For me it was a case of third time lucky with Paul Rodgers, having been silly enough to miss him twice before in Newcastle. With Bad Co reuniting for this tour, I was keen to see the legends in action.
However it was Joe Perry of Aerosmith and his band who opened proceedings with some raunchy rocking sounds from his new album, Have Guitar, Will Travel. Produced when hundreds of rumours were circling about whether or not Steven Tyler would continue in Aerosmith, it comes from a man with an ambition to develop his own music. Though very different from his roots, stand out tracks such as We've Got A Long Way To Go and Wooden Ships gave a great example of this man's guitar skills. Aerosmith are due to play a few gigs this summer, but only a few months ago it was Perry had put forward names such as Rodgers himself for a replacement. As for the gig, the Project were very good, but singer Hagen did seem out of place occasionally despite his vocal talent. They were a good warm up for Bad Co, but I believe it is nothing more than Perry exploring his musical style. They finished with the unforgettable Walk This Way, which was a nice touch. I hope the so called toxic twins can get back to where they belong or a great rock band will be lost.
After a short break, on came Bad Company, currently including Paul Rodgers, Mick Ralphs on guitar and Simon Kirke (also of Free) from the original line-up plus touring guitarist Howard Leese and bassist Lynn Sorensen. It was clear to see that these guys had lost none of their flow. Storming on with Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Rodgers strutted about the stage, the true frontman he is. Though a fair bit back, the acoustics and light show were brilliant and Rodgers' voice got everyone on their feet with one twirl of his microphone. Every song was a classic, and Rodgers and Leese took turns to play on the grand piano situated on stage. Burnin' Sky and Feel Like Makin' Love were stand out tunes from their seventies albums. A brilliant acoustic version of Seagull provided a breather before the pace picked up once again for Rock N' Roll Fantasy, for which Joe Perry reappeared on stage to provide a memorable performance.
The crowd favourite was always going to be Shooting Star, and behind the band a vast screen showed a montage of lost legends like John Bonham, Jimi Hendrix, and Freddie Mercury, the crowd singing along. Rodgers still has one of the best voices in rock today, and this showed through the brilliant encore of Ready For Love and Bad Company. Though I prefer more intimate venues, Bad Company started out in 1973 and on a chilly spring night in 2010 they blew us all away.
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