Silverstone Mini United 2009 (with Paul Weller) 23/05/09 gig review (by Jane)

What a beautiful day to be at Silverstone. Loads of fun, loads of beer, loads of Minis and a few Lambrettas for good measure. Bumped into quite a few people that had 'Dity Rock n Roller' T shirts that had been bought on the tour, and it was nice to have a chat with them and their kids (also sporting 'Weapon' T shirts!!)..

(all pix and txt by Jane) Twisted Wheel took to the stage at 8.30 belting out 'Lucy The Castle'. The sound was excellent, none of that 'wavey' effect you get a most festivals (due to the wind). The lads looked quite at home up there and on the big screens. Their 45 min set included 'Shes A Weapon' 'Bouncing Bomb' 'Oh What Have You Done' and I was really chuffed that they played the newie 'Turn Around' which won over a lot of Weller fans, as being on the huge stage the mamouth guitar sound came over fantastically well. RAC were present to give the lads the support they deserved... 'WWWWHHHEEEELLLLL'. I thought Twisted Wheel sounded superb and the crowd obviously agreed as they went off to a rapturous applause. Paul Weller was next up. I was very impressed, specially with 'Eton Rifles', 'Shout to the Top', and 'Town Called Malice'... but the encoure was totally out of this world, and luckily I was prepared for it... 'Thats Entertainment' with Jonny Brown as guest, it bought tears to my eyes, their rendition was superb, I was so impressed, it just proves that Jonny can turn his hand to anything, he won over ALL the Weller fans, EVERYONE was singing along, it was truely a magic moment (and please, please repeat it on the Weller Forest tour).

A video of the excellent performance of 'Thats Entertainment':

xx

Twisted Wheel Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms gig review 21/05/09 (by Jane)

Well, this gig, was the nearest to my home, so no more M1 for now - thank goodness! And what a beautiful day it was too, down by the sea, with a pint in my hand. The Wedgewood Rooms is a lovely venue, not too big/not too small, just right for a gig down by the sea. The crowd were up for a good night, and boy, they werent disappointed... Thundering straight into 'Lucy The Castle' Twisted Wheel were unstoppable tonight. (all pix and txt by Jane) Crowd sufers galore, everyone singing at the tops of their voices made this a memorable night... the highlight being when Jonny invited some of the audience onstage to sing 'You Stole The Sun' with him - the place irrupted.... the bouncers were not amused... Newies, 'Turn Around', 'Take Her Higher' and the fabulous 'Honey Girl' were all greeted with well deserved cheers.. We had 'Racket' and 'Smash it Up', but all too soon, 'We Are Us' was being played signalling the end of another fine gig, performed with the utmost energy of the finest band around... Tomorrow, its Silverstone with Paul Weller... so bring on the go-karting.... xxx

Twisted Wheel gig review London KCLSU 20/05/09 (by Jane)

Due to the cancellation of the previous nights gig in Bristol (Thekla rescheduled for 31/05/09) we were all rather anxious as to whether the lads would be well enough for this gig to take place. We needn't had worried, because, despite what the world seems fit to throw at Twisted Wheel, they always come right back at ya, with a blistering set that made us all proud to be fans. Launching into 'Lucy The Castle' it was obvious, nothing was gonna stop the Wheel from giving their all once again. The crowd loved it. Mosh pits ensued, crowd surfers were at it again, but no one took any notice, we were all to busy enjoying ourselves despite getting covered in beer... xx

Twisted Wheel gig review Nottingham Rescue Rooms 18/05/09 (by Jane)

Another trip up the M1 brings me to this quite smart (but small) venue, just off the town centre of Nottingham. From quite early on, there was brisk trade being done on the Twisted Wheel merchandise stall, infact, it was the busiest outside of Manchester, and I'd recognised a few people from the previous gigs sporting their new t-shirts - good on yer...!! First up, Answer Machine, ok, they're finally growing on me, but not as much as Detroit Social Club - get their free cd (available on the merch stall), its well worth it, but I think they're even better live, lovin' the song 'Northern Man' right now, with its big drum sound... http://www.myspace.com/detroitsocialclub Its 9.30 and Twisted Wheel storm onstage to the raucous chanting of 'WWWHHHHEEEELLL'. They belt out 'Lucy The Castle' to the totally packed venue, with just about everyone in the audience singing along. They're sounding good as always and the crowd really getting behind the lads and nearly lifting the ceiling with singalong chanting. With the slightly amended set, we only have two of the newies tonight, 'Turn Around' and 'Take Her Higher' which go down well. 'Racket' and 'Smash It Up' (which Jonny dedicated to Adam!!!) were definate crowd pleasers, as was 'Oh What Have You Done' (all pix and text by Jane) The blistering set was bought to a close with 'We Are Us', which left everyone gasping for breath... Loving the tour lads.....xx

Twisted Wheel Birmingham Rainbow Gardens 15/05/09 gig review...(by Jane)

Third night of the tour, and thinking (again) how can Twisted Wheel pull off an even better set than the night before (because Leeds was TRUELY historic)? The weather had taken a turn for the worst, it was rain all the way, and traffic chaos on the motorways, but it was a welcome sight as I set my eyes on the venue - a nice boozer!! and even better, the sounds coming at me from 100 meters down the road!! The venue is literally under the arches. After various unexpected texts and phone calls that I had to sort out, I was able to settle down to see the return of the band Answer Machine, who warmed the crowd up nicely. With the venues acoustics, Detroit Social Club came over as a massive sound, with their four guitars, they are obviously a band to watch out for.

With a later start tonight, Twisted Wheel came on to thundering applause They started the set with the superb 'Lucy The Castle' to which the crowd roared their approval. The same set as the previous night was planned, but, as being such a spontaneous band, its never set in stone, which makes it all the more remarkable that the band can pen such brilliant new songs such as 'Turn Around' and get them just right for their live performances in such a short space of time, and to be able to carry on ripping through the set whilst there were technical problems - which no one in the audience knew about as everything sounded just perfect - is nothing short of amazing, and will stand the lads in good stead for the future.. The crowd sang along in great voice, specially to 'You Stole The Sun' which just added to the quality of the night. We were even treated to an encoure of 'Smash It Up' which was great to hear again. It was another night of mayhem in the crowd, but surely to be eclipsed by the Manchester date tonight........ stay tuned..........

(All Pictures and Text - just blame Jane)

jane xx

Twisted Wheel Leeds Cockpit - second gig review of their Headline Tour - Leeds Cockpit 14/05/09 .....(by jane)

phew, after the blistering start to the tour the previous day, I did wonder how they'd follow it up...OMG... did they..!!!!!... indeed...!!! Another small venue, but what a fantastic show last night was... Detroit Social Club started the night off with another fantastic set, they went down extremely well with the packed crowd. Twisted Wheel came on stage, 9pm, to the most fantastic applause ever seen outside of Manchester!!.. The energy of the band just did not let up. Starting off with 'Lucy The Castle' it was soon evident tonights gig was gonna go down in history. With stage divers making theirselves known from the start, the doormen had to double as stage security. The crowd were just mad for Twisted Wheel, getting totally behind them. The lads did a totally different set to the night before (not always in the order that was on the set list, but that just added to the excitement of it all!!!!).. Second up was a welcome return of 'Racket', having been missed being played on The Enemy tour. 'She's A Weapon' followed, the crowd went mad, the band were hot n sweaty, but we all just went for it. Next up was the newie 'Turn Around' which went down really well, as did (of course) 'Strife' and the lovely newie 'Honey Girl'. The audience, by this time could only just contain themselves, Ive no idea how order was kept, but the show went on... slowing down (for a well earned breather) for 'Bouncing Bomb', and another welcome return of an oldie 'Smash It Up'. Ive no idea how I kept standing upright for 'Oh What Have You Done' as it was totally mad... but, all too soon, we were singing the closing song 'We Are Us'.. What a fantastic night... how ever are they gonna top Leeds, Ive no idea, but its Birmingham tonight, so it'll be another fun packed set with loads of shinanigans!!! .... stay tuned for more fun and frolics... (all pictures and text - blame it on Jane)

(security!!)

jane xx

Twisted Wheel hit the Sheffield Leadmill 13/05/09 first gig review of their headline tour (by Jane)

The Sheffield Leadmill gig, being the first of the headline tour had been eagerly anticipated, and it didnt dissapoint.

First up, a small band by the name of Answer Machine, who kept the crowd amused whilst the anticipation grew, and the venue started to fill...

Second band, Detroit Social Club went down really well, with their quite brilliant set.

9.15 and the reason why we're all here, Twisted Wheel walk through the crowd to take their spot on the stage, starting off with a blistering rendition of 'Lucy The Castle', which got us all in the right mood to move!! followed by the fantastic 'Bad Candy'. The lads played four new numbers, that went down well, 'Turn Around', 'Honey Girl', 'Tonight' and the brilliant 'Keep it Up Boy/Take her Higher' - which will really get you jumping!! The lads kept it coming hard and strong for their 50 minute set, and before you knew it, the closing chords of 'We Are Us' were echoing around us.....

It was such an excellent start to the tour.... just can't wait for the rest of the dates....

(All text and pictures - the blame goes to Jane)

Twisted Wheel Merchandise available on this tour... Plain Twisted Wheel logo T shirts available in either black or white in all sizes (including ladies skinny fit) are £10

'Oh What Have You Done' T shirts (selling like hot cakes btw) with 'You Dirty Rock and Roller' on the reverse, again in all sizes and both colours are £10 There are a few 'Weapon' T shirts still available but only in Junior sizes for £5. Also on offer are the 7" singles @ £2.50, you can pick up a copy of their brilliant debut album @ £10, and there are a pack of 5 badges available @ £5 per pack.

Get your Bargins while you can - otherwise you will live to regret it!)

jane

xx

In depth Twisted Wheel album review

In depth Twisted Wheel album Review

by Scruff on http://www.oasisteria.com/

Twisted Wheel - Twisted Wheel Album Review4 05 2009 Twisted Wheel are a three piece band from a Manchester satellite town named after a famous Manchester nightclub prominent on the late 60’s Northern Soul scene. The music on their self title debut album isn’t of course Northern Soul but these are songs are songs to touch the souls of any Northern heart, these are satellite songs beamed in from growing up on the outskirts of the music capital of the world. Twisted Wheel are the latest band in the lineage that gave us such great debut albums as “Stone Roses” and “Definitely Maybe”, and whilst it may not yet be on the same plateau as those two great milestones at times it comes close. The latter album is definitely the blueprint. Twisted Wheel have the Gallagher backing already, Liam has waxed lyrical about them in interviews, Noel has compared singer Jonny Brown to his good mate Paul Weller, and the two bands recently toured together. Oasis don’t give their backing to any old crap. Twisted Wheel have the X factor, and by X factor I mean that little something special you cant put into words, they might never get a Christmas number 1 with these songs, but Britain’s got talent if its producing bands like Twisted Wheel. Ironically the album starts of with the only reference to Manchester or Oasis being the belligerent nature of the song. Beginning with a Supergrass type intro “Lucy The Castle” is a hedonistic tale of lust that manages to sound like Husker Du covering The Jam’s “This Is The Modern World”, its an instant classic and an opener that tells you to sit up and take notice of the album. Following a 2 minute punk blast “she’s a weapon” are 2 songs that are the real statement of intent on this record, and where the obvious parallels with the Oasis debut are drawn. Recent single “We Are Us” has a slow paced intro that soon mutates into the band announcing their arrival and that they don’t give a fuck who likes them or not, its an attitude shared by songs such as “Rock N Roll Star” and “Cigarettes & Alcohol” from the Oasis masterpiece. Even better and a real album highlight is “Oh What Have You Done”. This song is pure vitriol, and in your face manifesto with a Sex Pistols riff and an arrogant carefree lyric that tells you this band just know…. They just know “there’s people trying to destroy me/and they don’t even know me/I am ten times what they are/I know things they will never know”. it’s a mantra for any back street poet who ever dared to dream, or any bedroom rock star playing guitar into the mirror knowing one day that mirror will be a stadium. The chorus of “oh what have you done you dirty rock n roller” is the hook that will lodge in your brains all summer. But it’s the satellite towns that are the continuing theme of the 36 minute lifespan of the album. Two songs in particular are tales of Manchester Kitchen sink estates set to a London Calling soundtrack. “Bouncing Bomb” introduces us to characters like American Steve a kid scaring bus driver, and John, a CD dealing landlord that is just an updated Mr Sifter for the bootlegging slumdog millionaires, there’s also echoes of The Beatles “Eleanor Rigby” in the songs sentiment. “Strife” isn’t quite in the same league as its bookmark, but its still an enjoyable little tale. Central in the track listing are two urban hymns for the weekend, the Morrissey like rockabilly of “Let Them Have It All” and “Bad Candy” a Digsys Dinner type punk popper that serves as the comedown to the previous days excesses “Monday morning on the floor/calling out for more and more”, the song like the sentiment is something you want to over indulge in Towards the end now are the two songs that set this debut apart from the pretenders “You Stole The Sun” is simply brilliant, probably most peoples first taste of Twisted Wheel when released as a single but still the ultimate highlight of the record. it’s a frenetic piece of Manc Boogie with a Dylanesque lyric of a jilted lover who kidnaps the sun from the sky and holds it hostage in his wardrobe, if he’s gonna feel the dark encroaching then so is everyone else, but the song itself is rainbow coloured its this albums psychedelic supersonic. A band that can write a song as fantastically imaginative as this are not ordinary. And so to the closer “Whats Your Name” this is where the band recap whats gone before them and drop the attitude, time to let other people into Twisted Wheel world now whilst asking as Daltry once did “who the fuck are you”, its an anthemic slow burner that ends with the words “nice to meet you” over a looped Johnny Marr style guitar. And that’s where we leave Twisted Wheel, sentiments agreed, nice to meet you too. Wherever they go next is up to them. Maybe like Oasis they will leave the satellite towns behind and whilst its still less than definite it is a fantastic starting point Scruff’s Rating:8.5/10