Here we are again back at Bannermans for a night of Swedish rock with The Electric Boys but first up we have some Last Great Dreamers: Slyder Smith on guitar/vocals, Tim Emery on Bass and Rik Pratt on drums aka Slyder Smith & the Oblivion Kids on tour promoting their fabulous new album Charm Offensive.
The band open up with the the first of eight tracks from the new album with the rocking, groove-laden “Pleasure Victim”. The drums pound away as we meet the “Calico Queen” with its punky vibe before we get the more laid back “I’m Done” with some lovely guitar work, drums and bass. That classic rock style voice of Slyder leads us slowly through “Crash Landing in Teenage Heaven”; a big slice of early Stones vibe on this one and the guitar cranks up as we meet “Maya”. There is more than a nod to the older British rock bands in the setlist tonight. The tempo goes up a bit next with the upbeat “When the Rain Comes” before we get a version of “NeverEnding Story” from Charm Offensive. Yes, the one from the film of the same name, don’t say you don’t know the song.
We get a reworking of a Last Great Dreamers song now, “The Way We Collide” which sounds better than the original in the way it is performed tonight, less Beatles oriented and more straightforward rock, we get a bit of a “Malibu Beach Nightmare”, a cool Hanoi Rocks cover before we end the short but really enjoyable set with the bouncy “Oblivion Kids”. I thoroughly enjoyed their set tonight with its nod to early classic rock, Slyder has a great voice and guitar style that can carry a multitude of different vocal ranges with Tim and Rik providing that stable rhythm section behind him and the band went down a storm with the crowd tonight. I am looking forward to seeing them again for sure, get out there and catch the band when you can you will not be disappointed.
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The main act now – Sweden’s The Electric Boys who start off with “Upside Down Theme”, a 7 minute fantastic rocking groovy instrumental from last year’s Upside Down album; what a start. We stay with the same album as we rock out with the “Super God” before we get all funky with “Electrified” from 1989’s Funk-O-Metal Carpet Ride, what a groove this track has. We are “Ready to Believe” now from 1994’s Freewheelin’ and the crowd are with the quality of the music on show tonight, and Conny’s vocals have not lost their power. We go back to 1992 to meet up with “Mary in The Mystery World” with its psychedelic-tinged groove before we get all “Groovus Maximus” which slides neatly into “Tear it Up”. We get all Upside Down now with some “Tumblin’ Dominoes” – a rich chorus-heavy track, definitely one of my favourites tonight; stunning.
A touch more of funk with “Rags to Riches” before we see the “Angel in an Armoured Suit” what an incredible piece of music this is, a joy of a track, definitely my favourite tonight and it’s hard to take photos when your feet just want to dance. We have the harder edged “Twang ’em & Kerrang ‘Em” before we have the moody “Sad Day” with its hints of early bluesy Whitesnake. We end a truly great night of music with what else but that sing along classic as who does not love “All Lips ‘n’ Hips”? Minus the hippy album intro, it’s a real crowd-pleaser tonight as we all sing the chorus back to the boys.
This was a master class in pure rock and roll, what a night of music. Conny still has that smooth rocking voice, Martin absolutely rocking the flying V tonight, getting his Nugent on, Andy rocking out that cool bass vibe all night and not forgetting Niklas pounding out those rhythms at the rear all night, go see this band while you can, they are on absolute fire just now, just a joy to watch and sing along with, what a night.
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Photos by Gary Cooper
