Gaskin/Route East at The Lincoln Imp - Friday 7th May 2010
Is it really 5 years ago since Gaskin played their 25th Anniversary gig at the now
defunct Hangar? Well surprisingly it is. 2010 is the band’s 30th year and they’re
back on stage again, this time celebrating with a series of gigs with tonight’s Lincoln
Imp bash following hot on the heels of a successful appearance at The Nelthorpe Arms,
the scene of the band’s first ever show.
Gaskin’s support for the night were Route East (formerly Wild Messiah of course),
a band who I last caught up with back in September of 2009 and who have since undergone
two personnel changes in the guitar department finally settling on the current 3-piece
line-up of Mark Williams (lead vocals), Martin Shepherd (bass) and Bradley Brown
(drums). The guys put together a neat, compact set of more medium paced rock songs
than I’d heard from them previously and they seem to have changed direction a tad.
“Won’t Pretend” from the band’s latest album offering was strong as was “Live For
Today” and Mark Williams’ voice was at its best in “I’ll Be There” but I enjoyed
the more rocky “Won’t Cry Tonight” which allowed the band to open up a bit more.
A big surprise was a cover of Lady Ga Ga’s “Poker Face”. I have to admit the guys
made an excellent job of it - the crowd loved it and it was a great end to their
set.
So, to Gaskin. This latest 2010 line-up featured Andy Solomon on guitar and Mick
Cross (bass) alongside original members Paul Gaskin (lead vocals/guitar) and Dave
Norman (drums). In such distinguished company you would expect something special
and the band didn’t disappoint. They swept into “Damnation” after a short instrumental
intro and had the crowd bouncing with “Ready For Love”. The mix was punchy and powerful
without being overly loud allowing you to pick out the guitar parts easily. On first
hearing you could be forgiven perhaps for thinking that the Gaskin and Solomon styles
are similar but there are subtle differences and they compliment each other which
in my opinion is this particular line-up works so well. The set comprised titles
mainly from the band’s 3-album back catalogue but also included Moscow’s “Man’s World”
and the excellent “For Absent Friends” which was a much slower paced instrumental
with a slightly bluesy, even jazzy (in places) feel to it. Other stand out numbers
for me were “The Contract” and the closing tune “End of The World” from the album
of the same name (I’ve always wanted to write that). This was good old heavy metal
- original material too, the like of which we don’t get to hear much of around these
parts, leastways live, and everyone (including the band) was having a ball. The very
noisy crowd demanded one more and the band obliged with the pulsating “Lost and Lonely”.
Great stuff. I could’ve listened to this all night.
I didn’t really see much of Gaskin the first time around I’m ashamed to say but I’m
enjoying catching up now. I have to admit that although I used to be a bit of metal-head
in my younger days I wouldn’t say I was a particular fan of this particular genre
these days being a little more into the indie/arty side so I don’t listen to it on
CD much - but I love it live - and I’d certainly go and see Gaskin again. And so
should you!
PJF
