Review: Buckcherry + Hoobastank, O2 Academy

Should Dante be reincarnated and wish to add an additional circle of hell to his Divine Comedy, then surely he would be inspired by the ongoing disaster that is Bristol’s traffic chaos; which once again conspired to delay your reviewer’s arrival at the venue. Headline length sets for both Hoobastank and Buckcherry meant early doors too and alas all the above meant only a fleeting glimpse of support act Adelita’s Way.

If their final number Invincible was indicative of the rest of their performance, then it was a damn shame to have missed their opening set. An absolute monster of a tune, with a killer riff built on a massive, driving beat and an uplifting earworm of a chorus, which the crowd roared back at the band with minimal encouragement. It was clear from the audience reaction that the band had pleased the busy room, and there were plenty of box fresh AW shirts on display; so they converted a few punters too.

Hoobastank chose to build their set around The Reason, an album that fifteen years ago “…changed us personally and professionally”. Singer Doug Robb’s announcement that it would be played in full and in sequence was greeted with raucous approval by their fans in the crowd, who were already thrilled by the opening pairing of Same Direction and Out of Control – especially the latter’s super-heavy riffs.

The L.A. band worked hard to deliver the album, and whilst they already had at least half the crowd on their side – rapt fans who knew every word – but Robb wanted the whole room involved, insisting that everyone jump around and get moving. Escape certainly proved the trigger for newbies to get in to the band and the room gradually fell under their spell, to the singer’s evident pleasure.

Robb was the band’s flywheel throughout, a constant blur of motion as he inhabited every song; working the crowd remorselessly; he strapped on a rhythm guitar and literally threw himself into every tune. His connection with the material was evident, and it was clear too that there was a connection with him and the fans present: plenty of eye contact and plenty of banter back and forth. He worked hard to draw in new fans too, requesting, and getting, plenty of participation.

As for the rest of the outfit, Dan Estrin (guitars, loads & loads of different guitars) demonstrated his versatility throughout the set. He delivered crunchy slabs of sound, stinging solos and plenty of intriguing melody lines (and was that him triggering sampled washes of synths?).

Jesse Charland was pretty much rooted to his mic stand, but then he did an awful lot of singing, his backing vocals adding much to the tunes and complementing Robb’s lead vocals. His bass work was forceful yet melodic, underpinning Estrin and locked in with Chris Hesse behind the kit.

Hesse, a drummer out of the less is more school, kept the band honest with simple (but never simplistic) drumming, which was exactly what the songs required.

As for playing the album in its entirety, to a crowd featuring plenty of punters unfamiliar with the band, well, that was a gamble. But it paid off as there was enough variety in the selection to entertain on a first hearing. Not dumb enough to be nu-metal but too hefty to be emo, the band’s alt-metal sound translated well at volume and with an impassioned performance.

With the album delivered there was time for a couple more numbers, Robb having already debated requests with the crowd prior to Disappear. The flamenco opening of Running Away was greeted with a roar by those in the know and the song kept the crowd moving. The squiggly, spiralling intro to Crawling in the Dark retained the groove and as the band punched it out there was one last surge of arms aloft singing and one final burst of movement.

There was no doubt that Hoobastank more than pleased their fans and converted more than a few with their set. They delivered their material with obvious passion and sincerity by the yard, a winning combination when it comes to converting the uninitiated and delighting existing followers.

As an aside, the gap between the co-headliners allowed a swift comfort break, which meant using the temporary facilities…located outside. Answering nature’s siren call in the cold and dark whilst the rain hammered down really gave the gig that Saturday night at Download vibe.

Buckcherry have a new LP Warpaint ready to go and seven previous albums to draw from, however they elected to open their set with a cover, Head Like a Hole (Nine Inch Nails). The original is a beast of a tune on record and NiN turn it into a monster headfuck on stage; Buckcherry not only matched the intensity and power of that band, but they gave it a new twist to make it their own. A twisted, pummelling version that sounded both familiar and yet slightly off kilter, jagged and menacing.

Singer Josh Todd (a man built entirely of sinew, muscle, attitude and tattoos) commanded the stage, his wired, hip swivelling gyrations & slippery slides impossible to look away from and his (at times) gnomic stage announcements equally entertaining and puzzling. No, I’m not sure exactly how The Art of War influenced Broken Glass either but no matter, it was a brutal, satisfying rendition. He also won a massive cheer when introducing Lit Up via his own cocaine stories after informing all that his first line came from off a Ouija board. The tune itself caused a massive ruckus, the crowd bouncing to its infectious beat, bellowing the chorus back at the band with relish.

The musicians brought an old school attitude to the stage, playing with a conspicuous LA swagger but also performing with sincerity and power, clearly enjoying themselves. Every inch of the stage was bounced upon, danced across and posed upon…in a really good way.

Stevie D and Kevin Roentgen played their asses off, their guitars entwined, both riffing at will and whilst Stevie took most of the leads, Roentgen pealed off some tasty solos of his own. Versatile players too, the blues vamp that led in to Too Drunk… had plenty of soul and there was the odd burst of Lizzy-esque twin lead. Both played with plenty of punk attack too, leavening the metal with some snotty almost-thrash that never regressed to noise.

The set was well selected, and the new tunes were as well received as the older cuts, Bent in particular stood out, a mean, serrated riff built on a shitty attitude and a throbbing beat that nonetheless wormed its way into the cortex with its non-chorus chorus. Rescue Me was potent but Sorry never quite took off, a fine tune and fan favourite that just didn’t quite reach escape velocity.

Say Fuck It and Too Drunk…made for a crowd pleasing potty mouthed singalong and Ridin’ rode a monstrous riff whilst Rose retained just a hint of its (almost) country twang providing a welcome respite from the intensity of the opening trio of tunes. Gluttony was a rush, a real phat rush: the band relishing the tongue twisting vocals and its breakneck pace.

Of course, you can have thrilling guitars, rousing songs and a consummate hard rock vocalist (looking increasingly like a young Bill Nighy impersonating Steven Tyler as the set progressed) but you can’t make it work without a decent rhythm section. Plenty of shit bands have a great rhythm section but no great bands have a shit rhythm section.

Kelly LeMieux (bass, bandana and weapons grade rock n roll gurning) and Francis Ruiz (drums, drums, drums) were rock solid throughout. The latter wasn’t content with just keeping the beat and so peppered the tunes with fills and splashes and the former managed to funk up the songs, shadowing the riffs forcefully.

The announcement of the last song drew disappointment from the crowd, and it was no surprise that Todd’s request for the crowd to pick the final number resulted in a unanimous vote for the salacious Crazy Bitch. Bizarrely the band launched in to Eddie Money’s Two Tickets to Paradise. By playing it straight (albeit with a knowing twinkle in their eye) the band both caught the crowd off guard and entertained before crashing in to Crazy Bitch, which was extended into a ragged yet enjoyable finale.

The band all got their chance to shine with name checks and solos (mercifully no monster drum solo or, god forbid, bass solo: just a funky little work out); the frontline got to show off synchronised dance moves reminiscent of a 60s soul band (no, really) and we got a wee blast of Jungle Boogie and a verse & chorus of Proud Mary too. A quick group photo and the show was done, no encore. But plenty of laughs as Todd mugged along to their walk off music – I Will Always Love You (of course it was the far superior version by Dolly).

On paper this was an unusual pairing: the earnest alt-metal of Hoobastank and the louche, sleazy cock rock of Buckcherry, but on the night it worked well. The different styles of the two bands complimented each other by way of contrast so let’s hope that promoters and bands alike are just as adventurous with future tours.

All pix by Phil Watson

Buckcherry / Hoobastank: O2 Academy: Wednesday, 06 February 2019