Thunder - Sheffield Motorpoint Arena (20/05/2013)

[Rockingbear]

THUNDER

Sheffield Motorpoint Arena - Monday 20th May 2013

The lights went down just before 6.45pm and testament to the pulling power of Thunder the majority of the crowd had made their way to their seats. The British band got a tremendous reception as they strolled on stage and proceeded to “warm up” before launching into “Dirty Love” from their classic album. The title track of the latter, “Backstreet Symphony” followed; if this album had been released two or three years earlier then I am certain that Thunder would have been headlining the arenas for the last 23 years.

It was clear that Danny Bowes had not lost his amazing powerful vocals which was exemplified on the band’s incredible power ballads including “Higher Ground”

Thunder never quite repeated the glories of the wonderful debut, however, they still managed to write several classics in the following years and none better than the “Low Life In High Places” from 1992’s “Laughing On Judgement Day” album.

Danny Bowes got the best reaction from the ever-increasing crowd out of all this evening’s front men even after telling them “That was shit!” after a piss-poor effort to sing the end of “Low Life In High Places”.

The energy was maintained with the glorious “River Of Pain” from 1995’s “Behind Closed Doors”.

Danny announced that those easily offended should stop listening now as the next song was about masturbation: the glorious, tongue-in-cheek “The Devil Made Me Do It”.

Highlight of the short but almost perfect set was the awesome “Love Walked In”.

“I Love You More Than Rock ‘n’ Roll” was a bit a party-song finale that did not quite live up to the high standards of many of the previous classics but the band, nonetheless, left the stage to a heroes reception.

Set-list:-

1 Dirty Love - Backstreet Symphony (1990)
2 Backstreet Symphony - Backstreet Symphony (1990)
3 Higher Ground - Backstreet Symphony (1990)
4 Low Life in High Places - Laughing On Judgement Day (1992)
5 River of Pain - Behind Closed Doors (1995)
6 The Devil Made Me Do It - Robert Johnson's Tombstone (2006)
7 Love Walked In - Backstreet Symphony (1990)
8 I Love You More Than Rock 'N' Roll - The Magnificent Seventh (2005)