A few months back, while walking the corridors of Superfreak Rehearsal Studios in Joondalup one evening, I heard the unmistakable tunes of Iron Maiden bellowing from one of the many rooms there and heading to the blackboard noticed a certain name listed among the many names there that night. Powerslave! Roll forward a few months and a solid crowd braved the wild & wintery Perth weather to show their support for Perth’s newest Iron Maiden tribute band and were left pretty darn impressed, but more of that later.
As seems to be the case with many of the tribute nights here in Perth, the evening began with an original act, The Wolfbats. If this is what it takes to help get original music out there, then it definitely a great idea to help some of our bands show off their talents to those who may otherwise miss out. And credit to the crowd for getting there early to support these fine musicians. Lively, catchy, punky, rock n’ roll at it’s very best, The Wolfbats warmed the crowd to great response with vocalist Elise Hudspith leading the band through an enjoyable fast-paced set supported by guitarist Becky Thomas, drummer John Madaffari and Pat Decline on bass.
Set List: Rise, Honestly, 245, Restart, Jebby, Attic, Never Again, D.D.S, Bleed American, Away, Set Fire, Patchwork
Devil’s Child have been ramping up their shows of late and give people the rare opportunity to enjoy the work of Judas Priest performed live. All the classics were rolled out once again tonight and Devil’s Child left nothing on stage as they tore through Priest’s back catalogue with tracks like ‘Hell Bent for Leather’, ‘Breaking the Law’, ‘Living After Midnight’ as well as one of my favourites ‘Heading Out to The Highway’. The enthusiastic crowd certainly enjoyed the performance tonight and I highly recommend catching Devil’s Child if you see them advertised at a venue near you.
As a huge Iron Maiden fan, myself my expectations were high, and boy did Powerslave deliver. The all too familiar opening of Churchill’s Speech filled the room as Powerslave entered the stage adorned with two large cut out Eddies on either side. Pyro’s lite the room as the band opened with ‘Aces High’ with black & white images flashing across the ever-changing backdrop. The band delivered a set littered with all the favourites and much more. ‘2 Minutes to Midnight’, ‘The Trooper’ and ‘Children of the Damned’ soon followed as the pyros continued to illuminate the stage. At times the dual guitars of Harrison Mills and This is Spudgun’s James Caldwell replicated the works of Murray, Smith & Gers with uncanny ease. Another standout for me from this five piece was the tone & sounds emanating from Kobashi stick man Adam Douglas’s drum kit, as he set the pace with blistering power & precision. ‘The Wicker Man’, ‘22 Acacia Avenue’ and ‘Number of the Beast’ kept the crowd on their toes with clenched fists punching the air everywhere you looked as Spudgun’s Ethan Broadbent kept the rhythm section tight with his Harris-like bass work.
Front man Mick Vinnie is no Bruce Dickinson (but who is other than Bruce himself) but tonight Vinnie owned it with his gritty powerful vocals more akin to Di’Anno at times and boy did it sound good. Sing-along favourites flowed as we were gripped by the closing four numbers of ‘Fear of the Dark’, ‘Wasted Years’, ‘Hallowed be Thy Name’ and ‘Run to The Hills’. The room erupted as we were treated to one more in the form of the band’s namesake track ‘Iron Maiden’, with Eddie himself marching out on stage between the band members. It was only as the last notes were played that we were able to draw breath. Powerslave delivered at a time when we have no real idea when the real Iron Maiden will make it to our shores. So, if you need your fix of the music of one of Britain’s finest heavy metal/rock bands then head out to catch Powerslave the next time they are on! You won’t be disappointed!
Set List: Aces High, 2 Minutes to Midnight, The Trooper, Children of the Damned, The Wicker Man, 22 Acacia Avenue, The Number of the Beast, Powerslave, Fear of the Dark, Wasted Years, Hallowed Be Thy Name, Run to the Hills Encore: Iron Maiden
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Jessica Vaini at JV Photo & Film
Powerslave
Devil’s Child, The Wolfbats
