Buckcherry are the sort of band that excites this reviewer in a very naughty way. A sneering strutting and tattooed rock force to be reckoned with, they burst on to the scene in the late nineties with a riff heavy self titled debut that fired the soul of rockers everywhere. Now in 2007 they’re back to tour in support of the album
15, the band’s first in four years after personnel changes and some well needed head-clearing time after the disintegration of the previous line-up. This latest long player is a brute of a rock record that’s chock full of riffs and hooks so the live show is the next step. Following on from a Glasgow Cathouse show last year that saw Buckcherry pack the little venue to the rafters, Altnation wanders along to the comparatively huge surroundings of the Garage to check them out again before they embark on a summer tour that includes the Download Festival for us UK gig goers.
Support from the Backyard Babies gets the slowly swelling crowd off to a good start. The Babies are the classic warm-up band for an occasion like this; solid and dependable without really ever being exciting. They look the part and sound the right shade of rock and roll but never seem to be able to the extra edge to set the world alight. The musical equivalent of the German national football team, for those who like smartarse comparisons. Still, they’re under no illusions as to who the main draw is tonight.
Buckcherry take the stage and kick off with three up tempo numbers in quick succession to set the tone of the evening. From the off they exude a star quality that shines brightly. The difference is soon clear, whether you like the music or not you can’t fail to appreciate the confidence and swagger they possess and how well the audience react to them. The catalogue of songs is cleverly raided as they launch into
Porno Star from second album
Time Bomb which manages to take a step down in tempo without detracting from the energetic delivery of the openers.
Sunshine from the latest album mixes in effortlessly after that which shows the way the three studio offerings fit together. In a way Buckcherry remind you of the way AC/DC albums sew together; you could mix pretty much any combination of tracks from a ten year period and they’d fit like a spandex glove. Whether this makes a band predictable and unimaginative or consistent and prolific is pretty much in the eye of the beholder and will depend largely on whether your knobs are turned by the style of music in question. It’s either sugar or shit but hey, we like our lives to be interesting eh?
As if being controlled by the gods of rock like some sort of naughty puppet, singer Josh Todd announces a “love song” in the shape of
Sorry which somehow manages to have a distinct power and impact while skirting dangerously close to lighter-in-the-air cliché. Next up is a superb extended run out of
Crazy Bitch which boasts enough infectious groove and overt sleaze to give most members of the audience impure thoughts well into the next morning. Finishing off the show Todd bemoans the curtailed set length due to the Garage clearing out the audience for that evening’s “fucking disco”. A chorus of howls ring out bringing wry smiles from the band. They’ve had a great night and look genuinely pleased to be entertaining the Glasgow crowd. They close with the classic
Lit Up which cranks up the intensity one more notch just for good measure.
So when you’re reading this review and wondering “hmm, would I like Buckcherry” there’s a simple test that everyone can do at home. Imagine yourself in a dirty club where Motley Crué are sitting at the bar shouting abuse at Guns ‘N’ Roses. While you’re getting a lap dance to AC/DC. Bands like Buckcherry will probably never change the world, but bloody hell do they give life a good soundtrack.
www.buckcherry.com www.myspace.com/buckcherry 15 is out now on Atlantic
