SAXON
LA2, LONDON, UK
27th May 2000
Reviewer: Dave Ling
Taken from www.metal-is.com
Respect's certainly due for Saxon's perseverance against the odds, something that was reflected in a far bigger and even more enthusiastic turn-out for the second show of the weekend. Painfully unfashionable they may be, but vocalist Biff Byford and guitarist Paul Quinn's latest line-up have retained a fanatical following' who chanted the band's name for a full ten minutes before their arrival. Byford was understandably keen to plug the new 'Metalhead' ("a fookin' fantastic album," he so modestly noted), and although to these ears it tries too hard to sound contemporary, the four numbers aired were all rapturously received. However, it was the classics we craved, and Saxon's two hour set didn't disappoint. 'Motorcycle Man', 'Dallas 1PM', 'The Eagle Has Landed', '20,000 Feet', 'Denim And Leather', 'Crusader' and 'Princess Of The Night' all caused near-orgasmic glee in the crowd. Hell, we could even forgive the desperately average drum solo. For encores, what else but four utterly timeless slabs of quintessential thrashaboogie - '747 (Strangers In The Night)', 'Strong Arm Of The Law', 'And The Bands Played On' and the inevitable 'Wheels Of Steel'. The message is clear: the NWOBHM may not have much of its hair left, but it still has fangs a-plenty.
