A young lady by the name of Trudi Knight is fast developing a reputation as one of the best gig photographers around. As her work features many bands endorsed by Vodka Whip, including photos from the recent Hard Rock Hell, we felt it was worth providing a link as there are some top quality shots on her website.
Some of Trudi's work can be found at Bands On Stage. Go and check it out, currently featured bands include Aerosmith, Thunder, Hanoi Rocks and Quireboys.
So an intrepid Whip member headed off to Madrid to see the first of the final four Tyketto shows ever.
The fact it is the end is a sad prospect but determined to enjoy this final flourish I endured an 8 hour delay to the flight out in good humour, even resisting the temptation to spend the whole of the £10 delay allowance on vodka, well hunger had struck by that time!
Finally arriving in Madrid at 2am on Thursday morning I got to a rather disappointing hotel about 3, it seems it wasn't the one I had booked, they own 3 hotels all with the same name and I'd managed to end up in the dodgy one, still it was near the city centre which was good.
Not a good start, but determined to make the most of it I headed off to the Royal Palace on Thursday morning, followed by the wax museum, then a fruitless search for a bar playing rock in the evening, so decided to have a couple of drinks and save my energy for the main event.
Friday saw an excellent trip to the Bernabau Stadium, well worth a visit plus some other sightseeing then it was time to head to the venue. A fair sized queue had already gathered and had grown significantly by the time the doors opened. There was already a fair crowd by the time the excellent Jorge Salan hit the stage, it is a shame it seems that he doesn't have any plans to tour further afield, if you do get a chance check him out.
So to Tyketto, and after the dramas of the previous 2 days this hour and a half made it all worthwhile. The set list had been influenced by the fans, and it was indeed a treasure trove of Tyketto gems. A quick fire trio of Nothing But Love, Rescue Me and Wings set things off to a flying start, some locals seemed surprised by the dancing by the Whip member in the middle of the crowd 4 rows back (yes me), but as the classics rolled out they let their inhibitions go and joined in!
Danny sang Catch My Fall, Meet Me In The Night and Strip Me Down, he wouldn't have had any shortage of offers to do all 3 from the fine number of attractive Spanish senoritas in the crowd. Appropriately with the clocks going back The End Of The Summer Days was next up, followed by a semi-acoustic version of Jamie and then the excellent Burning Down Inside.
A double of Walk On Fire and Seasons followed before a quartet closing the main set which began with "new" song Til The Summer Comes, well it's an old demo that has been remastered and features on The Last Sunset Farewell 2007 CD - available now from the Tyketto website, but it's new listening for the fans. Followed by Strength In Numbers, the seminal Standing Alone and ironically they left the stage to Sail Away.
Obviously there was a major omission, and after one of the loudest encouragements for an encore (I think we've become a bit used to the fact that bands always come back for an encore in the UK), with the crowd singing Ole, Ole, Ole, some Spanish that even I could join in with, they duly returned. Picking up with The Last Sunset, they, of course, finished with Whip anthem Forever Young, and I finished with an even hoarser voice than I started after singing and dancing my way through the set.
Couldn't have been better, I suppose if I'm picky I would have liked Lay Your Body Down to be in there, but that really is being picky, it was the best gig I've been to in some while, shame it will be the last time I will see Tyketto, at least Danny will be touring with his own band and I'm sure the odd Tyketto track will make an appearance.
The end of the summer days, the last sunset and the end of Tyketto, the cock rock world will be burning down inside.
This article in today's Daily Mail warns of the dangers of mixing Vodka and Red Bull. Of course Vodka Whip is prepared to step forward and volunteer for extended secondary research into the claims made.
Certain members of the Whip hope to be able to report that they have been taken advantage of sexually in the very near future, but instead they suspect that they will be able to report that there must have been serious flaws in the original research. Call themselves experts, they didn't even ask us!
The date for the next whip has yet to be confirmed, look out for details, rumours that T-shirts emblazened with "I've been drinking Vodka and Red Bull, take advantage of me" have been ordered are greatly exaggerated, but it sounds like a good idea.
Next weekend the whip comes to London, an unsuspecting hotel in a secret location has been booked and discussions are underway as to which club will be visited on Saturday night.
Any rock clubs playing suitable music that want to host a whip visit and receive free publicity on this blog please get in touch, an offer of free entry will never be refused!
You may be wondering why the lack of review from the last whip, well mainly this is due to the shock still felt after 2 of the whip stalwarts were refused entry to Rock City, not once, but twice (happily they eventually found a way in). After frequenting the venue for nearly 20 years we were disgusted at the attitude of the door staff, basically just because they weren't wearing a black T-shirt and don't have the long flowing locks of yesteryear (well curly locks in one case) they were not allowed in. Rock City, you should be ashamed. We still love you but...SORT IT OUT!
Some images from the Danny Vaughn gig at The Purple Turtle in Camden, thanks to John Rayner for these.
It's on the streets, well in the fabled city of rock anyway.
All set for September 8th, a good attendance is expected, and the whippers will be buoyed by the mention of Van Halen in the blurb for Reloaded (Saturday nights in The Rig) that appeared in Kerrang! this week.
There has been mention of a vodka bar visit on the Friday evening, and Ye Olde Salutation may get a visitation, if it is that order then the karaoke may even be tempting!
Get your rocks off!
Thanks to Project Playlist we are now able to provide a selection of Vodka Whip endorsed tunes for your listening pleasure while you are visiting the site. You have the option to reduce volume on the player, or indeed to launch as a standalone should you so wish.
Hopefully we will be able to add additional tracks as they become available. A couple are samples, but are included so that those classic bands are represented.
Player is set to random so hopefully you will get a different track to start you off each time you visit, so we look forward to your return in the near future!
Enjoy.
So could the Crue still cut it after all these years? Replacement singers have come and gone, as have various wives/porn stars, countless bottles, no cases, of spirits and probably every known drug, their casualty list is longer than most of their contempories, how are these guys even still alive, let alone together as a band?
Well they are here tonight, fresh from playing Download. The gig is sold out, but the numerous touts outside have been left with full greasy fists of tickets, there is some justice in the world after all! Small consolation when we find the T-shirts are 25 quid though...
Nonetheless there is a hot, sweaty crowd inside when the Crue hit the stage with Dr Feelgood, the pyrotechnics kick in, Vince Neil is slightly more portly than 20 years ago, but the voice is still holding. Sadly Tommy Lee isn't holding the sticks, a shoulder injury sustained at Donington Park 2 days ago. His stand-in is superb though, could not fault him at all. Tommy makes a few cameo appearances during the night, including keyboards on Home Sweet Home, and a bit of rapping/crowd participation stuff halfway through the set. It is apparent that Mick Mars is suffering the effects of his illness, but his playing is still top notch.
All the classics are there, the new stuff is not missed by the majority of the crowd as Motley Crue run through gems such as Shout At the Devil, Live Wire, Looks That Kill, Primal Scream, Louder Than Hell, Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away), Wild Side, Same Ol' Situation, Smokin' In The Boys Room and of course the seminal Girls, Girls, Girls. A cover of Anarchy In The UK is thrown in for good measure.
They finish with a storming Kickstart Your Heart, well it was then a menadering Mick Mars guitar solo kicked in, which would have been fine if it wasn't the last song of the main set, and then it transpired it was the last song of the whole set, no encore! Made the end of the show a slightly bizarre experience. It was also not much after 10pm, maybe the boys need their cocoa, but for the sake of rock'n'roll lets hope it was vodka and groupies they were getting off early to see to.
But that strange and early ending shouldn't detract from a superb night of cock rock at it's finest. Well worth the money, support Papa Roach are in a completely different genre, but sometimes that's good, and it worked well here tonight.
Cock rock still lives, maybe showing it's age occasionally, but the youngsters in the crowd dressed up in their 80s gear love it so there is hope for the future.
The first full whip of the year took place this weekend in Nottingham. Although this was billed as a main whip many months ago, sadly two members could not be present. One member was lost through feeble excuses, the other through an extremely absent minded holiday booking. It is noted here on the blog that both reasons are not acceptable! Anyway, the proceedings started on the Friday (the warm up night) with a trip from the suburbs into Nottingham centre. Firstly a visit was made to Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, a fine public house which soon became the scene of blasphemous events. Upon entry one member of the party was openly ripped by the slightly stout Yeoman of the bar for wearing nothing other than a Tyketto T shirt. The heretic (aging dinosaur rocker) then launched a verbal assault on Danny Vaughn himself, together with a general rubbishing of all acoustic guitar music. Whilst the pub is both an unusual and interesting venue, it clearly is the home of unbelievers and should be approached with caution. Following a drink we moved onto the Salutation Inn. Upon entry, the ground floor was found to be a standard Nottingham establishment, however up stairs was a haven of rock. Friday night was Karaoke night, and much was talked about entry to sing a 'cock rock' number to the full audience of the Sal. Wisely and due to insufficient vocal ranges, no entry was made.
The Saturday saw the full whip proceedings, following a visit to a local building of historic interest. After the full appreciation of a bottle of Skyy vodka by the members of the whip (coupled with the usually caffine based energy drinks and 'cock rock' DvD), the party moved to Nottingham, starting this time with the Sal. Once again the upstairs was a rock haven, although this time with no Karaoke. Following a swift visit to the Tap 'n' Tumbler, entry was made into the city of rock. Music was varied but did incorporate a reasonable amount of 'cock rock' enabling the members to indulge in the usual ludicrous dancing and total loss of self respect. During the evening contact was made with an indirect whip victim of some 15 years ago. Whilst this individual did not attend the whip, they did have the (mis)fortune of meeting the whip members post whip, joining in with the drinking throughout the evening. This was the last time the individual was seen for 15 years. The mystery was solved however, when the facts were established. Following a collapse, hospitalisation and being 45 times over the legal limit, the individual involved was advised not to drink for a number of days unless death was desired. They then avoided alcohol for a number of years. This is clear evidence of how important the whip is in preparation for a night of binge drinking. One other notable event was the trial of a new Tyketto dance. Whilst still in development a new synchronised dance emerged incorporating many complex maneuvers requiring both concentration and agility. Further choreography is required, but early indications are that this new development is a direct result of extensive brain cell damage due to vodka abuse.
It would appear the whip may have been staged a week early. Check this poodle rock extravaganza out, it even has a link to a 'Forever Young' cover:
http://clubnight.wildside-net.com/
A crisis has hit Vodka Whip towers, it was bad enough when news reached us that our beloved 80's/90's rock had been cornered into one Friday night a month. But now it seems that while the main rock/alternative night is back on a Saturday, there is a lack of the hair rock we worship.
This is grave news as it may threaten the frequency of future visits to the spiritual home of the whip, so we need YOUR help...
If you are reading this the chances are you found our page thanks to a mention of one of the rock bands we love. If you have visited Rock City in the last few months, please post a comment or email us (vodkawhip@hotmail.com) to tell us what the chances are of hearing those bands on a Saturday (or indeed Friday if our info is wrong) night.
Your input will be very much appreciated, for information leading to a successful whip visit we'll buy you a drink (vodka based of course) in Rock City itself.
Although there is a shortage of good c**k rock bands in this quiz there is still a fair smattering with Poison and Cinderella making appearances.
So what can I say the great man produced another stunning performance in London last night, despite some technical problems afflicting, in the main, guitarist Tony Marshall. Can't see the likeness to Mr T myself. Dante Fox were very good, well worth checking out, and T-shirts at a bargain fiver you can't go wrong!
Suspect the set-list for the Vaughnster was very much the same as the previous night, it was indeed finely crafted blending the best of Danny's "solo" career with a smattering of Tyketto classics. Too busy dancing to write a set-list myself but songs that I can remember off the top of my head (although it is entirely possible I may be confusing one or two with listening to the CDs earlier in the day, confirmation would be appreciated from anyone else that was there), anyway they include:
From Tyketto: Burning Down Inside (which some idiot then called out for later in the show), The Last Sunset, Seasons, Meet Me In The Night, The End Of The Summer Days, Wings and of course the mighty Whip anthem, Forever Young.
From Vaughn: Is That All There Is, Shadowland, The Voice, Haunted, Was There A Moment.
1 cover: Cold Sweat
And most of the excellent new Danny Vaughn-Traveller album.
Fantastic gig, wish that Dudley was more feasible this Saturday, really needed to book a hotel much sooner I suspect, although temptation still lives until Saturday is gone!
Today (8th May) working has been a struggle due to the effects of a a gig, a few pints and a late night. This struggle was worth it as last night the Miester Danny Vaughn put in a storming performance at the Rescue Rooms Nottingham. Dante Fox must be mentioned at this point as they too performed strongly in support. Following 30 minutes or so from the Fox, Danny and band played a long set (some 1 hour 45 minutes). The show opened at a blistering pace, not pausing between the first three songs for applause. After a finely crafted set incorporating a fine mix of Vaughn numbers from all three albums, focusing on Traveller, the new release, blended with a substantial number of Tyketto classics, the crowd were brought to a near climax as Danny and co finished with 'Wings' before the encore. Following a sort pause, Danny and band returned for a few more numbers, closing and climaxing the crowd on what else but the legendary 'Forever Young'.
An additional bonus was that Mr T (sporting some additional head cover) was seen playing lead guitar along side the great man himself. A publicity photograph is shown below which although shows some resemblance, is nowhere near as good as the 'lookalike' factor in the flesh, which I have to say was remarkable.
Mr T's stunt double
The Casbah is a decent venue, the fact that it was located in the same block as our hotel being an unexpected bonus on this occasion.
The unusual aspect about this club is the bar upstairs that feels just like, well a bar, the room downstairs is very much a club style room though. We were surprised to find that this room wasn't open when we arrived a little after 11pm. A number of the rockier elements of the clientele were looking slightly uncomfortable in the bar with a selection of indie style music filling the air.
At 11:30 the barrier was opened and the Whip contingent were the first down the stairs, straight onto the dancefloor for Extreme's Get The Funk Out. The music early on was of suitable whip style, later on the heavier side of rock was merged in although a few tracks still enticed us on to the floor.
Notable other attractions included the young lady with the flashing sign, yes I would have bought you a drink if you hadn't made a mistake with your grammar!, and the young lady giving her boyfriend an entertaining lapdance. A fine selection of vodka based drinks was on offer at reasonable prices.
A slightly early bolt for the door was instigated by one of our number, provoking a ripping from the security on the way out. Still with the lack of energy on Saturday morning anyway, it may have been wise...
All in all a fine venue, a slightly higher proportion of cock rock in the DJs collection wouldn't go amiss though!
So a venture out for a mini-whip in Sheffield this weekend, research has generated a veritable list of suitable venues with the Dove & Rainbow and Casbah favourites for Friday night with D&R, Lord Nelson and Corporation the likely haunts for Saturday.
Just don't tell the hotel we are smuggling vodka in!
Cock legends Bon Jovi play the O2 Arena (Millennium Dome to the uninformed) on Sunday June 24th. This happens to be the very same day that Aerosmith play Hyde Park so Vodka Whip suspects an even more "less than rock" oriented crowd than usual for the New Jersey outfit.
Still will be a good gig, indoors too. So if you decided not to go to Aerosmith then get yourself tickets when they go on sale on Friday 9am.
There are a variety of Vodka Whip endorsed tours due in the next few months.
Firstly Danny Vaughn himself treks around the UK in May, Mr T is hoping to get down to London for this (Camden Purple Turtle 8th May), although the originally suggested trip to Dudley JBs on the 12th is now looking less likely, but could still be persuaded... Check out the Danny Vaughn website for full dates.
Motley Crue sleaze their way into Hammersmith Apollo on June 11th, day before Mr T's birthday so he will be there for that one then. Only other dates are at Download on the 9th and Manchester Apollo on 12th.
Mr T is also off to Bryan Adams, Wembley Arena on May 11th, Aerosmith, Hyde Park on June 24th, Thunder, Chepstow Castle - June 30th.
Thunder tour again in November/December, Mr T has plans to see them in Narwich and London, full tour dates on Thunder Online
Reminder that the Nottingham whip is on the weekend of May 25th/26th. The mini-whip in Sheffield is set for April 27th/28th.
Hoping for promotion for Forest and Yeovil (but in reality it will probably only one of them), promotion to be denied for Birmingham and Derby (although again one of them will make it), and relegation for Sheffield United, to maximise the potential dates for whips for next season!
So the insanity was rather a good idea in the end.
What am I talking about? Well my trips to Europe to see a couple of gigs. Firstly to the Matrix in Bochum, Germany to see Thunder, a great gig, good club in the venue afterwards, and barring getting off at the wrong station on the way back to the airport a smooth trip. (Oh and the rather quicker than anticpated landing back at Stansted!) Because of the amount of travelling time involved I didn't get much time to look around but managed to squeeze in a museum based in an old mine in Bochum which was nice.
Then just this week I went off to Graz in Austria to see Therapy? at the Orpheum. A nice little venue, and another great gig. No support and an early finish were a little strange, but still good and well worthwhile. Had a couple of days to look around and Graz is a really beautiful city, lots of good looking young ladies as well, so it was all good, well apart from being woken by doors banging in the hotel when I'd only had 3 or 4 hours sleep after being out until 3am.... I found a bar that had rock and metal playing, mainly with the videos on the screen as well, on Wednesday so went back after the gig on Thursday as well.
It was good to have a chance to chat with the members of both bands after the shows, thought I was too old for autograph hunting but what the hell makes the trip that bit more special, got some photos as well so may post them up when I get them developed (or maybe not as it will reveal my identity!)
So I'm looking out for more gigs when I am on holiday in the summer, these European trips are fun! For the moment I'll have to look forward to the usual round of gigs in London, but the Thunder show in Chepstow Castle should be a good one too with the unusual setting and a town I haven't visited before.
It's been a bit quiet on here recently, well yes, we all had New Year to get over first! However, all has not been quiet in the world of the whip.
Firstly there was the potentially controversial move of the first Nottingham whip of the year to the weekend of May 25th/26th. No objections have been posted but we are waiting for confirmation of the accommodation arrangements, hopefully a large bunch of flowers on Valentine's Day has helped ease the request through...
Secondly a proposed Sheffield whip looked doomed due to a clash with the World Snooker Championship, our usual hotel was fully booked, a more expensive alternative has been secured, but this does have the added advantage of being even closer to our usual destinations. The weekend of April 27th/28th will see a Vodka Whip visit to Sheffield's Casbah, Corporation and Lord Nelson, DJs please dust down your copy of Forever Young for us.
Finally the legend that is Danny Vaughn is starting to announce tour dates. So far this has thrown the possibility of a live leanback at Dudley JB's into the equation on Saturday May 12th. There is a club after the gig so Mr T is proposing a hotel overnighter, early indications of interest from the fellow whippers may be necessary to secure the accommodation required. Sadly a double header on this occasion is not possible for Mr T due to an earlier booking for Bryan Adams on the Friday evening!
So a month full of Vodka Whips and cock rock looks on the cards, gentlemen start your emails please!
