Smith/Kotzen

KK’s Steel Mill – 03/03/2022

When the opportunity presented itself to head down to KK’s Steel Mill to catch Smith/Kotzen on Thursday night, I jumped at the chance. I reviewed their debut album last year and absolutely loved it. Plus, the Steel Mill is one of my favourite rock venues in the UK and I’ve watched a fair few bands there since it opened. If you haven’t been there yet, then you are missing a trick!

I arrived mid way through the first bands set, Buckets Rebel Heart, I had heard they were friends of Adrian Smith’s but that’s all I knew. Upon entering the venue, I instantly recognised Paul Manzi on lead vocals, I’ve seen him with The Sweet and you know what, what an absolutely amazing band. They only played a very short set, but they blew the roof off.

The band played a set that really set the tone for the rest of the night. Bucket’s guitar solos were exceptional and Paul Manzi as always delivers a brilliant vocal. The inclusion of the song ‘Reach Out’, the B side to Iron Maiden’s ‘Wasted Years’ was a nice touch, given that the A side would be getting an airing later on. This is a band I need to hear more of.

Next up, NWOCR heavyweights ‘The Dust Coda’. A band with whom, if I’m honest, I wasn’t overly familiar with. I was looking forward to checking these guys out. They are a really tight band, with wonderful sounding guitars, the vocals oozed soul and singer John Drake absolutely nails the falsetto in ‘Sweet Love is Gone’. I had a case of major guitar envy too, looking at Adam Mackie’s Gold Top Les Paul – such a stunning, sweet sounding guitar. That guitar envy was heightened hearing the crunchy intro to ‘Breakdown’, my favourite song of The Dust Coda’s set by far. Another band I need to hear more of.

Onto the main event and the reason we were all at KK’s on this wet Thursday night. Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen enter the stage and they are greeted by a huge cheer from the packed out Steel Mill; the crowd eager to hear tracks from the Smith/Kotzen debut album and EP that were released last year. Check out our review of the album here. Two bona fide guitar legends in our midst’s, Adrian Smith, axeman of Iron Maiden and Richie Kotzen, perhaps not so well known this side of the pond, but legendary none the less. Kotzen is the frontman of the rock supergroup ‘The Winery Dogs’ as well as playing with Poison and Mr Big over the years.

The band kicked things of with Taking My Chances – straight away I was in guitar heaven. Richie Kotzen’s tone was incredible. Such a warm, rich sound coming out of his Victory amp, it seemed to wrap you up in a bubble of deliciously, chocolatey guitar tone and not put you down for the whole of the gig! It was spell binding. Adrian Smith, with his Jackson straight into his Marshall delivered that pure rock tone that we all expect and that pairing had me. Amazing.

The band was completed by Richie’s wife, Julia Lage on bass and drummer Bruno Valverde, both at the top of their game. The gig continued, with songs from both the bands debut album and more recent EP ‘Better Days’. I absolutely loved hearing ‘Glory Road’ live. One of the highlights of the evening, the whole band were on fire. Adrian’s opening riff really punches through underneath Richie’s lead. Both guitarists complement each other perfectly, but vocally they are a great match too. Adrians vocals are lower and a little gruffer than Richie’s, which makes for some perfect harmonies throughout the evening.

The night didn’t just have one highlight, every song was stunning, but another real stand out moment was ‘Til Tomorrow’ – the closing track from the bands debut album. A thunderous drum beat and almost ‘middle eastern’ flavour in the intro before segwaying into full on hard rock territory. Adrian and Richie trade vocals and guitar solos and the whole band looked to be having so much fun up there. The rhythm section were relentless, a real ‘engine room’ that drove the band forward. Bruno really hammers those drums and Julia’s bass really cuts through the mix!

A nice little treat in the encore came in the form of the Iron Maiden song ‘Wasted Years’. This got the already excited crowd even more hyped up, the atmosphere was electric. I did think that perhaps they should have kept Wasted Years as the final song, but they continued and played the first song the pair wrote together, ‘Running’, which then brought the show to a close.

What a night. The perfect gig in the ultimate rock venue in the home of heavy metal. I Said in my review of the album that it was a ‘guitar lovers dream’ and the same can be said about Smith/Kotzen live. From beginning to end, I was in guitar heaven. Great support acts and the main event was just out of this world. I Can’t wait for more!