Saturday 2 December 2017

Graham Bonnet Band Live

I've seen a fair bit of Mr. Bonnet over the last couple of years and this is in fact the third time in that period. I toyed with the idea of giving this one a miss but caved in out of curiosity as he has some new guys in his band.

First support was Evyltyde who also supported Graham the first time I saw him a couple of years ago. This band unfortunately doesn't excite too much. They are like a traditional NWOBHM band with a female voice. They are ok but the songs don't really excite as I was saying.

The main support was a new band called The Brink who I was hearing for the first time. They were an exuberant bunch of rockers with an energetic front man. They were decentish but I never really got a great feel for their songs. The singer said their debut album is coming out in April 2018, so we'll see how that turns out. Not bad overall and worth keeping an eye on. Oh and the band was notable for having a tiny chick guitarist. Well you don't often see a band with a gal on guitar while everyone else is a lad.

Anyway we're all here to see the old codger Graham and his brand spanking new guys show us what they can do. To be honest Graham sounded better than he did on the previous two night that I saw him. He sounded in fine form indeed. He still has a tendency to look like he's struggling for air on the higher notes but the man is 70 soon so we'll forgive him that. The new guitarist is Joey Tafolla and he whips up a storm on the riffs and solos. New Keysman is Jimmy Waldo who used to be with Graham back in Alcatrazz. The new drummer is also some guy or other who's been in loads of bands etc.

The band sounded really good I must admit. They played a very long set of mixed tunes from throughout Graham's career including of course all the hits. Standouts for me were new song California Air and Into the Night, plus classics Since U Been Gone and All Night Long. I was also amazed that Graham played Stand in Line from his time in Impellitteri. The last two times I saw him I was dying for him to play this as it's one of my fave songs from his career and finally he did it! Thanks Graham!

The band played for just over 90 minutes and Graham's shirt was covered in sweat patches by the end! Nice going old man..keep rocking forever!

Too Young to Die, Too Drunk to Live
(Alcatrazz song)
All Night Long
(Rainbow song)
California Air
Night Games
God Blessed Video
(Alcatrazz song)
S.O.S.
Stand in Line
(Impellitteri song)
Island in the Sun
(Alcatrazz song)
Into the Night
Samurai
Jet to Jet
(Alcatrazz song)
Desert Song
(Michael Schenker Group song)
Rider
Skyfire
(Alcatrazz song)
Since You Been Gone
(Russ Ballard cover)
Assault Attack
(Michael Schenker Group song)

Encore:
Eyes of the World
(Rainbow song)
Lost in Hollywood
(Rainbow song)









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