Review: The Dead Daisies & The Quireboys

Rock City, Nottingham, November 7th 2021

Reviewer/photographer: Dan Mann

We’re slowly getting back to some form of normality live music wise and it certainly felt like it at Rock City with 1000+ music fans eagerly awaiting The Dead Daisies with support from The Quireboys.

The Quireboys are celebrating 30 years since the release of ‘A Bit Of What You Fancy‘ or 35 years according to Spike until he was corrected by guitarist Guy Griffin. We can certainly forgive Spike as time has past rapidly, it certainly doesn’t seem 30+ years since I first met Spike at his Tuesday night rock club in Gossips, Soho, and yet here we all are helping the band in that celebration.

There’s no hiding nor indeed fakery about the crowd’s true affection for Spike, who lets face it is the sort of ‘rock charactor’ that is alas missing from today’s swathe of bands.

The Quireboys tore through their set, filled with fan favorites, be it ‘7 O’Clock‘ ‘Hey You‘, or ‘There She Goes Again‘ and finishing off with ‘Sex Party’. While Spike’s vocals lack the power they once had, this didn’t impact too heavily on what was an altogether fun set.

Setlist:

I Love This Dirty Town, Misled, Man On the Loose, Mona Lisa Smiled, Whippin’ Boy, Hey You, There She Goes Again, Long Time Comin’, This Is Rock ‘n’ Roll, I Don’t Love You Anymore, Sweet Mary Ann, 7 O’clock, Sex Party.

The Dead Daisies hit the stage with a different line-up to the last time I saw them, joining founder Dave Lowy and guitarist Doug Aldrich is British rock legend Glenn Hughes on bass and lead vocals and drummer Tommy Clufetos.

Promoting the band’s latest album ‘Holy Ground‘, released back in January, I was looking forward to hearing the album’s material live, plus intregued to how Glenn would sound delivering the band’s back catalogue.

I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the set which also featured something from Glenn’s past, namely ‘Mistreated‘ and ‘Burn‘. There was a slight pause half way through the set due to Tommy Clufetos breaking his snare, hardly suprising considering the force with which he pounds the living daylights out of his kit!

While not everyone likes the fact that Glenn replaced John Corabi, he did justice to all the songs The Dead Daisies performed. It was tricky mind not to get transfixed by his Tippex white teeth, especially being so close in the photo pit! Maybe he goes to the same dentist as Tesla’s Jeff Keith?

There is a genuine love of the band by British fans so hopefully they’ll return to Blighty, or home as Glen Hughes said, sooner rather than later.

Setlist: Unspoken, Rise Up, Dead And Gone, Chosen and Justified, Mexico, Bustle And Flow, Lock ‘n’ Load, Fortunate Son, Midnight Moses, Mistreated, My Fate, Leave Me Alone, Saving Grace, Like No Other (Bassline), Holy Ground (Shake The Memory), Long Way to Go, Burn.