TheAnswerSt Patrick’s Day is the one day of the year you can both love and equally detest. Whilst it has a great party-like atmosphere, the amount of ‘plastic paddies’ who parade the streets in cheap green/white/orange wigs or Guinness hats because they got one free after drinking 3 pints of the foul stuff is enough to make anyone’s stomach turn! Thankfully, Liverpool Arts Club didn’t have much of the stomach turning stuff. Instead it had The Answer touring the current UK number 1 rock chart album at the moment! Having recently reviewed the album, and noticed that the band were playing my neck of the woods, I decided it was worth a pop. Last time I saw them, they were opening for AC/DC, and let’s face it, if you go to see AC/DC, the support act is just more drinking time. Let’s see how the guys did when they were the main focus of the show shall we?

Opening the gig were Germany’s “The Picture Books“. A two piece outfit consisting of a guitarist-come-vocalist and drummer who for an accurate description, came off as a not-shit version of the White Stripes. The raw and dirty hard rock come blues sound was fantastic. Gratuitous use of slide guitar, pounding drums and passionate screamed vocals really won the crowd over. With a phenomenal amount of noise from the two piece, they smashed their way through their set with minimal fuss. Copious amounts of slide guitar and fuzzed out sounds really hit hard and the only low point of the set was the “Hendrix spot” where the guitarist tried to play some notes with his teeth.

Following on from the Picture Books were Norwich’s Bad Touch. The five piece had a very classic rock-blues feel to them and they certainly looked the part. Touring their debut album and supporting The Answer is a big break for these guys and they really seized the moment. Taking to the stage with high energy, catchy melodies and a front man who really knows how to work the crowd, Bad Touch really got the crowd warmed up for The Answer. This is a band to watch out for if you like this kinda stuff!

Finally it was the turn of The Answer. With this being St Patrick’s Day and the band having ties to Ireland, all be it the Northern side of the country, the crowd didn’t care much. The venue nicely filled out just in time for a traditional, lively sounding Irish Folk song intro track to be played whilst the band made their way on stage and that got the fans in their pocket right from the off! Opening up with the hard hitting “I am what I am” as opposed to the album opener (renegades), the band caught a lot of people off guard and the surprises didn’t stop there. The entire set was made up of their harder sounding tracks, perhaps showing that the band are heading back to their roots after the previous albums did draw some criticisms. Charismatic front man Cormac was on fine form. Proudly announcing the new albums position as number 1 in the UK rock charts and sharing out bottles of whiskey to whoever held a cup out for one during gaps in the set and instrumental sections of songs. If you want to party on St. Patricks Day, you clearly need to find The Answer!

Tracks from the new album like Aristocrat with its Led Zeppelin like vibe were full of energy, and the extended live jam version of “Last Days of Summer” and the hauntingly beautiful “Strange Kinda Nothing” sounded incredible live and old favourites like New Horizon really got the crowd bouncing but the highlight of the night musically had to be the title track off the latest release – “Raise A Little Hell”. This song encompassed everything about the new album and the whole feel of the night – hard hitting rock with a dirty groove which got people moving. Cormac jumped into the crowd for an extended section of the song which got everyone fired up even more and the time the band returned to the stage for their encore – the fan vote selected “Nowhere Freeway”, everyone was under their spell.

In all, it was a great night for those who like their classic rock and blues with a more contemporary take on them. I was told by a fellow reviewer here that seeing these guys in a venue like the Arts Club would blow me away and he was spot on. The Answer have earned their stripes over the years as the big sounding home-grown support act for big tours, and now it’s finally their time to take the mantle and do their own big tours. If you ever get the chance to see them, go along and enjoy it! I know I will if they pass my neck of the woods again!

(Review and photos © Fraggle)