Simon RushworthMassive Wagons @Newcastle University SU, May 16 2025
It should really come as no surprise to see Massive Wagons’ barmy frontman Barry Mills crowd surfing aboard an inflatable dinghy.
When it comes to bossing the British rock scene, Lancaster’s finest are riding the crest of a wave.
Right now, the Wagons can do no wrong.
Three successive UK Top 10 albums have cemented the band’s reputation as generational scene leaders.
A live show that prides itself on controlled chaos continues to set the benchmark for Mills’ NWOCR peers.
And Wagons’ longstanding commitment to shine a light on mental health has only elevated their reputation as standup blokes who care: Andy’s Man Club are once again partners on this short but sweet run of headline shows.
Music critics everywhere are running for cover… finding fault with Mills and co. is like finding truth at the heart of Donald Trump’s White House.
There’s really no point being picky.
It’s a fool’s game looking for a downside.
And don’t even bother banging on about the decision to omit Back From The Stack.
Actually, that was a little disappointing.
As were the efforts to amplify the trombone — anyone back and centre had no chance of hearing the brass.
But there you have it where the Wagons are concerned. These boys are so good that you have to really search for gripes — and even then it all sounds pretty pathetic.
Maybe there’s such a thing as flawless entertainment. And if that thing really does exist then it’s right here on the Earth To Grace Pt 2 tour.
Wagons’ chart-busting seventh long player was Rushonrock’s top record of 2025.
Chock full of heavy rock bangers it bristled with intent from start to finish.
And seven of that album’s classic cuts paced a live set that never, ever let up.
Ok, so perhaps the pace slackened slightly when the Leppard-inspired yacht rock loveliness of Please Stay Calm — from 2022’s Triggered! — threatened to sooth the masses.
But the rest of the time there was no rest for the wicked… and a full throttle Mills is more wicked than most.
Eyes blazing, vocals spewing and matted beard dripping with sweat, Wagons’ full-throttle frontman offers full value to his loyal fans.
It feels like if curfews and the concept of time weren’t a thing then Mills would still be marching back and forth across the Newcastle University stage until the back end of next week.
And yet for a bloke who gives everything he always looks so guilty when the encore’s done and dusted — as if it’s his duty to do one more song.
But then one more song might have ruined the best rock and roll night of the year so far.
You just never know.
As it was, a fabulously irreverent version of Fee Fo Fo Fum set the seal on live show for the ages. Just don’t mention the mute trombone…