CJ Wildheart - Sept 22 Well, this one nearly didn’t happen – the toilets at the venue flooded and it all depended on an emergency plumber rectifying the situation. The door times were pushed back a couple of times and nobody knew if the gig was going ahead. Then ninety minutes late we got the message that the gig was on. And what a gig it would turn out to be.

With the Wildhearts currently out of action, this is the nearest we can get to a reunion with three members of the mid 2000s lineup in the venue at the same time. Ritch Battersby would be playing with the reformed Grand Theft Audio, whilst Scott Sorry and CJ would play their own solo sets, and you never know, there might be a reunion for the encore.

It’s been over 20 years since Grand Theft Audio toured the UK with their sole album ‘Blame Everyone’, but they are back with Jay Butler and Ritch picking up the mantel once again with a new album in tow. Joined by Ben Marsden on guitar and Rob Lane on bass duties, the band hurtle into ‘Ruin Your Youth’. It’s the last that we see of Jay on the stage as he’s off into the crowd for ‘We Luv U’. Any bigger a venue, and we’d need to have a satellite tracker on him – if there is a flat surface or pole to hang off, Jay is there singing into the faces of the crowd.

On stage Ben and Rob are having great fun making use of the vacant centre stage. The band are tight as anything and the tunes keep coming – ‘Scrub Up’ from the new album is reminiscent of Mike Patton and Faith No More and that is never a bad thing. ‘Stoopid Ass’ is as fun as it was 20 years ago whilst ‘Ici Mon Decree’ brings the hammer head assault on your aural senses right up to date. From out of the darkness Jay finds his way back to the stage and the band conclude with an excellent ‘Bury the Day’. Grand Theft Audio – it’s good to have you back.

It's been a while since Scott Sorry has been able to tour the UK for various reasons and he is back making up for lost time this time. Most of the set comes from his 2016 solo album ‘When We were Kings’ and the opening tracks ‘Broken Hearts and 45s’, ‘End of Summer’ and ‘Close Calls’ set the scene for tonight’s show as well. It’s a good mix of earnest east coast punk rock and americana.

Scott’s hardcore roots are revisited with a blistering version of Sorry and the SInatras’ ‘Hated Heart’. Latest single ‘Black Dog Dancers’ and ‘When We Were Kings’ finish the set with Kris Rodgers’ keyboards coming to the fore. I’ve reviewed Rich Ragany a number of times recently, and wouldn’t you believe it, Rags appears, finishing the set on stage with Scott and gang adding backing vocals.

I first saw CJ Wildheart when Honeycrack supported China Drum at Hull Adelphi in 1995. Since then, I’ve seen him back with the Wildhearts a few times, but never for a solo show, so this would be a brand new set for me.

First up, CJ’s beloved guitar, Mable, has had a makeover and it looks stunning. Kudos to Si Easton for doing such a quality job with the wood burning. The Devilspit oil can guitar that comes out later is also a work of art – CJ certainly has taste when it comes to guitar artistry.

CJ is joined by Ben Marsden for his second stint of the night (is there any band that Ben does not play in, bar those that feature Chris Catalyst) as part of the three guitar assault and launch into ‘Peking Duck’ and ‘State of Us’ from the ‘Siege’ album. CJ’s solo material always seems consistently harder and faster than that of his former bands, with his unrelenting vocal onslaught and heavy riffs.

However, tonight is to celebrate CJ’s varied career and the new best of ‘Lives’ meaning we are treated to a wide selection of tunes from his past. ‘Lemonade Girl’ from CJ’s time with The Jellys wouldn’t feel out of place in an early Primal Scream set. Revisiting the Wildhearts days, next up is b-side ‘Hit It On the Head’ leading into the thrashy chords of ‘F.U.B.A.R’ with its multiple speed changes. In the first of two visits to the Honeycrack back catalogue, we have a decidedly poppy ‘Sitting At Home’. ‘50% Indian’ and ‘Tea Leaf’ from the ‘Blood’ return to the heavier riffs before we are back in Honeycrack territory with ‘Gone Away’. Finishing the set with The Wildhearts’ O.C.D, there’s not much more that CJ would need to do to make the crowd even happier.

As promised we have the reunion encore with Ritch and Scott returning to the stage. Unfortunately, the delayed start and our last train being cancelled meant that we had to leave just as they started to play so we missed out on much of the encore.

However, all that had passed in the previous three hours more than made up for our abrupt departure. Three bands having the time of their lives and it showed on stage and the crowd loved it.

Grand Theft Audio - Sept 22 Grand Theft Audio - Sept 22 Grand Theft Audio - Sept 22 Scott Sorry - Sept 22 Scott Sorry - Sept 22 Scott Sorry - Sept 22 CJ Wildheart - Sept 22 CJ Wildheart - Sept 22 CJ Wildheart - Sept 22