Cheap thrills are sometimes the best as heritage and healthy new classic rock rock the Diamond

SOMETIMES the gigs you expect the least from are the most enjoyable, maybe the low expectations mean that you enjoy them because the expectations are so low: other times they are enjoyable are because they are just good...

Such was the case when Derwin and co welcomed Cheap Thrill to the Diamond Rock Club last Thursday night (17th April).

Made up from members of Cinderella, White Lion and the Gibbs Brothers Cheap Thrill seemed on the face of it to be another heritage band making hay while the classic rock revival stays strong - but that is to undersell them.

However, before such an act can take to the stage the spirits of the 80s have to be invoked from the ether. And there is no finer group to do that than Maverick.

The ten-legged monster of classic rock and metal have evolved and grown in front of the eyes of Northern Ireland audiences. Now as they prepare for the release of their début album their time is coming...fast!

Already their tracks seem like old friends, choruses riotous sing-alongs and solos and riffs flying from all corners and stage moves well rehearsed and well executed.

Saints and Sinners, Top Heavy etc etc - if you haven't caught the Maverick bug you need to get infected as soon as possible.

With a couple of covers thrown in to raise the party mood (although they have enough strong material of their own not to bother...) the Diamond was ready to rock for Cheap Thrill.

As it was the first show of their European tour there were a few kinks to be knocked out, not least some ropey backing vocals but otherwise everything was good in Ahoghill Rock City.

With the expected Gypsy Rose and other fan favourites rolled out the reception was raucous, and the band seemed to be enjoying playing and bantering.

Some unexpected cover versions (a slowed down  Billy Jean and closing with Imagine) kept the momentum throughout, but ironically it was the new track 'Hero' that was the strongest of the night.

Cheap Thrill should be an ailing act rolling through the years for older fans. However, there is something very, very exciting bubbling here. Get the fans to roll in for the 'classic' tracks and produce new tracks like Hero could be a recipe for endurance and if they return to the Diamond we hope that they are prepared to air some more 'new' songs.

A Cheap Thrill - no better place to get it than at Diamond Rock Club on Thursday night

WAY, way back in the distant past (that would be the mid-eighties for younger readers) there was a 'scene' in transition. The sleaze rock of the LA strip was being supplanted by thrash metal. Yet, fans from all genres would gather together in worship of hard rockin' music.

Such was the diverse nature of this transforming 'scene' no-one seemed unduly concerned to see Metallica, Anthrax, WASP and Bon Jovi on the same bill...

That line-up was at Monsters of Rock, Castle Donington in 1987. While Monsters of Rock has now transmogrified into Download, in 1987 the band opening main stage proceedings was Cinderella - fresh from the release the previous year of their seminal album, Long Cold Winter.

Despite their appearance there was a genuine musical intent behind the band....and now in 2014 you get the chance to get a flavour of that once again when a 'super group' with two founder members of Cinderella play Diamond Rock Club on Thursday night (April 17th).

Eric Brittingham and Jeff LaBar from Cinderella join forces with Brandon Gibbs (The Gibbs Brothers) and Troy Patrick Farrell (White Lion) have joined forces as Cheap Thrill to once again bring that sound of the 80s to a new generation with a fresh vibe for all.

Opening an extensive UK and European tour at the Diamond Rock Club on Thursday night, this is perhaps not just a heritage gig, but a chance to feel the vibe that transcended genres and just rocked.

Tickets still available - more details: https://www.facebook.com/thediamondrockclub or just rack up on the night!

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".