Demon - The Swan Leek 20th May 2005
Setlist: Night Of The Demon / Into The Nightmare / The Plague / Blackheath / Wonderland (with special guest Sue Spooner) / Standing On The Edge Of The World / Live Again / Remembrance Day / Sign Of A Madman / Better The Devil You Know / Taking On The World / Don’t Break The Circle / Life On The Wire / No More Hell On Earth // One Helluva Night / Night Of The Demon (reprise)
It is almost exactly two years since I last saw Demon play in front of an audience. That was a vastly different band and a completely different show. Demon 2005 is something else entirely.
Although four members of the band return from that short-lived 2003 line-up, to be rounded out with the two new boys, the whole feel of this line-up is so different to any other I have seen. There is a real synergy with these six musicians that shines through, probably for the first time since the very first incarnation of the band. Similarly, the new CD, Better The Dave Hill You Know, reminds me more of the 1982 release, The Unexpected Guest, than the band’s more recent 2001 release, Spaced Out Monkey. Whilst Monkey is a fine recording, it is much more eclectic and almost experimental in parts.
BTDYK, on the other hand, is a 40 minute long kneeing of the soft and tender parts. I think it is probably not by coincidence that the CD’s run time apes the average length of the, now seemingly forgotten 33 1/3 RPM, long-playing, microgroove record. Anyway, it is two minutes more than The Darkness’ debut offering and, in my not so humble opinion, equally as satisfying, and just as, if not more so, singalongable, as you don’t have to find the nut crackers to reach Dave Hill’s high notes. So, let’s consider the live performance.
It is almost exactly two years since I last saw Demon play in front of an audience. That was a vastly different band and a completely different show. Demon 2005 is something else entirely.
Although four members of the band return from that short-lived 2003 line-up, to be rounded out with the two new boys, the whole feel of this line-up is so different to any other I have seen. There is a real synergy with these six musicians that shines through, probably for the first time since the very first incarnation of the band. Similarly, the new CD, Better The Dave Hill You Know, reminds me more of the 1982 release, The Unexpected Guest, than the band’s more recent 2001 release, Spaced Out Monkey. Whilst Monkey is a fine recording, it is much more eclectic and almost experimental in parts.
BTDYK, on the other hand, is a 40 minute long kneeing of the soft and tender parts. I think it is probably not by coincidence that the CD’s run time apes the average length of the, now seemingly forgotten 33 1/3 RPM, long-playing, microgroove record. Anyway, it is two minutes more than The Darkness’ debut offering and, in my not so humble opinion, equally as satisfying, and just as, if not more so, singalongable, as you don’t have to find the nut crackers to reach Dave Hill’s high notes. So, let’s consider the live performance.
The Only Sane Man
Unfortunately, I was out of the country for the bands return to the UK stage at Crewe’s Limelight Club, so my first chance to see this latest sextet in action was at two rehearsals earlier in the week. By the end of the second one, I had a pretty good idea what was going to happen at The Swan on Friday night.
This line up sees singer Dave Hill, guitarist Ray Walmsley, drummer Neil Ogden, and bassist Andy Dale, joined by new recruits, guitarist Karl Finney and keyboard player Paul ‘Fazza’ Farrington.
Now, each time I see Dave, I am amazed that his voice still sounds as it did the first time I played Night Of The Demon, back in the early 1800s. As for Mrs Walmsley’s little boy, he was never a slouch in the fretwork department, but it would appear that he has been getting some practice in. Mr Dale just gets on with it and does the business on the night. As for Mr Ogden, it was clear from the last gig I saw that he is one hell of a drummer, and his Cozy Powell style power tub-thumping lends an edge to the sound that just about rips your face off. Karl Finney’s frightening guitar work scares me, whilst Fazza’s keyboard playing is uncommonly accomplished. The combined sound is, consequently, much, much heavier than any Demon to date. That doesn’t mean that other Demon line ups were sub standard, they weren’t, but this one has a little je ne sais quoi. There is a feel and an air of togetherness that I haven’t seen before.
By gig sound check time on Friday, Neil’s pretty new drum kit occupied 70% of the stage, with the remaining five band members staking their spots on what was left. The sound was mixed, balanced and tweaked, and anyone within a ten-mile radius could not have been in any doubt about how loud this show was going to be.
With the sound, lights and smoke machine all pumped, primed and ready for action, I retired to the bar of The Swan, to renew some old acquaintances, meet some new faces, and chill out. This was quite a gathering, with Demon website message board members travelling from near and far, Hill and Spooner families, and former band members in attendance. Quite an occasion to be sure. As show time approached, me, The Only Sane Man, and Lord Summerisle made our way towards the stage and secured prime positions for ourselves.
This line up sees singer Dave Hill, guitarist Ray Walmsley, drummer Neil Ogden, and bassist Andy Dale, joined by new recruits, guitarist Karl Finney and keyboard player Paul ‘Fazza’ Farrington.
Now, each time I see Dave, I am amazed that his voice still sounds as it did the first time I played Night Of The Demon, back in the early 1800s. As for Mrs Walmsley’s little boy, he was never a slouch in the fretwork department, but it would appear that he has been getting some practice in. Mr Dale just gets on with it and does the business on the night. As for Mr Ogden, it was clear from the last gig I saw that he is one hell of a drummer, and his Cozy Powell style power tub-thumping lends an edge to the sound that just about rips your face off. Karl Finney’s frightening guitar work scares me, whilst Fazza’s keyboard playing is uncommonly accomplished. The combined sound is, consequently, much, much heavier than any Demon to date. That doesn’t mean that other Demon line ups were sub standard, they weren’t, but this one has a little je ne sais quoi. There is a feel and an air of togetherness that I haven’t seen before.
By gig sound check time on Friday, Neil’s pretty new drum kit occupied 70% of the stage, with the remaining five band members staking their spots on what was left. The sound was mixed, balanced and tweaked, and anyone within a ten-mile radius could not have been in any doubt about how loud this show was going to be.
With the sound, lights and smoke machine all pumped, primed and ready for action, I retired to the bar of The Swan, to renew some old acquaintances, meet some new faces, and chill out. This was quite a gathering, with Demon website message board members travelling from near and far, Hill and Spooner families, and former band members in attendance. Quite an occasion to be sure. As show time approached, me, The Only Sane Man, and Lord Summerisle made our way towards the stage and secured prime positions for ourselves.
Chris Ellis takes a pic of me taking a pic of him...
The opening numbers, Night of the Demon and Into the Nightmare, made a very blunt statement to everyone that this band is very much on form and means business. The addition of Karl Finney on guitar gives the band a much heavier and more forceful sound than in the past, with Karl taking solos on many of the older songs. Fazza’s keyboards could have been more up in the mix but, nevertheless, they do add a hell of a lot of depth. Overall the sound was loud; not Megadeth-loud but, considering the age of some of the audience, more than enough to put the St John’s on standby! And, anyway, the band has to be loud, because Neil’s drumming, even un-amplified can surely raise the dead. The third song, The Plague, underlined the fact that this line-up is very much ‘together’, never have I heard the older material played with such power and commitment. I love Demon, no secret about that, but at times the older material has had a tendency to come across as going through the motions. There is no such feeling with this line-up. The Plague sounds as fresh as ever and twice as punchy.
The fourth song of the evening, Wonderland, was introduced by Dave, and is one of the last songs he ever wrote with his long-time friend and writing partner, Mal Spooner. As the band launched into the opening chords, Mal’s widow, Sue, jumped on stage and joined the band for an emotionally charged rendition of this great song. I looked around the room at the combined masses of the Hill and Spooner entourages and came over all unnecessary, quite a warm, fuzzy feeling penetrating my cold, black heart.
The fourth song of the evening, Wonderland, was introduced by Dave, and is one of the last songs he ever wrote with his long-time friend and writing partner, Mal Spooner. As the band launched into the opening chords, Mal’s widow, Sue, jumped on stage and joined the band for an emotionally charged rendition of this great song. I looked around the room at the combined masses of the Hill and Spooner entourages and came over all unnecessary, quite a warm, fuzzy feeling penetrating my cold, black heart.
His Lordship
Time for a change of pace with two songs from Better The Devil You Know, Standing On The Edge Of The World and Live Again. For most of the audience, the delayed release of the CD meant that they had not heard these tracks before. For me, I have been listening to this material for some months and both of these songs have great riffs and catchy, singalong bits. Certainly the new material is much beefier and, having heavied up the material from the vaults, the new and the old fitted seamlessly together. It is hard to believe that there is a 25 year period between some of these songs, which were recorded by distinctly different line-ups. Of course, Dave Hill is the constant factor as wordsmith and vocalist, but in Ray Walmsley and Neil Ogden he has, once more, found songwriting partners capable of putting some stunning musical accompaniment to his, always, thought-provoking lyrics.
Next up, and always a high point in the show, came Remembrance Day. There are so many Demon songs that you just never want to end, and this is just one of them. Whenever I listen to this song, in particular, it always makes me think that this is one of those tracks that should be in everyone’s record collection. It angries up my blood to think that music this good has been missed by so many people.
Next up, and always a high point in the show, came Remembrance Day. There are so many Demon songs that you just never want to end, and this is just one of them. Whenever I listen to this song, in particular, it always makes me think that this is one of those tracks that should be in everyone’s record collection. It angries up my blood to think that music this good has been missed by so many people.
Mal Spooner's family
Into the second half of the set, and another foot-stomper, Sign Of A Madman, kept the temperature in the room well above boiling point. I know this because the sweat was dripping off me (I’ll bet you’re glad I shared that with you!) Another brace of new songs, Better The Devil You Know and Taking On The World maintained the hectic pace, and once again the time difference between these and the old favourite, Don’t Break The Circle, passed with hardly a Roger Moore moment, such is the apposite nature of the new songs.
To finish off the set, two more of those songs that, if I were President of the E-UK, I would make it law for everyone to have in their record collections, Life On The Wire and No More Hell On Earth. These two numbers have always rocked live, but the new heavy-jumbo line-up gave them so much bottom that you didn’t just hear them, you felt them. I was convinced that the chandelier was not going to see the evening out, as it was shaking so much during the intro to Life and the end section of Hell.
To finish off the set, two more of those songs that, if I were President of the E-UK, I would make it law for everyone to have in their record collections, Life On The Wire and No More Hell On Earth. These two numbers have always rocked live, but the new heavy-jumbo line-up gave them so much bottom that you didn’t just hear them, you felt them. I was convinced that the chandelier was not going to see the evening out, as it was shaking so much during the intro to Life and the end section of Hell.
Karl Finney
After a brief ‘we’re going to pretend to go off, but as you can see we have nowhere to go, so you just scream and shout a bit’ moment, they ‘returned’ to deliver an ultra-heavy One Helluva Night. Always a great track for audience participation, I don’t think there was anyone in the house that didn’t join in the chorus and I half-expected The Swan turning into that scene from Highlander where all of the windows explode. That was supposed to be the end, but no-one wanted to go home, so we had a reprise of Night Of The Demon to send everyone away happy and contented.
This was not a night where everything went perfectly; far from it. Nothing ever goes smoothly; ‘the demon effect’ won’t permit it. But, such is the concord within this manifestation of the band that this was probably the best Demon show I have attended. The band was undoubtedly hotter than a Turkish wrestler’s jockstrap, and the new arrangements are the musical equivalent of drinking turpentine and pissing on a brushfire, but it is the way this band interacts that makes the difference. Everyone sings backing vocals, both guitarists take lead breaks, and they actually look like they are enjoying playing. In the past, whilst Dave, always the consummate frontman, has done his thing, it has invariably been down to Mr Dale to be the one to show the audience that the band actually wants to be there. At this show, everyone joined in. It makes such a difference. Long may this band stay together and, hopefully, someone will actually take notice this time around.
This was not a night where everything went perfectly; far from it. Nothing ever goes smoothly; ‘the demon effect’ won’t permit it. But, such is the concord within this manifestation of the band that this was probably the best Demon show I have attended. The band was undoubtedly hotter than a Turkish wrestler’s jockstrap, and the new arrangements are the musical equivalent of drinking turpentine and pissing on a brushfire, but it is the way this band interacts that makes the difference. Everyone sings backing vocals, both guitarists take lead breaks, and they actually look like they are enjoying playing. In the past, whilst Dave, always the consummate frontman, has done his thing, it has invariably been down to Mr Dale to be the one to show the audience that the band actually wants to be there. At this show, everyone joined in. It makes such a difference. Long may this band stay together and, hopefully, someone will actually take notice this time around.
Past and present Demons
Post gig, former band members Chris Ellis, John Waterhouse and Duncan Hansell could be found milling around and I enjoyed chatting with each. When these people enjoyed the show, you know that something is right. I, along with others, revelled in the opportunity to take a photograph of the band, past and present, possibly an event that will never be repeated. The Swan 2005 will go down as one my all-time favourite gigs, for sure.
As I wrote earlier in this review, it really frosts my cookies that the majority of the inhabitants of this little ball of rock we call planet Earth, have never experienced the music of Demon. They have missed out on so much classic rock music that I almost pity them. I can think of nothing worse than to have never heard The Plague, Wonderland, or Life on the Wire? To have not experienced Johnny Waterhouse’s awesome solo at the end of Time Has Come, or marvelled at the lyrics to Big Chance, Remembrance Day and Writings On The Wall. For me there could be No More Hell On Earth.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
22nd May 2005
As I wrote earlier in this review, it really frosts my cookies that the majority of the inhabitants of this little ball of rock we call planet Earth, have never experienced the music of Demon. They have missed out on so much classic rock music that I almost pity them. I can think of nothing worse than to have never heard The Plague, Wonderland, or Life on the Wire? To have not experienced Johnny Waterhouse’s awesome solo at the end of Time Has Come, or marvelled at the lyrics to Big Chance, Remembrance Day and Writings On The Wall. For me there could be No More Hell On Earth.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
22nd May 2005
About the photos...
Aw, come on, I know I'm not famous for my modesty but, there's a couple of snaps here that are a bit tasty!