Review & photos by Rich Ward
Arriving at the reasonable hour of quarter to eight, I find that the first band had already been and gone and Bullitstorm were just taking to the stage to a handful of punters. I guess that that’s the problem for most opening bands having to play so early on a four band mid week bill. Local lads Bullitstorm played a competent, straight ahead metal set. With good musicianship and confident banter there was nothing really wrong with their set, but it didn’t really give off any sparks either. With their drumkit squeezed on to the side of the stage, it didn’t leave much space for the rest of the band to move around, and as a whole they failed to make an impression visually. Maybe an off night, and it’s still early days for the band, but there’s work to be done if they want to stand out from the rest of the bands knocking out this stuff. It will be interesting to see how they develop.
Boomville, are immediately a different prospect altogether. Image wise they are miles apart and hit the stage running and blast through a set of power pop rock. There is more energy and passion on the stage which draws in more people from the bar and the venue starts to fill up a little more and deservedly so. Immediately a song like ‘I’m Putting My Heart On Ebay’ gets stuck in your head, and after a short but sweet set they’ve left me wanting more. One to check out next time they hit the Midlands.
Hailing from the late 80’s / early 90’s LA hard rock scene, Little Caesar were a band that seemingly got swept away with the arrival of Kurt Cobain and the grunge phenomena. As rock radio shows seemingly closed down and before the advent of the internet, the band weren’t big enough to generate press interest and they seemed to disappear off the face of the planet for well over a decade. Having reformed some years ago, they have released a couple of albums with American Dream being the most recent in 2012.
Opening song ‘Rock N Roll State Of Mind’ leaves you in no doubt about quality of Little Caesar 2014. They play good old fashioned American bar room Rock ‘N’ Roll, and boast 4 members that were present on their 1989 debut album. 25 years on, his hair may be a little shorter these days, but Ron Young’s pipes still certainly hit the mark, as they tear into ‘Hard Times’. Guitarist Louren Molinare moves around the stage with moves as manic as Wilko Johnson, although at times the pace of the set is lost as Young tends to wander off into lengthy diatribes between songs.
Fidel Paniagua and Tom Morris keep the rhythm section tight, while the crowd, now packed in to a reduced sized Slade Rooms, lap it up with a passion. After all, it’s not that often that they get to see the band. Tracks from the debut album feature heavily throughout the set, but choice cuts from later albums American Dream & Redemption fit in nicely. However, it’s the groove of ‘Rum And Coke’ and the balls out cover of ‘Chain Of Fools’ that elicit the best response from the crowd, and stirs memories of nights at Edwards no. 8 and XLs nightclub in the early ’90s.
The set closes on another high with the innuendo filled ‘Drive It Home’ . And then it’s suddenly all over. They left the Slade Rooms wanting more, so lets hope it’s not too long before we see them back in the Midlands.
Setlist:
1. Rock N Roll State Of Mind
2. Hard Times
3. Supersonic
4. Down ‘N’ Dirty
5. Tastes Good To Me
6. American Dream
7. Hard Rock Hell
8. Redemption
9. Prisoner of Love
10. Real Rock Drive
11. In Your Arms
12. Rum And Coke
13. Chain Of Fools
14. Every Picture
15. Drive It Home
