John Mitchell of It Bites. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Originally published by L.S. Media. March 15th 2010.

One of the best progressive rock bands to come out of the 80’s made a welcome return to touring this month. It Bites only got back together a few years ago but on the back of the superb album The Tall Ships they have not kept still.

With a brand new live album out now, titled Live in Japan, the band came on stage at the Islington Academy to huge applause and genuine warmth from a very loyal following.

Vocalist John Mitchell had been suffering badly with a chest infection before the gig, even joking to the audience of what he would do to Patient Zero when he found them. Any doubt of what he would sound like soon disappeared as he gave no indication of any problems in his voice what so ever.

They opened the night with a couple of older tracks including the stomping All in Red before going through a number of tracks from the afore mentioned album, the wonderful memory leaden Playground, Oh, My God and the title track Tall Ships, which provided the opportunity for John to slow down the vibe a little and play it in a laid back, semi acoustic style which gave the audience a few moments of mellow contemplation.

The band has become, once more, a driving force in music. With the original two members Bob Dalton on drums and keyboard player John Beck providing the nostalgia and stability that is needed in today’s volatile music scene and the very capable Lee Pomeroy providing some of the best bass sounds recorded on any of the band’s albums.

The band picked up the pace soon after with The Wind That Shakes the Barley and the epic Old Man and the Angel which drew huge appreciation, not just for the fact that it was played but for the supreme intensity of its performance.

It Bites finished an excellent set with the encore Kiss Like Judas before giving their thanks to a very animated and vocal audience.

Ian D Hall