The Answer/These Wicked Rivers -
Dingwalls, Camden Lock, London, Thursday, 20th June 2024
Set List: Force Of Nature/Shine On/Black Gold/Evergreen/When The War Is Won/ Testify/The Family/Don’t Pray For Me.
The last time I visited Camden Lock & Dingwall’s was in 1977, I was 16 (you do the maths). It was the week Elvis died. To say I was excited would be an understatement.
The Answer have since their ‘New Horizon’ album have been amongst my favourite live bands, Cormac is a brilliant frontman. I hadn’t seen them live since the quite sensational ‘Solas’ album and tour, which was a kind of reinvention. That was 8 years ago!
Since then, I have purchased every album including the wonderful 'White Feather', Cormac’s solo outing. Tonight promised to be a night to remember, especially as I had reviewed the ‘Sundowners’ release and interviewed Guitarist, Paul Mahon.
Having arrived in Camden on the hot summer solstice a few hours before the show, there was England v Denmark Euro’s match to help to build up the expectation and excitement. This did not prove to be the case as England delivered a lack lustre display which curtailed any pre gig enthusiasm.
On entering the venue, it brought back no memories of my last attendance though I think the bar was in the same place. Three levels made it a fantastic prospect to get some great photos.
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The stage was full of flowers & Lampshades, making it look like my living room, it made me feel at home. I was unfamiliar with ‘These Wicked Rivers’ so I was just ready to enjoy their set. Wow! What a band! What fantastic bluesy hard rock music.
‘These Wicked Rivers’ delivered a sensational show with each member having charisma and character. A special mention has to go to Guitarist, Arran Day (who was a force of nature) and Vocalist, John Hartwell whose vocals, image and presentation was captivating. Bassist, John Hallam provided a larger-than-life figure and Drummer, Dan Southall used his sticks to great effect. Incidentally albums have now been purchased.
From opener, ‘Force Of Nature’ the band created an aural aura of magic which the Dingwall’s crowd lapped up. ‘Testify’ is clearly established as a fan favourite and by closer ‘Don’t Pray For Me’ I had the impression that ‘These Wicked Rivers’ had 50% of the crowd there to see them.
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It was all over to soon, but I got the opportunity to have a brief chat with them letting them know that my review and photos would appear in www.metallivillezine.com at some point.
Set List: Blood Brother/Nowhere Freeway/Under The Sky/Sundowners/Want You To Love Me/Put Your Money On Me/Comfort Zone/Solas/Spectacular/Wild Heart/ Come Follow Me/Preachin’.
Encore: No Salvation/Cold Heart, Here's A Health To Company (Irish Traditional) (Solo Performance: Cormac Neeson)/Demon Eyes.
Now for the headliners. The venue was filling up nicely, but was never uncomfortably full, which was good as it was hot in there.
The Answer took to the stage and opened with ‘Blood Brother’ from the ‘Sundowners’ album. It was received by a great response, Cormac immediately becoming the riveting front man that we know he is. I mentioned it was hot, what surprised me was that he kept his hat & jacket on for the entire set.
There were so many highlights, ‘Sundowners’ itself and the other new songs really fitted in well. To me, the absolute highpoint was the inclusion of ‘Solas’. It was just a shame no other songs made it from that album. Throughout, Cormac conducted and controlled proceedings, his between song banter is really engaging.
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Now I have to be slightly critical. Our singer is captivating, but to me he doesn’t get much help from his band. They are all excellent musicians but with exception of Guitarist, Paul Mahon who wields his axe to great effect they don’t provide much visual drama. The addition of Cara Burns on keyboards did add some eye-catching counterpoint as she smiled and looked like she was having a great time.
On previous encounters, ‘Spectacular’ has been well, spectacular, but tonight it seemed to be played a bit slower & lost some of its dynamic element. Maybe it was just me? The main set closed with ‘Preachin’ which saw Cormac step into the crowd to give them his sermon of rock. The faithful sat in obedience. As always, this is a show stopping moment and allows the fans to get close to our star.
A four-song encore begins with ‘No Salvation’, which features some tasty harmonica, and ends with ‘Demon Eyes’. In between, Cormac has a solo spot with ‘Here’s A Health To Company’. I would love to have seen ‘Always Alright’ played because I think it would have been a better solo song for Cormac. To me, it has the connection to the 'White Feather' album.
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Overall, The Answer deliver but there is an important question. ‘These Wicked Rivers’ are on the rise, of that there is no doubt. The question is what do our headliners have left? To that they and only they have The Answer.
Here's another question, why did the Bar run out of all draught beer halfway through the show?
By Paul Mace