Chantel McGregor, with support from Chloe Mogg, at the Robin 2, Bilston

Chantel McGregor returns to the Robin 2 with local talent, Chloe Mogg and her band, providing support.

It’s the first time in around 15 years of visiting the Robin 2 that I’ve seen a predominantly seated audience; that said, all of the seats were occupied so it was standing room only towards the back of the venue.

As usual, Chantel’s lovely mum was on the merch desk, so we had a quick chat about life, the universe and everything else, including Chantel’s snotty nose as she was just getting over a cold.

So, first up was Chloe Mogg, with her now trademark blue-tinged hair, and her band. It’s been quite a number of years, possibly as many as eight, since I last saw Chloe play and I wasn’t disappointed at all by what I heard tonight. In recent years she has released her first album, The Crazy One, with a second on the way. Tonight, however, wasn’t about that first album, it was all about the one to come out later this year and it sounds like it could be a cracker.

Fitting nicely into the blues-rock, or even alt-rock, genre, Chloe has developed her vocals very well indeed – not that they were, in any way, substandard before, but they have been honed along the lines of powerful vocalists such as Janis Joplin.

She starts off with Spoon Fed, with some very good slide guitar from Ethan Webster, and this is followed by the aptly titled Thumper, a slightly heavy blues-rock number with more slide guitar from Ethan.

The only song tonight taken from The Crazy One, was Bryony. This had a hint of Americana and, for some odd reason the vocals reminded me of Katy Perry! A cracking song that had the audience bouncing about. Three more songs likely destined for the new album brought us to the closer; one normally sung by another local hero, Robert Plant. This was Led Zeppelin’s Heartbreaker.

Chloe has come a long way since I first saw her and she has developed a great blues-rock style with plenty of character . . . and blue hair. Super.

Setlist:

Spoon Fed

Thumper

Façade

That’s Something, Honey

Bryony

The Author

For Sale

Pay Me

Heartbreaker (Led Zeppelin cover)

A short beer break and Chantel and the band enter the stage.

It’s a touch nippy in the venue and as if to emphasise that point Chantel McGregor comes onto the stage wearing her woolly bed socks!

Tonight’s set mainly comprised songs from just 2 albums with a couple of odd additions. 2025’s The Healing was played in its entirety while a lengthy selection also came from 2015’s Lose Control and the set started with two songs from the latest album; I Will Breathe and Broken Heartless Liar.

Chantel’s voice is unmistakable, the music, in general, a little heavier than usual – a indication of the direction in which she is moving perhaps. Chantel once said about the opener; “It is one of the most personal songs on The Healing. It came from a place of emotional exhaustion — feeling lost, buried under fear and regret — but still holding on to the hope that I could rise through it. Writing it was like coming up for air. It’s about survival, release, and the quiet strength it takes to keep going.”

The focus changed for the next couple of songs, going back to 2015 and Lose Control. Burn Your Anger and the title track, Lose Control.

The songs tonight were played with more attitude and more of a rock than blues feel about – the sound was brilliant.

Between tracks we had the, now almost trademark, banter with the crowd. “Are you as cold as I am?”, “I can’t get this thing tuned, hang on . . .” and her life as the occasional couch potato watching TV and eating snacks!

The next nine songs were all taken from the two albums mention . . . with one exception, the ever popular Freefalling from her debut album Like No Other released almost 15 years ago. Almost all the songs that followed came from The Healing which, had I reviewed it would probably have had a 10/10 score. The song (I use that term loosely as it was an instrumental) was April, a 10 minute prog masterpiece which, given my current preferences, was probably my tune of the night. Amongst this lot were two songs described as her ‘miserable songs’, it didn’t put people off!

After April, the setlist just said TALK, and talk she did; Chantel could talk for England! The extended chat with the band intro’s also meant that the end of the set was sadly nigh.

Truth Will Out marked the end of the set with just a single encore to follow and this was the title track from the latest album.

As usual this was a fabulous night of slightly reinvented blues-rock with the emphasis being on the rock bit.

My thanks go to Chantel for letting FRAMEmusic in as well as for signing her photo (which I took years ago) in my copy of Mike Hamblett’s book all about the venue.

Setlist:

I Will Breathe

Broken Heartless Liar

Burn Your Anger

Lose Control

Stand on my Own

Walk on Land

Killing Time

Your Fever

Home/Freefalling

Take the Power

Tears

Echoes

Undercover

April

Truth Will Out

The Healing

Somewhere amongst this lot was also Anaesthetize, another of the crowd (and my) favourites; it wasn’t on the setlist and by her own admission “I’m terrible at sticking to the set list, lol!” said Chantel. There you have it!