JOEL HOEKSTRA/BRANDON GIBBS
Zanzibar Club, Liverpool
I’m writing this on the train home from a gig, which was clearly the best kept secret on Merseyside tonight!
I have just seen JOEL HOEKSTRA (Whitesnake/Transiberian Orchestra/Night Ranger/Revolution Saints/Iconic and more) and BRANDON GIBBS (Devil City Angels/Poison) play an acoustic gig to no more than 50 people at the Zanzibar Club (where The Zutons grew to fame) in Liverpool! And they were AMAZING!
Gibbs has been playing gigs since he was 14 and has acted as a standby for Brett Michaels of Poison in case of medical emergencies. He is no slouch as a singer or player, so tonight the set started with three Poison songs before Joel adopted his best David Coverdale accent “Here’s a song for ya” to introduce ‘Love Ain’t No Stranger’ and the first song that the (small, but perfectly formed) audience belted out as loud as we could manage. Myself included.
We got some covers of ‘Kashmir’ and ‘Whole Lotta Love’, and of The Doors ‘Love Me Two Times’ with Joel singing lead before a raucous ‘Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap’ and an astounding Bon Scott impersonation from Joel Hoekstra! Really, who knew???
Brandon brought two great songs of his own to the party and the guy plays and sings with his heart on his sleeve. The pair work so well together, with great chemistry and humour.
Whitesnake’s ‘Is This Love’ and Poison’s ‘Something To Believe In’ brought the set towards a close before Whitesnake’s classic ‘Here I Go Again’ closed the night, and by now, EVERYONE was singing at the top of their voices.
I hoped to hear the odd Night Ranger song but even so, it was a truly exceptional evening and all the more bizarre to see this giant of a rock star in Joel Hoekstra, away from the arenas he usually plays and in a club on Seel Street in Liverpool city centre! For £16.50!
The guys chatted with everyone before and after and signed everything put in front of them
I think there are more shows left. Check Joel Hoekstra’s Facebook page for details and if you can make you one, you won’t regret it.
Chris McGlyn | Now Spinning Magazine
