Page 41 - Black Velvet Rock Magazine Issue 102

BV102 pg41_BV102 pg 29/09/2019 22:58 Page 1

BlackVelvetMagazine.Com - 41

YYYYY Excellent YYYY Very Good YYY Good

YY Listenable, Just Y Poor

ANDY BLACK / ADORE DELANO – BIRMINGHAM O2 INSTITUTE, 11.07.19
Quite the workaholic, Andy Biersack has fronted Black Veil Brides for over a decade, releasing five full-length albums. In between albums and a
heavy touring schedule, Andy then decided to record his debut solo album, released in 2016. Three years later and his second solo release, ‘The
Ghost Of Ohio’, has hit the ground running.
So now, with two full-length albums
under his belt, the Cincinnati-born singer is
back in the UK, eager to please fans with a
more extensive live set. He brings with him
Adore Delano from California, a drag queen
who has appeared on American Idol and
RuPaul’s Drag Race. To say Adore Delano
is humorous is an understatement. She
makes hilarious quips in between songs,
entertaining the crowd with both her com-
edy and songs. She has a good voice too.
The only downside to her set is the fact that
she doesn’t have a band so is singing to
pre-recorded music – and sometimes that
music even includes vocals. She does a
fine job covering Britney Spears’ ‘Toxic’, as
well as performing songs from her own cat-
alogue such as ‘I Can’t Love You’ and ‘I
Adore You’. With a dance-beat soundtrack,
her songs are a mixture of seduction and
attitude. She tells the crowd she’s sweating
‘like a motherfucker’ and pulls off her red
wig a few songs in. With 1.9 million follow-
ers on Instagram, it’s quite a treat to see
this captivating entertainer.
While Andy Black’s set is not half as
jokey as Adore Delano’s, there is a funny
moment when Andy decides to tell the
crowd that his guitarist Lonny Eagleton is
heavily into skincare and how he posted
that eye cream feels good. It’s a light-
hearted moment in a set of songs inspired
by his darker, shadowy side. ‘Ribcage’,
from Andy’s ‘The Shadow Side’ album,
opens the set before 2014’s ‘They Don’t
Need To Understand’, and it’s not until the
third track that we get a song from Andy’s
latest album, ‘The Ghost Of Ohio’ – the
rhythmic dance-pop tune, ‘Westwood
Road’. Wearing a bandana and with black
eyeshadow around his eyes, Andy con-
stantly moves from one side of the stage to
the other. Songs such as ‘Know One’ have
a dark undertone to a catchy, dancey beat.
He also reveals (humorously) to the crowd
that he is terrified that there’s a ghost in the
balcony. His wife, Juliet Simms, gets a men-
tion before ‘Paint It Black’, one of the songs
he’s written for her. The song is heartfelt
and honest. In between his own songs,
Andy covers his favourite band, Alkaline
Trio – ‘Sadie’ - and pulls it off - while ‘Put
The Gun Down’ (always a favourite) and
‘Homecoming King’ help round off the main
set before ‘Ghost Of Ohio’ and ‘We Don’t
Have To Dance’ wrap up the night. While
there’s an extra loud cheer during the two
occasions Andy does a heavier metal roar,
signifying the fans’ huge love for Black Veil
Brides and Andy’s origins, the singer’s own
solo music stands up firmly on its own merit
and sounds excellent live. We don’t have to
dance, but we most definitely want to keep
listening to and seeing Andy Black live.
YYYY
Shari Black Velvet
Andy Biersack (Andy Black) Photo By Shari Black
Velvet

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