{"id":18700,"date":"2014-05-18T00:00:57","date_gmt":"2014-05-18T00:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=18700"},"modified":"2014-06-10T13:42:21","modified_gmt":"2014-06-10T13:42:21","slug":"live-review-the-last-vegas-18-05-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/live-review-the-last-vegas-18-05-14\/","title":{"rendered":"THE LAST VEGAS \/ HEARTBREAK REMEDY – The Underworld, Camden, London, England (May 18th, 2014) | Live Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE LAST VEGAS \/ HEARTBREAK REMEDY<\/span>
\n\"\"
\nThe Underworld, Camden, London, England<\/strong><\/span><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nMay 18th, 2014<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/td>\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
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Chad Cherry (The Last Vegas)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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Pic: Andrada Mihailescu<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

It was Lake District groove metallers Heartbreak Remedy who took to the stage at The Underworld in support of The Last Vegas. Despite a small audience, the quartet impressed with a set of hard rockin\u2019 tunes bolstered by the earthy vocals of Matty Penn, who also provided the strong bass-lines.<\/p>\n

Standout tracks were \u2018Hair Of The Dog\u2019, \u2018Tell Me Why\u2019 and the excellent ballad \u2018Life\u2019, but every track on offer \u2013 especially \u2018Josephine\u2019 \u2013 was delivered with an uptempo beat and at times married a Led Zeppelin<\/a> strut with grungier influences.<\/p>\n

Heartbreak Remedy also consist of drummer Stephen Jackson, and the twin guitar attack of Callum Glynn and Luke Blair, who give an extra metallic edge to the likes of \u2018All You\u2019ll Ever Be\u2019 and the fluid strains of \u2018Truth\u2019. In a sense, Heartbreak Remedy brought the perfect blend of no frills rock \u2019n\u2019 roll and groove-based, foot-tapping metal before making way for the headline act.<\/p>\n

Chicago\u2019s The Last Vegas should be massive. Their brand of glam-fueled, sleaze-edged rock \u2019n\u2019 roll is part-M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce<\/a>, part-Cinderella, a hint of AC\/DC, a sprig of The Cult and a dash of Janes Addiction, especially on opening strutter \u2018Come With Me\u2019.<\/p>\n

Frontman Chad Cherry is a diminutive figure off-stage but on it a gargantuan vocalist \u2013 adorned in grey woolly hat, and black fitted jacket adorned with his own custom-made \u201cWolfman\u201d back patch, he struts, flexes, twists and pirouettes like the bastard offspring of Mick Jagger and Joan Jett! His mercurial tones drift over the sweaty crowd as leather-clad guitarist Adam Arling provides another soaring lead of destruction amidst the waves of Nathan Arling\u2019s sturdy percussion. It\u2019s only rock \u2019n\u2019 roll and we love it as the band belts out top tune after top tune in support of their new rollicking opus Sweet Salvation.<\/p>\n

\u2018Invincible Summer\u2019, a track from 2014 opus Sweet Salvation<\/em>, is delivered with the usual glam rock swagger, showcasing Cherry\u2019s distinctive rasp. The new tracks showcased stand up well alongside the band\u2019s catalogue of what are becoming classics in every sense of the word, and thankfully The Last Vegas batter us with the songs that should soon have them playing in front of thousands.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m Bad\u2019 is a punch to the face as Cherry\u2019s black gloved hands clasp the mic with sweat-ridden conviction. Bassist Danny Smash, with black hat perched upon his head, judders the bones throughout \u2018Other Side\u2019, while the Led Zeppelin-ish-pomp of \u2018Evil Eyes\u2019 sees the energetic frontman pulling shapes through the legs of Adam Arling and in the shadows of Smash.<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n\n\n
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Chad Cherry and Danny Smash (The Last Vegas)<\/b><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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Pic: Andrada Mihailescu<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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But as each track rolls by and the small yet excited crowd gets louder and louder, it\u2019s clear that we are seeing something special tonight. As the twang of \u2018It Ain\u2019t Easy\u2019 saunters in under kaleidoscopic lights and then makes way for the Rolling Stones-like bustle of \u2018Loose Lips\u2019, I\u2019m reminded as to why all the coolest bands never seem to hit the big time and yet pray that The Last Vegas finally get the recognition they deserve.<\/p>\n

Hair metal ballad \u2018Apologize\u2019 reinforces my belief that these guys are, at the time of writing, the best band you\u2019ve never heard and as newie \u2018You & Me (Ya Never Know)\u2019 soars into the dripping rafters I\u2019m just spellbound by the stage presence and quality of this combo.<\/p>\n

And just when you think things cannot get any better, their anthem \u2018Whatever Gets You Off\u2019 rolls into the venue like a runaway train; jangling with its Cult-esque riff, Cherry bellows \u201cYa gotta go with what ya know\u201d<\/em>, and I\u2019m suddenly caught up in the same metal mania that came with those early M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce and Guns N\u2019 Roses records. It\u2019s a big noise, fueled by Adam Arling\u2019s licks and his brother\u2019s belligerent percussion, and with an encore that boasts the superb \u2018Miss You\u2019 it\u2019s no wonder that these guys attracted the attention of Nikki Sixx (M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce) and DJ Ashba (Guns N\u2019 Roses) several years ago.<\/p>\n

Whether to 50 or 50,000 people, The Last Vegas deliver no matter what the cost and tonight\u2019s gig was something I felt privileged to have been part off.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE LAST VEGAS \/ HEARTBREAK REMEDY The Underworld, Camden, London, England May 18th, 2014 Chad Cherry (The Last Vegas) Pic: Andrada Mihailescu It was Lake District groove metallers Heartbreak Remedy who took to the stage at The Underworld in support of The Last Vegas. Despite a small audience, the quartet impressed with a set of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1216,26,353],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-heartbreak-remedy","category-live-reviews","category-the-last-vegas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18700"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18767,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18700\/revisions\/18767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}