Artists: Cherie Currie/ Yaki Dah
Venue: London, Dingwalls
Date: 6 December 2024
"One of them shouted “We love you!” and she shouted “I love you too!” straight back. It’s hard to believe it’s the last show - if it is, it was good for her to go out on top!"
Support Yaki Dah (meaning Cheers! In Welsh) from Swansea are a shouty Punk band like the Beastie Boys, with some Nu Metal and Thrash influences. Their guitarist has a limited repertoire and wearing Crocs I’d say he was taking this a bit casually at the moment. In fact, with a singer that reminds me of Elon Musk, but a Metal bassist with a Slayer t-shirt, I’d guess they are probably still agreeing the set list by committee and have not yet decided on their essential style. When I was guessing what I was going to hear, a Musk lookalike singing a song about rutting under a Sycamore Tree was not something I predicted (although I suspect the embarrassing nature of the pretty graphic lyrics means it won’t last in their set). A cover of Sabbath’s ‘War Pigs’ was also a surprise, but since the audience knew the verses better than their frontman, I’d hazard a guess that he lost the vote on that one. He probably agreed only if he could have the cover of ‘Help’ by the Beatles, which worked surprisingly well Rocked up as their final song. For someone who looks relatively conservative their singer gave it a good go though, bouncing around like a Nu-Metaller, and mixing it with a few SKA moves like running on the spot. He remembered to thank Cherie Currie for giving them his first tour. His final move was to take off his fairly respectable black velvet jacket and use it to vigorously to mop up some spilt beer onstage. Once again, a bit like Musk, I guess you don’t know what he will do next!
Before Currie comes on I notice that all the big Runaways songs have been deleted from the set list, but that there was another handwritten set list at the back of the stage containing only those songs, suggesting that the show would be in two parts. I was right. Currie bounces on stage smiling and showing obvious affection for the crowd before starting with two Runaways songs, ‘Dead End Justice’ and ‘California Paradise’. She has backed herself with an eighties style, old-school Metal band and the sound is impressive. She’s still got it and is a commanding presence onstage, able to be Punky and strong and then soft and feminine, chameleon-like, just like her hero Bowie. Reminding the audience that it was a song she did with Slash and Duff McKagan, the next one is ‘Mr X’ from her latest solo album ‘Boulevards Of Splendor’, one of my favourites from that album.
Pausing to talk to the crowd, she acknowledged that this is her final tour and that she just turned 65 on this run. I have to say that with a naturally slim figure she looks fantastic, casually dressed in denim. She introduced Runaways track ‘Secrets’ as one she had not done since 1977. Her guitarist spread his legs wide to straddle low and threw her all the shapes as she punched the air. ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Oblivion’ from her latest album, also written with Matt Sorum, is a slower song and showed off that her voice still has beautiful tone and timbre, even after a full UK tour in flu season. Relations have never been straightforward between the Runaways, and introducing ‘Midnight Music’ from their ‘Queens Of Noise’ album she explained that she wrote it with Kim Fowley, their notorious male manager, and it was one of her favourites “because Lita hated it”. She then did a recognisable impression of Lita saying “Fuck!” at the prospect. “Sorry Lita, I grew up on John Denver”. In fact it proved to be a totally Rocked up version and had nothing to do with Folk/Country/Pop. Following with ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ she said that while tomorrow is her last show, she loves London and it’s her favourite.
Stopping to chat again, Currie asked the audience “Have you ever had a shitty relationship? My last relationship was so shitty I haven’t dated for 14 years! I wrote a song about it”. A spirited and heavy version of ‘You Wreck Me’ follows. I bet she has been breaking a lot of hearts! Introducing ‘Heartbeat’ as “another slow one Lita hated”, Currie hoped the audience would like it as much as she does. Once again the rich qualities of her voice were on show. Referring to the time that Suzi Quatro joined her at the Camden Underworld, Currie explained that she wrote ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Rosie’ as a tribute to her and that Quatro had liked it so much she closed the documentary ‘Suzi Q’ with it. She did a lively Rock ‘n’ Roll version right there and then. To close out the first part of the show she paid tribute to Sandy, the original drummer of the Runaways “the best Rock ‘n’ Roll female drummer ever” and played ‘Wild Thing’ dedicated to her.
For the second part of the show Currie introduced her son Jake Hays. This is the reason she has reserved the most well-known songs on a separate set list. ‘Queens Of Noise’ is the first biggie. I do chuckle at the prospect of four grown ass men singin’ this number, but they do it with a straight face. ‘Roxy Roller’, the Sweeney Todd cover, up next, appeared on ‘Boulevards Of Splendor’ when Currie performed it with Quatro and it continued the Runaways theme as it appeared in the film. Four Runaways tracks finished off the evening; ‘Is It Day Or Night?’, ‘American Nights’, ‘C’mon’ and of course ‘Cherry Bomb’. Everything is high energy! Despite her experience being kidnapped by a serial killer, Currie is remarkably unafraid to get close to the crowd and extends the mike deep into the crowd for them to sing the well-known choruses. Extended clapping sessions and dancing ensue. The crowd only booed when Currie announced we had reached the last song. She thanked the crowd for keeping the faith through the nineties, saying without them there would have been “no film, no anything”. One of them shouted “We love you!” and she shouted “I love you too!” straight back. It’s hard to believe it’s the last show - if it is, it was good for her to go out on top!
Review & Photos: Dawn Osborne
Gallery: All photos © Dawn Osborne (used with kind permission)
Location:
Comments