Bruce Springsteen once said: “The heart of rock will always remain a primal world of action” and if there’s any bands you could call “primal” and full of action whilst having something to say, it’s both The Virginmarys and Anchor Lane. Having toured earlier this year together as they supported Ricky Warwick and the Fighting Hearts, when The Virginmarys announced another UK headline run, it came as no surprise that their brothers-in-arms would be part of the tour. After kicking off the tour in their spiritual home of Glasgow but without Anchor Lane, tonight is when the tour truly starts.
Huddersfield may not be the Mecca of the UK’s music scene but for any discerning music fan, it was for this evening as both bands brought their enthusiastic fans with many of us there for both. However, we were subjected to openers, Kill the Silence first. There to warm up the crowd, the half hour set leaves the crowd even colder than they started with their sloppy and uninspiring performance as a Poundland version of My Chemical Romance. Whilst we’re asked to open up circle pits, there’s nothing heavy enough to warrant even bouncing along, let alone a full-blown pit. There’s a sales pitch of getting their new EP for free but frankly, that’s still too expensive. We’ve been subjected to some dreadful openers for The Virginmarys such as Florence Beige, Hands Off Gretel and Dig Lazarus and that joins their ranks.
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Thankfully, it’s not long before Anchor Lane come swinging in to rescue the night. Pulling no punches and on the form of their lives, their short set (which could have been longer if not for the openers) is packed with energy from the start and there’s not a pause for breath. As the entire set is comprised of songs from their upcoming album, Call This a Reality?, it shows the belief the band have in the songs as well as their quality.
As the delightfully filthy “Choke” opens the set, the bouncy “Stutter” soon follows and before the first song is finished, they’ve already left their mark, the last band long forgotten about. The grungy, dark “Ministry” drops a gear before the album’s title track picks it back up. Sounding even more mature than than before, the forward-facing sound is even more modern than what Casino was in today’s landscape. Rich melodies blend with catchy choruses which is perfect for the pop-fuelled “The Mischievous Song”. As bouncy as it’s ever been, it’s the most fun song of the evening before the hell-for-leather finale of “I Don’t Have Another Soul to Pour”. Taking every song which preceded it and throwing it into a blender, it’s a perfect crescendo for the trio. Inevitably, they set a high bar for the evening with a career-high performance, suitably warming us up for what follows.
Much like their touring partners, Ally Dickaty and Danny Dolan aren’t messing around. Opening with this year’s “The Meds”, their statement of intent is clear: The Virginmarys are back on the road doing what they do best. Exuding power and confidence as they put in their most career-spanning set to date, early songs like “Thousand Times” blend seamlessly with new numbers like “NYC” and “Where Are You Now”.
Meanwhile, mainstays “Into Dust” and “Dead Man’s Shoes” have an early airing before they dust off some favourites that have been missing for some time. “Dressed to Kill” allows both the band and the raucous crowd to take a breather before the revamped “Through the Sky” pushes the pedal back to the floor. The thrashy Sitting Ducks cut has been revamped to bring a hint of pop panache to it, the atmospheric melody sitting well with Ally’s angst-ridden vocals.
Whilst it’s mainly about hard-charging rock for the evening, Danny gets a welcome breather as Ally delivers a couple of acoustic numbers with “Sleep” and “Ever Closer”, the closing track of The Devil Keeps Coming. As Danny sits on the floor, he’s like everyone else in the room, transfixed in awe of his brother as Ally delivers these tender, heart-rending numbers.
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It’s a relentless assault for the second half of the set as the thunderous “Running For My Life”, the bouncy “Northwest Coast and groove-filled “Devil Keeps Coming” follow. Self Medication’s “Brothers” brings a dark vibe to the set, the doom-ridden number shows the full versatility of Danny as a drummer and it’s impossible to take your eyes off him. With some of the best and heaviest tracks left for the end, allowing the band and crowd to dig into their reserves, the power duo bring it all for the finale of “Ends Don’t Mend”. The bluesiest track in their arsenal, it sees Ally and Danny in perfect sync with each other. Much like Danny on “Brothers”, it’s impossible to look away from Ally’s guitar work on this song as he pour his entire soul into the fretwork on this one. It’s a welcome return for this song and whilst traditional closer “Bang Bang Bang” is missing, this is a fitting crescendo.
Tours like this don’t come along very often but somehow, we got this combination of bands twice in less than a year. As The Virginmarys and Anchor Lane represent their own unique brand of unapologetic rock, finding two bands with higher quality is an impossible task. Both bands continue to be true to themselves, sonically they complement each other exceptionally well and whilst it should never be a competition between bands on a tour, they each encourage one another to put on a better performance than the last. Both bands are a show of brotherhood and camaraderie and it’s shared as touring partners, too, making this the best Virginmarys tour to date.
The Virginmarys: official | facebook | twitter | instagram | spotify | youtube | store
Anchor Lane: official | facebook | twitter | soundcloud | youtube | store
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