Valley Of The Sun & Sergeant Thunderhoof, Crofters Rights, Bristol, 12.05.23
Somethings you can always trust in the live music scene. The biggest being that Snuff Lane put on some of the best stoner/doom/psych/riff gigs in South West/South Wales along with Pity My Brain they have that scene sewn up. May is always the best time of year for it too as it's Desertfest season so all of the world's riff slingers are circling the UK and Europe, meaning that bookers like Snuff Lane are inundated with bands they can poach to play.
So on a Friday night at the magical pub called The Crofters Rights (a venue I hadn't been too but will return to) for Ohio heavy blues rockers Valley Of The Sun (9) supported by West Country stoners Sergeant Thunderhoof (9). It was The 'Hoof who were up first drawing from their most recent release The Sceptred Veil as we got the heads slowly banging to You've Stolen The Words, the rhythmic bass of Jim Camp, audible as the anchor for Mark Sayer's riffs, the two of them in a wonderful unison, Jim holding the heavyweight foundations while Mark indulges in some clean melodic lead guitars on Devil's Daughter the quicker pace of Darren Ashman's drumming getting the pretty much packed house moving a bit quicker as Dan Flitcroft postured and posed like the rockstar he is, his vocals are bloody brilliant too, powerful, soulful and clear. The clarity was what struck me, and always does with Thunderhoof, they never sound bad or muddy, their performances are always crisp and clean, kudos to the sound engineer too on this score. I love watching The Hoof and tonight was no exception, looking forward to more.
A change over, another beer and The Ohio Foursome stormed the stage with Bluesy, Desert rocking that they call American Rock n Roll. Full of beans and having a great time watching lead guitarist Josh Pilot swing his guitar around his neck like Mr Malmsteen a smile etched permeantly to his face as drummer Lex Vegas goaded the crowd into partying with them on a Friday night even though they had a truncated set due to the Nightclub after the gig, he even claimed to be the DJ as he beat the kit, gurned and stood up repeatedly during their set, clearly suffering from Lars Ulrich syndrome (Andrew O'Neil will be upset). He's a powerhouse percussionist locked into some danceable groves with bassist Chris Sweeney, leaving Ryan Ferrier to add guitar and delivered the smooth vocals. Different enough stylistically to Thunderhoof to make this a interesting pairing, both bands played well to a receptive crowd fuelled by beer and riffs. Seeing Valley Of The Sun outside of a festival setting in the UK quite a rare thing so it was great to spend it with one of my best mates in a new favourite venue.
So on a Friday night at the magical pub called The Crofters Rights (a venue I hadn't been too but will return to) for Ohio heavy blues rockers Valley Of The Sun (9) supported by West Country stoners Sergeant Thunderhoof (9). It was The 'Hoof who were up first drawing from their most recent release The Sceptred Veil as we got the heads slowly banging to You've Stolen The Words, the rhythmic bass of Jim Camp, audible as the anchor for Mark Sayer's riffs, the two of them in a wonderful unison, Jim holding the heavyweight foundations while Mark indulges in some clean melodic lead guitars on Devil's Daughter the quicker pace of Darren Ashman's drumming getting the pretty much packed house moving a bit quicker as Dan Flitcroft postured and posed like the rockstar he is, his vocals are bloody brilliant too, powerful, soulful and clear. The clarity was what struck me, and always does with Thunderhoof, they never sound bad or muddy, their performances are always crisp and clean, kudos to the sound engineer too on this score. I love watching The Hoof and tonight was no exception, looking forward to more.
A change over, another beer and The Ohio Foursome stormed the stage with Bluesy, Desert rocking that they call American Rock n Roll. Full of beans and having a great time watching lead guitarist Josh Pilot swing his guitar around his neck like Mr Malmsteen a smile etched permeantly to his face as drummer Lex Vegas goaded the crowd into partying with them on a Friday night even though they had a truncated set due to the Nightclub after the gig, he even claimed to be the DJ as he beat the kit, gurned and stood up repeatedly during their set, clearly suffering from Lars Ulrich syndrome (Andrew O'Neil will be upset). He's a powerhouse percussionist locked into some danceable groves with bassist Chris Sweeney, leaving Ryan Ferrier to add guitar and delivered the smooth vocals. Different enough stylistically to Thunderhoof to make this a interesting pairing, both bands played well to a receptive crowd fuelled by beer and riffs. Seeing Valley Of The Sun outside of a festival setting in the UK quite a rare thing so it was great to spend it with one of my best mates in a new favourite venue.