Devil's Gate Music
Related Articles
As the Sun rose over Camp HRH… who am I kidding? This was Wales in November!…
As the gloom lightened over Camp HRH, and the beer-fueled, fancy dress party shenanigans of Thursday night morphed into the hangovers and squinting eyes of Friday morning, it was great to see such a large turnout at Stage 2 to see PISTON deliver an energetic set of chuggy, groovy hard rock. As it happened, this was to be, as vocalist Steve Nunn emotionally announced towards the set, his last gig with the band. Well, you know what they say, go out on a high, as so he did, ending the set with a raucous rendition of ‘Proud Mary’, to rapturous whoops and cheers.
Leicester 3-piece, SKAM, blew any vestiges of cobwebs straight through the roof with a tight, tour-hardened set of finely crafted, NWOBHM-influenced rock, infused with catchy choruses and great solos. With vocalist/guitarist Steve Hill often tied to the mic, gurn-meister general, Matt Gilmore patrolled the stage in his own inimitable style! New drummer, Neal Hill made his mark as a heavy hitter, at one point sending drum mics and stands crashing around him!
CAROUSEL VERTIGO, hailing from Paris, took me slamming straight into my comfort zone, with a fantastic collection of infectious, foot-tapping barroom-blues rock. Vincent Martinez’s vocals, in particular, reminiscent of Dan McCafferty in his prime, had me unable to tear myself away. Extended solos were aplenty. They even got away with a bass solo!
Opening Stage 1 can be a poisoned chalice. It’s a large venue, and even a sizeable crowd can look small. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case, as OFF YER ROCKA’s latest signing, THE TEXAS FLOOD burst onto the big stage. Another 3-piece (where are they all coming from?), this Welsh trio wasted no time grabbing the audience’s attention with a confidence and maturity rarely seen in a band so young. Perhaps it came from knowing they’ve got the songs to back it up. Another massive plus in their favour is the lack of dead space between songs. As one ended, they were straight into the next, or Tom Sawyer was engaging with the crowd over a drum rhythm. It was a fine display of how it should be done. These guys deserve to be HUGE!
It’s official! Poodle-permed cock-rock is alive and well! Young Finnish rockers SANTA CRUZ brought the party to town, with all the clichés in place… Big hair, torn T’s, shiny guitars, gang vocals, cowbell, and hooks big enough to land Jaws! For 50 minutes, it was an LA summer break in Wales!
By complete contrast, ELECTRIC MARY brought no-frills, straight ahead rock ‘n’ roll… exactly what you expect when you put the words ‘Australia’ and ‘rock’ together, straddling the gap between AC/DC and Motorhead perfectly, with added groove!
Over on Stage 2, what’s that?… another 3-piece! This time it was THE AMORETTES, who delivered a fine set of punk-edged rock. As is often the case, it’s the bassist who has the most freedom of movement, and Heather McKay worked it for all she’s worth, even jumping from the stage, mid-song, to sip from a beer being held aloft above the crowd.
Hailing from the same town as The Texas Flood, BUFFALO SUMMER, are seasoned HRH vets, who this year brought a bevy of new songs, slipped in amongst the now familiar fan favourites. In the interim, since the first album, the Buffalo boys have been busy honing their songwriting skills. They’ve lost none of the groove, but have gained a maturity in their style, even showcasing a proper, full-on ballad! Andrew Hunt’s vocals were stronger than ever, and the playing tighter than the government’s purse-strings! From what we were teased with today, album 2 is going to be one hell of a follow up!
I’d been hearing a lot of good things about THE BREW, so expectation was high. My expectations weren’t met… they were left left behind in a cloud of underestimation! It was as if Page and Bonham joined forces with Entwhistle and Daltrey, and Slash was tagging along too! I really am struggling to find superlatives to do The Brew justice! While the influences were very evident, they weren’t stuck in the 70’s. They brought their own twist to proceedings. Jason Barwick definitely took centre-stage, both with his playing and on-stage antics, only a fool could negate the supreme rhythm section provided by Kurtis Smith (drums) and Tim Smith (bass).
In recent times, ‘southern rock’ has been making a bit of name for itself. If this is your bag, you really need to check out WESTERN SAND. They rocked Stage 2 in fine style, armed with a collection of songs the likes of Black Stone Cherry would have been more than happy to have penned. There’s no denying the hold a big riff, a tonne of groove and a easily-singable chorus has. That’s exactly what Western Sand delivered, all stitched together with some damned fine solo work.
The main arena is rammed when veteran rockers Y&T explode onto the stage to ‘Hurricane’. I say ‘veteran’, but ‘experienced’ would be a better description, as there was no sense of aging or weariness in their blistering performance!
There was a real tangible sense of enjoyment coming from the stage, both with the interplay amongst themselves, and the way they played to the ecstatic crowd.
‘Dirty Girl’ was a highlight for me, the simple, sleazy bassline really cutting through the exceptional mix, as was set-ender… an extended version of ‘I Believe In You’, with some exquisite soloing from Dave Meniketti. I think I might have nearly had a ‘moment’! It was that good!
Swiss rockers, KROKUS haven’t played in the UK for quite some time, so the packed in, slightly worse-for-wear crowd were really up for hearing a bit of their take on good ol’ rock ‘n’roll! Let’s be honest here, Krokus don’t exactly reinvent the wheel, but hey, if it ain’t broke…
A superb cover of ‘American Woman’ kept the neutrals happy, and finishing with a rousing ‘Mighty Quinn’ ensured that they went out on a high.
Whilst QUEENSRYCHE were peddling a faithful, but pedestrian set on the main stage, a surprise was occurring next door on stage 2.
I’d heard of SPIDERS before HRH, and found them to be a bit ‘pop’ on record, a bit like The Strokes. However, live, they are a different band completely. They have a much rockier edge to them, and their energy pours from the stage. There was a good sized crowd lapping it up, considering a headliner was performing next door. The stage 2 faithful were treated to some great riffs, rough-edged vocals (sexy!), and some great catchy songs.
I’ve seen BONAFIDE several times in the past, and have always enjoyed them, but tonight they seemed really fired up, even more energetic than usual. Perhaps it was after touring with Airbourne, a band renowned for their on-stage antics. Perhaps it was performing on a big stage in front of an appreciative crowd. I don’t know, but I liked it! Bonafide tread the well-worn blues-rock path of AC/DC, Airbourne, and the like, but they do it well… and with style. In Pontus Snibb, they have a great frontman. Superb voice, and excellent guitarist. Couple that with the posing, posturing Martin Ekelund on bass, tongue placed firmly in his cheek, and you’ve got a band who are equally as good to watch as listen to.
The night ends in a similar vein, with the Aussie rockers MASSIVE, fresh off their tour supporting Blackberry Smoke. They were the perfect choice for the (ahem) massive crowd, who were definitely in the partying mood. What better way than a dose of balls-out, heads-down rock ‘n’ roll whilst trying to drink the venue dry?
Exactly.
Review and Pics: Rob Nankivell
]]>
One comment
Pingback: Hard Rock Hell 8 - Day 1, Thursday