Stoke Prior Sports & Social Club
Live review by; DeeDee
It rained overnight and the evidence can be seen around the field. Not drastic enough to spoil the shenanigans by any means, but a few look a bit damp! There’s more bad news later on, as we learn two of the headliners have been forced to cancel. This means Jay is busy rescheduling the line up and then we hear another band are stuck in traffic. This all goes on pretty much behind the scenes, you wouldn’t know from the outcome that there had been any trauma at all. But it’s the last day and by lunch time, stalls are already beginning to pack up and the campers are dismantling their soggy temporary homes. Nevertheless, there are still plenty of us around to enjoy today and I head into the Sports club, as I really want to see the young band that are on early.
are five young men from Moray in Scotland, who are causing a big stir. Three brothers of the McFarlane clan and two long term friends got together to form this glam rock band recently and they have already toured with Marco Mendoza (Whitesnake, Dead Daisies). ‘Poison Snake’ slithers in for the opener and you have to give them credit, the energy and amount of cavorting about on stage is incredible. ‘Red Hot’ has even more bounce and guitarist Chick in particular, is darting all over the place while the riffing continues. ‘Mama Ain’t Talking’ is just as rapid then ‘High Speed Heartbreak’ has more low slinging vocals from Vinnie, that sharpen the pace a little. Some decent guitar and the chorus is a delight. There’s a bit of a ‘Status Quo’ type of easy chord changing for ‘Low Down ’N’ Dirty’, which again is a fast runner. The new single ‘She’s Got Fire’ slows it right down a range of octaves from Vinnie and it’s a pleasant, darker venture. They crash out with ‘Hellbound’ which is sleazy and gutter born. I liked them, another young band that are preserving the rock heritage, with bravado, style and a vast amount of class.
As the band take to the man stage, a load of new songs start coming my way from the forthcoming ‘MCLXXX’ album, which is 1180 in Roman numerals. The significance being, that was the date of the first sighting of the legendary Norwegian Sea monster, ‘The Kraken’. I’m not sure that was in Welsh waters, but King Kraken reside in the Principality and the Romans were there, so that’s a good enough link.
‘Devils Night’ and ‘Green Terror’ are played loudly, waking any dozing Stoke Prior residents this Sunday afternoon. I like the crispness, they are heavy, almost thrash metal, but with heaps of clarity that make them different. ‘Veins’ is an older number and is also a thunderous piece, which vocalist Mark Donoghue takes by the horns. ‘Man Made Monster’ and ‘Walls Of Jericho’ are chances to watch guitarist Adam Healey at work, he’s one that impresses me. ‘Castle Of Bone’ is from the ‘Chaos Engine’ EP and is a creeping monster, loads of rasping vocals and a slow punching hook. A great band to discover if you haven’t heard them yet.
Due to the next scheduled band being stuck in traffic, the ‘Sons Of Liberty’ guys kindly change the running order and appear earlier than expected. It takes the length of the intro tape for the room to start filling up, as those sat outside pick their ears up and realise the Bristol Southern Rockers are up, I’ve never seen such a rush of mature punters before! Rob Walker, who I saw only recently with ‘Yesterdays Gone’ his other band, has taken on the role as vocalist and he cruises into ‘It’s My Bad’, ‘Rich Man, Poor Man (Beggar Man, Thief)’ and the cow horn assisted ‘Up Shit Creek’, all features of the ‘Animism’ debut. Fred Hale and Andy Muse, the dual guitar players, strum away and take it all in their stride, the early kick off having no effect. The rest of the set is made up of tracks from the new work ‘Aces & Eights’ and the excellent slogger ‘Damaged Reputation’ is first. It’s one you can sing along to, even if you don’t know the words, as it’s that easy to repeat. The door crashing mob are loving this and the room is packed out. As the guitars are swung low and Fred produces a marvel of a solo, Rob picks up the next verse and carries it with effortless perfection. ’Texas Hill Country’ rocks a little more and ‘Don’t Hide Behind Your Weakness’ is a slower and anthem like song. So glad I’m here, I’ve managed to miss them on several occasions, up to now and they’ve been on my ‘to watch’ list since the last album dropped. ‘Beef Jerky Boogie’ gets sparks flying off the spurs, as who doesn’t like a boogie on a Sunday afternoon. ‘Fire & Gasoline’ and the feisty ‘Ruby Starr’ bring the show to a climax, yes that was finger lickin’ good.
Were warming up in the marquee as I left the main Sports Club room. As I walked up to the tent, the field was quite empty as the multitude of changes and wet weather had decimated the attendees. A big shame but maybe it was also one day too much for the majority, of course having Collateral and Dendera pull out at the last minute, didn’t help, whatever their circumstances. However, there were still enough of us to cram the second stage, to watch this young Birmingham band. The 5 track ‘Sleaze’ EP is being released on June 16th and todays set was a good coverage of what these guys are made of. Simple, alternative and slightly punk, they were a decent watch and played at the right time, as they produced some variety between the more boisterous bands.
The band that were delayed on the motorway coming down from Sheffield, are on later than planned, but well worth the wait. Full of groove and bluesy guitar, I saw them a while back in Wolverhampton and they stuck in my head as being quite exceptional. ‘Have You Got Soul’ is stacked to the hilt with Ben’s reverberating chords and moody screeching vocals from Clarke. I fail to comprehend why they are so elusive, but to catch a glimpse tonight is a highlight for me. ‘She Devil’ does have ‘Led Zeppelin’ riffage, but you have to love the vibe it gives. It gets way down to the bone for ‘Broken’ an amazing song, you won’t find many with such passionate appeal. The set comes to a close with ‘The River’, there’s more intoxicating rhythm as it rides and as I grab the set list, I thank them for a fantastic performance.
Notably, are one of the bands that are rising fast in popularity at the moment. Could be down to their warm, humorous and down to earth nature, could be the wide range of desirable merchandise (I couldn’t resist getting a beanie), could be their outstanding music or more likely all of these. First spotted at a festival in Cannock, I thought yes, there is something about this crew.
A single from last year ‘Raise Your Hands’ is a good way to introduce themselves, smoothly blending Jamie Suffield’s vocals with the sharper notes from Ian Johnson on guitar. Another single ‘Fever’ is more chugging and sturdy in body. Lovely low and ear bashing chords, which is a feature of the bands style. Raising into a storming guitar solo, with more of those awesome vocals right up to the end. ‘TVC’ is a stomper with a beautiful melody, getting into a furrow of a groove, it’s completely lovable. A brand new one is ‘Cheap Smokes ’N’ Lies’ what a great title. Having a faster rate of speed, it still maintains the ‘Voodoo’ though, plenty of string bending to be heard. They cover Queen’s ’Tie Your Mother Down’ and wow it’s a brilliant version. ‘The Sid’ is a blast off the wall and as they finish with the pulsating ‘Drag Me To The Water’, I’m not alone in praising this band’s set, they absolutely owned it on that stage.
A trio from the Nottingham area, BlitZ are the last playing the marquee on the last night of the festival, which kinda makes them the headliners. With albums ‘Fight To Survive’ and ‘Waiting For A Miracle’ already out, there is enough on the set to party well into the night. I’m down on the barrier for these as they plough straight into ‘Damage Is Done’ which is a rocker with some muscle. The BlitZ guys love their classic rock bands, Queen, Kiss and AC/DC being top of the pile, so it’s no secret that they emulate their influences to some degree. ‘Don’t Look Back’ has all the elements of a classic and Kevin Simpson delivers some credible vocals. Backed up by Stuart Corden on bass, the pair are totally integrated as they dive into ‘One In A Million’ another rocker with a rapturous pulse. More from the ‘Fight To Survive’ album with ’99 Ways’, ‘Breaking Out’ and ‘Party Time’ and by now we are jumping with enthusiasm. ‘Waiting For A Miracle’ stands on its own as a number of substance and ‘Keep Moving On’ has an evenness about it, rocking with laid bare chords. A last minute change sees them end on ‘Blood Brothers’ which is a tremendous way to finish.
Despite everything that’s gone on today, overall this has been a fabulous weekend. Those who left early missed King Voodoo and Blitz who were two of the best bands of the whole festival and I for one will certainly be seeing them again. Massive thanks to all the staff and security who did an amazing job at keeping everything running and making this a safe and friendly event. Big hugs to Jay and Dave for organising and re-organising over the four days, you are amazing. The bands were all special and the variety not only in genre but in age and experience was unique and I was taken with the young bands, who were so professional and the young fans, who stood down the front and enjoyed the music. I’m glad rock isn’t dead, it certainly has a future.
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