Simon Rushworth
@ Newcastle Riverside, February 24 2011
Party band extraordinaire Terrorvision hit the town for their first sold-out gig in Newcastle for years performing to a crowd eager to immerse themselves in a bit of 90s rock and get their party on.
The 15th anniversary of seminal album How To Make Friends And Influence People saw them playing the album in totality in a few sold out shows around the country. And this nostalgia-ridden fest of a ride saw them flying their way back into the world of rock consciousness with a blinding festival appearance at Sonisphere last summer.
These days Terrorvision come bearing a new drummer and a new album but, other than that, not much has changed.
Opening with D’ya Wanna Go Faster seems to get the crowd on their pogo sticks from the word go and the band firmly back in the saddle they’ve become accustomed to riding. All this has the potential to be a cliché, a cringeworthy moment of watching a band who look like they could be any old Joe off the street. But it isn’t.
Terrorvision’s verve and vitality is evident and their appetite for these shows is obvious – they blast full pelt through a hit laden set including My House, Neighbourhood, Tequila and Oblivion with the same bounce that they’ve always been renowned for.
The youthful Cam Greenwood firmly seals his space on the stage bringing life into the old stuff with his hard hitting, twirling and energised powerhouse of a performance. Frontman Tony Wright still has the same ‘in it for fun’ attitude – even taking time to take snapshots (while singing!) for people on the front row in the midst of songs.
While it might have been nice to contrast the old with the new and the growth of Terrorvision as a band with a new maturity, it is with a certain joy to say that some things should never change. Songs played from the new album Super Delux, Demolition Song, Shiny Things, Pushover and Rock Radio stick to the crowd-cheering formula of catchy singalong tunes, funky hooks and damn good rock n roll anthems.
Terrorvision could never be accused of taking themselves too seriously – they bring the feelgood factor and are happy for you to share in it. Which is exactly why we’ve come to love them.
Louisa Kouzapas