Page 55 - Black Velvet Rock Magazine - Issue 100

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BUCKCHERRY / HOOBASTANK / ADELITAS WAY – BIRMINGHAM O2 INSTITUTE, 10.02.19
It’s been a while since either Buckcherry or Hoobastank have toured the UK, so it makes sense that they join forces for a co-headline tour. Bringing
Adelitas Way to open the shows is an even greater idea.
It’s Adelitas Way’s first ever tour in the UK – despite being a band for well over a decade. As such, they’ve got a large catalogue of music to choose
from for their short half-hour set. Naturally, they pick singles such as ‘Notorious’ and the socially-conscious ‘Ready For War (Pray For Peace)’ from
their most recent full-length studio album, although they also head back into the archives for ‘Last Stand’, from their debut album, and ‘Criticize’, from
their second. Their songs are all solid slabs of hard rock and, despite being from Las Vegas, there’s no overload of glitz and glamour in them – they’re
just honest and unswervingly real. That said, final number ‘Invincible’ has an eye-openingly long, power-charged instrumental intro before it kicks into
the strong finale that it is.
It’s no wonder that ‘Out Of Con-
trol’ is up early in Hoobastank’s set as
they, in particularly frontman Doug
Robb, ARE! When the four-piece of
Doug, guitarist Dan Estrin, bassist
Jesse Charland and drummer Chris
Hesse get on stage they blast into
‘Pieces’ and Doug especially doesn’t
stop moving. Hoobastank are highly
captivating and their whole set is up
there with the best of them. They’ve
been a part of the music scene for
over two decades and it shows – yet
at the same time, they have the en-
ergy of bands half their age. As
they’ve been out celebrating the 15-
year anniversary of ‘The Reason’,
their set features many old songs from
that album and they all sound as fresh
as they did back then. Although
Hoobastank are most known for ‘The
Reason’, they are much more than
that. Songs such as ‘Let It Out’ are
feisty spirals of punchy spirit, while
newer song ‘Don’t Look Away’, the
opening song from their latest ‘Push
Pull’ album, has a slinkier, electro
indie tone – which does bear a slight
left turn compared to the majority of
the set. Overall, it’s a top set from the
band, and we hope they come back
soon.
Buckcherry end the night and play
a similar 15-song set, although much
more in the dirty rock ‘n’ roll vein. The
line-up has changed somewhat since
their last UK tour, though obviously
the core of Josh Todd and Stevie D.
remain. They open with their cover of
‘Head Like A Hole’, which is on their
new album, ‘Warpaint’, although after
that we get ‘Broken Glass’ from the
‘15’ album, a song about war, and like
a fiery volcano in consistency, before
‘Somebody Fucked With Me’ from
their ‘Fuck’ EP. With Kelly LeMieux on
bass, previously with ska punkers
Goldfinger, Kevin Roentgen on guitar
and Francis Ruiz, the new drummer,
the band is still a powerhouse live,
with their setlist a high-octane riot.
Their cover of ‘Say Fuck It’ continues
the brash attitude. Buckcherry have
never been a shy and retiring band.
‘Lit Up’ rocks the house, ‘Sorry’ brings
a slightly sentimental moment, while
their set ends with their rock ‘n’ roll,
anthemic hit, ‘Crazy Bitch’, wrapping
the show up perfectly.
Tonight, all three bands gave the
audience a good time and, while
Buckcherry, Hoobastank and Adelitas
Way each have their own particular
niche, they all have crossover appeal,
to make a fab three-band bill that
rocked from start to finish.
YYYYY
Shari Black Velvet
Josh Todd (Buckcherry). Inset: Doug Robb
(Hoobastank) Photos By Shari Black Velvet
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