hear” before taking on a cover version of Kite by U2.

 

Sambora’s banter with the crowd was very entertaining, his cheekily toned “And you thought I was just a guitar player” was hilarious, writing it down just doesn’t do it justice!

 

At times tonight Richie reminds me of Gary Moore, improvising here and there, extending where the emotion takes him and getting lost in his own music before leading the band back into wherever they were originally.

 

His partner in crime, Orianthi, riffs, solos on command, sings her heart out and shows what an amazing talent she is, maybe at some point we’ll get a solo show from her too, now that would be something!

The main set ends with I’ll Be There For You, cue massive sing a long, wonderfully bluesy emotional extended solos, and as the band leaves the stage, some idiot in the Ulster Hall turns the lights on and people on the balcony start leaving…..ah hello, have you been to a rock show before?

As the lights dim again and the band return to the stage, Richie brings out the five local support artists to join him on stage for a cover of Lean On Me, each getting their turn to sing.

 

Encores continue with Wanted Dead or Alive, again showing the fluidity of a Sambora show, as the song closes it transforms into a cover of Midnight Rider by The Allman Brothers Band. At this point based on Dublin’s set list I’m guessing Living on a Prayer is coming next, so was Orianthi apparently as she came out on stage with an acoustic guitar, only for the band to start jamming the reggae beats that take us into Get Up Stand Up and eventually the Jovi classic, These Days, so off she goes for a quick guitar switch.

 

Set List? Who needs a set list when you can call the songs as you feel! The band leave the stage once more, and while the lights stay off, again people get up to leave…..the band return and again

 

Sambora is issuing instructions to the rest of the band, Prayer starts acoustic, Orianthi on lead vocals, my friend from England who flew over for the show informs me she wasn’t singing it on the shows at the start of the tour on the mainland, Richie sings alternate verses with her and as we reach the mid solo section, a quick change of guitar and we suddenly have the full rocked up version of Prayer blasting out across the venue, a complete change to the version heard the night previously!

 

And so 2hrs 15mins since it began, it was over, Richie promising he would return and expressing his gratitude for the love shown by the crowd tonight, something he then went on to twitter only minutes later to reiterate!

It's been 21 years since Richie had graced the stage in Belfast, last time was the Kings Hall on the Keep The Faith tour, but tonight he seemed extremely happy to be back, and the Belfast crowd responded in kind.

 

I look forward to seeing where this journey continues, new album to come hopefully a new tour. Its always great to see someone loving what they’re doing and these past two nights have been a joy to watch someone great at their craft have the space to explore it with their own band! Long may that continue I say!

 

 

All photos Courtesy, and copyright of Paul Verner

Day one of Sambora's Island of Ireland tour in Dublin: Review

Review by Darren Seaton 

ALTHOUGH it’s a little under 2 hours down the road, Dublin can, at times, feel like a completely different world to Belfast, and nothing showed that more than the venue and staff at The Olympia Theatre, one of the calmest, most easy going entrances to a concert I’ve ever experienced, as opposed to the “Behind the yellow line” and “right drink up get out” brigade of a lot of Northern venues, lessons to be learned there folks!

And so to the nights events, as with the German run of shows, two local singer songwriters were chosen by Richie to open the show, they were limited to two songs each possibly because the show seemed to be running since Richie was apparently due onstage at 8.30pm and it was now past that when the second act finished.

Earlier in the day as your reviewer left Belfast around 4pm, Richie was apparently just leaving London due to an airline mix up, so one could have been apprehensive that his enforced late arrival into the city may have on the set a downbeat mode for the night…..thankfully not the case!

Just after 9pm, to the strains of Leon Russell’s Song for You, Richie makes his entrance sans guitar and demonstrates why many say he has the best singing voice in that there band from New Jersey he is or currently isn’t in!

I had wondered what type of crowd we would have tonight, would it be Jovi fans who didn’t really know Richie had solo stuff out, or a nice mix of those but also Richie fans who would know pretty much all the man’s back catalogue!

It was definitely the latter. Opening single from Aftermath of the Lowdown, Every Road Leads Home To You, was extremely well received and quickly followed by Nowadays from the same album.

If you’ve seen any festival coverage at the weekend, you’ll know Richie joined Dolly Parton onstage in London and Glastonbury, for her version of the Jovi classic, Lay Your Hands On Me, thankfully tonight the original lyrics were reinstated, and Richie’s slower grooving version wowed the crowd, although I think their singing back of the chorus possibly also wowed Richie!

Any concerns on whether the crowd would respond well to the non Jovi stuff were immediately laid to rest when the opening bars of Stranger In This Town filled the hall, the crowd singing every word, as Richie and indeed Orianthi let loose on some killer bluesy solo’s.

In our recent interview with Richie he said that one thing lacking in Jovi was creative freedom, to just play what he felt, there was no lack of freedom tonight, elongated solos, guitar duelling with Orianthi, impromptu sing alongs, who needs wide open fields where you’re a mile from the stage when you can be this close you can almost smell it?

Continuing the solo run, Burn That Candle Down, Weathering The Storm (written with Bernie Taupin) Sugar Daddy, Learning How To Fly With A Broken Wing all retain the same impressive band crowd repartee.

The emotional, and possibly the best track from Aftermath, Seven Years Gone, sees Richie open his heart a little about the situations that caused him to write it, and the crowd continue singing every word.

One thing noticeable from my vantage point in the Circle, is this isn’t the polished almost sterile production of the big Jovi arena shows, this is a band recently put together - albeit featuring long time Sambora/Bon Jovi contributor producer Luke Ebbin - who like jamming, who can extend and change songs when called for by Sambora, from the gesturing to Orianthi that says your turn play some guitar, even back to the keyboard player frantically flicking his cheat book on how one of Richie’s solo songs go…..its all part of a rock n roll show!

Orianthi for her part shines when asked and returns to “rhythm” guitar when not required, her chops are impressive, her vocals even more so, and when they play one of her tracks, You Don’t Know, with Richie pretty much taking a back seat, you can just see how talented this lady is and why she’s been playing with Alice Cooper, Steven Tyler, Steve Vai, Michael Jackson, never mind her own solo career!

She and Sambora play a fine version of Storybook Love by Wille Deville/Mark Knopfler and to be honest it was almost as if they wrote it together, anyone can sing a cover version, but its when you take it and make it your own that's when things shine.

This gives way to Jovi classic and biggest sing along of the night, I’ll Be There For You, Sambora unleashes some of that wonderful emotional soloing in an extended outro of the song and the who oh ohs from the audience continue for another two tes even after the song has finished!

In act, on previous nights Richie has used songs like Stick To Your Guns as an intro to Wanted Dead or Alive, tonight he takes the guitar off, grabs some water and lets the crowd continue singing, before putting the six string back on and taking us through an amazing version of the Jovi national anthem!

And so the main set ended, hardly a Jovi song in the first hour, then a run of classis, where do you go from here?

You bring out more! Asking the contestants for the opening slot to come out and join him and the band for Living On a Prayer, sung amazingly by Orianthi; she owns that song vocally!

Rounding off the evening with an impromptu version of Get Up Stand Up, before continuing the reggae theme into the start of These Days.
The night finishes on a high as we hit curfew, clocking in around 2 hours and the crowd still woh oh oh-ing as the band leave the stage.

I’d waited 16 years since my last Sambora solo show, tonight was brilliant, not perfect, not flawless, but what rock n roll should be, flowing and entertaining. Now for round number two in Belfast!

ENDS

Richie Sambora Belfast bound

ONCE known only as the guitarist standing beside Bon Jovi Richie Sambora has grown in stature over the past few years...and now he's set to play Belfast's Ulster Hall as part of a run of dates across Europe.

Sambora now has three solo albums under his belt, to add to the 130m album sales accumulated as part of Bon Jovi, with the latest release Aftermath of the Lowdown receiving both critical acclaim and fan backing.

The date for Sambora's Ulster Hall date is July 1st - the same day thrash icons Anthrax - lay waste to Limelight1. It has some resonance that these two ends of the rock and metal spectrum are still going strong so long after the 80s.

The venues may be smaller than the tours of that decade which saw Bon Jovi and Anthrax play Belfast, but the audience age range is greater; and arguably more devoted. How many of today's so-called stars will still be touring in 30 years time...

The soft rock hero Sambora will be backed by six-string wunder-kid, Orianthi, who was last spotted wielding her axe with the venerable Alice Cooper.

Tickets for Sambora go on sale this coming Thursday, April 17th (the same day as Cheap Thrill with members of Cinderella and White Lion play the Diamond Rock Club (yet more stars of the 80s still touring!).

The fee to gain access to see Richie Sambora is £36 including booking fee, which you can proffer via www.ticketmaster.ie, at the Waterfront and Ulster Hall ticket desks and at Ticketmaster outlets across the country.

We are currently deciding which members of our review crew will be at each venue on July 1st...we may convene on April 17th...in the meantime "Oh, Oh, We're Living On A Prayer".

Energy in the song as Toby Jepson wraps up solo acoustic tour at Diamond Rock Club

ENERGY, dynamism and banter were the order of the day as songwriter, producer and former Little Angels frontman Toby Jepson delivered a consummate performance bristling with intensity despite only being equipped with a microphone and a guitar - and that was all it needed to enthrall the audience in Ahoghill.

Jepson may have shared stages with likes of Bon Jovi and Van Halen, but in the intimacy of a smaller venue in the depths of January (11/01/14) the character and talent of the man shines through.

Opening up proceedings was Stefan Murray, who warmed up the audience with a mixture of covers and his own material, of which Silver and Gold was notable. Despite a few equipment hiccoughs Murray showed potential that could be developed by a more judicious choice of covers and a greater use of his own material.

Sometimes volume can make up for a lot of things, but there are other times the volume is not so much the reading on the decibel meter, but the energy, thoughtfulness of the performer.

With a voice to fill an auditorium, and material that translates as well acoustically as it ever did with a full band, Toby Jepson brought to the Diamond Rock Club a scale of performance that can show lesser mortals just how to deliver 'songs'.

Earlier when we caught up with the genial rocker he spoke about how important the actual song is to him, whether he is performing, lyric writing, producing or just being on stage. And the evidence of that personal commitment to the song was more than evident.

This was the last date in Jepson's solo acoustic tour backing his album Raising My Own Hell and was a mixture of songs and answering some frankly weird questions.and stunning performances of classic Little Angels tracks and solo material.

Indeed, many of the tracks aired live had as much power delivered acoustically as they do on record with a full band.

Little Angels tracks The Way That I Live and Back Door Man grew acoustically while Shadow Boxing and the title track of the recent release raised the bar through the passion and wit with which they were delivered.

But this was also an opportunity for the audience to hear a little more about the man behind the songs. Prior to the gig attendees had the chance to pen a few questions for Jepson, which were put to the man by 'Phil'.

Those there heard how Jepson's superhero of choice was The Hulk, how Jon Bon Jovi had always been a gentleman to Little Angels, the awe a performer feels in front of 110,000 people, why Katie Meluah is a strong person, how record labels 'own' artists - and for comic devotees why Marvel is better than DC.

Following a Facebook comment about the 'tragedy' of reality TV shows, Jepson gave an impassioned answer about the talentless numpties who fulfil Warhol's prediction about everybody having their 15 minutes of fame. As Jepson explained to universal acclaim they neither deserve those minutes nor deserve to crowd out TV screens with their useless lives.

Entertaining as the Q and A session was, Jepson's command of the material was outstanding; controlled guitar power and devilishly delightful singing.

Drawing from Raising My Own Hell and Guitar, Bass and Drums solo releases, as well as Little Angels songs, Jepson showed that there is a diversity in his songwriting that reflects personal feelings and personal issues of interest.

Four Letter Word - a song originally penned for Meluah - came across as a passionate poem to the sense of loss and sense of betrayal that comes only when real emotions are caught up in a maelstrom, while Small Talk was huge on the stage.

Crowd pleasers from the Little Angels back catalogue such as Young Gods and Too Much Too Young were greeted like old buddies and worn on stage by Jepson like a pair of favourite, comfortable old jeans - truly excellent, and truly well suited to the venue.

At 46 Jepson self-disparagingly refers to himself as a "grumpy old man" but what his performance at the Diamond Rock Club proved is that he has matured as a person and matured as a multi-talented muso.

And so long as he can hold a guitar, pen a song or sit behind a production desk then rest assured his talent will continue to grow and mature.

Stand back: rant-a-coming

Stand back those of a nervous disposition, there’s a rant-a-coming.

To cut to the chase a 19-year-old know-nothing has just emailed me complaining this blog doesn’t have enough ‘true metal’. Apparently posting blogs on Extreme and Feeder damage my ‘metal’ credentials.

Fear not faithful readers, I bit back the invective and did not set the raging dogs that guard metal’s hallowed gates of hell upon his pimply ass (though I do reserve that as an option!)

Instead it got me to thinking – why oh why are we still doing this genre thing again.

Currently on the Belfast Metalheadsreunited Decks of Doom are: Slipknot (once dismissed as nu-metal), Dragonforce (Euro Power Metal) Black Stone Cherry (non-drinking Southern rockers), Gojira (French Prog doom) and Pink Floyd.

As this wasn’t enough he’ll shit his pee-stained pants when he sees a post about the mighty Deft Leppard! (playing The Empire on 13th September)

But on with the rant….being an old wrinkled rocker I, and many of the readers of this blog, where about back in “the day” when a tattered motorbike jacket was de rigeur, complete with a cut-off denim adorned with patches of metal and hard rock gods (from Def Leppard to Motorhead; AC/DC to ZZ Topp, from Dan Reed Network to Dio). And we went to see Def Leppard, Bon Jovi and Anthrax and Metallica amongst many others not least Ozzy, Whitesnake, MSG, Slayer etc.

Then came the 90s…

So-called music journalists conveniently forgot that grunge was inspired by Sabbath and that Kurt Cobain was trying to do what Nikki Sixx did, but couldn’t handle the shit.

To set the record straight...

Metal is not cookie monster vocals. Metal is not sub-Maiden/Metallica riffage. Metal is not glammed out partying. Metal is not Death Metal corpse paint. Metal is not stadia rock.

Metal is all of these things and more. Sometimes the mainstream tries to claim metal. Most times it ignores us. We've never needed the mainstream, the pop charts, the play-listers or the poseurs.

We are stronger when we acknowledge that this wonderful, life-affirming music style accommodates so many styles, so many talented bands, and so many good people unfortunately a few wankers who spend time dissing bands they don’t like.

If you don’t like it don’t listen to it.

When Manowar played Belfast (how many of you pimply assholes remember that!) a dear departed friend asked them what the fuck was false metal. Joey De Maio assured him that he would get his answer from the stage that night.

The bass player of Mano-baby-oiled-a-war announced from a Mandella Hall stage that “false metal was any band that didn’t have the balls to play in Belfast”.

Ok, Man-o-man-they’re-very-short-a-war, may not have been back since, but to all those who indulge in this silly, silly I’m more metal that you or we’re harder funk/rock/metal/classic/trad/prog fans than anyone else; give it a rest.

Flame wars and abusive emails are for Americans and Spides. Here in Belfast, respect the music, respect the views – until then see you at Deft Leppard, Mastodon, Loaded, Dragonforce, Airbourne, Biffy Clyro and many other hard rockin’ metal events!

25 years at the Spring and Airbrake...

Bon Jovi have been confirmed as the highest grossing live act worldwide in the first six months of 2008, selling 1.7 million tickets...which equates to about a 25-year residency at the Spring & Airbrake....