Tuff/Shameless + Aesthesia, 08/03/12, De Verlichte Geest, Roeselare

The glam-year started a little late in Roeselare this time around but it has started nevertheless. The honor of biting the so called head off was given to a promising new French band called Aesthesia and the experienced German/American rats of Shameless + Stevie Rachelle or Tuff/Shameless as they are nowadays known to the public.
Aesthesia is still a noble unknown to the public but is definitely making some waves on the scene. They play wherever there’s a stage and an accompanying bed and their video for ‘Under 16’ is a good one. What exactly is the story behind the unholy alliance between Tuff’s Stevie Rachelle and German glamsters Shameless is unknown to your humble servant and frankly I don’t really care. As long as the songs of Tuff’s debut and semi-classic ‘What Comes Around Comes Around’ come in spades I’m a happy boy. So what’s the deal with…

…Aesthesia? This French band definitely has an unhealthy GnR-fetish. Close your eyes and singer Nico Marlyn sounds exactly like a young and healthy Axl Rose. Open them again and he looks young and healthy, which was a plus for the ladies in the audience. With their second album ‘Shattered Idols’ still fresh in the shops they had a promoting job to do and the band did just that. In the time that they were given they played as many songs as possible and made a very good impression on the audience present. This is the way to go, boys, keep up the good work!

Tuff/Shameless, as headliner of the evening, was up next. A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do, Stevie Rachell must have thought. He wanted to get out there, do what he does best, bring a few songs old and new to the table and just rock. So he single-handedly invaded German band Shameless, brought his drummer along, taught the Germans a couple of awesome Tuff tunes and hit the road. The result, as could be seen in The Verlichte Geest, was more than good. Tuff/Shameless cranked out a selection culled from Tuff’s first platter along with a couple of Shameless tunes, “In Dogs We Trust” from Tuff’s sophomore offering “Religious Fix” and the Ramones-cover ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’, sung by guitar-slinger Andy Brings (Traceelords, Sodom, …) who hopped in for the tour as Shameless’ BC was unable to make it. A concert with few surprises but that’s just what the doctor ordered.