Tesla, Diamond Head, McQueen
Shepherds Bush Empire
London, England
28 June 2007
By Alissa Ordabai
(SugarBuzz Hollywood)
On June 26 Tesla played in London for the first time in 16 years. Shepherd Bush Empire, a famous London theatre venue, is one of the best in the world for big acts who want to play classier and more intimate shows. Bands like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, the Rolling Stones, and the Black Crowes have made the most of this place in the past, and it was now Tesla’s turn to experience first hand the atmosphere that his 2000-seater can help create.
The support acts chosen for the night couldn’t have been more unequally matched. On the one hand there was McQueen, a relatively new all-female UK outfit presenting a generic mix of punk, alternative rock and glam spiked with splashes of nu metal, and on the other – veteran NWBHM masters Diamond Head. Go figure.
McQueen were on first, their tenuous tunes receiving no more than a modest interest from the crowd. Singer Leah Duors is the obvious focal point of the band, an eye candy looking squeaky clean and perfectly groomed, which is certainly not a bad thing, even though quite bizarre in someone who tends to break into vehement nu metal-style growls as frequently as this singer did throughout the set. All the way through the show I couldn’t help thinking that Leah could have been mistaken for a TV newsreader if not for her chunky belt and spaghetti-strap top, and it is probably this contrast between her appearance and the brutality of her growls, largely unwarranted by the band’s bland melodies, that made it hard to believe McQueen’s act. Although it could also be Leah’s airline in-flight announcer voice which transpired in the rants between the songs that emphasised the gaping disparity between the act and the inner essence of the person presenting it. This, I think, is what ruined her attempts to prove her rock cred which she tried to attest by saying “fucking” before every noun in her rants, as the more I heard her cursing, the less I believed her, no matter how many obscene gestures she was throwing in for good measure.
As far as McQueen’s material goes, it is a peculiar cross between Avril Lavigne, Linkin Park, Alanis Morissette, and Faster Pussycat, and despite being drawn from so many different sources, it totally lacks imagination, with the band’s little melodies, harmonies and all the trivial predictable breaks, bridges and solos doing nothing more than repeating and mixing the elements of what has been heard on mainstream and rock airwaves a million times before.
It is hard to take seriously a band that relies exclusively on copying and borrowing, and watching McQueen struggle for style on the night really made me wish they could find in themselves what they seek in imitation of other artists.
Diamond Head were on next, and immediately drew the line that separates the authentic from the fraudulent, wiping the slate clean with a fantastic set of classic numbers. The reception they got from the audience was fabulously enthusiastic, and in contrast to the act before them, their unity of composition and execution was perfect. It was startling to hear how all of their vintage tunes still retain their freshness and lustre, the band to this day staying totally aware of their purpose and their own nature. The reason why their songs now sound timeless is probably because so many of the elements that Diamond Head have pioneered almost 30 years ago are still in circulation, heard every day on the radio in the music of their extremely successful followers.
Diamond Head’s superb songwriting is certainly the backbone of their appeal, but their musicianship too is prodigious. Brian Tatler’s vivid solos hit out with compact precision every time – direct, vibrant, and expertly balanced, turning into real gems on “It’s Electric” and “Am I Evil”. “Am I Evil” was, of course, a standout and the culmination of the set, with every single person in the crowd singing along.
New material from the upcoming album “What’s in Your Head?” sounded on par with the classic numbers that the band played on the night, holding up remarkably and making me want to get hold of the record as soon as it’s out on July 30.
Tesla had to come up with something truly powerful to be able to follow Diamond Head with dignity, and “Cumin’ Atcha Live” couldn’t have been a more perfect opener. It made an immediate promise to turn the show into a spectacular guitar fest, and this was exactly what we got for the next two hours – the best tunes from the band’s catalogue with loads of virtuosic solos from Frank Hannon and tons of passion from Jeff Keith.
Tesla were clearly pleased to play in London after such a long break, and Jeff Keith praised the audience and the venue with words “Beautiful people, beautiful place, beautiful day”. Keith was in top form, just like the rest of the band, his voice piercingly loud and jut as powerful as at the start of the band’s career 23 years ago. An effortlessly charismatic frontman, Keith to this day remains an unflagging vocal powerhouse, and although he may still borrow a lot from Steven Tyler, he keeps finding new ways to rework his influences and to create his own musical vision.
Standouts “Lazy Days, Crazy Nights” and “Little Suzi” were both warm, atmospheric highlights that the audience clapped and sang along to, and which the band used to balance the soundstorm of the larger part of the set.
UFO’s “Rock Bottom” became not only a tribute to the masters, but also an impressive showcase of Hannon’s virtuosic technique. Tesla’s version of the classic isn’t as fluent as the original, but Hannon’s ballsy, effect-laden rendition of the riff from the very start turned the song into a signature Tesla showpiece, with the band’s unmistakable style stamped all over it. Still, this was a respectful tribute, with a lot of elements of Schenker’s original leads left intact, although expanded and given an extra bounce with Hannon’s trademark brilliancy.
“Love Song” confirmed that the band’s main point of attraction is still the magnificent guitar leads. The way Hannon is able to hold the emotion of the moment even when he elaborates his crisp and polished solos almost to excess, is what makes him stand out among dozens of other chopsmen of his generation. His technique never stopped developing despite the shifting fashions of the last 20 years, and while you could say that his approach to guitar has a certain fetishistic emphasis on technical virtuosity, he is still a very honest player who has an organic sense of what works in rock music.
Tesla were incredibly well received by Londoners this time with chants of the band’s name between the songs and deafening applause after each number they played. The band has promised to come back to London in “less than 16 months” and left us all waiting for the next show as well as the new album which is out on July 2.