Live Review: Black Stone Cherry - Bochum 2012

Written by Daniela Vorndran Wednesday, 04 July 2012 14:28

Matrix, Bochum, Germany
2nd July 2012
Black Stone Cherry & The Colts

This show was originally planned for April. But due to illness of singer Chris, the show had to be postponed back then and now finally the band came to Bochum to rock a sold-out venue. THEL COLTS from Germany were warming the audience up, not that this was needed anymore…

The Colts

THE COLTS come from Olpe/ Germany. Since 2008, the five guys fire an explosive mixture of rich guitars sound and pushing beats. Musically influenced by such bands as AC/DC, MOTÖRHEAD or GUNS ‘N ROSES, the band prefers hard and straight hand-made Rock. So far, THE COLTS released two demo CDs, ‘Grandma Death’ (2009) and ‘Gunfire’ (2010). THE COLTS are Benjamin “Benni Bazooka” Heite (Vocals), Timo (Guitar), Dennis (Guitar), Olli (Bass) and Weba (Drums). http://www.thecolts.de / https://www.facebook.com/thecoltsoe



Music & Performance
It was already pretty hot in the venue when THE COLTS, a mix of their preferred bands, MOTORJESUS and THE CULT, entered the stage of the packed hall. And now, the motto was “Fasten your Seat belts and come onto the Highway to Hell”. The musicians delivered a fast and extrovert show, also impressing the audience who needed not much time to clap along and scream with the band. There was no standing still on stage, anyone moved anywhere, there was constant movement and a lot of posing. During the last song, Benni jumped down the stage to climb the fence and celebrate with the audience. As a final highlight, he fired a confetti canon at the very end of the show. This was definitely a great warm-up for the evening!

Setlist
01. Hardliner
02. Genie in a Bottle
03. Dead Man’s Call
04. Girl Next Door
05. Party at Dawn
06. Magic Woman
07. Touch me

Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 9
Sound: 8
Light: 6
Total: 8 / 10




Black Stone Cherry

American rock band BLACK STONE CHERRY was formed 2001 in Edmonton, Kentucky and currently are signed to Roadrunner Records. They’ve previously released two albums; after the self-titled debut studio album (2006) came out, they first released the EP ‘Rain Wizard’ in 2007 followed by ‘Folklore And Superstition’ in 2008. But before they released their second full-length studio album, there was even a live album out in autumn 2007, recorded in London being immediately sold out after the show. In May 2011 they’ve brought out their third one ‘Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea’. Following the release, the band toured with ALTER BRIDGE and THEORY OF A DEADMAN in Europe. Now, they can be seen on German stages supporting this album during a headliner tour. BLACK STONE CHERRY is Chris Robertson (lead vocals, lead guitar), Ben Wells (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Jon Lawhon (bass guitar, backing vocals) and John Fred Young (drums, percussion, backing vocals). http://www.blackstonecherry.com / https://www.facebook.com/officialblackstonecherry / http://www.myspace.com/blackstonecherry



Music & Performance
Already during the rebuilding break, the audience screamed loudly for the band. When finally the lights went down and the four-piece from USA entered the stage, there was no holding back anymore. People screamed, the bands were constantly up and sweat was running down anyone’s body. It too not long until people started jumping in the hall, heating anything up even more. You had the feeling being in a sauna, so hot it was. But people did not care about the heat, they were just enjoying the show, a great one to let me say! Alike their support band, also BLACK STONE CHERRY were constantly moving, Ben and Jon were changing sides permanently and especially Ben was an endless source of energy, kicking and head banging along with the music. John behind his drum set was also an eye catcher, drumming like a beast. The one being “calmest” on stage was singer Chris. But being not so vivid like this other is not a bad thing. He delivered a great vocal performance. Telling people after a few songs, he is sorry for the postponement, you at least did not hear at all that his voice was affected by illness. His singing with a perfect, soulful southern voice.



The setlist offered hard-driving songs like ‘White Trash Millionaire’ (from the latest album) as well as heartfelt songs such as ‘In My Blood’ or ‘Things My Father Said’. A drum solo in the second half o the show showed the qualities of drummer John perfectly. To sum the evening up: The band generated a great atmosphere in the hall, taking care for a fantastic concert evening. The four guys never failed and released sweaty but happy fans into the night.

Setlist
01. Maybe Someday
02. Yeah Man
03. Blind Man
04. Change
05. Soulcreek
06. In My Blood
07. Rain Wizard
08. Like I Roll
09. Things My Father Said
10. White Trash Millionaire
11. Drum Solo
12. Peace Is Free
13. Hoochie Coochie Man (Muddy Waters cover)
14. Rehab (Amy Winehouse cover)
15. Blame It On The Boom Boom
16. Lonely Train
17. 30 Seconds of Death Metal

Rating
Music: 9
Performance: 9
Sound: 8
Light: 8
Total: 8.7 / 10



All pictures by Daniela Vorndran (http://www.vorndranphotography.com / http://www.black-cat-net.de/ / http://www.myspace.com/vorndranphotography / http://www.facebook.com/blackcatnet)