Just witnessed your best live gig?.. send us a review!

BLACK STONE CHERRY
The Assembly, Leamington 7 June 2011

High octane rock and roll was on the menu for this show, three bands all kicking up a storm, headliners Black Stone Cherry hailing from Kentucky USA and building up for their Download Festival appearance supported by two excellent UK rock bands, Sheffield based hard rockers Black Spiders and The Treatment a young rock band from Cambridge.

First up The Treatment showing all the energy of youth with a set of sleaze/classic rock numbers both melodic and powerful in the vein of GNR and Motley Crue, particularly impressed with 'Just Tell Me Why' a medium paced rocker with a knockout chorus. For a young band they seemed full of confidence, worked the crowd really well and pulled most of the audience out of the bar (always a good sign).

Second band on the bill Black Spiders took to the stage after a stylish intro tape of spaghetti western music mixed with Phantom of the Opera style Gothic keyboards, they are a five piece band and have a real character up front in Pete 'Spider' Spiby on vocals and guitar.

Black Spiders released their debut album Sons of the North this year and showcased tracks at this show, including set opener 'Si, El Diablo' with its driving main riff, my personal favourite of the set the AC/DC style head bangers delight 'Stay Down' and the humorous 'KISS Tried To Kill Me'. An impressive set which seemed to fly by, full of powerful solid numbers which had the hall rocking and I am sure it will not be long before the Back Spiders return to venues of this size as headliners.

Talking of the headliners you could sense the anticipation in the air before Black Stone Cherry took to the stage and after their intro tape of old school Southern rock the quartet arrived to a huge reception and on the strength of this evenings performance the band are set to take Donington Park by storm, they play southern rock but turned up to 11, heavier and with tons of attitude.

In Black Stone Cherry's music and style you can spot the obvious influences of the classic Southern rock bands including of course Lynyrd Skynyrd but they perform their breed of Southern rock much harder and at times faster.

They performed numbers from all three of their studio albums including a good selection from their latest, the recently released Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, new tracks included impressive set opener 'Change', the tongue in cheek fun of 'White Trash Millionaire' and the saucy sleaze rock of 'Blame it on the Boom Boom'.

Back catalogue numbers included the party anthem 'Soul Creek' from their second album Folklore and Superstition, and tracks from their self titled debut album included the catchy as hell (pun intended) 'Hell and High Water' and possibly the best track of the evening and the last number of the set the full blown rock classic, the moving 'Lonely Train'.

The sell out Assembly crowd seemed to know the words to every number in the BSC set, joining in at every opportunity, (great band to sing along to with as most songs have a huge chorus) and vocalist guitarist Chris Robertson was full of praise for UK audiences in general and The Assembly throng in particular, all in a rocking good night, two excellent support bands and a headline act playing a storming set and ready to slay Download.


Review and photos by Andrew Lock