Beth Blade is in fine form tonight, but really is that a surprise? This is a band whose love for what they are doing shines through, with Beth seemingly making eye contact with everyone in the crowd or at least the first four or five rows and challenging them to come along for the ride.
Beth Blade and the Beautiful Disasters prove once again why they are such an exciting, relatable and fun band, one which make every bill they play on just that much better for having them a part of itβ¦. A little over a year ago Ricky Warwick last played this very venue, on that occasion battling through the set with a sore throat.
A relaxed Ricky leads the Fighting Hearts through a crowd-pleasing set, covering almost every era across his storied career. Only two songs in and we get the first Almighty song of the night.
The band are hungry and playing with a ferocious energy that simply demands your attention, Ricky the consummate frontman, completely in control and commanding proceedings from centre stage. His interplay with Ricky and his mischievous, teasing onstage persona matches the evident fun that the band are having this evening. Often autobiographical and personal, sometimes tinged with a wistful sense of whimsy and nostalgia, sometimes sadness and regret, this is where his work with the Fighting Hearts is at its best.
The crowd are word perfect and take the first verse almost single-handedly, then the drums roll in, the song kicks into gear proper and the place explodes. If this is but a taste of what we can expect with the much-anticipated Almighty shows this winter, then we are in for three dates of epic proportions. What was it Beth Blade sang earlier? Oh yeah. Over 40 years since I first saw my first rock gig Gillan, Magic Tour 82, Preston Guildhall, for anyone who's interested I still love Metal and rock with the dedication and giddy excitement of that long ago teenager.
