Thunder / Lauren Harris @ Carling Academy, Glasgow, 25 November, 2007

Danny Bowes pictured below when he realises Mr H is not in the audience

(Posted Image)

On hearing that Lauren Harris (pictured below) would be supporting Thunder, I immediately jumped to the conclusion that due to her youthfulness, the music would undoubtedly be emo, nu-metal or something equally ghastly.

How wrong can you be? Lauren Harris blasted the academy with 45 minutes of classic melodic British hard rock. No false earnestness, no bloody stupid emo haircuts. Nothing like that at all: just good fun and classic riffery. It was as if the nightmare of the grunge revolution in the 1990s had never happened. It took me right back to the early nineties when a new wave of UK hard rockers such as the Quireboys, Little Angels, Thunder, Dare and Gun seemed set to take over the world. This point was emphasised further when the band covered Gun's "Steal your Fire".

(Posted Image)

Lauren's band are indeed a rare species. They not only sound like a proper rock band but also look like one, complete with denim, leather and hair. Guitarist Richie Faulkner has copied both the look and stage moves of Zakk Wylde and bass player Randy Gregg looks every inch the former Thin Lizzy member that he is. All in all it is hard to imagine a more appropriate support act for Thunder. If only more young bands made music like this…

Having been well warmed up by the support act, the near capacity crowd were treated to a remarkable show by the headliners. While Thunder are always a good live band, they were in absolutely top form at the Academy.

Unlike the tours supporting the "Magnificent Seventh" and "Robert Johnson's Tombstone", which aired rather too much new material, the current set was very much a best-of set, choosing not only the old classics, but also the cream of the post-millennium albums and the current "Six of One" EP.

Highlights included oldies "River Of Pain", "Back Street Symphony", "Love Walked In" and modern classics "Robert Johnson's Tombstone", "The Devil Made Me Do It" and "Love You More than Rock 'n' Roll".

Throughout the night the sound was remarkably clear. It was so good that even the bass was audible, a rare event indeed for a rock gig. This meant that the finely intertwined guitar work of Luke Morley and Ben Matthews was even more spectacular than usual.

The audience participation was also notable. Danny Bowes is undoubtedly one of rock's great showmen, holding the audience in the palm of his hands throughout the show, getting them to do exactly what he says: even those standing up at the back who normally pretend to be too cool to sing and dance around. Best of all was his cruel but successful humiliation of a woman near the front who refused to sing. If Bowes ever decides to give up singing, he would make an excellent primary school teacher.

The band clearly enjoyed themselves as much as the audience and a good time was had by all. What more can you ask for?

:twisted :twisted :twisted 1/2 / 3.5 out of 5

...reviewed by Alasdair MacCaluim...