The Ultimate Classic Rock Show At The Lighthouse Poole Review

DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW

Reviewed by Mel S-W

Who doesn’t like Classic Rock?! Something with a beat, and you, as the listener, get the opportunity to bring out your trusty air guitar and to really get lost in the music. Well… The Ultimate Classic Rock Show was the show for you! For one night only, it graced the stage of the Concert Hall at Lighthouse and had us all up on our feet, with the occasional singalong.

I feel that I’ve well and truly dusted off my air guitars, I unpacked those imaginary drum sticks and wielded that pretend microphone. Rory Bridgeman was fantastic as lead vocals and had such chemistry with Sammi Broad. Her mixture of vocals and percussion during quite a hilarious moment where she harassed the other members of the band with a cow bell during You ain’t seen nothing yet by Bachman–Turner Overdrive. Sammi’s vocals on Because The Night by the Patti Smith Group, Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac and Nutbush City Limits by Tina Turner, were amongst my favourite performances of the night.

We were treated to some fantastic guitar riffs and solos throughout the night, with Luke Bradshaw lead guitar, the Gareth Lewis all the many guitars, including a double neck one notorious for going out of tune
Pablo Roberts base guitar who looked utterly lost in and at one with the music. Gareth Kedward was smashing it on the keyboard all night and Rhys Roberts had some fantastic drumming solos whilst commanding the stage.

The band looked like they were having so much fun, they gelled and the benefit of not pigeon holing themselves into just one tribute band meant that they could make the songs how they wanted, without trying to sound exactly like the singer, in one type of vocals.

Tonight, the audience was treated to a whistle stop tour of classic rock from the likes of Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Free, Eagles, Jimi Hendrix oh and Meatloaf… they crammed so much in! I thought it was also great that they were able to give a local performance arts school the opportunity to take to the stage for some songs including Schools Out For Summer.

I really enjoyed my evening at Lighthouse watching The Ultimate Classic Rock Show.
There were some songs that I didn’t know, but there were absolutely zero songs that I didn’t enjoy. Although it appeared that Kansas weren’t as popular as other bands, this seemed to be a great opportunity for some of the audience to nip to the bar. The audience tonight seemed a 50/50 split and also featured a wide range of ages. It was also great seeing some teenagers in their seats enjoying a great display of rock music.

I was worried at the beginning of the show, as the lead vocals, Rory’s levels on his mic weren’t quite right, so I was relieved when the lead guitarist Luke started gesturing to the sound technicians to turn the mic up! Thanks Luke!

I would give the show 5/5. This was a one night only show and just shows the variety of events that hit the boards at Lighthouse, from last night watching Blood Brothers and tonight rocking it out to some fantastic hits.

Rating: 5/5

Tickets for The Ultimate Classic Rock Show started from £28.00. Check out what other shows are on at the lighthouse here or by calling the Box Office on 01202 280000.

The full address is Lighthouse, Arts and Entertainment, 21 Kingland Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1UG