HAVE YOUR SAY

21st July

"ACE/DC took their show to the place where you can check out but 
neverleave, at least not till 3am   Playing last in the three tribute band 
bill styled as 'The Gladiators Of Rock' His name is Angus Maximus 
Volumus,father to a murdered 'A' flat and by God he had his 
vengeance in thislife, never mind waiting for the next. 

The lads pulled off a memorable victory.
Openers 'Tallica served up a reasonable
facsimile of their soundalikes, despite the fact the singer looked more
like Lars Ulrich than Hetfield. I would probably have looked more
 favorably On Maiden had they not taken an ice age to set up, 
including a drum kitso large that Nicko McBrain was probably drafted 
in to play half of it. Unfortunately with the time ticking onto gone 2am, 
many of the audience were heading unconscious.

Then Woody pounded out the opening of the obligatory 'Livewire'.
I gotmy front and centre spec next to the bass player out of 'Tallica 
who turned out to be a big a 'DC' freak.  With the set trimmed down to 
an hour the classics flew out, and those lingering near the bar were 
tempted further forward to chant along with 'Highway To Hell' and a 
cracking 'High Voltage'.  My personal fave 'Dirty Deeds' got a good 
response as well.

 Thelads encored with just '....Rosie'. Then it was time to pickmyself up
 off the floor and disentangle myself from 'Cliff Burton' and more
attractively the, er, milf, in the tight white dress who was throwing 
herself around at the front. All in all a great night.


Review by King Cnut"

14th May

"Imagine Tony Iommi going back to play the Dog & Duck in Aston or Edward Van Halen gigging at the Whiskey on Sunset Strip, in front of people they’ve known for years.

Now imagine their heads are scraping the ceiling as they play.

Oh, and they’re dressed as a schoolboy.

That was the scenario for returning hometown axe hero Ste ‘Angus’ Byatt last night as ACE/DC played the Zoo Café Bar in St Helens. As the crowd got the ales in and prepared to rock out there was a definite air of anticipation for what was, let’s not forget, the band’s only second ever performance.

Finally, a fashionably ten minutes late, the rhythm section of other Ste and Ian pounded out the thumping intro to ‘Livewire’. From somewhere in the bowels (possibly literally, in the toilet) of the venue the clanging opening notes could be heard, then Byatt hits the stage, all hair, teeth and a big shinola eating grin on his face, followed swiftly by Mike ‘Bon’ McCartney, resplendent in classic cut off denim top and jeans.

Beer is spilt, hands punch the air and suddenly we’re doing a ‘Life On Mars’, only it’s 1978 and it’s screeching guitar and vocals instead of screeching tyres and shooters. After the briefest pauses the band fire into ‘Shot Down In Flames’ and ‘Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be’, flames and hell being the operative words cos it’s like an oven down the front.

A scorching ‘Dirty Deeds…’ follows, the audience taking over from Mike as the volume levels go one louder, and threaten to go way beyond the mythical 11.

‘Down payment Blues’ and ‘The Jack’ give the band and audience a bit of a breather pace-wise and also gives our Angus and Bon the chance to explore the back-passage (so to speak) which takes them to the stairs and back down to the audience. Given that the stage is at the end of what’s basically a corridor, every bit of room is utilised for their frequent forays into the crowd so everyone gets a good look at the frontman and guitarist while bass and drums, natch, stay rooted to the stage nailing down that beat.

A rampant ‘High Voltage’ takes us into the break and the band disappear for a bit of R&R or whatever goes on back there. In fact that’s my only tiny criticism, that the break went on a bit and a bit of momentum was lost. Also that I had to put up with two ‘kids’ whining along with ‘Sweet Child O’Mine’ even though they probably were barely born when it came out, never mind being a twitch in their dad’s pants, when Bon was fronting the real thing. But that’s just me being an old git!

Eventually, Byatt and McCartney finished up their game of backgammon and removed the smoking jackets, Woody finished folding large pieces of meat into woefully inappropriate pieces of bread and Ste avoided spontaneously combustion, and the band re-emerged to ‘Rock & Roll Damnation’, double whammied with a rapturous ‘Highway To Hell’.

Byatt by now was sweating like a guilty priest and was removing clothing at a rate of knots. Yes, including the shorts; made more impressive as he was soloing and walking down the stairs at the time. Old faves ‘Problem Child’ and ‘Kicked In The Teeth’ were reeled off before Mike singled out the unfortunate pretty young barmaid who had chosen ‘Girls Got Rhythm’ to try and retrieve some more beer from the storeroom. His leer as they emerged told it’s own story!But then she went back for more (ice) and was cornered by Mike and Byatt. I hope she got a good tip that’s all I can say….

‘Let There Be Rock’ was another crowd sing-along before an incendiary ‘Riff Raff’ finished the set proper, Byatt peeling out the notes with a manic grin on his face. After the shortest of breaks, (no time for backgammon I guess), ‘If You Want Blood’ was the first encore, before the inevitable chants of ‘Angus’ preceded a frenzied ‘…Rosie’ the crowd bouncing around like a hyperactive spacehopper.

We all know rock n’roll is about having a good time (all of the time), and these boys seemed like they were having as good a time as the audience which says it all. Seeing as the real thing won’t be back on the road this side of Christmas, do yourself a favour and get down to an ACE/DC show rolling into a town near you. In the words of the song these boys have got the biggest balls of all and the show to back them up!" Stainto

"You guys were amazing." Griff

"Hey Mike,,,,that gig at the zoo was well cool....and i put that gig up with one of the best i have seen at The Zoo......Loads of energy from you guys and to hear the old classics Whole Lotta Rosie/Highway To Hell ect took me back to my rock nights at the Geraldo and Mr M's at Wigan ,and all you aged rockers out there will know those rock venues LOL.
Well done mike and the guys ,lookin forward to seein you again ,and i will defo come and watch you at your next gig .....Lynne just had to tell you thanks for a great night all the lads did a great gig am hoarse this morning long time since i sang `the jack` was done like the `live from atlantic`...she gave me the queen...loved every minute i will back in sept and birkenhead if i can get there." James

"What a Gig, What a Band, you've cracked it this time Bud.

Please pass my congrats on to the lads. Couldn't fault it mate a really well rehearsed, tight and enjoyable show. You always play your best when you are having fun and I could tell how much you were enjoying yourself.

Ste Doyle, what can I say excellent, Woody always solid, Ian an Ste provide a real solid backbone for yourself and Mike (What a frontman).

Oh and last but not least a great job on the desk from Dave T. Thanks again ste you made an old rocker very happy.

Good luck for Friday at the White Hart See you soon Buddy"

Al

"Hiya Steve,

just thought I'd write and tell you how much I enjoyed the Zoo bar last night. We've had some really good bands on there in the last couple of years but you guys rocked the joint like it's never been rocked. Fantastic.

Cheers Dave"

"As hot as hell.Unbelieveable show"

"You're bigger than Angus...I mean bigger like tall...Ok and maybe a little heavy.. can't take it away from you though that playing was something special"

April 27th

" It was like being back in the empire in the'70s. What a night. Cheers"

"This was not a pub band gig it was a real big venue show. We can't wait to see this again."

"Alright, we are in a band and we came to laugh. Got to say we forgot. What a party no guitar competitions or music anoraks here you came to rock and there was rock"

" Ohh may goooooodddd what have I booked. These guys should be in the MEN Arena. The bar won't take it..." Griff from the Zoo Bar

"The Band opened up to very knowledgeable AC/DC following.

Mike on lead vocals was impressive. His delivery and energy together with his crowd interaction is always going to be one of the band strongest assets. Song after song was delivered in a style that even someone with very little appreciation of AC/DC (my self included) could not fail to be impressed.

The Rusty/Byatt combo was, as ever, very tight and faultless. Steve’s guitar sound was excellent and managed without the usual array of effects pedals and provided an authentic AC/DC sound. Rusty's Bass was delivered in his usual relaxed and almost effortless style. Ste on drums gave a solid performance and ensured that the overall performance was one of the tightest professional sets I have seen performed at a small Pub venue.

This Band is definitely a must see for the AC/DC fan.

The Sound engineer also deserves special mention. The mix/vocal was managed to perfection which couldn’t have been easy given the size of the room.

The downside of the tribute band scene is that by definition it will always appeal to a limited market.  I strongly suspect that the majority of the vast army of AC/DC fans of the 70’s are now either:

1.Too Brain damaged to venture out alone safely

2.Swapped their vinyl albums and denim for 2.4 kids and suburbia

3.Dead

I hope I am proved wrong but I suspect that ACE/DC has a limited shelf life as a result of trying to appeal to a very limited following. I say I hope I am proved wrong because the band obviously enjoyed playing the set; a return to the old format would mean more rock fans would be able to appreciate the versatility and true professional musicianship"

by

Dave N

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Ey up guys,

Looking forward to checking you guys out in Warrington on the 27th, still debating whether to recreate my Angus Young-er Budweiser look, a few more tinnies will tip it.

In the meanwhile, check out this lad out, he's the son of one of me missus's mates. I would bring him along to the gig but he lives in Switzerland, so.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXACXprUekk

Be lucky!

Stainto

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Yo Byatt

Hows it goin?

Just downloaded the tracks from the website, awesome dude! Really lookin forward to seein you live. Really impressed with Mc Chutney sounds uncannily like the real thing.. Spooky

Se ya soon A.J.R