March 29, 2015

Uriah Heep – The Studio Saturday 28 March 2015

If there are any aspiring music gods in the audience, they’ve come to the right place to get a rock n roll education. The five members of Uriah Heep, the English prog rock band named after a Dickens character, could write a book about song writing, stage craft and putting a rocket under your audience. They may not have become as famous as their contemporaries Black Sabbath, Led Zepplin and Deep Purple, but they’ve sold out The Studio and they’re giving the audience a night they’ll never forget.

Guitar player Mick Box is the only original member of the band, and he’s old enough to collect a pension. He’s also the epitome of cool with his flowing mane, dark sunglasses and devil-may-care attitude. Keyboard player Phil Lanzon rocks a celestial look with his white shirt and cloud of silver hair, drummer Russell Gilbrook plays as though he’s leading a fitness session at Arnold Schwarzenegger’s gym, and bass player Davey Rimmer slinks around the stage on leather-clad legs that look like liquorice twists.

Canadian vocalist Bernie Shaw may be rocking the same mullet he had when he first joined the band in 1986, but he sings and struts as though he’s still got something to prove. His performance is all heart, fire and energy, even if he regularly disappears offstage during the instrumentals (presumably to drink the blood of kittens, or some other youth-giving elixir). His operatic voice is impossibly high and impressively powerful, and he’s still the master of the epic wail.

It’s the last night of the tour that has seen the band travel around the world, it’s the first time the band has been in New Zealand in 29 years, and they’re playing fresh material as well as their classic hits. The first new song they play is The Law, a catchy number from the album Outsider that will have any record store owners in the audience rushing out to order copies in the morning.

Then we travel back in time to 1974 for Stealin’, a fun track with a galloping bass line that has the whole crowd singing along. “Now that sounded pretty damn good people,” roars Shaw. “Worth the jetlag!” He goes on to introduce the next song by explaining that back in 1973 bands were rather experimental. “Are you standing comfortably? This may take some time,” he says, before launching into a marathon version of The Magician’s Birthday that traverses hard rock, metal, progressive rock, pop… and of course mystical wizard sounds.

“Who’s writing songs like that anymore? We are!” shouts Shaw, before launching into What Kind of God, a powerful piece about the plight of native Americans that is the song equivalent of a historical novel. Next up, the crowd goes crazy for new track Outsider, an instant pub rock classic that proves that Uriah Heep still have fine writing chops.

We head back to 1971 for Lady in Black, a song Shaw describes as “hippy happy” but which actually has a bit of a sea shanty vibe – added to by the fact that the band members do look like a bunch of pirates, with their black vests and long hair. At the end of the song they bow and leave the stage – only to return to cries of “Heep! Heep!” and the kind of foot stomping that would give The Studio’s insurance broker a panic attack. Consummate professionals, they thank their tour manager and guitar technician before launching into a blistering version of Gypsy – surely one of the best songs ever written – that has almost all the fists in the auditorium punching the air. The band members play with utter abandon and it seems as though nothing will be able to top it – until they finish off the set with an electric rendition of Easy Livin’.

And then it’s over. The speakers pump out the strains of Land of Hope and Glory and the band members stick around to meet their happy fans. Uriah Heep – you’re a class act.

– Kathryn van Beek www.joyriderpromotions.com

Set list