Tesla, Wayward Sons, Flash Fires, Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London. June 16, 2019

Tesla, Wayward Sons, Flash Fires, Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London. June 16, 2019

 

This is my third shot of Tesla in five days and it is testament to how good the band is live that I am as excited to see them tonight as the first time. Having seen their electric show at Download and the recent acoustic show at Abbey Road Studios I know that they are on top form and that singer Jeff Keith’s voice is as amazing and distinctive as ever and the live show is still fierce.

 

However, first up are a band managed by Tesla’s bassist Brian Wheat, Flash Fires. They are a very young, fresh faced, pop rock band offering well executed falsetto harmonies. They are not bad, but look like they’ve just hatched. At first sight the singer and guitarist look like twins and a bit Leif Garrett suggesting boy band potential, but realizing that the singer looks like a baby Mike Tramp, but the guitarist does not, it’s a superficial resemblance only as they are not related, the band having met at school. Since the band is clearly at such an embryonic stage of development the jury is out.

Next up are Wayward Sons fronted by veteran Little Angels, Gun and Fastway singer Toby Jepson. Highly experienced in stage craft they work hard to engage the crowd and, in sound and approach they remind me of D A D, although, for me, the songs are not as catchy and infectious as that band or the Little Angels’ singles were. They are a reliable support band, but to my mind they need to up their game on their material to be a headline band for me.

 

Tesla are a consummate live band and have an amazing roster of songs to choose from in their past. They open with new one ‘Tied to the Tracks’, but knowing how passionate people are about their songs they stick to only two more from the new album, the excellent ‘Shock’ and ‘Tastes Like’. It’s a lengthy set of sixteen songs, but at no point in the evening did I think that time dragged including many classics such as ‘Modern Day Cowboy’ and ‘Changes’ which make a relatively early appearance. Of course, Jeff with his slightly eccentric stage moves is mesmerizing. I never get over how unique he sounds and while he sings better than ever and still has a rock star physique with cheek bones to cut glass the only real sign of age is that the front of the stage is covered with lyric sheets as he clearly has an issue remembering all the words. He makes a feature of this though throwing the sheets to the fans at the front once they are no longer needed which goes down well.

The guitar work is also top notch with an obvious chemistry between ‘new guy’ (if you can call thirteen years service still new) and birthday boy tonight Dave Rude and original member Frank Hannon and bassist Brian Wheat. This appears to be a really happy band working as a team which is lovely to see. Brian seems happy to stay in the background with Troy providing the powerhouse leaving the guitar tricks and pizzazz to Frank and Dave who share the limelight equally and wear their tremendous talent lightly with no sign of egos onstage. Oceans of widdly solos and big riffs keep this a rock band of stadium quality while delicate acoustic work such as on ‘Love Song’ mean that they could pass muster under small chamber scrutiny. While mentioning the recent acoustic performance at Abbey Road studios we are also treated to a cover of the Beatles ‘Blackbird’ for similar light and shade.

The light on Frank Hannon’s golden hair and surface of his acoustic guitar is a beautiful sight and fantastically photogenic. In fact the whole band has glorious hair which statistically is pretty amazing. Brian Wheat’s is so thick naturally that he looks like he still has hair metal hair without trying which is something that money can’t buy. Tesla has never been a band that traded on image, but small things like Jeff Keith’s black boots with silver stars add a little stage glamour without trying too hard. It’s unfashionable to talk about appearance since Kurt Cobain made trying taboo, but to my mind looking good is an essential part of the package and Tesla still tick this box too.

The band finishes with one of my favourite songs cover ‘Little Suzi’ from the Mechanical Resonance album and ‘Signs’ for which Jeff Keith comes on in a baseball cap with his hair tucked all inside to tell the story of the job interview in the lyrics before pulling it off again and letting it all hang out for the rest of the song. Jeff let’s Brian shout the denouement ‘I made my own fuckin’ sign’ for dramatic effect. It’s a great anthem for individuality and freedom and has probably become their defining song since the tremendous success of acoustic album ‘Five Man Acoustical Jam’ about thirty years ago.

 

Jeff gratefully announces the band is ‘Still Floating!’ I am here to testify they are more than still afloat. This is still a rock band in its prime with super songs, still visually exciting and as authentic as it comes. Tesla is a good bet for your hard earned cash. Still vibrant and a hotbed of talent. Still superb.

 

Dawn Osborne