Station 18 Festival 2022 – Day 2
- Rock Media UK
- May 10, 2022
- 7 min read
Updated: Jun 5, 2022
Hangar 18 Swansea
Saturday April 30th
Live review by; DeeDee
Photos by; Rockin' Out With... & Kelly Spiller
Gosh they do like to party until the early hours in Swansea, mind it is a bank holiday weekend. Nevertheless I did mange a few hours sleep before returning to Hangar 18. Another great line up today and I should catch up with a band or two for interviews in between sets. That’s one more blessing upstairs that we can use for interviewing bands, wish more organisers did this. I must add the green room is kept warm by home made chilli being left to simmer, it’s a winner with the band members and crew, as Kelly Spiller has to make fresh batches each morning! So after meeting the glamorous Metal Maidens and catching up with Stevie from Twister, it’s downstairs to find some mates and grab a seat.
The ladies made four 10 minute appearances between sets today, keeping us entertained with their routines, that are based on belly dancing. Heavy rock accompanied the troupe as they gyrated and cavorted with hoops and veils. Based in South Wales they can be booked for festivals, videos, gigs and even weddings.
These groove merchants formed in 2016 and have released two EP’s to date. After seeing them at the HRH festival in November, I was well taken with their moody blues/rock style. So I made sure I was in attendance to see their, 30 minute opening set today. The single ‘Faith To Believe’ kicked off the set, plenty of rising vocals from Ian Day and it has raging guitar care of Ben Atwood. More succulent strings introduce ‘Game On’ which has funky bass and a cruise of a rhythm. This and the eloquent ballad ‘Bones To Pick’ can be found on the first EP. The room is already filling up and Ian, without his dreads these days, holds our attention while the song ends with some ground shaking chords. More bass and lowly tones for ‘Bring Your Crucifix’ which is a humdinger of a track. The barrier crew are getting this right in the face and loving it. There’s more gentleness to start ‘Holding My Breath’, but I adore how Gallows Circus can turn songs on their heads, as this also gains weight as it travels. It gets a lot more rampant for ‘Medicine Man’ which has a heavy grunge feel about it and all heads are nodding in unison. ‘Hell’s Whiskey’ surges and sways with a menace to see the band out. Cosmic performance and they get under more of my skin each time I see them.
Four guys from Hitchin that you could hang out with all day, they’re so friendly and fun loving. But besides all that, they deliver some amazing sounds, that slot in todays running order perfectly. In the midst of finishing off their second album and just having returned from a successful tour of Spain, they still have the time and energy to grace the Hangar 18 stage for us. ‘Come On Over’ that’s the order and the first song, getting the Swansea punters into an Electric Black groove from the off. ‘Gravity’ from the debut album ‘The Calm Before’ is smooth and velvety in texture, providing some classy notes this afternoon. We hear some new creations from the forthcoming album, that go down a storm. The combined vocals of Alistair Shiach and the mesmerising guitar of Jonny Bryant, (who showed us his slide technique with a beer bottle), are held in place by Ryan Trotman on bass and drummer Matt Butler. This band have an astonishing blend and capture emotion with spirited vehemence every second they stand in front of us. Leaving us spellbound with ‘Love Is A Light’ and ‘Not Afraid To Die’, wow that was exceptional.
I’m into unknown territory now. A Roland synth stands on stage, what does this mean, are we to be showered in prog? As the crowd starts to mingle and find their best vantage points, I’m wondering if this is a good time to go and eat. However, I will listen to the band and decide after a couple of tunes. A three piece from the South-West, they fire up with ‘Doldrums’ and ‘Grey Ladies’ the latter having charm and precision on the keys. Not so much ‘Yes’ or ‘Genesis’ it’s more modern, ‘Muse’ and ‘Dream Theater’ come to mind. The encroaching intro of ‘Sweet Lou’ is simplistic and allows the vocals of Damon Morey to overlay, with decent cries. ‘The Fanlight’ is immensely heavy and Damon, who also plays the keys, keeps it intense but remaining quite buoyant. By the time we hear ‘Grace’ there is a large gathering, a lot of heads nodding with mutual acceptance and there’s no-one at the bar, that says a lot. A band that turned up with something totally different today and boy did they go down well. I still need to eat, I couldn’t drag myself away from them, it was an entrancing and hypnotic encounter and one I won’t forget.
A Caerphilly four piece, fresh faced but having stacks of confidence and the potential this band have, is immediately apparent. Mainly from the ‘Live It Up’ album of 2019, the show begins with ‘Come Get Some’ and my eyes are drawn to that bass guitar of Carl Oag’s, how many strings? I have to ask Helen to get a photo to confirm, yes 6, (six) strings! Along with lead guitar by Josh Thomas and vocalist Justin Crowe playing rhythm guitar, the effect is massive. So much pleasant noise, that’s rich, fulfilling and direct. ‘Take A Bow’ comes in with fervent chords and the stomping continues, Justin has a scream that rattles your inner ear and I love the overall effect. A new single ‘Live It Up’ which was obviously missing from the album, is played at full pelt and ‘Can’t Get Enough’ (neither can we!) has a hooky side to it, that reverberates the floorboards. ‘Cancel The Transmission’ leave after the melodic ear worm ‘Light Up The Night’. Loved them, the energy coming off that stage was enormous.
Vocalist Stevie Stoker stands up front, as his bass player, Ryan Lee and guitarist Jake Grimes thump away at the two kettle drums either side of the stage, it’s the introduction to ‘We Are Cursed & Corrected’ and it leads straight into ‘Save Us Yourself’. There’s no doubt Twister are one of the most hard working bands on the road at the moment. The guys from the North East never let up, their drive is incessant. We even hear the recent single ‘Don’t Play Nice’ and Stevie gets the crowd clapping along almost immediately. ‘Monroe’ is a gliding spectacle, silk like vocals and that rip roaring chorus, you can’t help bopping along. Another favourite, ‘Fist Fight By The Waterside’ washes in like a spring tide, ebbing and flowing with a dynamic force. Hangar 18 is a venue that provides a decent view, even at the back of the room, the whole place is singing and dancing to Twister. The pulsating rhythm of ’64 White Lies’ taps in and the set is over far too soon. If you have never enjoyed watching this band live, where have you been?!?! Catch them on the road soon, even Francis Rossi is a fan!
Led by the diminutive but feisty Sam Bolderson on guitar and vocals, this all female trio are a hard working bunch. Many songs on the set are from the recent ‘White Noise’ EP and are as raucous and intimidating as you can get. I like how bassist Harriet Wadeson gets those watching to indulge in more clapping and drummer Jess Hartley, although at the back, commands us to sing along. ‘’Grave Digger’, ‘Black Sheep’ and the sublime distortion of ‘Skeletons’ are the highlights and although Sam struggled a little, I guess the feed for her vocals were not 100%, they still managed to raise plenty of cheers.
One band who will never fit into any box are the Cornish brothers, Zach on Vocals and Bass, Guitarist Ben and Dan supplying drums, Ethyrfield are as individual as their title. It’s amazing how they embrace progressive and experimental strains to write such intoxicating songs. This time of night and with only one more band to follow, it’s probably the perfect hour for them to wow us with much of the debut album ‘In Delirium’. No longer the youths who took the rock world by surprise over ten years ago, they have matured and streamlined their performance. See Ethyrfield on tour this month with The Von Hertzen Brothers.
A side project by one of the three sisters from the band ‘Kane’d’. Chez Kane fronts this ensemble with Harry Scott Elliott, (also from Kane’d) and James Ready (Walkway) on guitars, Jay Roy on drums and bassist Nico Martin. Chez is a dynamic singer and although it’s a lengthy set, she never falters and interacts with her audience constantly. The self titled album was played in full, strong, melodic and powerful, with shrill vocals and only the cover of Mr Big ‘Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy’ interrupted the original songs. Ok, good enough to headline, but Chez Kane wouldn’t have been my first choice, then again, I’m not the biggest fan of this type of AOR. Needless to say they nailed it with the festival faithful and brought the Saturday event to an ecstatic finish.
So day two is over before you know it, a day of exhilarating performances with so many talented bands and again the atmosphere was electric. Have to hand out much praise to Gary Spiller and his crew, for looking after us, providing refreshments and a room to chill out (despite it being the hottest room in Swansea, lol). With another long one tomorrow, I dodge the raindrops back to the hotel, soon after the show ends. Sunday is going to be another outstanding one, looking at the line up.
#rockmediauk #rockmediauklivereview #rockmediaukinterviews #rockmediaukreviews #station18festival #hangar18swansea #metalmaidens #gallowscircus #electricblack #50yearstorm #cancelthetransmission #twisteruk #häxan #ethyrfield #chezkane #livereview #indoorfesival
Kommentarer