Mean Fiddler, London (UK), 10 September 2002
  
There are a few bands that would make me travel the two hundred miles or so to big smoky old London.
Right up at the top of the list are Sixteen Horsepower, a band who in many ways stand alone in terms of passion, intensity and self belief in what they do.
So here we are in the capital city once more. The venue is underneath the Astoria. To get in, you have to go down some stairs, down some more stairs, and then to get to floor level, yup, go downstairs!
As the lights go down, a big cheer goes up and the band amble casually on stage. They start the set with the first two songs from their new album the wonderfully mournful "folklore". It's quite a subtle start but watching 16 Horsepower is like hearing an old steam train way out in the distance , its getting louder and louder and you just know that any minute it will come round the corner and the smoke and noise will be enough to knock you over .
When the pace goes up with the first unmistakeable chords of "For Heaven's Sake" the audience whoop and cheer and start moving and swaying , the only problem being that as soon as you start moving
to 16 Horsepower they bring it all back down again and you get left looking a little stupid .
Tonight the band plays practically all the new album as well as selections from all their previous works. Every time an audience favourite gets dusted off and played a huge cheer goes up , it's almost as if the band have just walked through the door on "stars in their eyes " .
The focal point of the band is vocalist/multi instrumentalist David Eugene Edwards. Edwards is the grandson of an old style Nazarene preacher,
and although he has his own very strong beliefs on religion his performance is so intense that you almost believe that he is telling you that you are a sinner heading for eternal damnation . Edwards seems to get so lost in himself that he is sometimes bordering on being quite unnerving. The band don't talk much onstage , other than the odd "thank you for clapping" they prefer to talk through their songs , tonight the whole audience was listening to what they had to say.
As they came back for the first encore, the crowd started clapping along to "brimstone rock" and for a band like 16 Horsepower this seemed a little surreal. Four songs later and the band leave with the sinister "Horse Head Fiddle".
From the reaction
of the audience tonight it was obvious that most of them had spent the last one and a half hours completely entranced in David Eugene Edwards's strange and scary world. I'm glad that I for one don't have to live there along with all the demons, but Jesus! what an amazing place to visit.
By Nigel
Let's not forget the opening act, Conway Savage:
 
Setlist:
Hutterite Mile
Outlaw Song
For Heaven's Sake
Black Bush
Beyond the Pale
Alone And Foresaken
Sinnerman
Blessed Persistence
Clogger
Single Girl
Heel On The Shovel
Flutter
My Narrow Mind
Splinters
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Brimstone Rock
Sac Of Religion
Poor Mouth
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Horse Head Fiddle
 
   
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