Rock supergroups are on the rise and whilst it could be an ego too far, when you know they are there for the music it’s a recipe that brings a dish to savour.

Tonight’s particular flavour comes in the shape of former Van Halen members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony combined with guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani. Normally the topping on the cake is Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, however because of RHCP commitments his role tonight was taken by top session musician Kenny Aronoff.

You can certainly see why Aronoff had been voted number one pop/rock drummer and number one session drummer for five years running with this performance. His work rate is phenomenal and he really lays down a solid backing for the others to build upon. When you consider that Kenny will be sixty next year you really have to admire his stamina as well as his musicianship.

He’s not the only one pushing pension age though, Sammy Hagar will be 65 next birthday. You wouldn’t know it though by his performance. His vocals are still soaring and precise and lost none of their grit.

With their collective back catalogue you could imagine the temptation to just trot out their well known songs. However Chickenfoot are obviously proud of the music they are producing these days as their set is filled with songs from their two albums, the eponymous first and their recent second album, Chicknfoot III.

That in my mind is a good decision, What they produce is excellent classic rock they should be proud of.

From the opening chords of Lighten Up through the groove of Up Next to the thumping bass of Turnin’ Left the band didn’t let up the pace. We even get to see bassist Anthony determined not to be outdone by Joe by playing bass with his teeth on Down the drain!

My only let down for this evening was the occasional over-blown “rock ending” to songs. It’s a technique done too often by too many. Good songs don’t need to be strung out.

This is a band that love playing rock, you can feel it and see it in their performance. The crowd certainly did and I didn’t get the feeling that there was any disappointment in not hearing songs by others.

The evening came to a close with an encore made up of Different Devil and the crowd pleasing Oh Yeah. Having played their own music all evening they made one small concession when they closed with a great cover of Hendrix’s Foxy Lady.

One influential industry person suggested a double header tour with Chickenfoot and Black Country Communion. Now these are both supergroups I’d be happy to see alone, together they would be unbeatable stadium fillers.

See photos from tonight’s gig on the GTTF gallery.

Setlist:

Lighten Up
Alright Alright
Big Foot
Sexy Little Thing
Soap on a Rope
Up Next
My Kinda Girl
Down the Drain
Three and a Half Letters
Something Going Wrong
Turnin’ Left
Future in the Past

Encore:
Different Devil
Oh Yeah
Foxy Lady (Hendrix)