A night for the books, Last In Line are playing a special show with legendary special guests, and friends, Diamond Head. There isn’t much that can be said that hasn’t been said before about these line-ups. Diamond Head, the classic NWOBHM band that made their mark on a few bands that became known as the big four; And Last in Line, the original former Dio members from the first three albums, sadly losing Jimmy Bain before the release of their debut under this name, a band that continue the legacy made from those early 80’s albums as well as original material.
A line-up so small it would have you questioning the length of sets, the hope of two headline sets possibly? Sadly for Diamond Head fans that wasn’t the case. This didn’t scare them away from fitting in what they could with some classics as well as touching upon their recent release, and absolutely belting might we add, ‘Coffin Train’. A good turnout from the start of the show makes for an easy start with the energy in the room, and those fans lapped up the new material as though it was written decades previous. It feeds the energy on the stage, with guitarist Abbz and bassist Dean clearly enjoying themselves, Abbz especially going for it, it’s almost a wonder he doesn’t cause himself an injury!
Rasmus lays his long serving Rebel custom mic stand to the side and carries the set with his soaring vocals as his animated arms and stances cover the stage, and as always, drummer Karl and founder Brian are as cool as you like, age a mere number in their attitude and playability. Rasmus riles the crowd up for the newer songs, and proves the there are no cobwebs on their coffin train with it being their first show in 7 or so months. ‘Death By Design’, ‘Belly of the Beast’ and ‘The Messenger’ all sound completely at home among the regular classics like ‘It’s Electric’and ‘Am I Evil?’. Those three new comers come with the sacrifice of anything from the four studio albums between their recent two and first two albums. A set so short is always going to have a few people disgruntled, but they deliver the goods and make a fantastic start, possibly playing at their best in many years. We hope to jump in their train again soon.
Last In Line are keen on the stage, and their simple, basic stage set up helps this. Other than a few pedals for Phil Soussan playing a wireless rig, the only other things to sit on the stage are a simple drum kit, a mic stand, and a lone wah pedal hooked into two Engl half stacks. Kicking off at ten past nine, the simplicity shows just how much talent the men have, crafted and painting pictures in so many ways with so much versatility. Four months since the release of their sophomore, II, their material has developed and been around long enough for all to be familiar, but if familiarity is what you want then they certainly provided tonight. A headline set and then some, they provide only three tracks from debut Heavy Crown, and four tracks from II, the rest of a monumental set falls firmly on the Dio classics, a total of 9. Something I can only imagine won’t be happening to such an extent for very long, if at all again.
Having so much room to play with on stage, frontman Andrew Freeman performs at 100%, his enthusiasm and sheer vocal strength are something to behold, he is comfortable and leads the way in the fun they share with the crowd, plenty of humour makes its way in between songs from all involved in the band, the majority being made by Andrew at the age and hearing of those gracing the stage with him, Vinny can give as good as he gets though, even if at himself. While their love amongst each other is clear, its the smiles on their faces that make the show that much better, and as Phil Soussan speaks to share his love for the legacy they are upholding for a band that started in this city, and his own home town, he dedicates the next track to his predecessor, the late Jimmy Bain and his daughter who joins the show that night, the debut single Stargazer soon begins but Viv Campbell gets it wrong and needs to restart, cue Andrews humour and once again mentioning Viv being a rock and roll hall of famer with a laugh!
It comes to around an hour into the set and the band clearly are nowhere near done, it has the crowd even start to guess what is left of Dio hits to play, with most done true to the live versions Dio used to perform himself, and although some are missed, there isn’t much that was left out. With a curfew of 11pm, and last trains to catch, the crowd begins to thin before the set draws in, an extended ending to ‘Egypt (The Chains are On)’ being possibly the only point of guitarist Viv Campbell shows off with an extended solo, followed by ‘Rainbow in the Dark’ being enough for some. For the die hard there, they are pretty damn sure they will be getting an encore, and right they are. It is at least a point Andrew really talks to the crowd about the music, the legacy, and keeping it all alive and on the stage, how without the fans, it just wouldn’t be. With absolute heartfelt thanks they finally break into their encore and round off the perfect night. Legends, legacy, classics and future classics. This show had it all, easily one of my most cherished gigs, and something that will be heart to beat for as long as I live.
Diamond Head set list:
1. Borrowed Time
2. Bones
3. Death by Design
4. In the Head of the Night
5. It’s Electric
6. Belly of the Beast
7. The Messenger
8. Am I Evil?
Last in Line set list:
1. Landslide
2. Stand up and Shout
3. Straight Through the Heart
4. Year of the Gun
5. Holy Diver
6. Give Up the Ghost
7. The Last in Line
8. Martyr
9. Black Out the Sun
10. Starmarker
11. Evil Eyes
12. Egypt (The Chains Are On)
13. Rainbow in the Dark
Encore:
14. Don’t Talk to Strangers
15. Devil in Me
16. We Rock
