Legendary Performances: Quiet Riot and Tigertailz Shake Up North London

March 21, 2024 rocknews

This explosive evening of rock ’n’ roll was definitely not quiet, but it was an absolute riot!

Tigertailz

Taking to the North London stage first were Welsh glam-rockers Tigertailz. Save for a few years’ hiatus, this is their 40th year as a band. Emerging from the mid-80s Glam scene, they have been through many line-up changes, with guitarist Jay Pepper the sole original member. He is joined by drummer Matthew Blackout (a member since 2005), bassist Berty Burton and, in his third year with the band, vocalist Ashley Edison.

The band gave the crowd a superb energetic performance, with a career-spanning 13-song set. The majority of songs were taken from their first two albums ‘Bazerk’ and ‘Young and Crazy’, opening proceedings with the latter’s title track and closing the set with ‘Love Bomb Baby’, a breakthrough song for them in 1990.

We recommend you catch Tigertailz during the Summer, and who knows – we may even get some new material from them!

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Quiet Riot

Expectation was high for tonight’s performance by LA veterans Quiet Riot. Although, like their support, the band features only one ‘classic line-up’ member in the form of legendary bassist Rudy Sarzo, they have history and pedigree. Contemporaries of Van Halen in their early days – helped by the “EVH Vs Randy” debate – this tour sees them celebrate 40 years of ‘Mental Health’, their “rebirth” album following the departure several years earlier of both Randy Rhoads and Sarzo and the brief demise of the band.

The no.1 album went 6x Platinum in the USA and remains their most successful release. Both singles from the record were aired tonight, with ‘Cum on Feel The Noise’ – their cover of the Slade classic – and ‘Mental Health (Bang Your Head)’ closing the show.

But I’m getting ahead of myself…..

Coming on to intro music from Pat Travers and Queen, opening number ‘Run For Cover’ set the tone for the night and got us off to a roaring start. Guitarist Alex Grossi can certainly play, and he was relishing the enthusiasm of the crowd from the get go. “New” drummer Johnny Kelly provided a rock solid back beat that allowed Rudy Sarzo to run around the stage, waving his bass around and looking every inch the rock star he is while vocalist Jizzy Pearl wailed through these classic numbers as if he owned them.

‘Slick Black Cadillac’ was next, and this was followed by another Slade cover. ‘Mama Weer All Crazy Now’ first appeared on Mental Health’s follow-up ‘Condition Critical’. It sounded great, with Pearl invoking both Slade’s Noddy Holder and much-missed Quiet Riot vocalist Kevin DuBrow. Pearl’s previous band was Love/Hate, and the crowd in the Academy were thrilled to hear the band tear through Love/Hate classic ‘Blackout in the Red Room’.

One of the highlights of the night was the UK live debut of ‘I Can’t Hold On’ – the long-lost demo that was rediscovered in 2021 and that featured both DuBrow and late drummer Frankie Banali. Grossi and Sarzo finished the track and released it last year, but hearing this ballad live was a real treat.

‘Thunderbird’, with its gentle piano introduction and reflective lyrics, was dedicated to Frankie Banali, Kevin Dubrow and Randy Rhoads and provided the second emotional moment of the evening.

‘The Wild and the Young’ featured a great bass solo from Sarzo, and there was a nod to Randy with a snippet of ‘Crazy Train’ during ‘Let’s Get Crazy’ – Grossi playing that familiar line so well and Sarzo thumping his bass in time with the drums. The band left Grossi mid-song, leaving the guitarist centre-stage to perform a solo of his own (did we hear a bit of ‘Eruption’ in there?) before rejoining him to finish the song, and indeed the set with ‘Cum on Feel The Noise’ and ‘Mental Health (Bang Your Head)’.

This was a great set, and a great show from one of THE names in rock.

Don’t believe the detractors who say this line-up of Quiet Riot is merely a cover band (save for Sarzo). These guys embody the music, pay respectful homage to the past and look to the future by sounding fresh and vibrant.

Catch them next time they’re over here!