Gotthard/Lost Weekend - Nottingham Rescue Rooms Gig Review

I first saw Lost Weekend some six or seven years ago and perhaps harshly dismissed them as a “bit of a pub band”. In the intervening period I have seen them on countless occasions, supporting many of the melodic rock tours to hit these shores. I think the time has now come to apologies, admit I was wrong and revise my opinion of a band who have improved every time I have seen them, culminating in this latest, really enjoyable show. Singer Paul Uttley has improved enormously and the quality of the material he is now fronting has stepped up several notches too. If there was a Euro Championships for rock god guitar face, then Dave Thompson should definitely be England’s entry and would represent a far safer bet than our prima donna footballers. He is a man who clearly loves every single second he spends on stage and that sort of enthusiasm is incredibly infectious. Tonight’s set was a swift half hour only, but tracks such as “Feed On Emotion”, “Dead In The Water” and in particular “Forever Moving On” got a small but appreciative audience in the perfect mood for what was to come. Great job lads!

And so to headliners Gotthard. I had gone to the Dudley show two nights previously so knew pretty much what to expect, but Gotthard were simply astounding. For me, they are easily the premier melodic rock band of the modern age and the fact that they are forced into playing such small venues in the UK is simply criminal. If only they could get some prime time airplay, I am absolutely convinced they would become as big as the likes of Bon Jovi, as they appeal to such a huge cross section of music lovers…when they are given the chance to hear them. I have played tracks for friends and family, none of whom are into rock at all, and all agree that they really like them and then immediately ask why they haven’t they heard of them. Crazy !!!

Anyway, I digress. Onto the show, which opened to the classic strains of “Master Of Illusion” with fan hero Leo Leoni immediately looking to whip the audience into a frenzy. As brilliant as all the members of Gotthard undoubtedly are, the star that shines the brightest is vocalist Steve Lee. He has the look, the moves and most importantly the voice to front an outfit of such supreme quality. He always looks like he gives nothing less than 100% and enjoys himself enormously. In fact the whole band does, which is another reason why they are just so damn fine as a live proposition…you simply cannot fail to become totally engaged by their performance.

After “Gone Too Far”, Mr. Lee quipped “Welcome to Wembley Arena” to great amusement all round, given the shoe box of a venue everyone was packed into. We were then treated to flawless renditions of “Top Of The World”, “The Call” and the audience participation favourite cover of “Hush”, with the new material knitting seamlessly with the older stuff. The crowd reaction was incredible. I have rarely heard so relatively few people make so much noise and the band seemed genuinely taken aback, as they had two nights previously with the phenomenal response from the JB's crowd. “I Wonder”, “Sister Moon” and a rousing “Anytime Anywhere” followed in quick succession, all of which just increased my disbelief that this band aren’t one of the biggest on the planet.

The pace changed for “Tomorrow’s Just Begun” and the magnificent “One Life One Soul” before Leoni’s solo took us into “Let It Be” and “Mountain Mama”. The first part of the set closed with two outstanding highlights, firstly “The Oscar Goes To You” and then “Domino Effect”, during which Leoni and Freddy Scherer ran up to the bar at the back of the balcony to play “duelling guitars” right in amongst the fans, who were ecstatic at just how close they were to their heroes.

An extended keyboard intro heralded “Falling” which Lee sang unaccompanied and to perfection, before the rest of the band joined in for “Heaven”. There was only ever going to be one song to finish things off with and “Lift U Up” did not disappoint, literally raising the roof with one of the wildest responses I’ve seen from a crowd in ages. It really is an awesome track…the “Livin On A Prayer” for the new millennium, perhaps ?

The band said their goodbyes to a prolonged and rapturous ovation, but the noise continued until they reappeared once more for a blistering version of “Mighty Quinn”. There was a smile on the face of every single person I could see, all of whom knew they had just witnessed one of the concerts of the year from a band at the very top of their game.

Re-reading this review, I realize I seem to have used most of the superlatives I know, but these are not the ramblings of some wide-eyed concert novice, they are the considered views of someone now in his 40s with over 600 gigs experience. Gotthard are simply awesome and deserve every possible accolade that comes their way.