It was Hotter than Hell when it all began

On 10th April 2015, myself and my friend Simon decided to go to a gig. My first since the 90s.

And so into the gig scene we wandered and didn’t look back.

The gig headliners were Hotter Than Hell, Europe’s foremost KISS tribute act (and they hail from Northern Ireland too!!).  Supporting them was Alice Cooper tribute act, Alike Cooper (I see what they did there) and Northern Ireland rockers, Maverick.

The gig was organised by the Distortion Project, headed up by the absolutely wonderful James Loveday, who has doggedly organised rock and metal gigs for over 15 years now bringing some of the top most bands to this little place on the far edge of Europe.

First up on stage was Maverick. A band I had never heard off, being out of the scene for such a long long time. Well, not that I was ever really in the scene in the first place. But everyone else knew who they were. And they all had good things to say about them. Maverick are a hard rock band hailing from Northern Ireland, which in my own perceptions left me wondering what sort of karaoke sound they would produce.

Dear lord almighty!! I was never so wrong and quickly learned to keep my mind open from here on in to the talent bubbling underneath the fertile Ulster surface.

Maverick were superb, professional, tight and owned every piece of that stage. David Balfour, lead singer, was a wonder to behold as he belted out the songs (don’t ask me about set list – I really didn’t care as I was enjoying the experience too much.)

The experience just was illuminating and left me wondering what the hell I had missed for so long. The crowd was packed into the Limelight for them. A support act!! They had a solid following and were about to head off on a European tour.

Blown away. The live performance with a room full of strangers who suddenly started feeling like extended family is a feeling that started that night.

And Maverick were the first band that started this journey.

Next up was Alike Cooper, the Alice Cooper tribute act. I was a bit apprehensive about this one as I genuinely thought they would just crank out the hits. But this was a full on theatrical show.

Utterly superb and while some of the more savvy wobbled the hand whilst shaping their lips to make a hmmmm sound i loved every minute of it. As a tribute act it may not be to everyone’s taste but they put a good effort into it and as it was live too everyone just got into the whole mood for it.

Then came Hotter than Hell. Ulster boys giving Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley a run for their money. I always loved KISS’s early stuff when they were in the makeup and i had videos (yes VHS!!) of KISS performances when i was growing up. These guys had the whole performance down pat.

Albums are always good to listen to and I hadn’t listened to KISS for a long time, Hotter than Hell just made all my teen years flood back with a vengeance. The crowd lapped them up and it was easy to see why.

If you can ever get a chance to see Hotter than Hell, really get those tickets.

Overall, the first tentative steps to rediscovering my first love in music was off t a good start. 2015 certainly was starting to look up and I felt a weight had lifted, if even for a while as the adrenalin pumped through me.

Many thanks to James of The Distortion Project for organising the whole thing.

So so glad I finally listened to Jonathan Traynor of Belfast Metal Heads Reunited and I had a great bodyguard in the shape of Simon along with me. I am only wee!!