Despite these guys having been together for eight years, it was the first time I had ever seen them live, and they were as entertaining as I expected them to be, playing a mixture from their new album and previous EP’s.

Ship’s Not Sinking from the Rather Be Dreaming EP was a highlight, as were tracks from the band’s debut album Try Everything 2wice- Yesterday, Today and Forever, and In Different Colours. I noticed several people in the crowd singing along to every word, so they clearly have a big local following.

New tune 77 Miles was played, and was one of the standout tracks of the set- the guys clearly love to be on stage and seemed to enjoy every minute of it.

The closing song, a cover of AC/DC’s Rock N’ Roll Damnation really showed the band’s classic rock influences, and they were a more than worthy choice of support.
Apparently they will be gigging regularly from now on, so if you get an opportunity, check Pay*ola out.

Buckcherry are currently enjoying something of a renaissance after splitting up for a while in the early 2000’s, and after gigs like this, it’s easy to see why they got back together.

Josh Todd jumped around the stage endlessly, (admirable considering the heat), and it was great to see the crowd so responsive, with plenty of people crammed into the first few rows.

Fall and Porno Star, both from the Timebomb album, were well received; however it was undoubtedly tracks from the band’s self-titled debut and current album Fifteen that went down the best. Check Your Head was one of my favourites, with a lot of people singing along to the chorus, while Lawless And Lulu, as someone commented to me, is guaranteed to put anyone in a good mood.

For The Movies slowed the pace down temporarily, but only briefly, and it was the only break from the relentless rock and roll the band laid on.

Tracks from Fifteen made up the bulk of the set, with songs such as So Far, Onset and current single Next 2 You all being performed brilliantly, but obviously it was Crazy Bitch that got the best response- definitely one of the best moments of the gig, as we suspected it would be.

Some of Josh Todd’s between-song stage banter was a tad cheesy (eg. ‘Follow your dreams!’), and he clearly suscribes to the Scott Weiland school of be-as-emaciated-looking-as-possible; however I am probably just being picky and cynical… after all, the fact that that is the only bad points I can come up with shows how good the music was.

Naturally the closing song was Lit Up. It could never have been anything else, really. Even the recorded version of this song makes me want to jump up and down and scream along, so live it was even better and a fantastic way to end the set.

It was a shame that the band didn’t come back on for an encore, but all in all we definitely went home impressed, and let’s hope Buckcherry make it back over here in the future.
8/10
Suzie