THE GODS 1999 MAXIMS / WIGAN ENGLAND - Day 2 ... Back to Day 1

Day 2 (Sunday 21st Nov)

Tickaboo Peak

TIKABOO PEAK
With hangovers still evident from yesterday’s rock ‘n’ roll overdose (nothing to do with the fifteen pints of lager and late night curry), young Sheffield band "Tikaboo Peak" had a mountain to climb to really capture everyone’s attention. However, a few more gigs and they will be able to hold their own against any of the English acts I’ve seen recently.
Their ace card was to cover "White Sister’s" "Promises" (without keyboards) which got people talking throughout the rest of the day.

Read the recent review by Mick 'n' Dez on this up and coming band.
 
TEER
Members of "Teer" had displayed their musical ability on the previous day by backing "Ted Poley" for his set. Word on the street was these guys are heavily influenced by "Journey". Although they closed their set with "Stone In Love" ... I really couldn’t make the connection but the release of their debut CD will give us all the chance to evaluate where they fit in the great scheme of things. From the reaction of a reasonably large crowd they have what it takes. 		Teer with Mick n Dez ..
   

THE PROMISE

The Promise ..
There’s no doubt the sound was a vast improvement on the previous day's and this was underlined when "The Promise" took to the stage. I can’t confess to being their greatest fan as I find them a little too "A.O.R by Numbers" but "Kiss Me And Kill Me" did stand out from the rest of the set. Being forced to use backing tapes, due to their keyboard player quitting the band only weeks prior to "Gods", didn’t help either but they came through that problem well on the day.
 
Johnny Lima

JOHNNY LIMA
Alright Wigan – Are you ready – Please welcome all the way from the U.S.A. – David Lee Lima!! Sorry, just getting carried away there as did Johnny Lima. Glam, Good time, Party, Cockrock – what ever you want to call it you either love or hate it. However, you have to take your hat off to this guy. Strip away all the lipstick and hairspray and the music is very average. The full package is far more impressive, although a little less cabaret and more music would have been nice.
 

STUART SMITH
Quite the opposite would apply for Stuart Smith’s set. The heavy Rainbow overtones and a cover of "Deep Purple’s" "Speed King" says it all. Kelly Hansen is a wonderful vocalist but with the dated material it became a tedious set, with one exception – "Do You Ever Think Of Me" is a classic tune. It doesn’t matter if you have Mr. Smith’s, the "Message" or the "Unruly Child" version, it’s a slab of timeless A.O.R and live it was done justice to.
EMERALD RAIN
"Emerald Rain" have been tipped to de-throne the mighty "Harem Scarem" now they are a pop rock act. Some how I don’t think so!
As a young band they have a very credible debut under their belts and by all accounts the follow up is superb (I have not heard it yet!). My complaint is that the vocals are somewhat mono tone, but on the debut album and live, whereas Harry Hess is a great singer, visually "E.R." kick ass and are as tight as an Arsenal defence! 		Emerald Rain ..
"Broken Saviours" has a killer riff as does all the material they played. Certainly the crowd loved them and with this, their second "Gods" appearance, they could build a sizeable following in Europe.
I hope so, as tonight they worked hard to win new fans.
 
Stan Bush ..

STAN BUSH
Never in all my days did I ever imagine Stan Bush playing these shores – But here we are. Would he live up to the high regard in which I hold him. Yes, is the short answer. I know it’s been hard to follow the high standard set by the first "Barrage" album but live "Heaven", "Hard To Find An Easy Way", "Promises" and "Love Don’t Come Easy" sounded great. High point of the day was the super ballad "Love Don’t Lie". A special mention must go to "Dante Fox", who backed Stan the Man, as they rocked it up and proved what I’d seen yesterday – A good rock act!
 

TEN
And so to the day's headliners "Ten". Once again we were treated to some good old fashioned British style rock. Now with Don Airey filling the keyboard slot they riffled through a good cross section of material from their numerous (already) releases, "After The Love Has Gone" still being my favourite. Vinny Burns was in superb form as ever but the band suffered from the sheer volume, especially Don Airey.

 Ten ..
 

It’s fair to say that a great weekend’s entertainment was had by one and all. Some argued less on the quantity and more on the quality but no one artist really did any harm to the promotion of total domination of the world by Rock Music. It is certainly alive and well in Wigan.

The Gods review by Jay - Photo’s by Dav - and some courtesy of the bands.

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