F.M.

Vocals                                 Steve Ireland 

Lead Guitar                        Dave Johnson

Drums                                 Steve Hutchinson 

Bass                                    Jem Caisley

Australia's AC/DC 's 'Let there be light' gave us a great start, with rhythm, bass and lead seemlessly getting into a tight backing unit. Use of a radio mike (usually very iffy) gave Steve an immediate chance to display his showmanship a la Bon Scott, and Dave's guitar work already showed that they were in the mood. 'Living and Loving' by Led Zeppelin followed maintaining the necessary backing quality, however I was starting to get the impression that Bon Scott had taken over from Robert Plant. Even more so on the next Led Zeppelin song 'Immigrant Song' where Steve was supported extremely well by the backing unit who were well on top of their game, supplying a superb driving rhythm necessary for the song to work successfully. We leapt some thirty years forward to the Foo Fighters and 'All my Life', which started off as close as you can get. I just thought, as on a couple of later songs, that some chorus backing work would have made this song better than it was, even though it was very good..but there was no need for the screaming at the end. The quality continued with Metallica's 'Nothing Else Matters', with Dave providing an excellent guitar solo showing just how good he is, they don't need to vary from the original..this was very good!! Now here's something you don't get everyday at The Quaker - Four Non-Blondes ( varying degrees of grey and balding , yes!) and 'What's going on?'. When you mention this song to anyone who wasn't there, the reaction you get is one of shock horror and a request for a change of beer, but this was actually verrrrryyyy good, with an intro that smacked of G& R's Paradise City (did actually make an appearance in the song), and an up tempo finish..brilliant!! We had more early AC/DC on the next two numbers with 'Sin City' and 'Touch Too Much', where Steve's voice and interpretation was clearly what was needed to top off the great backing. 'The Ripper' by Judas Priest came next.. a good wholesome performance where Dave's guitar solo was the highlight. Dave's lightening finger licking style came smashing to the fore on 'Run to the Hills' by Iron Maiden, with audience participation providing the choral backing, - this was an excellent number to finish the first set.

The question was - were we going to get more of the same enthusiasm and quality in the second set? Well ..yes. 'The Song Remains the Same' by Led Zeppelin reinforced that and more. Again early AC/DC with Bon Scott being the vocal role model formed the next two numbers, 'Down Baby Blues' and 'The Jack'. Both numbers making a rare appearance at The Quaker, and both reinforcing the idea that these could be a very good early AC/DC tribute band. Just when you thought you were cocooned in the classic era of rock ..BANG!! In comes My Chemical Romance with 'Teenagers', again well played and not a song everyone is familiar with, but as mentioned above, a song that could have benefited with backing vocals. A short medley of Led Zep tunes, well two actually, expertly melded together - 'Whole Lotta Love' and 'Rock and Roll'. Now forgetting that Steve is not Robert Plant, everything about this number was excellent from the drums, lead guitar and bass to vocals, even Marty's 'WOOOMAAN' was actually in tune, even though it was out on the timing. Keeping the party atmosphere going, we had 'Whisky in the Jar' by Thin Lizzy, slowing  right down the slow tempo Oh Danny Boy at the end.  Guns and Roses finally made an appearance with 'Sweet Child of Mine'. The intro. was again accurate, as was  Dave's guitar solo, and now the audience was participating on every number, with varying degrees of effect.

 We were treated to two encore numbers, Ac/Dc's 'Whole Lot of Rosie' led off, and if I was to dare to say it, this was probably their best AC/DC number, over and above the excellence of the previous numbers. The last song of the night was 'Photograph' by Journey. The build up to this was superb and a tremendous way to finish the night, only slightly blighted by Steve's efforts to get the audience singing main verses which they didn't know..still by this time who cares?

F.M are very good entertainers and very good unit on their night, we just happened to have one of those nights. They vary what they do across the range of rock and they do it very well. A great nights work.