The Moshville Times - Gig Review: Wayward Sons / MuddiBrooke – KK’s Steel Mill, Wolverhampton (20th January 2024)

Wayward Sons have been on a bit of an unofficial hiatus for a while now but to kick off 2024, they’ve dusted off the instruments and treated England to a handful of dates over a couple of weekends. And by the time we hit the final night at KK’s Steel Mill, we’re not even three weeks into the year and it’s one of the hottest tickets of the year with the band playing to packed rooms and even selling out Hudderfield’s Parish. So the love for the Sons is very obviously still burning brightly.

And along for the ride on these dates is MuddiBrooke. Bringing a youthful energy to kick off everyone’s Saturday night as they make their KK’s debut, the dark and swaggering opener of “Straitjacket” shows they’re taking no prisoners and out to impress. They had a hell of a 2023 and they’re picking up where they left off to make 2024 even better. On the strength of this performance, it’s a challenge they’re shouldering with ease, recognising that their altrock/grungy wares are very different from tonight’s headliner but what they have in common is authenticity and their passion for their craft. They perform as one solid unit, the chemistry almost tangible while each member of the Derby trio handles their own parts with a high level of proficiency. There’s a moment where vocalist/guitarist Brooke breaks a string and has her swap guitars and re-tune but it’s a moment both she and the band handle with grace (meanwhile Wayward Sons’ Sam Wood restrings the guitar because he’s a top guy like that).

With forty minutes to play with, it’s a fairly standard set the band have been working with for the past year and whilst they’ve teased new material at gigs last year, they rightly play it safe with the songs that existing fans in the crowd (and there’s quite a few) and ones they themselves know inside out. Picking their debut EP clean as well as last year’s “ADHD”, their cover of “You Don’t Own Me” and upcoming single “Float” shows the light and shade the band have. They’re comfortable on the bigger stage than you usually see them on and it shows the growth they’ve had as both Brooke and bassist Anna Melidone use the space afforded to them. Anna’s bass rumbles menacingly throughout, its dark tones meshing with drummer Morgan Pettigrew’s drums flawlessly, his work shaking the foundations of the steel mill. As the gritty “Cellar” signals the finale, it’s a victorious end to a victorious tour.

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The men of the hour arrive, signalled by “Entry of the Gladiators”. It’s fitting given some of the lyrical content we’re about to hear from Toby Jepson’s mouth. As the quartet have poked their head out from under the rock from where they were hiding, once on stage, it’s a different story – it’s a full-blast assault. Wayward Sons are back and they’ve been sorely missed. Tonight, they draw heavily from 2021’s Even Up the Score, an album Jepson admits didn’t get the airing it deserved. Elsewhere, there’s a healthy dose of Ghosts of Yet to Come whilst The Truth Ain’t What it Used to Be and EP Score Settled each have a couple of songs to ensure they’re represented.

Despite being away for the best part of a year and half, they play as if they only took the festive period off. They function as a well-oiled machine, working off each other through sheer instinct as Jepson, Sam Wood and Nic Wastell use every inch of the stage, feeding off the excitement of the crowd. There’s various moments whilst playing where Jepson appears lost in the moment, clearly loving being back on stage, without surrendering to arrogance and still manages to hit every note and sing every word. Jepson also admits at one point to having some trepidation about being back out on the road and if people would show up but it’s obvious his fears are unwarranted.

Having only caught them as a support band with Steel Panther in 2018 and 2020 as well as with Black Star Riders, there was a lot of excitement to finally catch a full-blown show and by the time opening track “Big Day” has finished, they’ve shown they were worth the long, long wait to finally see them at the top of a bill. With the downsizing to a quartet after Dave Kemp’s departure, there’s no longer any keys in the mix and it may be one of the reasons why the more sophisticated The Truth Ain’t What It Used to Be material is sidelined. That said, the numbers from the debut album (which also featured Kemp) come across a lot leaner and fit sonically with the newest songs. The punk tinges which featured on Even Up the Score match with Jepson’s acerbic commentary on the state of the UK and the world at large across the entire catalogue with songs likie “Faith in Fools”, “Punchline” and “Land of the Blind” and Jepson admits to not get him started because he won’t stop. And frankly, who could blame him?

There’s a tremendous level of musicality from the band, as tight as they could possibly be which is reflected in Jepson admitting their run tonight of “Looking For the Punchline” is the first time he’s made it to the end without making a mistake. Elsewhere, the ever-smiling guitarist Sam Wood is much like Phil Campbell or Scott Gorham – effortlessly cool whilst slinging his guitar and it’s never more obvious than when he leads the charge on “Crush”. Bassist Wastell and drummer Phil “Martini” Martin lock in for a thrilling display and sound of rhythm working in perfect harmony with each other. There’s an understated simplicity to Martin’s drum work, never playing anything too flashy and relying on finesse and feel for songs you can nod your head along to without even realising it.

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Jepson admits at the start of the encore that the notion is “bullshit” (reflected in more and more bands foregoing the charade), the tongue-in-cheek attitude is an ideal way to segue into “Totally Screwed”, the idea of living in blissful ignorance and a more idealistic world is comforting but not a reality, sadly. As cynical and humorous as its recorded incarnation, it allows for the night to end on a lighter tone alongside “Ghost” and the Mott the Hoople-inspired “Joke’s On You”. With more dates teased for later in the year and the break reinvigorating them, it’s an excellent start to the year for everyone in the room. Nights don’t get much more triumphant than this.

Photos by SRK Lens