HARD AS A ROCK’

Whey-Aye C/DC are a fairly new AC/DC tribute band, and obviously from the name alone you can instantly tell that they are ‘local’ to the North East region. This new act was put together by former Back In Black vocalist Daz McCourt earlier this year when his prior long-standing tribute band finally came to an end, after playing their final show with the main line-up in December last year. Back In Black had been gigging for over 5 years, but towards the back-end of their career then unfortunately things had become less stable with singer Daz previously leaving for a time, before rejoining the group for their final stint. Regardless of any internal turmoil within that particular band, they still managed to pull off some incredible shows including several gigs in the large function room of the Office, and of course playing the Newcastle City Hall as part of the first L.R.F.C. (Live Rock for Christmas) concert in 2004. Back In Black left quite an impression on the local live music scene, and it was the quality & authenticity of the music that really made them a big hit with our region’s rock fans. So when it all came to an end with B.I.B. then Daz wanted to continue on with pushing AC/DC’s music, and he started the search for musicians to help him complete his brand new project.

First choice on the list for any singer forming an AC/DC tribute would be to find the perfect Angus Young character, who of course is an absolutely essential part of the line-up. Daz had his eye on Graham from the very beginning, as he had actually stood in as Angus for B.I.B.’s last ever gig in Gosforth earlier this year. Even though Lorne (the original lead guitarist & founding member of B.I.B.) had quit by that stage, the band still felt obligated to play one final booking at the Blacksmith’s Arms, and Graham was good enough to help the band out. Graham was already a fully designated Angus in another AC/DC tribute band called Volts. I’d never seen Volts perform as they did in fact play several shows in this region, but I head heard excellent reports of how outstanding their Angus character was. I knew already that Daz was a first-rate Brian Johnson styled vocalist, so with the 2 main positions already filled then it wasn’t that difficult for the rest of the pieces to fall in to place. In came 2nd guitarist Deano who also currently plays with the Tygers of Pang Tang, and with the many years of experience he has gained with bands over the last couple of decades then he made a brilliant choice as the Malcolm Young figure.

Last but not least were Neil on drums and Chris on bass guitar. I’d never seen Chris play before, but of course Neil I knew from his past rock-cover bands Natural Born Killers and of course the almost legendary (and much missed) Blast. Neil had also been the drummer in the original music group Order of the Black Sun, but unfortunately they split up earlier this year when their lead singer tragically died. Neil’s a great drummer, yet he’s been plagued with bad luck from bands that haven’t lasted that long, and finally he seems to have gotten in to a project that might have some stability & longevity. With the line-up for Whey-Aye C/DC complete then the time was right to get the band a booking in at the Office. I’d kept in touch with Daz via email as I wanted the Office to be amongst the first pubs to feature the band in action. We had discussed the idea of showcasing the new group at this venue, and both of us decided it would make for a far more exciting & intimate show by having the gig in the lower downstairs room where all the regular live acts perform. After all, this was a brand new band with no real reputation gained yet, and if you pull a decent crowd in to the lower room then it can make for a far more atmospheric gig all-round.

Whey-Aye C/DC made a point of getting a few other dates under their belts before coming to the Office to perform. Daz wanted the band to be on top form for this gig, especially with it being the venue where Back In Black had played their first-ever live show 6 years prior. He knew that the Office audience can be a tough crowd to win over, but also it’s a great pub to play with a spacious stage area, and with the band playing directly to the punters (no L-shaped room, etc). It’s a great baptism of fire for any acts that want to get a good reputation, but of course not the kind of place a band would want to play if they were still finding their feet or were perhaps still under-rehearsed. So I was pleased to finally get the band a booking at the venue after emailing Daz and nagging him for many months previously with questions of “how’s it going, are you ready to gig yet?”. Gigs by the 2 main AC/DC tribute bands in the North East (Powerage and Back In Black) have mainly been ‘ticket’ affairs with there being an entry fee to see these acts perform. It was nice to finally be able to offer a ‘free’ entry for an AC/DC tribute, and even though the band are almost unheard of in South Shields, I knew that the ‘AC/DC’ association would bring about enough interest to secure a decent turnout for the gig.

And indeed the turnout was very healthy indeed. The place wasn’t packed out uncomfortably, but all the seats were filled, and there were plenty of bodies filling up the main floor area right up to the edge of the wooden dance-floor. So all-in-all it was an excellent response for the band’s first ever appearance at the venue, and it marked one of the better turnouts at this venue over the last few months. Whey-Aye C/DC had decided that they’d rather play one set right through than breaking it up with an interval. Yet when they said that the show would be 2-hours long then I had no problem with that at all, as the band would end up finishing roughly the same time as the regular groups do that end up taking a break anyway. So they went on stage around 9:25 and then proceeded to play a highly energised set that featured many of the AC/DC classic anthems, as well as some landmark moments from albums that Brian Johnson had recorded with the band. Daz is distinctly more of a ‘Johnna’ vocalist as opposed to a Bon Scott styled singer (Bon being the original singer with AC/DC throughout the 70’s). But this is where he comes in to his own as there are few people in the UK that can authentically pull of that gritty & throaty style. This gives Whey-Aye C/DC their own unique take on the AC/DC legacy, and it gives them their own identity too.

From the opening chords of ‘Riff Raff’ you could feel that this was going to be something a bit more special than just another pub-band playing in a South Shields’ venue (of which there quite a few these days). As Graham (Angus) took to the stage then he looked the business fully decked out in the signature schoolboy uniform, and the fact of him being quite small in stature (ha-ha) is a definite asset too with regards to the entire Angus image. As the song broke in to full stride then Daz entered the stage as well with his trademark baggy black shirt and flat cap. The music sounded great, the band looked the part, and they really were a very good AC/DC tribute band. After just witnessing the group AB/CD playing at the Limelight in Crewe on the recent BBC2 documentary, then I can easily say that Whey-Aye C/DC piss all over that lot, ha-ha. Not only do these lads ‘sound’ more authentic than those Limelight Club counter-parts, but they also ‘look’ like what you’d expect them too as well. Fair enough for the other 3 band members then it was just the same basic jeans & t-shirts that they arrived at the venue in, but the real visuals for any AC/DC tribute is the singer & lead guitarist combination, and Daz and Graham have that instant appeal to the eye.

The band kept the energy levels flowing strong with ‘Shoot to Thrill’, and even within just 2 songs you could get a real feel for this group. Deano on 2nd guitar and Chris on bass were fairly much at the sides, while that left room for the Johnna & Angus characters to strut their stuff on the centre of the stage. This is basically what the real AC/DC are like, so I could understand the other 2 members keeping out of the way of the main 2 performers. But in saying that it would have been nice just to see a little more energy & posing from these guys to give it a real ‘team’ feel, but musically the entire ensemble were marvellous. Neil on drums had 2 large mounted bass drums slung up on either side of his drum kit, very much in keeping with the early 90’s AC/DC drummer at that time, Chris Slade. And they weren’t just for show as he did use them occasionally, and they did look & sound impressive when they were brought in to play too. The icing on the cake with this kind of band will always be the lead guitar & lead vocals, yet the other 3 members did perform exceedingly well to provide an amazing basis on which the other 2 could add their embellishments. The music was tight & solid, which is exactly what you’d expect from a good quality AC/DC tribute.

Whey-Aye C/DC kept the balance of Johnna / Bon material pretty even for the first 2 thirds of the show. Although Daz has the distinctive Brian Johnson tone to his voice, even the real current AC/DC singer performs a lot of the 70’s era material in his present set, and as such then so did this band too. I think they covered all the main songs in the AC/DC repertoire with 80’s tracks like ‘Heatseeker’, ‘Have a Drink on Me’, ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ and of course ‘Back in Black’. ‘Thunderstruck’ was noticeable by it’s absence, but I was told that this is a song that the band are working on and intend to include it in the near future. Of course you had all the older classics there too with ‘Rock & Roll Damnation’, ‘Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be’, ‘If You Want Blood’ & ‘Sin City’. It was essentially what you’d expect from any AC/DC tribute that musically crossed the entire spectrum of the real band’s full career, and they even went right through to more recent stuff like ‘Hard as a Rock’ as well. The crowd were a tough work to start with and it took a while for them to loosen up and become noisier & more appreciative. This wasn’t the band’s fault in the slightest as they put on a very good show, but more a case of there not being many true AC/DC fans in the audience this evening.

Some people were just there to hear the main half a dozen anthems that they could instantly recognise, and some of the other material was going a bit over their heads, which is bizarre when you consider that this really was a superb representation of the finest moments from AC/DC’s career. ‘Bad Boy Boogie’ helped to break the ice with Graham in full swing pulling off all the moves that Angus is famous for, as well as his striptease act in the chilled-out mid-section, complete with union jack shorts and flashing bare bum-cheeks (ha-ha). Graham looks incredible as Angus. He’s actually smaller than the real guy, yet he’s so physically fit & sinewy in appearance, and he possesses all the energy of his real counterpart as well. His guitar sound and lead playing were as energised as his performance, and if Daz alone got the band half way there to being a credible AC/DC tribute then Graham took it all the rest of the way to make it complete. Daz did a cracking job, and even though I thought that the volume of his voice might dip during this lengthy show, he kept it belting out throughout the evening. His only failing was his stage gear which is now looking exceeding baggy on him with him recently losing about a stone & a half in weight. So please Daz, get some new stage clothes because the poor bugger must have spent half the night pulling up his pants and rolling up his sleeves during his performance (you f*cking skinny bugger, ha-ha).

But it was definitely the final leg of the show when the band truly shone and the audience at last started to really come to life. And how could this lot fail with a powerhouse selection of songs that included ‘Highway to Hell’, ‘Whole Lotta Rosie’, ‘High Voltage’ and ‘Let There Be Rock’. At last the atmosphere in the room was befitting that of the hard work the band were putting in to the show. It took a while for the crowd to really warm up, but once they got all the songs that any monkey could easily recognise then they responded warmly & loudly. The encore of ‘For Those About To Rock’ wrapped things up perfectly, and after such a long gig lasting just on 2 hours then they didn’t really need to play anything else. For my first ever experience of Whey-Aye C/DC then they delivered everything I’d hoped they that would. Great song choices, played professionally & accurately, with good entertaining performances from both Daz (Johnna) & Graham (Angus). They had the AC/DC sound naturally without trying too hard, and the whole thing came together in a delightfully satisfactory manner. All of the band members played their part to make it a great overall show, and even though Daz & Graham stole the spotlight I can state that they ALL contributed towards creating such a success.

Whether the band remain as part of the regular local pub circuit or decide to move it up a notch to play bigger styled events, it is basically up to them now. But for this evening they pulled in one of the bigger crowds that the Office has achieved in recent months (f*cking smoking ban, bah humbug), and put on one of the more enjoyable shows that I’ve seen in this venue during the course of this year. As with all ‘tribute’ bands, they have their work cut out for them when playing standard pubs where the audience might only know a handful of songs by the act that they are paying homage to. But it was a free entry gig that gave the locals a chance to enjoy a full evening of AC/DC’s music without there being a cover charge to pay, and it brought in a few people that might have otherwise not bothered coming at all. So hopefully Whey-Aye C/DC will have converted some of those undecided in to becoming true believers now, and once again spreading the gospel of AC/DC across the North East of England.