David Lee Roth and Samantha Fish

It’s unusual, of course, for the lead singer in any rock band to be unable to lay claim to being the biggest personality in the group - especially in terms of hard rock and heavy metal, where macho posturing, especially during the seventies and eighties, was positively de rigeur, but it’s perhaps the case where David Lee Roth is concerned, given that he was perhaps second in prominence to Eddie Van Halen when the band Van Halen were going through their heyday during those two decades. It’s testament to Roth’s legacy, then, that he’s been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in his own right, and that he would ultimately return to the band that he made his name with in 2006 after a long spell away; Eddie or no Eddie, they simply weren’t the same without him. In the interim, after leaving Van Halen in the mid-eighties due to musical differences, he enjoyed solo success with tracks like ‘Yankee Rose’ and ‘Just Like Paradise’, but would eventually go onto rejoin his band full-time in 2006; since then, the band have continued to tour stadiums the world over, with Roth’s voice holding up remarkably well as he approaches his sixtieth birthday.

Took a trip from Ireland to England for this gig.
The venue was the Robin 2 in Bilston, West Midlands.
First the support act was Laurence Jones. A young English guy, he gave a storming good performance and really got the (small) crowd warmed up for the main attraction. I was surprised to see Samantha Fish's drummer, Go Go Ray up there playing for him.
The bigger surprise was that his bassist, Roger Innes was also doing a double stint.

When Samantha appeared onstage, the same rhythm section came back on stage with her.

Her set was everything I had hoped for, strong and brilliantly performed.
At this point I should mention that the sound system and crew at the Robin 2 are possibly the best quality I have ever heard in nearly 40 years of watching live gigs.
It was loud enough and pin sharp - perfect to my ears.

Samantha's set was great, and her singing and playing were faultless, with a stunning acoustic section in the middle, excellent stuff and worth the trip to see the show.

She closed with Laurence Jones joining her onstage for some jamming and riff - trading fun. Very enjoyable.
Next time I hope she can come to Ireland, preferably Belfast, save me a long journey!!