Tony Steele and The Massacre

Needless to say, it's nice to be on the guest-list for a Cast gig however, Ralph's primary mission was to check out the support act on the evening Tony Steele and The Massacre whose new single was previewed on the blog late last year. let's face it, Cast are hardly going to be struggling for reviews.

They are currently embarking on a 20th-anniversary tour and this evening they were taking The Citadel Theatre in St Helens by storm. Not too difficult a task that being said as the audience was mainly made up of gentlemen of a certain age who were long time fans (some probably from John Power's Las' days) and had spent most of the evening previously in the bar. 



To their detriment as it happens, as Tony Steele and The Massacre played an immaculate set of well-crafted songs, some Americana-esque some just plain rockin' it out. Whilst the pre-Cast crowd was relatively small they quickly warmed to the band and Tony in particular, as he put every ounce of his energy into the set.

Kicking off with the slightly psychedelic Americana-style Feel Love they showed that they'd formed a well drilled, tight unit. Tony's rough-edged vocal bringing the song to life. It was quickly followed by a slightly countrified track called A Ballad Of Dead Love which bounced into a skiffle vibe that Lonnie Donnegan would have been proud of.

With thanks to @BazzaMills for the photograph

I'm Back Home was reminiscent of early Faces tracks around the time of the classic Long Player album and again Tony's vocal carried it to a higher level and that was carried through into the more upbeat, crowd-pleasing One More Chance with its folky, rebel song vibe.

Next up, Along The Right Track had a feel of The Animals to it before turning into a real foot-stomper and the band proving they were committed to their craft with solid musicality throughout. 





Penultimate track Fake Love had a cross-over Americana feel again, with shades of The Eagles brought up to date by being infused with Daughtry-like guitar and drums.

Finishing with a bit of a rock 'n' rolla Tony's strong, individual vocalising brought Bound to Collide to life and left me wondering how long it will be before Tony Steele and The Massacre take their rightful place as the headline act on a bigger stage.

Welcome Pariah

The name of the band may be a bit of an oxymoron but Southampton band Welcome Pariah play music you certainly wont want to cast out.  You can even use an oxymoron to describe their music as as contemporary psychedelic.  

There's an obvious 60's influence and it comes to the fore in their new single 'Neither Here Nor There' released on the 26th April in tandem with a video launch party at The Macbeth in Shoreditch, London.  From the intro its a psychedelic trip with hints of The Beatles if Paul Weller had joined them to write 'Norweigan Wood'.

The debut release marks an exciting time for Southampton based Welcome Pariah who currently have a number of top gigs and established festival slots lined up for the summer months ahead in 2013 and who have also recently been interviewed and featured in none other than The Huffington Post.

Citing their influences as The Verve, The La’s, Paul Weller, Doves, The Stone Roses, The Who and The Beatles to name a few, Welcome Pariah have shared the stage with the likes of Steve Cradock, Chris Helme, Mark Morris and British indie rock outfit The Moons, as well as performed at a number of mainstream festivals.

Welcome Pariah are John Waghorn - vocals/lead guitar, Josh Butcher - vocals/guitar, Daniel Manuel - bass guitar and John Martin - drummer. C

urrently working on new material for upcoming shows they're shortly due to head back into the studio to record more tracks. Those who have seen Welcome Pariah live find it hard to pinpoint their exact sound, so be sure to check them out in the coming months and get hold of their debut track too! Here's a list of their upcoming dates.

Upcoming Gigs

25th April – RMA Tavern, Portsmouth

26th April – This Feeling Club Night, The Macbeth, London

27th April - The Essex Arms, Brentwood

10th May – This Feeling Club Night, Cellar, Southampton

11th May – Pulse Festival, Sunnyfields Farm, Hampshire

17th May- Lennons, Supporting Catfish and the Bottlemen, Southampton

24th May – Coburgs, Ryde, Isle of Wight

25th May – The Tap, Sandown, Isle of Wight

8th June –  The Adam & Eve, Scooterists For Heroes, Birmingham

14/15th June – March Of The Mods Festival, Santa Pod Raceway, Wellingborough

21st June- The Fiddlers Elbow, Cool Britannia, Camden, London

29th June – The Good Ship, Kilburn, London

19/20/21st July – Tonefest, Dorset

26th July -Gabefest 5, Hampshire

2nd August – Frolic Fest, Kent

The Cornerstones

Last time I brought you news of The Cornerstones they were getting some great radio plays for their singles 'Stand In Line' and 'Smack Me In The Face' and had landed a major gig supporting former Stone Roses and Ian Brown guitarist Aziz Ibrahim back in September of last year.  'Smack Me On The Face' is currently a favourite on the playlist of French radio station Radio KC.

Well latest news is, they've done it again!  This time they supported Liverpudlian John Power who is a singer songwriter and musician who has been at the top of his game since he stepped onto the scene with The La's in second half of the 80's. During his 5 years with them, not only did he prove himself as an excellent musician, he also emerged as an excellent songwriter, something that would truly be realised following his departure from the band in 1991, as the following year he formed Cast where he was frontman.






They went on to have four excellent albums and a string of hit singles over a ten year period until they split in 2002. Following this split, he embarked on a solo career which has seen him deliver three further solo albums.  In 2010, it was announced they would reform and in March of last year released their fifth album 'Troubled Times' to the delight of fans and critics alike. 







This was a show not to be missed and a chance to see the supreme talents and musicianship of John Power up close and personal.  The opportunity to support John shows the pedigree The Cornerstones have achieved now and I'm certain it wont be long before they're headlining their own shows.

The Cornerstones have had several different line ups over the last seven years but feel they've now reached the final blend of musical niceness.  One constant over the years has been the partnership between singer/songwriter Richard Ruth and lead guitarist and co-writer Dan Bennion.  They've been joined by drummer Ryan Pincott and Kyle Radbone on bass to give the band a fuller more current sound.







They're playing The Sallynoggin Inn, Dublin on the 5th Oct on a Charity night that includes Starsailor.  So if you're over in Ireland check out 'Stand In Line' and get your tickets for the 5th Oct!