Advance tickets at £12.50 available c/o:

0871 424 4444

http://www.ticketline.co.uk

http://www.seetickets.com

http://www.wegottickets.com

And more over here if you want it ladies & gents:

http://www.gingerandthesoniccircus.net

http://www.myspace.com/tacattackquot

http://www.thewildhearts.com

http://www.myspace.com/laikadogmusic

London may well be Shitsville according to The Wildhearts, but it’s a town whose inhabitants clearly have a lot of affection for their former frontman Ginger. He had, very publicly, a bad time of it not so long ago, with a crumbling relationship, band splits and drug problems leading to some achingly personal posts on his website. But after retreating to country legend Willie Nelson’s studio in Texas, he’s back with a collection of his most heartfelt work ever, and, in the sold-out Garage at least, there are plenty of people who wish him well with it.

Ginger and the Sonic Circus - who, tonight, count Silver Ginger 5/The Electric Boys guitarist Conny Bloom as one of their number - kick things off at the ridiculously early hour of 8:30, with a set of grown-up, anthemic, bluesy rock that looks to the future and learns from the past. ‘Drunken Lord Of Everything’, in particular, comes straight from the heart, while the man himself looks genuinely touched by both the chants of his name and the singalong that greets ‘The Man Who Cheated Death’. But tonight is not all about introspection. Come back onstage to encore, the band treat us to a handful of classic covers - David Bowie’s ‘Boys Keep Swinging’, The Everly Brothers’, ‘Love Hurts’ and Elvis Costello’s ‘Pump It Up’ - that cause feet to stamp and beer to be held aloft in salute.

“Thank you very much and fuck the c**ts,” smiles Ginger, before leading the crowd - who faithfully join in on every word - into ‘29 x The Pain’. On tonight’s evidence, you can’t keep a good man down. As the chants of ‘don’t worry ‘bout me, I’ll be alright’ reach football crowd proportions, you just know that there’s no more fitting phrase to end this show.

Emma Johnston KERRANG!