As they mentioned from the stage, Black Stone Cherry have been on tour for the best part of two years, touring their latest album ‘Screaming at the Sky’. Seemingly their favourite territory, the UK has seen them no less than three times in that period, starting with an arena co-headliner with the Darkness, then last autumn a back to basics club tour where I caught them in the unlikely surroundings of Islington Assembly Hall. Now it was back to the arenas, though it is a hard act to fill 10,000 plus capacity venues at the best of times, let alone in difficult economic times a month from Christmas and in the middle of a busy gig season, so it was inevitable Wembley felt quieter than usual with parts of the seating cordoned off.

With a paucity of set times available I was caught by surprise as I arrived shortly after 630 to find the opening act on a triple bill, Ayron Jones already a few minutes into their short set. There was some impressively heavy riffing on ‘Filthy’ and ‘Mercy’, while the epic  ‘Blood in the Water’ saw Ayron put his heart and soul into the opening vocal section. The band were also well worth watching and I did laugh when during set closer ‘Take Me Away’ they looked to be forming a human pyramid at one point, though I am not sure the second guitarist  was joking when he said ‘hello Wimbledon’ and had to be corrected.

 

Main support Skillet are one of those bands that are actually bigger than BSC in their homeland, but have slowly been building a following here including with a number of appearances at Download. They have the archetypal post-grunge sound of many of their contemporaries, often lazily called modern rock though the style peaked in the 2000s! Songs like ‘Invincible’ and ‘Rise’ had big hooks and choruses, even if the motivational lyrical themes throughout the set seemed rather repetitive.

The overtly Christian label which has always attached to them and put me off for so long was actually worn quite lightly. However, though I can be partial to some of this type of music, my enjoyment could not get past the harsh and rather unmelodic vocals of John Cooper.

They can certainly put on a show though and during  ‘Surviving the Game’, which also featured some rare eighties style shredding on the solo from guitarist Seth Morrison, a pop gun surrounded the stage in smoke. In a career spanning set ‘Unpopular’ represented most recent album ‘Revolution’ while ‘Awake and Alive’ featured guest cello playing from Tate Olsen.

Jen Ledger not only contributes hugely with her prominent drumming to a sound reminiscent of the likes of Shinedown and Pop Evil, but adds a lot of backing and counterpoint vocals, and she came out front for ‘Hero’ to duet. As the likes of ‘Whispers in the Dark’ and ‘Psycho  in My Head’ went down well, it was praiseworthy that they clearly provide a voice for those who suffer from anxiety and mental health problems. Closing with ‘Monster’ and ‘The Resistance’, they seemed to already have a lot of fans and I am sure this big show would have made many new ones, even if personally I didn’t go for them.

After what seemed the longest intro tape of all time in the full length version of ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’, Black Stone Cherry entered onto an impressive stage set, which they made full use of throughout- the hyperactive pair of rhythm guitarist Ben Wells and bassist Steve Jewell making full use both of the width of the stage and the ramped areas either side of drummer John Fred Young.

The setlist took on a fairly familiar form with the crowd favourites that have survived from the regular churn of album releases over the last decade- in sludgy opener ‘Me and Mary Jane’, the chug of ‘Burning’, with a snatch of twin lead guitar and heavier than the studio version, and ‘Alone’.

 

The new album was relatively lightly represented with a trio including ‘Out Of Pocket’ and ‘The Mess You Made’. Though they showed the heavier, back to basics, direction the band have again taken, it does have to be said they paled in comparison with the older material, and it may be that they peaked with their first three albums. It didn’t help that those two were sandwiched between the two classic lead off cuts from their first two of those in ‘Rain Wizard’ and ‘Blind Man’, the solos on both from Chris Robertson demonstrating he is a tasty lead guitarist as well as gruff singer and earnest frontman.

I loved the commercial hooks of ‘Like I Roll’ and another from the ‘Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea’, apparently rarely played in its full electric format, in ‘Stay’ which got the crowd swaying, before ‘Cheaper to Drink Alone’ was broken up by John Fred’s drum solo.

 

Over the years Chris has developed into a confident and more self-assured frontman, epitomised by the way he commanded the whole crowd during a solo rendition of the heartfelt ‘Things My Father Said’ while the sea of phone lights all around the Arena made the occasion even more emotional. ‘In My Blood’ saw the crowd take over much of the singing then after the final song of the new trio in ‘When The Pain Comes’, came perhaps the one surprise in their set. To name check the praises of The Cult was quite a curveball, especially when the cover chosen was one of their lesser known numbers in ‘American Horse’, where Ayron Jones and John Cooper joined in the fun.

Back in more familiar territory, after a shout out from Ben for friends and family over from Kentucky, the set ended with those two ‘…Deep Blue Sea’ numbers that entered Nickelback territory and will always be everyone’s singalong favourites, mine included, in ‘White Trash Millionaire’ and ‘Blame it on the Boom Boom’. They were sandwiched by the even older ‘Lonely Train’, accompanied by a couple of small circle pit outbreaks, though fewer than in older days, and while Chris played a wah-wah solo, Ben was racing about the stage and attacking the drum kit from the front with sticks.

The encore was the traditional one and in a totally different mould, just Chris on vocals and Ben on guitar leading a communal singalong to ‘Peace is Free’. It was particularly poignant as Chris dedicated it to the memory of Michelle Kerr whose promotional activities had played such a role in building the band’s popularity in the UK. Midway through he went right down the middle of the arena floor where the vast majority were clustered to meet the fans, one of whom was lucky enough to be gifted his ever-present baseball cap.

Near the end of the main set Chris had announced that even though they were taking a break from touring, they would still be back in July to headline Maid of Stone festival. Even if their best songs are now over a decade old, they looked entirely comfortable carrying off the large-scale dynamics of an Arena show, yet still with that southern humility and blue collar work ethic. I can see this remarkable bond they seem to have with the UK being cemented for some time to come.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

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Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.

In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

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David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 3 November 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 29 October 2024.

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Power Plays w/c 25 November 2024

KING KRAKEN Chainsaw Saviour (indie)
BEBORN BETON American Girls (Dependent Records)
SMASH INTO PIECES Maze Of Feels (indie)
WELSH WOLF When You Cry (indie)
DREAMING OF CITRA Bitter (indie)
OFF LIGHTS Love You Sober (indie)
THUNDERMOTHER Dead Or Alive (AFM Records)
SKAM Selfish Friend (indie)
SORRY X Bring Me To Life (SBG Records)

Featured Albums w/c 25 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)

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