Mike Tramp – The Railway, Bolton
9th June 2013Mike Tramp â The Railway , Bolton  24.05.2013
The Railway Bolton, is a very cool rock pub that is just on the edge of the town and is holding more and more rock shows, an intimate and homely venue a great benefit for the local rock fans, so if you havenât been already, get down to check it out.
Mike Tramp took to the stage just after 21:30 and played a wide arrange of songs from the back catalogue of self presented albums as well as White Lion and Freak Of Nature, all delivered in the pure and raw form of acoustic guitar, one man, one guitar, no frills, just a night of honest music.
Opener track âCobblestone Streetâ started the show, and for an acoustic show there is always a big risk, some frontmen have a band that can overperform when they underperform, but without that safety net they are critiqued on exactly what they deliver. Mike Tramp quite simply doesnât need anyone else to deliver what he has tonight, and with grace and honesty the songs are given to the audience.
âCobblestone Streetâ is the perfect way to open tonight as it represents change and moving forward which Mike embraces, he uses the past for reflection and pride for who he was and whatâs been done but more importantly he looks forward and encourages us all to do the same in his music.
âCry For Freedomâ follows and shows the more serious side of his thoughts, and then onto crowd pleaser â Love Donât Come Easyâ. Mike openly admits he doesnât follow his own setlist he just does what feels right, Freak Of Natureâs âRescue Meâ and âWhat am Iâ are purely awesome delivered acoustically, mixed amongst âWaitâ and âlittle Fighterâ whilst new songs âAinât the Life I asked Forâ and âNew Dayâ come over perfect.
In between songs Mike openly shares his stories and thoughts and dedicates a song to the incident in London with Soldier Lee Rigby who he dedicates the song âThe Soldier Never Started the Warâ
The ultimate White Lion song âWhen the Children Cryâ has the audience singing along, and tonight is an overall triumph. Tonight wasnât just a gig, tonight was special and I for one was glad to be a witnessâŚâŚ