Thanks to absurdly heavy pre-Christmas traffic in and around Newcastle we managed to miss opening band Damone however by all accounts the Boston quartet were mighty impressive. Luckily we were in time to catch the resurrected Wolfsbane.

Given the average age of the punters inside the Academy was probably in the mid thirties it's not surprising that Wolfsbane, inactive since vocalist Blaze Bayley joined Iron Maiden back in 1993, should receive such a warm welcome when they hit they stage. Back at the beginning of the '90's the Tamworth quartet were touted in the press as being the next big thing and even went as far as to sign with Rick Rubin's Def American label for the release of their debut Live Fast Die Fast album. Unfortunately things didn't pan out as planned and the band never quite made the leap into the big time. So here they are almost fifteen years later, certainly older but probably not wiser putting the whole thing back together again.

The avowed intention for the band behind this run of support dates with the Wildhearts was to have fun. The quartet had placed on the record that there was no intention of doing anything beyond these shows and the fun element certainly showed through on the Academy stage. Opening with Steel and Loco from the All Hells Breaking Loose EP the band proved loose yet entertaining at the same time. With a set list leaning heavily on the debut album and the aforementioned Kathy Wilson EP (only Temple Of Rock form 1991's Down Fall The Good Guys from their other recordings made the cut) it was easy to remember just what made Wolfsbane so popular in the first place. By no means intellectual music rather these songs were designed to party and dance to with incessant chorus hooks and short, sharp verses. Bayley in particular seemed far more relaxed and comfortable belting out tracks such as Manhunt, Paint The Town Red and I Like It Hot that he ever did playing the more intense music of Maiden or even those from his eponymously titled post Maiden solo band. Perhaps this was just the situation that Wolfsbane have found themselves in, with no expectations and no pressure but the sheer exuberance transmitted to the audience and the band left to a deserved ovation. Given the strength of this show it really would be a shame if Wolfsbane didn't carry on in some way or another.

And so on to The Wildhearts. Over the history of HRH we've carried reviews of Ginger in many guises and indeed the last few years have been remarkably busy for the Geordie guitarist/vocalist. There has been the small matter of two solo albums, a Wildhearts release, solo shows, Sonic Circus show and even a trek with the Scorchers that we've reviewed. Funnily enough though it's not since 2004, shortly after the site launched, that we reviewed a Wildhearts gig itself.

For all of Ginger's extra curricular activities it's still the Wildhearts that pull the crowd evidenced by the packed out main room at Newcastle's Academy. OK it may have been something of a hometown gig but the band is beloved of many despite all of the stop/start shenanigans throughout their career. The current incarnation of the band, with bassist Scott Sorry joining Ginger, CJ and drummer Rich Battersby is perhaps the most coherent in the band's history and that showed here tonight. Mixing some of the bands better known tracks (TV Tan, Suckerpunch, 29 x The Pain) with lesser known songs the Wildhearts proved that you can entertain simply by standing on a stage and belting out song after song. Whereas in his recent solo shows Ginger has proved equally adept at being a raconteur as much as a musician here he chose instead, along with his band,to let the music do the talking keeping the chat to a minimum. And it worked as the audience was literally beaten into submission with one humungous riff after another.

Indeed it wasn't until the encores that the Wildhearts really let something of the Christmas spirit rear it's head as they mixed and matched originals with covers,  throwing in little snippets of Status Quo's Caroline and Queen's mighty Bohemian Rhapsody to the mix. Of course though it was the finally of Geordie In Wonderland and I Wanna Go Where The People Go that really brought the house down and sent the masses home happy. On this form, and if Ginger wants them to be, the Wildhearts are a match for any band currently doing the rounds.

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