Sweet // Troy Redfern // Live Review // Cheese & Grain // Frome
The wind howls, the rain pours and four generations of Sweet fans shuffle through the night into The Cheese & Grain for an evening of “Sweet Rock n’ Roll”. It says it on the T shirts so it must be true. The age range of the crowd here tonight shows the timeless appeal of the band’s legacy and it really is encouraging to see and, brings a vague sense of hope for the future of live entertainment.
First up we have British blues slide guitar legend Troy Redfern. He epitomises the term ‘ cool ‘ with long dark hair, tattoos, a wide-brimmed hat, and a low-slung resonator guitar. With drummer Paul Annis standing up throughout the entire set, they hit the stage with a brand new song Shakin which has a gnarly blues swagger and a raw power that hits you straight in the gut. While mixing elements of Delta blues greats such as Robert Johnson with the Texas drawl of Blaze Foley, the music and vocals carry the raw energy of bands such as Quireboys and Dogs D’Amour. With its swelling tribal drums and chorus-laden guitars, Native from the new album Invocation brings elements of The Cult and The Mission into the mix. Dark Religion is a dark brooding beast of a track with its infectiously catchy hooks while Waiting For Your Love is a classic balls-to-the-wall sing-along rocker. While the musicianship is tight, the performance polished and the sound chugging along like a freight train headed straight to the face, it is all too apparent that the lack of a bassist tonight strips away any depth to the songs. While well executed, the guitar solos lack that all-important backbone. This is evidenced on the final track Sanctify. The album version of this song is amazing but tonight lacks that all-important dynamic and soul during the solo. While still a brilliant set, I would have preferred seeing it perform in all its full band glory.
Setlist:
Shakin
Taking my soul
Native
Dark Religion
Waiting for your love
Sanctify
—–
Review: Steve Gibbons
Photography: Emma Painter
TROY REDFERN
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | SPOTIFY
TWITTER | LINKTREE | BANDCAMP | YOUTUBE
Due to the ongoing health issues of their leader, Sweet are to perform without any original members of Sweet on stage. With Andy Scott being the sole surviving member of the original band, the rumblings of some of the crowd in the bar make it clear that they are far from happy with his absence tonight with some even stating that had they known, they wouldn’t have booked tickets. Approximately 30 seconds into the intro of the opening track Action, all naysayers were silenced and everyone in the ¾ full venue knew they were in for a great night. With Andy Scott too ill to tour, guitar duties are being covered by FM guitarist Jim Kirkpatrick who slots in perfectly. Action leads straight into Hellraiser with the crowd in full and fine voice, the anthemic choruses filling the air. Paul Manzi’s lead vocals are perfect as are the harmonies provided by bassist Lee Small and rhythm guitarist Tom Cory and showcase the all to often underrated brilliance of the sound the original band created. It is at this point Paul addresses the elephant in the room of the band being without their guitarist and founder and begins to explain the situation. A roar goes up from the crowd and in as much of a surprise to the band as it is to the audience, Andy Scott is assisted onto the stage by his wife. He explains that he has had to reluctantly take medical advice and abstain from touring but assures us that he will return and that we can’t get rid of him that easily. With hugs from all of his bandmates, he leaves the stage to rapturous applause to let the show proceed.
Having just released the new album Full Circle, we are treated to 2 tracks from it tonight and it is refreshing how easily the songs fit into a setlist that spans over 5 decades. Don’t Bring Me Water is an upbeat radio-friendly stomper reminiscent of Bad Company or Foreigner while Destination Hannover is a superb Sammy Hagar-era Van Halen vibe rock classic with a killer guitar riff.
With the new stuff done, we’re back to the classics and all of the hits are here with fans young and old singing along. Set Me Free is a particular highlight and showcases how well the band harmonise together and the guitar work is nothing short of stunning. With the time-honoured chant of “ WE WANT SWEET” the band fire into Teenage Rampage and the crowd dutifully sing along with gusto. From here on in, it’s non-stop sing-along classics and Love Like Oxygen is sublime. Fox On The Run brings the set to a close before the band returns to the stage for the obligatory Blockbuster and Ballroom Blitz encore. It is a testament to the band’s legacy that almost six decades on, people are still filling venues to hear these songs. Long may it continue.
Setlist:
Action
Hellraiser
Burn on the flame
The Six Teens
Don’t bring me water
Destination Hannover
Co-Co/Funny Funny/ Poppa Joe
Circus
Set me free
Windy city
AC/DC
Teenage rampage
Wig wam bam/Little Willy
Love is like oxygen
Fox on the run
Encore:
Blockbuster
Ballroom Blitz
—–
Review: Steve Gibbons
Photography: Emma Painter
SWEET are
Paul Manzi – Lead Vocals
Lee Small – Bass Guitar/Vocals
Tom Cory – Guitars/Keys/Vocals
Adam Booth -Drums/Percussion
Andy Scott – Guitars/Vocals
SWEET Discography (studio albums)
Funny How Sweet Co-Co Can Be (1971)
Sweet Fanny Adams (1974)
Desolation Boulevard (1974)
Give Us A Wink (1976)
Off The Record (1977)
Level Headed (1978)
Cut Above The Rest (1979)
Waters Edge (1980)
Identity Crises (1982)
A (1992)
The Answer (1995)
Sweetlife (2002)
New York Connection (2012)
Isolation Boulevard (2020)
SWEET Links
https://www.thesweet.com/
https://www.facebook.com/
https://www.instagram.com/
https://www.youtube.com/
https://x.com/i/flow/login?
https://open.spotify.com/intl-
https://music.apple.com/gb/
