Thunder Hammersmith Odeon 14-03-15

Tax The Heat were first up and impressed with their uptempo blues rock with a hint of 60's R&B with lead singer and lead guitarist Alex Veale being the focus with an excellent vocal and some sparkling lead soloing.

The rest of the band do fade into the background a bit which will need working on as they develop but with songs like Devils Daughter and set closer Fed To The Lions means their debut cd due this year should be one to look out for.

I never really got Reef and still don't.The song Place Your Hands had the crowd jumping but still nothing from me I am afraid.

Thunder return to Hammersmith nearly 6 years since their last ever show( for the second time)but after a couple of Christmas shows and blowing Journey and Whitesnake out of the arena doors back in 2013 this time they insist they are back for good.

With a UK top 9 album out the quite wonderful Wonder Days and sold out notices across the venue this was going to be good.

With a state of the art light show ,wonderful sound and rear screens showing 1970's pictures and band footage Thunder blew us away for a near 2 hour set showcasing their past and 6 songs from Wonder Days.

Here is what they played

Wonder Days
River Of Pain
Black Water
Resurrection Day
Broken
The Devil Made Me Do It
Empty City
Backstreet Symphony
I'll Be Waiting
The Thing I Want
When The Music Played
Love Walked In
I Love You More Than Rock n'Roll

Encores of Low Life In High Places
Higher Ground
Dirty Love


Rockgig scribe NR has already shown his love for this show and I can only agree.

Every new song fits in like we heard it over 20 years ago with the ballad Broken showcasing Danny Bowes wonderful vocal melody and Resurrection Day just hitting the mark with a chorus that other bands can only dream of.

Great to see Ben Matthews back in the band after his recovery from tonsil cancer and the huge grin showed how happy he was to be there too.

Danny Bowes not only has one of the greatest bluesy voices this country has ever produced but in another life would have made a great chat show host. His on stage banter asking us to scream,dance,scream louder and his lengthy intro to Dirty Love had everyone is stitches with his story of his lady putting on a few pounds and eating all the steakbakes at Greggs.

Leaving us with the confirmation they are back and hopefully with the promise of more dates later in the year Thunder left us all on a high and so happy that one of England's finest bands are treading the boards again.