Author: Peter Podbrežnik, Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Velden Am Wörthersee (Vrba na Koroškem) / Bluesiana Rock Cafe / Austria
Concert date: 01.03.2015
Attendance: 100
Ticket price: €30.00
Bluesiana Rock Cafe, the famous Austrian club in Velden in Carinthia, near Klagenfurt, has flung its doors open again after a break of a few months! Thank goodness. The feeling was intense as we got to cross the threshold of our practically home venue once more and set eyes on the beaming, cheerful, good-vibes-radiating face of the club’s hospitable boss Gudrin Kofler! According to her, Bluesiana is as good as saved, and yes, there will be more gigs!
This evening followed in the footsteps of the second generation of metal, the so-called creators of the notorious NWOBHM movement. Playing the club, after 27 years in the game, were the still-kicking Tygers of Pan Tang, in the company of two support acts. First to jump on stage were glam rockers Sandness from Rovereto, a town northeast of Lake Garda in Italy (roughly halfway between Verona and Milan). In half an hour, these three potent stallions presented their studio debut “Like an Addiction” (2013) and left a very encouraging impression. The guys are clearly tapping into the Scandinavian new wave of revivalism, though you can’t hide the Mötley Crűe influences either. The stage preening is, of course, included. Exemplary tightness, confidence, commitment in the performance. They aren’t bringing a revolution, but they bring plenty of heart. A band that delivered a heaping bagful of opening fun!
Next on stage were Sixty Miles Ahead from Milan. This quintet likewise has one studio album in its pocket, “Millions of Burning Flames”, released the year before last. This quintet has more tangible original substance and builds on its own sound and style. It’s tuned lower, and a thick veil of darkness settles over the atmosphere. Traditional hard rock and metal staples are combined with modern approaches from bands like Black Stone Cherry and Alter Bridge; there are almost no solos, and the often piercing vocals sit mostly in the mid-range. Confident and convincing. Played the way it should be!
Into the bosom of the small but, luckily, still sturdy Austrian music club Bluesiana stomped Tygers Of Pan Tang, cult standard-bearers of the new wave of British heavy metal, who had their finest hours in the early eighties and today are sadly often forgotten, except by active followers and connoisseurs of the aforementioned metal movement. Despite good prospects, Tygers Of Pan Tang never managed a commercial breakthrough or to fight their way into the league of big names like Iron Maiden and Saxon. After three cult albums, the superb debut »Wild Cat« (1980), the career peak »Spellbound« and the very solid »Crazy Nights« (both released in 1981, both featuring the famous guitarist John Sykes (ex-Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy)), came the more commercially minded »The Cage« (1982), followed by a sudden artistic stagnation and a breakup.
Luckily, Tygers Of Pan Tang picked themselves up ‘from the dead’ in 1999, and since then they’ve put out several interesting albums, some even on par with their best work from the first half of the eighties, so these days they’re still full of energy and artistic fire, which shows at their live shows too. Of the original members only guitarist Robb Weir is left, who walked away (temporarily), disillusioned, in 1983 and came back only in 1999 with the reunion, while second guitarist Micky Crystal and bassist Gav Gray have been in the band only since 2013. The lineup has changed a bit since the (still) latest studio album »Ambush« (2012), from which they also played a few songs this evening, but Tygers Of Pan Tang as a collective have only gained from such changes, which goes especially for the virtuoso Crystal, who is more than adept at all sorts of guitar tricks, so watching him perform, all lovers of hard rock guitar heroes were in for a treat.
The excellent singer Jacopo Meille and drummer Craig Ellis have been in Tygers Of Pan Tang for more than ten years, and in that time they’ve picked up more than enough experience to deliver the old songs the way they deserve. After the Bluesiana show, special praise goes to Meille’s slightly raspy but mighty and passionate voice, which suits the musical style of this cult metal band perfectly. The Tygers opened at full throttle with »Gangland« , the opening track of »Spellbound«, followed by the no less energetic »Take It«, during which the modest crowd was already actively joining in with singing and cheering. From the current album »Ambush«, whose excellent cover with a saber-toothed tiger also hung on the stage backdrop, they played, among others, »She«, which came off no worse than the older material, which they nail ‘live’ almost one hundred percent.
One fan in the front row knew all the Tygers’ lyrics by heart, which was downright unbelievable but true, earning special praise from singer Meille too. Meille asked the crowd whether they’d be up for the band playing a few more songs from »Crazy Nights« tonight, especially given that they recently released an album of rare, previously unreleased songs from that record’s recording sessions. He got an enthusiastic yes. The Tygers of Pan Tang’s distinctive blend of hard rock and heavy metal thus once again took wing on »Crazy Nights« energy catalysts like tonight’s »Raised On Rock«, »Love Don’t Stay«, »Never Satisfied« and »Do It Good«.
From »The Cage«, which already showed the first signs of ‘the system breaking down’ but still contained a few interesting songs, we got to enjoy brilliant versions of »Rendezvous and »Paris By Air«. The show was slowly nearing its end when it was time for three classics from the debut »Wild Cat«, namely »Don’t Touch Me There«, »Insanity« and »Suzie Smiled«, where the crowd actively joined in on the choruses. The peak of the main set was the rendition of the beloved »Spellbound« evergreen »Hellbound«, which American metal band Helstar brought closer to the next generation of metalheads in the early nineties with their cover.
For the encore, Tygers Of Pan Tang first had some fun with the »Ambush« track »Keeping Me Alive«, on which Meille was joined at the mic by the singer from the visiting Italian support band, an at least partly successful experiment that served both to entertain the crowd and to let the band’s oldest member, Weir, take a short break from playing and stroll through the audience. For the finale, the NWOBHM veterans served up »The Cage« mini-hit »Love Potion No. 9«, a cover of the ‘ancient’ band The Coasters, which warmed the hearts of the small but loyal crowd one last time that night.
In a set of under an hour and a half in the heart of Bluesiana, Tygers Of Pan Tang showed off brilliant form and, with their uncompromising approach straight out of the unforgettable NWOBHM school, proved they’re nowhere near ready for the scrap heap. Some might grimace that tonight’s show was a little short, but given the band’s ‘old-school’ musical style, it was just about the right length. It’s a shame that even after all these years they just can’t reach greater recognition, since they’d surely turn up at various venues more often if they got more invitations, but these days hardly anyone remembers them.
Aleš Podbrežnik words on: Sandness & Sixty Mies Ahead
Peter Podbrežnik words on: Tygers of Pan Tang
Setlist
TYGERS OF PAN TANG:
1. Gangland
2. Take It
3. Rock Candy
4. Rendezvous
5. Raised on Rock
6. Love Don’t Stay
7. Never Satisfied
8. Do It Good
9. She
10. Paris by Air
11. Rock and Roll Man
12. Euthanasia
13. Don’t Stop By
14. Don’t Touch Me There
15. Insanity
16. Suzie Smiled
17. Hellbound
—encore—
18. Keeping Me Alive
19. Love Potion No. 9
Photo Gallery
