Blue Öyster Cult make their first appearance in the North East of England in nine years to celebrate the 45th anniversary of their debut self-titled album.
The Geordie rock fraternity is out in force this evening, with an expectant crowd present early on. This could also have something to do with the return of US guitar slinger Jared James Nichols who opens tonight’s proceedings.
Nichols is, of course, no stranger to the region having performed on Tyneside several times in recent years whilst touring with the likes of Glenn Hughes, Walter Trout and Scorpion Child, to name but a few.
Jared James Nichols is getting ready to release his sophomore album Black Magic, which is tipped for a September release. Tonight he takes the opportunity to preview a couple of those tracks including “Don’t You Try” and “Don’t Be Scared” and judging by the strength of these numbers alone, Black Magic is set to be one of the stand out blues rock records of 2017.
Jared performs as part of a formidable power trio, which features his long-standing bandmates Dennis Holm (bass) and Erik Sandin (drums) who gel together effortlessly.
Of course, there’s room for a couple of old favourites from Jared’s debut record Old Glory and The Wild Revival including “Playing For Keeps” and “Can You Feel It”. During the latter of which, Jared has the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand; they collectively engage in some call and response, the audience enthusiastically singing the chorus back to the stage.
One of Jared James Nichols biggest influences is the legendary US rockers Mountain, and to top off tonight’s short but sweet set he chooses to finish with the anthemic “Mississippi Queen”, sending Tyneside to a classic rock induced heaven.
With each and every return visit to the UK Jared James Nichols goes from strength to strength, he has to be seen to be believed. Nichols will continue to tour the UK over the summer including festival appearances at Ramblin’ Man Fair, Steelhouse Festival along with dates with both UFO and Blue Oyster Cult and is not to be missed.
Throughout this UK run, Blue Öyster Cult has been taking their fans down memory lane by performing their debut record in full. However, for tonight’s date in the city, the group decide to change things up a bit and opt for a set list which spans their extensive discography of fourteen studio albums.
Despite this, Blue Öyster Cult’s landmark debut record still features prominently throughout the show. “Stairway To The Stars” opens their set followed shortly after by “Before The Kiss, a Redcap” which sets the tone for the evening.
Of course, there’s plenty of room for the classics, which are received with open arms and are peppered throughout the course of the Blue Öyster Cult’s marathon set. The band’s MTV-fueled #1 hit “Burnin’ For You”, which spent three weeks in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart features early in the show.
Some incredible fretwork from both Buck Dharma and Richie Castellano during “Then Came The Last Days of May” results in rapturous applause from the Geordie fans, and is one of the many standout tracks of the evening.
As the band head into the final throws of the show, they wheel out the big guns with the classic “Godzilla”. A spellbinding guitar solo from Dharma leads the band into the anthemic “Don’t Fear The Reaper” with its ethereal vocal harmonies, bringing their main set to a close.
However, they aren’t done yet, as the band return to the stage for a duly deserved two song encore of “I Love the Night” and “Cities on Flame With Rock and Roll” which brings an incredible night of music to a close.
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Blue Oyster Cult
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Event Date: 26-June-2017Event Date: 26-June-2017