Page 55 - Black Velvet Issue 97

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JANET GARDNER / SISTER SHOTGUN – NOTTINGHAM ROCK CITY BASEMENT, 24.05.18
When Janet Gardner finally released a solo album, which was years in the making, it was even more than you could have expected. Relevant with
today’s society both lyrically and musically, yet also one to keep long-time fans of the band she’s most known for, Vixen, happy. So we were eager for
tour dates – and she did not disappoint. A five-date headline tour was announced for May.
Opening the run of dates was Sister Shotgun from the West Midlands. With a new guitarist in the form of Benji Tatlock, the band show they mean
business. The five-piece blend metal mayhem with softer, heavenly melodies. It’s some of the band’s older, most relaxed songs, such as the ballad,
‘For The Love Of Hate’, that have the most impact. Vocalist Chloe Ozwell gets a chance to stretch and shine rather than being pulverized by heavy
instrumentation. Her tones are not unlike a younger Amy Lee’s. 2017 single ‘Silhouettes’ arguably shows the most promise, a sumptuous goth-draped
rock number with both power and a tune that latches itself on to your ears.
If any Vixen fans are hoping that tonight’s set is going to be packed with Vixen
songs, they’re in for a big surprise. This tour is really all about Janet’s solo ma-
terial. The one-hour set kicks off with ‘If You Want Me’ – and of course the crowd
(which incidentally is 90% male) do. The harder-edged ‘Your Problem Now’ and
‘Hippycrite’ show a tough side of Janet, musically and lyrically – although this
contrasts with moments of tender love that you can feel emanate between Janet
and her guitarist husband Justin James when they come together on stage. They
tell the story of their horrific travel down from Edinburgh and trying to avoid crash-
ing/driving on the wrong side of the road, which is amusing. The set includes a
couple of unexpected covers – one being CeeLo Green’s ‘Fuck You’. Janet tells
the crowd the Edinburgh audience didn’t really ‘get’ the song. Well, unfortunately,
Nottingham doesn’t seem to really get it either. It’s a song we personally love,
and enjoy in the set, but the rest of the audience seem fairly unresponsive to it,
looking on almost mystified. Later on, Janet takes a break as bassist Anthony
Gemignani does a sterling job at singing the lead vocals for a cover of ‘Love Gun’
by KISS. This one the crowd DO know and love.
Things take on a more serious tone when Janet returns to the mic and speaks
out about gun control and the school shootings in the USA, asking what would
happen if someone went into a school over here and shot 26 pupils. Guns would
be banned, right? The song ‘Let It Be Over’ is about this subject, since she lives
10 miles from where a school shooting occurred. Janet also speaks out about the
U.S. healthcare system before single ‘Rat Hole’. In this and every song, Janet’s
voice and the song itself sound as good as on disc and it’s refreshing to hear
songs with meaning being sung and with some dialogue beforehand. But all too
soon the set is over, and unfortunately there’s no
encore – as the venue is turning into a club night
so there’s an early curfew. While ‘Let It Be Over’ is
about school shootings, we wish the show itself
wasn’t over – and we hope we don’t have to wait
too long to do it all over again.
YYYY
Shari Black Velvet

Janet Gardner & Anthony Gemignani
Photo By Shari Black Velvet

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