Massive Wagons – Parr Hall, Warrington: Live Review

By Mike Ainscoe on 11th March 2024 • ( Leave a comment )

Massive Wagons / Twister – Parr Hall, Warrington – 9th March 2024

Warrington welcomes the Lancaster bombers to their Parr Hall stage, all set for a one-off show which sees the increasingly popular Massive Wagons revisit their recently rebooted Welcome To The World album live.

Frontman Baz Mills has called WTTW “A special album for us – a kind of hardcore fan album.” The 2023 re-release gave the reboot that the band felt the songs deserved and tonight’s top to tail playback adds further fuel to the fire with the explosive ten song sequence reminding us how the high jinks that pour out in the videos are accompanied by the hard rocking credentials that Massive Wagons possess. Their USP of not relying on stupid clothes, silly haircuts, gimmicks or ridiculous claims (although Baz Mills’ idiosyncratic stagewear tests the first of these to a point) leaves straight up, in your face, no nonsense, heavy rock ‘n’ roll. No fudging around with tunings, swapping over guitars or triumphant in between song banter. Pure back to the stack rockification with the excitement of a communal celebratory vibe.

This evening we find our heroes heading back to 2016, back to the future indeed – and it’s the theme tune from the adventures of Marty & Doc which dutifully heralds their arrival onstage to run through the ten songs of WTTW . The pounding opening has a partisan crowd singing, nay, hollering along as “NAAAIIILLLSSSS!” comes back at the stage with the sort of force and passion that induces goosebumps. The “never be afraid to be you” message in the lyric being one that the Wagons have struck by resolutely, proudly adopting a middle finger stance and encouraging us more recently to f@@k the haters.

The three song breathless opening that concludes with an immense version of the title track has Baz announcing (as he catches his breath) how they “haven’t played that for about twelve years!” The likelihood on this evidence is that it, along with several other choice cuts may have earned a reprieve. At the same time, it means juggling a setlist becomes ever more tricky when there are so many songs now that could easily populate two setlists. Maybe Premier League squad rotation reaching the Rock and Roll stage.

Special guest Lauren Hutchinson even takes to the stage to reprise her guest vocal performance (and “show me up” says Baz) on Shit Sweat Death as they swing between Motorhead rush and bluesy swagger and the mighty stop-start riffing on The Day We Fell. The triptych of Jodie, Aeroplane and Fee Fi Fo Fum (a bonafide belter of a set opener when we saw MW open for The Darkness a couple of years ago) offer a classic finale until Sixteen and Everybody Dies complete the whole WTTW experience. And that’s before what feels like an extended encore that cherry picks selections from the more recent Triggered! and House Of Noise.

While their iconic recreation as Lego minifigure heroes in the Bangin In Your Stereo video sums up their air of joie de vivre, the final clarion call that “we’re in it together” reminds us once again how they’re a band where barriers are broken down. The Massive Wagons community continues to create crazy days and memories…

Late subs and standing in for the sadly incapacitated The Cruel Knives, Twister put in a suitably heroic opening performance. Making a mockery of any ‘pop’ label that might be attached to their brand of hefty Rock, they have the strength of their Cursed & Corrected album under their belts and a frontman in Stevie Stoker who has the same high octane presence as The Wagons’ Baz.

Had the headliners not had the clout of Massive Wagons, then Twister may well have stolen the show, winning over a crowd ready and waiting for the chance to rock out with their heroes. A rousing and roof lifting opening.