Here we are again back at Bannermans, Edinburgh, for a touch of Ginger Wildheart and the Sinners touring on the back of their fantastic self titled debut album. First up, though, we have Boss Caine (aka Daniel Lucas) with a solo acoustic set.
He opens up with a couple from his The Rhythm and the Rhyme album starting with the haunting “Ghosts and Drunks” followed by the more upbeat “Truckstop Jukebox”. He has a rich baritone voice which has hints of Dylan meets early Springsteen with a pinch of Johnny Cash thrown in for good measure. We have a touch of the bouncing “Father Time” next before we hear some “High Hopes” and “If There is a Hell”. The full tones of his voice come through so well on “Going for a Song”, and he ends a short but amazingly deep set with “Better Ways to get Free” from his 2018 album Loved by Trouble, Troubled by Love.
I was blown away by his set, a fantastic voice and fabulous tunes. I’m definitely going to be listening a bit more to his back catalogue. Catch his on the Sinners tour if you can as he was a joy to listen to. He may be a “bit country” but he is a little bit rock n’ roll as well.
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Next up we have the main act themselves, Ginger Wildheart and the Sinners, who open up new tune “The Road”. Instantly you know it’s going to be a great night as they move into “That Smile” from the new album with its almost Monkees-like intro before you hear a hint of the old Wildhearts. It is a wonderful, bouncy track with on-point vocal harmonies.
The “Key of Love” takes us nicely into a countryfied version of Status Quo’s “Dirty Water” and, you know what, it works. As a long time Quo fan I thoroughly enjoyed this reworking of a Quo classic. We get another cover next, the Georgia Satellites’ “Six Years Gone” with an added real dirty swagger, a sound like the Faces meets the Satellites.
There is a real swagger in this band, with stunning vocal harmonies (swapping vocal duties between Ginger and Neil Ivison), the laid back bass lines coming from Nick Lyndon and the perfect drum fills coming from Shane Dixon. The whole band are a real joy to watch in this packed out sweaty venue. The laid back country sounds of “Lately, Always” takes us nicely into the bouncy “Wasted Times”.
New tune “Walk of Shame” then takes us into another couple of tasty covers starting with a cracking version of Little Feat’s “Willin'” followed by Nazareth’s “Broken Down Angel”. Another new one, “Arms of Love”, takes us into the smooth rhythms of “Not the Staying Kind” before we see some “Footprints in the Sand” with its vague hint of Springsteen meets Tom Petty.
Unfortunately the set had to be cut a little short due to ongoing in ear monitor issues meaning that we missed out on a couple of songs that others on the tour will have enjoyed. Otherwise this show was an absolute joy to watch and listen to, with The Sinners possibly my favourite Ginger Wildheart band so far. I absolutely loved tonight’s performance as did the packed out Bannermans crowd.
The new album is a great piece of work, and live it just sounds fabulous with a truly inspired band full of outstanding musicians and vocal harmonies to die for. Go catch them when you can and get that album.
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Photos by Gary Cooper
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