Monday, not the most rocking of nights but when the Black Spiders are in town Monday suddenly becomes the new Saturday. I have been lucky enough to see the band many times in the last few years and they never fail to deliver on stage, they have built up a solid following based on this and their brand of honest hard rock.

On arrival I was met with a fairly sparse crowd which did grow significantly as the night drew on but didn’t manage to reach the levels which attended the last Cathouse show last year. I think the fact that there were another couple of gigs on in town on the same night and a glut of shows within a short period which kept the numbers down slightly. No matter though as those in attendance were there to party!

I unfortunately missed opening band Rival State which was a shame as their latest EP is a good listen, hopefully I will catch up with the guys sometime in the future. I was in plenty of time for Turbogeist who were up next.

Turbogeist are a young four piece with plenty of attitude who take their cues from the raw punk sounds of the late 70’s which is infused in their alt rock sound. They claim to be ‘Powerpop/thrash’ on their Facebook page which is well wide of the mark if you ask me.

The guitar and vocal duties are brought to you by J and P (they appear to be known only by a single initial, possibly fans of Sesame Street?) who do a decent job of lobbing out their punky vocals through fixed sneers. It was a bit too light for my liking but they did entertain without ever setting the venue alight.

One band who you can guarantee will light the touch paper every time are the Black Spiders, as the lights dimmed, the intro tape blasted out and the stage filled with dry ice. The guys took to the stage to a huge cheer and kicked off with ‘Si, El Diablo’ which rocked hard and heavy. ‘Stay Down’ followed with the familiar chant of ‘Fuck You Black Spiders’ accompanied with raised middle fingers from both band and crowd, all good fun.

The anthem for the blue collar worker ‘Stick It To The Man’ was up next with all the band bouncing around the stage and pulling every rock star pose in the book. The band master in writing hard rock songs with great harmonies and hooks so large they could be used for shark fishing. This coupled with the enthusiasm and sense of humour makes for a very entertaining night.

The set tonight was voted for online by fans and was a mix of newer tracks from the last album ‘This Savage Land’ and old favourites. ‘St Peter’ slowed the pace a bit with it’s almost gospel like feel before ‘Balls’ had everyone bouncing once more.

The duo of ‘Kiss Tried To Kill Me’ and ‘Teenage Knife Gang’ found drummer Tiger Si and guitarist Ozzy trying to outdo each other in the gurning stakes which made me laugh. Bass player Adam must expend more energy over the course of the set than a marathon runner, the man never stands still!

The set was finished off with the epic ‘Blood Of The Kings’ but the guys weren’t finished and returned for a blast though ‘Meadow’, ‘Trouble’ and ‘Creatures’ before finally calling it a night with a great version of AC/DC’s ‘Kicked In The Teeth’, again with more middle finger action.

It is a constant wonder to me why the Black Spiders aren’t filling much bigger halls than this. They are pure rock ‘n’ roll with no airs or graces, just a very talented band doing what they love, playing their music at maximum volume.

Perhaps it’s the low key nature of the shows that is partly the key to why those in the know turn up every tour, you can leave after the gig safe in the knowledge that you have witnessed one of the best live bands on the circuit whilst others don’t know what they are missing. Time to adopt the smug grin and spread the word!

Review and photos by David Wilson

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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

Next session: Sunday 19 January

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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 1 December 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 3 December 2024.

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)