It’s been a long time since Airbourne gave the UK a proper rattling and in true Airbourne fashion, they’re going all out, headlining two festivals in the UK across two weekends and a whole host of shows across the country in some great venues and towns. And tonight, it’s the turn of Wolverhampton’s (and the Midlands) best venue – KK’s Steel Mill. Despite not reappearing with a new album, their presence on the UK circuit has been missed, especially judging by the droves of people coming out on a Tuesday night. The venue is rammed for some unadulterated hard rock.
Florence Black shuffle onto the stage for a lethargic performance. It’s been four years since I was last subjected to them and two since I heard their debut album which had about as much depth as a paddling pool. Time hasn’t improved them, they still play bland paint-by-numbers hard rock in a power trio format minus the power, sounding like how you’d imagine dust tastes. But at least they’ve got the trio bit down as there only appears to be three people onstage. As a band who are more used to playing clubs, on this bigger stage they look lost and uncomfortable, unsure of what to do with the extra space. None of the Welsh trio are particularly proficient in their instrument of choice and when combined with tired lyrics and that they don’t play as a unit, it makes this a slog to endure. Indeed, for a band as energetic as tonight’s headliners, this doesn’t move the needle.
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The PA blasts “Run to the Hills”, into “Ace of Spades” and lastly “(We Are) The Road Crew”, the latter of which is cut short. And if you’re cutting off a Motörhead song, you’d best have a good reason. In this case, it’s the traditional Terminator theme signalling the arrival of tonight’s headliners. And instead of exploding onto the stage, instead, they just appear. Airbourne are back and as always, taking no prisoners, opening with the incredibly appropriate “Ready to Rock” and setting out their stall for the next ninety minutes. But it’s Airbourne, at this point in their career, you know exactly what you’re going to get.
The crowd match the band’s bottomless energy with the pit in full flow the entire time, stopping only for moments when Joel O’Keeffe addresses the crowd. It may have been almost four years since their last visit but the Aussies haven’t slowed the pace in the slightest, instead, it’s a set which feels even more manically energetic than it was before. “Back in the Game”, which for Airbourne’s standards, is hardly a slouch, has been sped up and now feels frantic. There’s a couple of omissions from No Guts. No Glory which would have gone down well and not playing “Steel Town” in an old steel mill is a bit of an open goal. But when you’ve got that many standards and didn’t really get the chance to tour your late 2019 album, you’re going to cull the material from the weakest album.
There might be a different line-up since their last full UK trek but they still play as a formidable force, blasting their way through their baker’s dozen setlist. Built on the back of their love of no-frills hard rock, they still know how to deliver in the live environment. As the setlist staples are played out with newer songs from Boneshaker, it’s also the other parts of the show which are every bit standards as the songs themselves. Countless beers are thrown (and caught) into the crowd, Joel O’Keeffe wanders the crowd on the shoulders of one of the road crew before smashing open a can of beer on his head (which covers myself and several others), “Live it Up” is introduced with an air raid siren and Lemmy is constantly, and rightly so, deified, finished by the usual serving of pints of Jack Daniel’s and Coke to the crowd.
As high-octane rock goes, Airbourne have always been one of the best and continue to be. They continue to be a potent force, serving up a plateful of meat and potatoes rock whilst teaching other bands how to put on an entertaining show without theatrics, relying on sheer energy and love of their job and genre. Whilst their popularity seems to have plateaued in recent years, those who are there still love it as much as when it was a breath of fresh air when they were in the process of gaining traction. The few years away have served them well as it’s a stark reminder of when executed as well as this, unfettered rock and roll will always have a place.
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Pics by SRK Lens
