The Wildhearts / Florence Black / Asomvel - Shepherds Bush Empire 6th June 2024

The big question is how do The Wildhearts in 2024 compare to the classic line up of their glory years?

But before I attempt to answer that question I need to direct your attention to the two up and coming bands that were also on the bill.

First on were Asomvel. A four piece led by Ralph Robertson on Bass and lead vocals, Stel Robertson on guitar, Lenny Robertson on guitar and Ryan Thackwray on drums.

Prior to them taking to the stage the six Marshall stacks that ominously dominated the stage sent out a very clear message of intent. In a world where bands are minimising backline and using processed guitar sounds, Asomvel are showing that old school is still cool. 

The doors had only been open for 25 mins but already the venue was extremely busy. The lights went down and what I would describe as the musical equivalent of a wrecking ball crashed onto the stage. An unstoppable force of nature that pulverised the audience into submission. The combination of thunderous drums, bone shaking bass and dirty guitars, made a gloriously monstrous sound. The songs are fast and furious with titles such as ‘Born To Rock & Roll’, ‘Stare At Death And Spit’, and ‘Louder & Louder’. What ensued were 30 minutes of pure unadulterated rock and roll. The audience loved every second of it. Asomvel have spotted an extremely large hole in the market and have created the perfect band to fill it. There was a time when it was commonplace for metal bands to write 3 to 4 minute hit singles that went on to become timeless classics. ‘Ace Of Spades’ by Motörhead, ‘Living After Midnight’ by Judas Priest and ‘Run To The Hills’ by Iron Maiden are perfect examples. This is the market where I see Asomvel being able to carve out their own career. They just need to tour constantly and reach as many people as they possibly can to find their own audience. I see no reason why they won’t reach their full potential if they can keep out on the road.

Next up were Welsh power trio Florence Black. A band made up of Jordan Evans on bass, Perry Davies on drums and on lead vocals and guitar Tristan Thomas. This will be the third time I have seen this band and it would be fair to say that I’m a fan. Earlier on in the year they released the absolutely fantastic ‘Bed Of Nails’ which should be a serious contender for rock album of the year. Let me start by saying that Asomvel are not an easy band to follow but Florence Black are a band completely confident in their own abilities. As the intro tape reverberated around the auditorium three men dressed in black strode onto the stage and proceeded to unleash 45 minutes of flawless power metal. Evans & Davies are an absolutely phenomenal rhythm section that play every beat and note with total conviction. The amount of power that these three men are able to create is truly remarkable but it’s Thomas’s vocals that separate them from other bands of the same genre. He is unquestionably one of the most spectacular vocalists out there and the depth and power of his vocals are breathtaking. They opened with the title track of their latest album ‘Bed of Nails’ and as soon as the first chorus kicked in the entire audience knew they were watching pure class. It’s no surprise why they were invited to perform at this year's Download festival. The entire set was perfectly constructed but stand out moments were ‘Start Again’ and ‘Rocking Ring’. They closed with the magnificent ‘Sun & Moon’ , a song that allows Thomas to show off the full range of his vocal ability. They left the stage to rapturous applause and it was obvious they had made a lot of new friends with this performance.

So now we come to the main event. 

The first thing that caught my attention was the amazing stage set design. This show wasn’t to be a quick cash grab. A lot of thought and love had gone into the design and it was clear that the band wanted to put on something memorable. The other thing that was impossible to ignore is the absolute devotion of the Wildhearts fans. It was as if we were all about to witness the second coming. This is a band whose music shaped people's lives. 

The atmosphere inside the venue was already at fever pitch but when the lights went down and the intro tape rolled it quickly went from fever pitch to mass hysteria. With a flash of light the band hit the stage and opened with a supercharged rendition of ‘Sleepaway’. Instantaneously the crowd went berserk. It was as if 2000 people had won the lottery in the exact same moment. Ginger stood centre stage looking every inch the iconic rockstar. He may be close to 60 years of age but he looked and moved like a man half that age. It would seem that rock n roll either kills you or keeps you young. The first time I saw Ginger play was in the late eighties when he was a member of the Quireboys. His star quality was blindingly obvious even back then. Over the years I have seen The Wildhearts many times with various line ups. For me Danny Wildheart was one of the coolest bass players ever and it would be hard for anyone to fill his shoes. I saw the original line up with CJ and the chemistry and tension between him and Ginger was certainly something that added a lot of fuel to the fire. Rich Battersby was a killer drummer and once again someone who would be hard to replace. I was also at the Reading Festival when Devin Townsend was a member of the band. Danny had a busted leg that day and played the entire set sitting on a flight case. Despite this they still played a killer show. So what I say next is not in any way meant to be disrespectful in any shape or form but within 30 seconds of the first song the new line was so good and Ginger so charismatic that you don’t find yourself reminiscing about previous line ups whatsoever. The current band that features Ben Marsden on guitar, Pontis Snibb on drums and Jon Poole on bass sounded like they had been playing these songs for years. 

The spectacular set design enabled the three guitar players to live out every possible rock and roll fantasy. There was a lot of leaping and jumping, something which to their credit required a fair degree of agility and stamina. There was no visible backline but an ingenious lighting design that featured seven illuminated columns kept the musicians backlit throughout the entire show. All in all it was a level of production that made it clear that The Wildhearts wanted to put on a real show for the fans.

The spectacular opener was closely followed by ‘Diagnosis’. The pace and intensity was unrelenting.

If ever the question of whether Ginger is a musical genius you would only have to witness the next three songs to know that the only possible answer is a resounding yes. ‘Suckerpunch’, into 'I Wanna Go Where The People Go’ followed by ‘Caffeine Bomb’, took a flamethrower to the doubters. The Shepherds Bush Empire had turned into a time machine with all of us being transported back to the nineties. The middle aged people in attendance were losing their minds and throwing themselves around with reckless abandon as we all got to relive our youth. It was one of those you were either there or you weren’t moments.

Ginger’s statue seemed to grow as every song came to a climactic finish. It was as if the audience were channelling their energy directly into him. The smiles grew in size the longer the set went on. It’s clear that being onstage is somewhere that he feels very comfortable. It’s certainly somewhere that he is an extremely effective human being.

I could give you a run down of the entire set full list but this is a review not a book. The reality is that over the course of 90 minutes we were all given an insight to the mind of a musical genius. 

The whole set was brilliant from start to finish but a truly stand out moment was a magnificent version of ‘Everlone’, which saw the audience go absolutely ballistic and sing the chorus at the very top of their voices. 

They finished their main set with ‘Chutzpah' and left the stage to deafening applause. To the believers their devotion was completely justified. 

Encores were a foregone conclusion and ‘Greetings from Shitsville’ was received like the National Anthem. Just when you thought the show couldn’t get any better, ‘My Baby Is A Head Fuck’ proved otherwise. For me this is a pop punk masterpiece as good as anything that’s ever been written within this genre. It should really be revered in the same way as ‘Should I Stay Or Should I Go’ or ‘Basket Case’. Sublime songwriting. 

The final song of the evening was the magnificent opus ‘Caprice’. A song that combines the influences of the Beatles, Cheap Trick, Metallica and Faith No More into something unmistakably The Wildhearts. 

The venue was a sea of smiling faces and none more so than those of the band.

The Wildhearts had come, seen and emphatically conquered. In my mind they’re as viable and relevant in 2024 as they were in 1994 for the simple reason that their music is timeless and crosses over into multiple generations.

Myke Gray