Massive Wagons and Ugly Kid Joe – Liverpool O2 Academy – 3rd Nov 2022

The fireworks arrived a couple of days early for Bonfire night up in Liverpool this year. On a cold Thursday night Massive Wagons and Ugly Kid Joe began their UK tour, and raised the temperature with two explosive 70 minute sets to a fired up, packed crowd. Ok, that’s enough puns, on with the review..

Before the co-headliners, we got a short solo set from the ubiquitous Chris Catalyst. Fresh from masked life in Ghost, the Eureka Machines front man provided an entertaining 25 minutes set from both his band and solo material.  Just one man, and one guitar, the immensely likeable Yorkshireman immediately had the slowly increasing crowd on his side. Tracks were pulled from EM’s Brainwaves, his last solo album proper, Kaleidescope before Ashes To Ashes from his recent David Bowie tribute album ended his set. His night wasn’t over though, he reappears again later playing bass with Ugly Kid Joe.

Never has an intro tape been more appropriate. AC/DC‘s For Those About To Rock heralded the arrival of the undoubted band of moment, Massive Wagons. A night before their Triggered album entered the UK album chart at an impressive number 6, they certainly attacked the stage like a band on the cusp of something special tonight. 

They hit the ground sprinting with the frenetic Pressure from 2020’s House Of Noise album. Frontman Baz Mills leaps about the stage like a man possessed, with the band already in top gear from the off. As a result, the energy level in the room is palpable.  Sounding like a punky Status Quo crossed with AC/DC, they barely pause for breath between songs, and consequently deliver a relentless set in the process.

The new album features prominently in the set with seven tracks from it being aired tonight. When I reviewed the album recently ( https://allabouttherock.co.uk/massive-wagons-triggered-album-review/ ), I commented how some of the tracks would become great live tracks, and they prove me right tonight. First single Fuck The Haters, draws a great response, as does the fantastic A.S.S.H.O.L.E. On the latter, Baz splits the audience in two for the tracks middle singalong section, one half singing the vowels, the other the consonants. It’s great fun and really gets the audience stoked up and 100% in the palm of his hands.

All the newer songs go down well, clearly showing that the majority of the audience has already bought the album and already familiar with it. Proof indeed that they are building a large following, and their years of hard work are now deservedly paying off. The raucous Generation Prime is greeted like an old friend, as does the brief chorus of Peter Andre‘s Mysterious Girl in the reggae section of it.

However, the older material still more than holds it’s own with their new bed fellows. The sight of every glass in the room being raised in honour of Rick Parfitt in the middle of Back To The Stack was quite a sight to behold. Similarly, no matter how many new albums they release, there will always be a place in the set for Ratio. It was quite surreal to think back to the first time I heard this track. Just over six years ago they were third on the bill supporting Ginger Wildheart at Manchester’s tiny Deaf Institute. Tonight, I heard a packed audience sing it as one whilst they headlined a much larger venue, a great moment.

After a breathless Fee Fi Fo Fum, it was over. Their set had flown by in no time at all. They are clearly on an upward curve, hopefully our next encounter will be in a bigger venue still. Without a doubt, an almighty gauntlet is thrown down for Ugly Kid Joe to try and follow.

Not only do they follow them, but they also show that they are still a band to be seriously reckoned with thirty years after they first burst onto the scene. Whilst Massive Wagons relied on punky energy, Ugly Kid Joe provided a masterclass in working an audience to the max whilst delivering a cracking set of Black Sabbath meets AC/DC heavy rock. Indeed,  during opener That Ain’t Livin’  frontman Whitfield Crane sounded uncannily like Bon Scott at times.

Similarly to the Wagons, UKJ are also touring on the back of a new album, Rad Wings Of Destiny. In contrast to their touring partners, it doesn’t dominate the set with only a few tracks appearing. As well as the anthemic Failure, we also get a mass singalong in the shape of their cover of The Kinks‘ Lola. 

The most surprising thing about the set for me was the strength of material throughout. You’d be forgiven for thinking that this would be a set of first album material mixed with new fillers while we await THAT song. But you’d be mistaken. Indeed, a couple of tracks from 2017’s Stairway To Hell  really stood out for me. The wonderfully brooding No One Survives is such an under appreciated track to my ears. Whitfield Crane has the crowd reacting on cue during it, by merely leaning towards us, such is his understated charisma. And when he tells us “the good news is..when we bounce, you bounce” during I’m Alright, not many people argue, and merely happily oblige. 

We are teased about something special coming later in the set. It arrives in the shape of Massive Wagons frontman joining them for a storming version of AC/DC‘s Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. It’s a moment that really encapsulates the night. Two top drawer front men, great music and a love of AC/DC obviously shared by both bands and the audience. The number of times i’ve mentioned the Antipodean legends in this review, is no co-incidence. Their influence is everywhere tonight.

Finally, it would be remiss of me not to mention the reactions to their two biggest hits tonight. Both draw huge singalong responses from the audience. Whilst Cats In The Cradle gets sung start to finish, the reaction to THAT song is next level. Not only does Everything About You get loudly sung by all, but it also sees the crowd going “fucking crazy” on Whitfield‘s command for the songs closing half. And with it, the night ends on a very sweaty high note indeed. 

And whilst the latest Scottish football anthem Yes Sir, I Can Boogie is played over the PA, one very happy audience departs into the cold Liverpool night air. In fact, to sum up the gig in football parlance, I’d describe tonight as an exhilarating high scoring draw between two sides definitely on top of their games. Roll on their next matches!

Massive Wagons Set List:

1 – Pressure

2 – Triggered 

3 – Bangin’ On Your Stereo

4 – Back To The Stack

5 – A.S.S.H.O.L.E.

6 – Nails

7 – Germ

8 – Fuck The Haters

9 – China Plates

10 – Please Stay Calm

11 – Skateboard

12 – Generation Prime

13 – Ratio

14 – In It Together

15 – Fee Fi Fo Fum

Ugly Kid Joe Set List:

1 – That Ain’t Livin’ 

2 – V.I.P.

3 – Neighbor

4 – Panhandlin’ Prince

5 – No One Survives

6 – Devil’s Paradise

7 – Cats In The Cradle

8 – I’m Alright 

9 – Failure

10 – Milkman’s Son

11 – Goddamn Devil

12 – Lola

13 – Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Guest Vocals Baz Mills from Massive Wagons)

14 – Everything About You