Bad Touch live in London 2021

After everything that is going on in the world in the past year, tonight I am back in the photo pit and oh boy did I miss that! I am down at the O2 Academy 2 Islington to see Bad Touch, a 5-piece classic rock band from Norfolk, UK on their latest tour, which has been postponed eighteen months due to Covid-19 outbreak, “Better Late Then Never”.

After queuing for about 10min, I make it inside. The venue is small, but cosy and I love those intimate shows that make you connect in a deeper lever with the artist. I make my way to the front and due to the very small photo pit, I crouch down ready to go.

First up of the night, we have Dead Writers, a London based rock band. Their music and looks are inspired by some of the greatest names like Queen, Led Zeppelin and The Cure and I think they fit right in it. The band formed in 2017 and have released three singles so far, their most recent is “Among Spirit “(29th Oct 2021).

Their music is a mix of atmospheric and majestic rock lead by the captivating voice of singer Paul Shine. Song after song they enchant the audience with the perfect contrast between darkness and light included in their memorable lyrics.

Despite the fact that the room is still not entirely full, Dead Writers have something hypnotic about them that lets people navigate towards their music. The attitude and emotions in the vocals, the guitar riffs and the passion that comes up from their lyrics make sure that the audience is listening.

Dead Writers are a great way to start the night and I’m sure that they have the possibility to grow their audience more and more after every live show.

Setlist:

Meet The Shadow
Lisa
Beautiful Mess
December
Among Spirits
She’s All The Animals

After a small break, we are now ready for Piston. They are a Midlands-based, five-piece rock band made up of four members and greased with a vocal roar from the south! This mix result in a fired-up music and insane performance.

Piston released their highly anticipated debut album in 2019 and received publicity from various magazines including Classic Rock, Planet Rock, HRH, Powerplay, Fireworks and Black Velvet, plus over 100 music websites.

Piston have been tour buddies with Bad Touch during this latest tour. Vocalist and charismatic from man Rob Angelico greets the crowd with arms open. The cheers from the crowd are already loud and clear! Their presence, their energy and their talent make realise that these guys are made to perform!

The too short set features songs from their 2019 self-titled album and for the most past is highly energised by Rob moving around the whole stage and including few stage jumps here and there.

The pungent “Carry Us Home” shows a softer side of Piston and features some incredible guitar work. As the set arrives to the end, after only thirty minutes (it ended up too soon for me), I realised that we are closer to the end of our night.

Setlist:

Dynamite
One More Day
Leave If You Dare
Into the Night
Let Us Rise
Carry Us Home
Shangri-La
Rainmaker

And so, with the heart still racing with adrenaline, we are ready for the headline act, Bad Touch. They originally formed in 2010 when the band members were still in college. In their formative years, they played local pubs and performed covers, and gradually become composing original material. It was clear from the beginning that they would do great things in the UK rock scene starting from their debut EP, followed by playing Hard Rock Hell for the first time, winning an Exposure Music Award and winning the Marshall Amplification “Ultimate Band Contest”. Their debut album “Half-Way Home” was self-released in 2015 and, after signing to Marshall Records in 2018, last year they released their fourth album “Kiss the Sky”.

They start the set with “Lift Your Heard Up” and lead singer Stevie Westwood, come up on stage with his floral-patterned suit. He has an imposing figure on stage and a start to encourage the audience to clap their hands in the air at the beat of sound. His engaging voice mixes rock, blues and soul together and with his bandmates they deliver a storming set. Numbers from current and old albums are included in the setlist and the audience couldn’t be happier.

I jump side stage and I notice that the room is completely packed of people singing along. Bad Touch are definitely enjoying themselves and it’s clear how much they’ve missed performing live and have a closer relationship with their fanbase.

Before we can even realise it, the final number “Outlaw” provides a further opportunity to see and listen to some incredible guitar exchanges between Daniel Seekings and Rob Glendinning.

The crowd is famished for more and start screaming “one more song”, so Bad Touch decide to gift them with two more, where of course one of them is the “Christmas song” (we are in December after all) and finally the banging “99%”.

The room is filled with well-deserved applause to a band at the top of their game, not to forget the incredible support during the night of Piston and Dead Writers; this make it a “must see” combination that I hope many of you managed to witness.

Bat Touch have already in program some more shows for 2022, so keep your eyes peeled on their social media and get yourself a ticket!

Setlist: