Twisted Wheel

• Posted: Wed 13 Oct 2010
• By: Joe Martin

Joe Martin

Assembled, recharged and ready to roll; a fresh line up looks to have given Twisted Wheel an adrenaline fueled spin in the right direction. During the Dot to Dot festival in Nottingham, Bristol and of course Manchester, it was evident that the talented, enthusiastic drummer (Eoghan Clifford) was the right man for the job.

With a strong first performance under his belt, new bassist Steve Evans appears comfortable and ready to impress in his new role. Typically, Jonny struts his stuff with more energy than an Olympic swimmer on E.

It's imperative for a hard working, rock and roll band to keep their heads held high in all manner of situations, The Wheel are far from exempt from this. Whether they're taking on sixteen hour round trips to Elgin, working on new tracks or welcoming new members, they're constantly working and remain extremely optimistic about their potentially revolutionary future.

Elgin's Mad Ferret festival is quite possibly one of the most obscure events that I've attended. The festival is located on a farm a few miles from Elgin, surrounded by fields; abandoned tractors and strangely situated green houses. After assessing the situation, sitting in hammocks, setting up equipment and chatting to the locals, the lads headed back to the hotel for some hefty, Scottish scran.

Refreshed and ready to go, it was time to head back to the farm and headline the festival. Roaring on to stage with the typically fiery 'She's A Weapon', 'Racket' and 'Lucy the Castle', the boys got proceedings under way with a bang. Steve soon found comfort in his new surroundings; it's safe to say the band sounded tight, especially considering the short space of time they've had to get their songs polished off to perfection.

'One Night On The Street' sent pulses racing and 'We Are Us' was blasted out with more explosive, punk – energy than ever. The Wheel is indeed spinning folks, it's a certainty. The new track, 'Do It Again' offers a blend of raw, characteristic rock and roll that Twisted Wheel fans know and love. It definitely provided proof that their much anticipated, second album will be something to get your hands on. Despite not being played on the night, new tracks 'Turnaround' and 'Postman' are both sounding equally ace.

'Tell The Word' is a blistering, rock and roll anthem that was originally recorded in America, together with their debut album. Having being missed off the final track list, it was offered as a free download for thousands of fans to take advantage of. Following an impressive rendition of 'Let Them Have It All', 'Tell The World' sounded superb live. Boys and girls who've seen Wheel in action will be familiar with the infectious B-side 'Bang Of The Beat', Jonny's solo rendition to the people of Elgin was revelled in.

Elgin is a characteristic place, filled with a range of characteristic folk. During 'Bad Candy', one chap found his way backstage to make enquiries relating to whether Twisted Wheel were the last band on. I subsequently informed him that they were indeed the last band on, I was then met with the nifty sentence, “Good, because they're fuckin' brilliant”. This was followed by a short jig, before the fan returned to the gig. Top marks mate.

Next on the set list was the brand new song 'Poppy Love', which is shaping up to be a classic. Well knows anthems such as 'What's Your Name?' and 'You Stole The Sun' came before the catchy, electrifying new song, 'UK Blues'. The excitable Elgin boys and girls in attendance knew all the words to 'Strife' and were delighted to hear the puck classic, 'Oh What Have You Done', which brought the blazing, heart racing set to an end.

Rest assure folks, The Wheel is still rolling at an uncontrollable pace. Heads are high, there are a number of tasty gigs coming up, new songs are sounding mint and there's a new record on the horizon. There's definitely more than enough vigour, drive, enthusiasm and talent that will continue to turn heads.

Check out Twisted Wheel, ladies and gentlemen.