EDDIE & THE HOT RODS

The Worcester Park Club

Sun 7th May 2000

And still the great gigs keep coming. In the case of Eddie & The Hot Rods, it was summed up by the phrase;"They came, they saw, they played, they conquered".

Hard to believe it's a cool 25 years since The Rods first trod the boards of The Kensington pub, and kick started the transition from Pub Rock to Punk Rock.

The band themselves were always half way between the two, and on the evidence of this gig, it is still a perfect marriage after all this time.

Led from the front by hyper active vocalist Barry Masters, Eddie & The Hot Rods take no prisoners, but throw in a a handful of classic songs such as "Hard Driving Man" and "Power & The Glory" to add to their high octane levels.

Basically this is a shit kicking Rock & Roll band , who on the evidence of their version of Bob Seger's "Get Out of Denver", will give anyone a run for their money. In fact, on the night, the Rods cocked up the intro to the afore mentioned rocker, preferring to come back to it later in the set.

It proved to be the perfect thing to do - preserving both the moment for posterity, and maintaining the edge for a belated attempt further down the line. "Never Mind the Mistakes, feel the energy" someone shouted from the enthusiastic audience.

By the end of a blinding 80 minute set, guitarist Gary Luca was to be found on top of the bass drum, and Masters's exhaltations to the audience to sing along were met with a throaty cry from an excited, and ultimately satisfied audience.

The new line-up including the impressive Barry Msters comprises a thunderous rhythm section, and a fireball guitarist. The spirit of Eddie & The Hot Rods remains untainted.

Pete Feenstra