Page 50 - Black Velvet Issue 93

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TOSELAND / BLACK ROSE CADILLAC / THE BAD FLOWERS – BIRMINGHAM O2 INSTITUTE, 06.04.17
Toseland are back on tour and back in Birmingham. This time around bands that have a more extensive back catalogue play for. And with Tose-
they’ve stepped up to the Institute 2, although still deserve to be playing land it’s all killer, no filler. Whether it’s the high-tempo, maximum riffage
even bigger venues. rockers like ‘Puppet On A Chain’ and ‘Living In A Moment’ or the slower-
It’s a great evening of UK rock talent with two Midlands bands as sup- paced, heart-ripping ‘Never Love Another’, every song’s a winner. When
port. The Bad Flowers from Cannock (not to be confused with Badflower frontman James checks to see how the crowd are doing, he discovers a
from California) are a band we’ve been meaning to catch for ages, but rowdy female in the front row. “I remember my first cider as well,” quips
only now have finally done so. But now we know what all the fuss is about! James, before asking how the sensible ones at the back are doing. He
Songs such as ‘City Lights’ and ‘Thunder’ are bluesy, retro rock ‘n’ roll, plays the piano for ‘Just No Way’, before the rockier ‘Renegade’ comes
featuring catchy choruses, jamming guitar and bass work and some flashy into play. James has the quintessential rock star vocals and the quality of
drumming akin to a cross between Vik Foxx and Tommy Lee courtesy of the whole band is at such a level that the one time there’s a slight error,
Karl Selickis. Karl appears to have a hard time keeping his bass drum in in ‘Good Eye Blind’, James stops the song to start it again and get it per-
place as it keeps sliding forward, but that doesn’t mar the band’s promising fect. But other than that, the set is 100% perfection. Ending with their
set. ‘Crash Landing’ single from debut album, ‘Renegade’, they leave the au-
Black Rose Cadillac supported Toseland in Wolverhampton on their dience on a high. It seems criminal that Toseland are not playing to much
last run. They no doubt impressed James as they’re back again – but this bigger audiences, but as their song ‘We’ll Stop At Nothing’ proclaims, it’s
time for more shows. Whether it’s the fact that they’ve got a bigger stage still early days and if their conviction and drive is as good as their song-
to move about on or just that they’ve practiced a lot over the last six writing, skill and James’s racing (which it does appear to be), they WILL
months, they seem to have improved in leaps and bounds. Frontman get there – they WILL cross the finishing line and they WILL become rock
Ryan Hulme has a Steven Tyler-esque, scarf-draped mic stand – at least ‘n’ roll champions in the end.
for the first few songs – and he knows how to use it! It’s quite amazing YYYYY
that it’s the band’s first ever proper tour as they come across as a very Shari Black Velvet
professional band that own the stage. They look the part and sound the
part. Songs such as ‘River Man’ and ‘Behind The Wheel’ are funky slabs James Toseland & Zurab Melua (Toseland) Photo By Shari Black Velvet
of classic rock. “Do you want to hear about 30 seconds of ‘Voodoo Child’?”
Ryan asks. Not particularly, no, but we get it anyway! You can definitely
see where their influence comes from in songs like ‘Devil’s Road’. Jimi
Hendrix is definitely living on to a degree through Black Rose Cadillac’s
music.
Considering Toseland only have two full-length albums out, they put
on a bargain-for-money setlist featuring 18 songs. That’s longer than some

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