KK’s Steel Mill, Wolverhampton - It’s a hot summers night almost at the end of July and it’s time to head South to the delights of Wolverhampton to sample the wares of a band that I was lucky enough to see twice last year, both as Support, first to Troy Redfern in Chester and then for Samantha Fish in Manchester - seven songs each time but it was enough to become interested and wanting more. So, it was with some excitement that I heard that they were heading back to these shores, not for another stint as a Support, but for their first headline tour. No more seven songs and out, this time we would get double that - at least. No rushing. More banter, and a chance to get to know the boys more than we’ve been able to before. Oh, and a chance to hear the new album ‘Restless’ in its entirety, live. Now, there can’t be too many better ways to spend a Tuesday night in Wolverhampton, can there ? ?
On arrival it all got a little confusing though. Now, I’ve been to KK‘s on many an occasion, a huge, horizontal ex car factory if you will, with the stage across the length of one of the walls as opposed to the width, and a huge black curtain to split the place into different sizes, depending on the expected size of the crowd, but what I’d never knew about was a smaller venue over to the left, just as soon as you’d walked up the stairs after being searched for any kind of dodgy paraphernalia, you thought you’d need for the night. A small, compact and bijoux affair, that I never even knew was a venue, just a bar and hospitality area. What you don’t know eh? It’s no big deal though, it’s the music that matters and the headline is the same whether it’s here or next door in the big place.
Once inside however, I have to work out where the best place will be to take photographs, seeing as the photo pit is only big enough for three, and it seems like a dozen of us have turned up. Jockeying for position I fear, will be a challenge. Gig togs often don’t share like our mothers taught us to !
Madison Galloway - There isn’t too much time to decide on this though because we have a Support which comes in the form of fellow Canadian, Madison Galloway, a petite lady in form, but a big voice and someone that shouldn’t be underestimated. She already has an EP and an album as part of her CV and she’s here to promote her second album, ‘Madison Galloway’ released earlier this year. She’s supported on stage by George Love on drums and Nick Hurst on keyboard.
The new Album is promoted from the off with ‘Freedom’ and ‘Hatebirds’, both have a good up-tempo beat which gets us off to a good start and they’re warmly appreciated by those who have come out early tonight - of which there are many.
‘Love Like Yours’ and ‘The River’ get my attention more as Hurst delivers a quality Hammond sound out of his diminutive, but oh, so powerful Nord. God, I love the sound of a Hammond – which is rich praise, coming from a drummer ! Madison hits some big riffs across the top of said Hammond as she belts out the lyrics with meaning. Wolverhampton respond in kind and join in with ‘The Rivers’ chorus, without an invitation to do so. They also respond with a great round of applause at the end as she is performing very well.
Galloway has a good line in chat in between the songs. She’s quite an affable person, easy to like and relate to – much like a friend of hers perhaps, who the next song is about. Madison tells the story of how she handled getting dumped quite well and didn’t go all ‘bunny boiler’ on him ! Oh, how we’ve all been there ! ! It’s now that Galloway realises that we’re very much on her side and (I guess) feels safe enough to ‘officially’ invite us to join in with the chorus of ‘Devil at My Door’, so we accept the impromptu rehearsal - so that we got our ‘woahs’ in the right places - and off she goes with a screaming guitar intro and a rapid pace that races from start to finish. Nice.
A cover of The Black Crowes ‘She Talks to Angels’ and ‘Open Your Eyes’ which personifies optimism, finishes off the set but not before she asks us to show our appreciation for the boys at the back and side, makes a plea for us to buy her Merch and say hello afterwards – which many of us do.
At the end of all this Wolverhampton gave her a huge round of applause and a good few cheers thrown in for good measure too. So, Madison heads off in her glittery top and black shorts with her powerful vocals delivered from the heart and friendly demeanour all intact because that was a job very well done. This lady crowd-funded the cost of appearing on this tour with The Commoners. A big risk and expense, but one that will surely show a good return on the investment. Don’t be surprised to see Ms. Galloway back over here fairly soon, maybe as a support again to raise her profile even higher, but also in her own rite, as a headline, soon enough. Wolverhampton liked Madison and I think they’d be quite happy to welcome her back again sometime.
Now, we have enough time for a cheeky beer or two whilst the stage is changed over by the bands themselves (Roadies not included apparently), and we prepare for our Headliner…
Madison Galloway Set List
1. Freedom
2. Hatebirds
3. Love Like Yours
4. The River
5. Devil At My Door
6. She Talks to Angels
7. Open Your Eyes
The Commoners - Some bands you just get. When tunes have pace and the bands performance is full on with everyone playing like it’s the last ever time, I get really excited. This was the case with The Commoners, when they turned up on our shores for the first time with Troy Redfern and then Samantha Fish.
I got more excited when I got sent an advance copy of the new album ‘Restless’ and hearing Commoners’ guitarist and producer Ross Hayes Citrullo say that “As with our previous album, we wanted to marry old and new southern rock together in a way that was unique to the band’s Canadian roots. By adding the soul and rock elements of The Black Crowes, and the southern blues rock undertones of The Allman Brothers to a production style akin to Blackberry Smoke and Rival Sons, I think we developed an authentic sound that compares sonically to some of our favourite records across all of those music”. On vinyl (humour me people, ‘on MP3’ just doesn’t have that ring to it), it sounds brilliant, but you always want to hear it played live, so…
There’s no messing about tonight, as it seems like the boys are on a mission, no sooner is everything in place and they’re on and we’re away. “This is a Rock n Roll venue so let’s get right into it”, is our frontman’s opening line and ‘Shake You Off’ hits us straight between the eyes, just so we knew they’d arrived.
‘Who Are You’ follows but then we get one of the big tunes from the album and a song they often open with ‘Devil Teasin’ Me’. Citrullo’s big guitar kicks everything off and big drums chase after it. Cannon will not be left behind. The first two tunes were very good, but this song takes things up a gear or three and it’s a big performance with everyone involved. ‘Body and Soul’ carries on where ‘Devil’ left off, but at a slower pace – not too much slower mind, and the Allman Brothers undertones that Citrullo referred to in his sleeve notes really come to the fore now.
The temperature in our bijou venue has risen considerably and everyone has suitably warmed up now and is firmly in the groove, none more so that frontman, Medhurst who is pouring of sweat in his Paisley attire, blatantly displaying every ounce of effort that he’s putting into it. Medhurst has come to entertain and is hell bent on not letting anyone down. He also admits that he sweated just as much when he recorded the album and that we’ll all take some of it home with us tonight. As we’re only half way through he could be right, and we start wondering if he plans to crowd surf because that could get very messy !
Anyway… It’s time to take a breath and ‘Too Soon to Know You’ provides us with that chance. A bluesy ballad that is timed perfectly, as is ‘See You Again’ which is where Cannon reminds those of us that saw them the first time they were over, that his father had just passed away and this was the bands tribute to him. It was a heartfelt ‘lump in your throat’ moment and the room went silent whilst the band played and Medhurst wrang every emotion he could muster out of the lyrics. Oh my.
The applause at the end was loud but it took us all a moment afterwards to reflect and regain our composure before we could handle another tune.
We’re on the home straight now though and more big tracks from ‘Restless’ come at us hard and fast. ‘The Way I Am’, is an autobiographical account of frontman Medhurst, by Medhurst. ‘Gone Without Warning’ is written by bassist, Spiller and it defined as a “balls out rock and roller, so I hope you’ve bought your dancing shoes”. Both of these come at us faster than a bullet, with pounding backlines from Spiller and Cannon and stinging riffs and solos from Citrullo. That Hammond I mentioned earlier isn’t going to be left out either and it gives as good an account of itself as it can. Branagh is buried so far at the back of the stage that you can sometimes forget he’s there - until it’s Hammond time - then you know he is.
Branagh takes advantage of his new found presence and that Hammond - which, to remind you, is actually a Nord, has such quality sampling inside it that you’d never (really) guess - screams round the room, for a quality intro to a cover of The Beatles, ‘Yer Blues’. This is all the kind of stuff that drew me to like the stuff these boys produce, and my head is spinning. Wolverhampton are also in great appreciation judging by the applause they get at the end.
With eleven down and two to go, ‘Fill My Cup’ and ’Find A Better Way’ are staples from their back catalogue and performed every time I’ve seen them. Tunes that are today known as ‘bangers’. More of that lovely Hammond sound and big licks from Citrullo as he pierces your gaze with deadpan and quizzical looks at the same time, they raise the temperature one last notch on the dial, just for good measure and finish us off in style.
…or do they ? ?
The band take their leave, but there isn’t too far to go here, so the full effect of ‘thank you and goodnight’ and ‘there is no more’ can’t be fully realised - notwithstanding the applause they’re receiving, so the boys have to come back for one more at least.
…and they do.
This is where the boys smash it out of the park with a cover of Dave Mason’s ‘Feelin’ Alright’. Everyone’s included in this, in a big way, and they don’t intend leaving anything behind. They came to entertain and that they will do. It’s a brilliant version and a fantastic way to really finish things off. I truly loved every minute of this and can’t want to see what 2025 brings.
The Commoners Set List
1. Shake You Off
2. Who Are You?
3. Devil Teasin' Me
4. Body And Soul
5. Too Soon to Know You
6. Restless
7. See You Again
8. Deadlines
9. The Way I Am
10. Gone Without Warning
11. Yer Blues (Beatles Cover)
12. Fill My Cup
13. Find A Better Way
Encore
14. Feelin’ Alright (Dave Mason cover)
‘Restless’ – Track Listing
1. Devil Teasin’ Me (4.25)
2. Shake You Off (4.00)
3. The Way I Am (3.42)
4. Restless (5.17)
5. Gone Without Warning (7.07)
6. Who Are You (Ain't Knocked Down) (4.15)
7. Body And Soul (5.34)
8. See You Again (4.42)
9. Too Soon to Know You (5.11)
10. All That We Have (3.20)
Tour Dates – July 2024
Fri 19 - London, The Grace
Sat 20 - Maid of Stone Festival
Sun 21 - Milton Keynes, Crauford Arms
Tues 23 - Wolverhampton, KK's Steel Mill
Weds 24 - Newbury, Arlington Arts Centre
Thurs 25 - Manchester, Night & Day Cafe
Fri 26 - Edinburgh, The Caves
Sat 27 - Leeds, Belgrave Music Hall
Sun 28 - Steelhouse Festival
Written in association with Noble PR
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