Thicker than Blood: Extreme’s Epic Show at Kentish Town Forum Leaves Fans Wanting More

December 6, 2023 rocknews

It may have been cold outside but it was hot and sweaty inside the Kentish Town Forum for what was to prove an exhilarating night of rock and roll as both headliner and support rolled back the years.

Living Colour

The evening actually felt more like a double-header as rock giants Living Colour took to the stage and to an already packed out crowd. The New York foursome are about to enter their 40th year (save for a 5 year break from 1995-2000) and sound as tight and vibrant as they ever did. Kicking off proceedings with Led Zeppelin’s ‘Rock ’n’ Roll’ was a statement of intent – guitarist Vernon Reid proclaiming “just to be clear that we play rock and roll music”.

The crowd were treated to a 7-song set of rock, funk and hip-hop influenced tunes, including a medley of hip-hop classics ‘White Lines (Don’t Do It)’, ‘Apache’ and ‘The Message’ as a tribute to 50 years of hip-hop and to bassist Doug Wimbish who, as Corey Glover informed us, was there at it’s inception playing with groups such as the Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. To drop this in the middle of their set and to a rock crowd was a sight to behold. The audience loved it and sang along loudly.

Glover’s vocals were given the spotlight during ‘Open Letter (To a Landlord)’ as he showed off his full range and gospel power, singing a cappella and, at times, without a microphone.

By the time they reached the closing song which could only have ever been ‘Cult of Personality’ from 1988s ‘Vivid’ it was clear to see why this band are so revered even after all this time. The drums of Will Calhoun and that unmistakable bass of Wimbish provide a solid rock-funk back beat to allow Glover’s vocals to soar and for Vernon Reid to do things with a guitar that shouldn’t be allowed.

What a start to proceedings.

Follow that, Extreme!!

View Thumbnails

Extreme

Talking of longevity, Extreme are only a year behind Living Colour. Formed in Massachusetts in 1985, their star would rise in the early 90’s with the album ‘Pornograffitti’ and the epic ballad ‘More than Words’. They are back with a brand new album ’Six’ and this ‘Thicker than Blood’ tour that will see them well into 2024.

Drawing heavily from both ‘Six’ and ‘Pornograffitti’, the 21 song set kicked off with the latter’s ‘It’s a Monster’ and ‘Decadence Dance’ – vocalist Gary Cherone whirling around the stage and throwing lead-singer shapes at every opportunity and guitarist Nuno Bettencourt reminding us just why he is considered one of the great rock guitarists. His solos seem effortless and fit beautifully with the melodies of the songs.

New song REBEL was next up, and showed us that this band still have what it takes to write and perform a hard rocking tune that fits neatly with their back catalogue.

There were respectful nods to one of their major influences, as both ‘Play With me’ and ‘Banshee’ featured introductions from Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’ respectively (Extreme performed a Queen Medley and Gary Cherone sang ‘Hammer to Fall’ with the surviving members of Queen at the Freddie Mercury Tribute concert at Wembley in 1991).

Bettencourt got to show off his guitar virtuosity with an insane solo during ‘Am I Ever Gonna Change’ and again when he took centre stage for an incredible rendition of ‘Flight of the Wounded Bumblebee’. This was followed by the last song of the main set as the drums of Kevin Figueiredo gave way to Pat Badger’s unmistakable bass line from 1990’s hit single ‘Get the Funk Out’ – and the audience lapped it up, arms in the air and singing along.

And of course, there was ‘More than Words’, which was mainly sung by the crowd to a visibly moved Cherone and Bettencourt.

After a short break they returned to the stage for a 2-song encore, culminating in ‘Rise’ from the new album.

It’s clear that Extreme are still writing great music, and they can certainly still pull it off live.

Extreme tour Europe until December 16 and are back in London at the Forum in Kentish Town again on December 19th. If you didn’t catch them on Monday, you know what to do!

If not, you’ll have to wait until June 2024 when they grace the Wembley Arena stage as guests of the Scorpions before a few European festivals culminate with an appearance at Hellfest.