It’s been a couple of years—well, six years—since I last saw Kory and Warrior Soul. Here they are back at Bannermans Edinburgh for the 30th anniversary of the *Space Age Playboys* album, which they are playing in full tonight.
First up, though, we have the always great Lowdrive. I’ve seen Lowdrive a couple of times now, and they always deliver. I consider them headliners, but who is going to turn down going on tour with Warrior Soul?
Lowdrive open with the rocker “The Last Stand”, the first track from their tremendous 2018 album Roller. This is a bass-and-drum-driven monster of a song, and I have had it on my playlist since it came out, so I’m a happy bunny straight away. We get a couple more from this album, including the slower “Fallen Saviour” with its nod to Alice in Chains, and the stomping title track “Roller”. They also play a few tracks from last year’s Rise album, like the rocker “Into the Light”, the guitar-driven “Chemical Child”, and the bass-driven “All Seeing Eye”. They play my favourite from the album, the title track “Rise”, with its driving guitar—it has a modern Ozzy Osbourne feel to it, which I love.
Their set ends all too soon, and the packed crowd shows their appreciation, quite rightly so. If you like your rock music bass-, drum-, and guitar-driven with excellent vocals, then look no further than Lowdrive. Their sound blends early Doors with Black Sabbath/Ozzy and a touch of Alice in Chains for good measure. Go check them out; you will not be disappointed.
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The main event now as Warrior Soul stroll onto the stage, with Kory resplendent in his sparkling gold trousers, as they take us on a 30th anniversary Space Age Playboys trip. They kick off with “Rocket Engines” and “The Drug” before the top track “Let’s Get Wasted”, and the night does not slow down from then on, with the band just kicking it up and Kory bouncing about in fine form. They fire through the likes of “No No No”, a stunning version of “The Pretty Faces”, and a pounding “Rotten Soul”, making this a special night indeed. It doesn’t stop with a fabulous “Look at You” as we roll on towards the end of the album, played in full, before we get a few extra tracks added to the end of the set.
We head back to 1992 now for a couple from Salutations from the Ghetto Nation, as the guitars kick in for some “Love Destruction” before they get all rocking with “Punk and Belligerent”. We head “Downtown” before heading to “The Wasteland”. They end the set with something they are most definitely not—”Losers.”
This was a tremendous set of rock ‘n’ roll classics, well played with passion and good humour, with good banter with the packed crowd and the band obviously loving playing it all on stage. This was definitely Kory on form tonight, with a tremendous band backing him up. If you can catch the Space Age Playboys tour, make sure you do and relive a bit of your youth if you can.
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Photos by Coops Gig Photography
