Over in
the US Venrez have done the slow burn of gig after gig that
ultimately allowed them to increase their stock in the eyes of the
rock world and secure opening slots for Alice Cooper, Slash and Fuel.
Now here
they are back in Europe looking to raise their global profile as part
of the Buckcherry/Hardcore Superstar double header.
It's
however a tough call on a Tuesday night in Glasgow with Nickelback
and Kid Congo in town looking to draw elements of the rock crowd to
their shows - and the early start probably caught a few people on the
hop - but they band are now very obviously seasoned pros and took it
in their stride as they delivered a fine set of material plundered
from both their albums.
While
Buckcherry and Hardcore Superstar lean towards being party bands -
and you can understand the fit there - with Venrez we get something a
good bit more cerebral without the band having to limit the power of
the music.
There's a
firm thread of rock and roll history that ties everything they do
together.
With the
grunge movement we seen punk acts looking to embrace the rock world
and now here we have Venrez taking that grunge vibe back full circle
and applying it to the classic rock sound.
Individually
the band all pull their weight and the one word that springs to mind
about them is solid.
The band
are solid in what they do.
Very
often in the music business it's all about being in the right place
at the right time, and if Venrez manage to get onto the soundtrack of
a hit film, or find one of their songs being used in a global ad
campaign, then the next time they hit the UK it could be as a
headliner in their own right.
Hardcore
Superstar have never done it for me.
On paper
they sound just like a band that I would gravitate towards, but on
the rare occasions when I have checked them out they left me cold.
Prior to
the show Steven Berez of Venrez told me that he had similar
reservations, but from the first night they played together he was
instantly converted as there's a great deal of passion and hunger in
their performance, and he was right.
When
people describe a band as one who take no prisoners then Hardcore
Superstar are the sort of act they are referring to.
Every
trick is pulled out of the bag and they go at it relentlessly hard.
It's true
that it's all been done before, but put them on a stage and that
criticism is left in the rear view mirror as they press down hard on
the peddle and hit the road leaving nothing but the smell of burning
rubber in their wake.
There's
no pretence that they are anything other than what they are and
that's quite refreshing.
I might
even buy an album now.
Buckcherry
are as mentioned a party band.
Grab a
keg of beer and a Buckcherry CD and all you need to add to the mix is
people to get the party started.
It's not
rocket science and there's nothing that intelligent about it all, but
it is fun.
It would
be easy to pick at the sexist overtones of pretty much everything
they do, but it's a show, and like a bad taste joke we can choose to
participate knowing that it's not real life.
Once that
attitude is snatched at then it's easy to let yourself get swept away
with it all
Highlight
of the night from them was the rendition of Crazy Bitch that started
off with The Rolling Stones 'Miss You' that morphed into there own
song, albeit a very different and extended version that took the song
in a whole new direction, and for me fleshed it out to spectacular
effect.
I only
really went to see Venrez, but enjoyable sets from Buckcherry and
Hardcore Superstars were a bonus that I didn't really expect.
Tonight
it's NWOBHM stars of yesteryear Raven and Girlschool.
It's
going to be interesting to see if there are still enough leather and
denim hordes to welcome them to Glasgow.
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