This was the 40 years of Howling Mad Shitheads tour celebrating 4 decades of the one and only line-up of Brit Metal stalwarts Wolfsbane, who were playing at the 100 club for the first time and had ram packed the venue, by the time we arrived to catch the tail end of opening act The Dead Can Wait's set of classic old school heavy rock.
The singer was going on about being Misled while we were at the bar getting a drink and the twin guitar attack was letting rip with some proper duelling guitar histrionics. Living A Lie was built around some colossal drumming and punchy bass with howled vocals that were bitter twisted and angry in the right proportions, they closed with the bands theme song The Dead Can Wait that was obsessed with ghosts and skeletons and super nifty guitar solos and a bass solo, while the band all took a solo, allowing the singer to introduce everyone, they left the stage to loud applause.
After the break and with the packed crowd totally up for it, welcoming on the stage Tamworth's hardest rockers Wolfsbane, no longer the young pretty boys they once were, guitarist Jason Edwards was helped on stage and these days plays sitting down, Blaze Bayley then stalked the stage getting everyone going from the opening bars of Load Me Down they were howling in our faces and powerfully tight.
Blaze let us in on the Lifestyles Of The Broke And Obscure all the heartbreak and cheap beer, scrabbling to pay the bills and play the biggest riffs and tunes you can while celebrating the re-issue of The White album it comes from.
Steve Danger sounded like his drumsticks might have been as hard as Steel while they riveted this song into our brains and most of the audience sang along. Spit It Out was super course with Jeff Hateley attacking his bass and bouncing around like he was 15 years younger than the rest of the band. Blaze was then worried that he might have been followed into this basement by a bunch of Zombies and if the audience didn't sing along enough this would be that, thankfully everyone joined in and were howling mad as always.
Blaze made crystal clear just how thankful he was that everyone showed up and urged us to be totally in the moment listening this his Beautiful Lies and encouraging us to buy the new re-issue of the White Album while Jason's guitar was blistering, playing both the rhythm and lead parts on guitar. Wings appeared to have far less to do with Macca than the other gig I saw this week, in parts threatened to go full lighters in the air ballad, but Wolfsbane rock too hard for that, wanting to be back in Nottingham living Rock City Lives once more, the 100 club went mental for this anthem almost everyone was fist pumping and singing along.
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Blaze then accused everyone of being totally crazy following a band like this for 40 years Loco is the bands tribute to the fans and the lifestyle they have embraced, one classic riff at a time. Blaze was then encouraging everyone who has seen How it's Done to go out and do it themselves and to keep the music scene alive by showing up and buying tickets. Blaze then gave us a history lesson in how many times they played at the two best known iterations of The Marquee Club on Wardour St and Charing Cross Road and having outlasted both those classic Hot sweaty venues are now checking the temperature to see if it's warm enough to play I Like It Hot which sizzled with intent and was a contender for biggest loudest sing along of the night, the place went mental.
In this legendary musical shrine it was time to pray at the Temple Of Rock that perfectly rocking riff and demented drumming with Blaze stalking the stage screaming out the vocals. Smoke And Red Light was the first song that easily described Wolfsbane at the 100 Club playing on a red walled stage and bathed in red light that might have had something to do with the filthy sex Blaze’s T-shirt was advertising.
Then all hell was breaking loose, on the true story of the abduction and murder of Kathy Wilson in 1988, her body was discovered a year later buried in the woods, her killers still haven't been caught, Blaze used some of the Lines from Invaders from Mars for the lyrics, this was spooky and heartfelt. They had to launch a Manhunt to find the body, that was the rip-roaring anthem totally intense and celebratory.
All Or Nothing was like the attitude they brought to the stage, they were giving it everything and the audience responded in kind. Blaze told us it was time to take it easy baby and EZY was the closest they came to an old school love song, with the band intros and thanks to everyone for showing up to see the Howling Mad Four at forty tour, before they closed the show telling us to Paint The Town Red someone had beaten them too it at the 100 Club, it didn't matter, everyone sang along and at the end they got a huge cheers and thanked us all again and said goodnight at the end of a classic Wolfsbane set.
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