Once again I brave the Severn Bridge and venture into Bristol for the second time in a week to catch yet more quality music. 

The Quireboys are out treading the boards in celebration of the 20th anniversary of their debut album and what a debut album it was; 'A Bit Of What You Fancy' which has also had a timely  rerelease, remastered with bonus tracks galore. Twenty years ago The Quireboys and Wolfsbane teamed up for this very same double act to criss cross across the UK on the crest of a wave that, at the time, was a dream double bill of the cream of Brit rock. 

First up tonight were Tamworth's finest Wolfsbane, out with the original line up intact for the first time in a few years. Tonight was all about the celebration of two great bands and Blaze seemed genuinely delighted with the response he was getting from a busy Academy on this Thursday night in December. The cheesy intros were there and so were the Jase axe licks as we got classic after classic - if you closed your eyes it's like those twenty years never existed and Wolfsbane sounded like a band without the weight of expectation on their shoulders and were having a ball. 'Loco', 'Paint The Town Red', 'Kathy Wilson', 'Temple Of Rock', 'Manhunt';  they were all here and they even got called back for an encore - not something every support band is afforded. Smart indeed. Let's just hope it's not the end of Wolfsbane's foray into the live circuit and they don't leave it two years before people get the chance to see them again. Thanks guys, you rock! \m/

Onto headliners The Quireboys. Personally they were on a par twenty years ago with the other top boys of the scene The Dogs D'Amour, yet Spike and Guy Griffin have managed to keep the wagon on the road in one shape or another over the years, even if there was an extended hiatus in there somewhere and Nigel Mogg is no longer a part of the band; the songs remain and what a collection of songs they are. A similar set to the one played at Hard Rock Hell with a few extras from that most awesome of debut albums, including the classic ballad 'I Don't Love You Anymore'. 

The onstage chemistry seems to get better with age and Spike is still the finest of ringmasters.  "This is rock 'n' roll" grins Spike and, you know what, he ain't wrong. Long live the Quireboys because in a world where proper music gets forced further and further underground due to the insipid bile spewed by TV companies and the Cowell machine I raise a glass to all the believers who were present tonight in a busy Bristol Academy just before Christmas in this economic climate and I raise another glass to Spike and the band for keeping it real and sounding just as fresh as the first time I saw them over twenty years ago! This is rock 'n' roll!  Fucking right it is!

Price of a pint of Strongbow = £3.20
CD = £10
Illegal parking fine = £100
Seeing the look of joy on Blaze Bayley's face at the end of their set = priceless!

Photo kudos to Matt 'Bianco' Phelps