Station 18 Festival 2022 - Day 3
- Rock Media UK
- May 25, 2022
- 8 min read
Updated: Jun 2, 2022
Hangar 18 Swansea
Saturday April 30th
Live review by; DeeDee
Photos; Kelly Spiller
The third and final day of this glorious weekend and what a pleasure to be a part of it. Everything has run fairly smoothly and plans are already underway for next years event. It always stuns me how well these smaller grassroots festivals manage to run without a mass of problems and more of the rock music community should attend them. To say there’s no up and coming bands or new music worth listening to, only comes from those who don’t bother sampling something different and are stuck in the past. The awesome talent we see at these small venues today, are the major festival headliners of tomorrow, otherwise rock music will surely die out and I can’t see that happening. Brief rant over, time to watch Sundays show.
The Rogowski brothers, Tom (Guitar/Vocals) and Alex (Drums) are still mourning the loss of their mum, but are brave beyond words by being here today. There’s a collection at the bar for them and the bands merchandise is selling out in support. Tom shouts out as the room begins to fill "Thanks for coming down early, we will crack on" and they plough into the last single ‘Wait To Continue’. A whopping riff and a boom of an ironclad tempo, this is a mighty tune from the North Wales trio.
Howling guitar ensues with Tom’s crisp vocals on ‘Get Lost’ and there’s a lowly bass care of Morgan Owen-Rees, thumping in your ears from the start. Two tracks that will be on the forthcoming live album, whoa, that’s going to be something. ’Never Too Late’ came out last year and is also a boot kicker with an adhering melody. If you picked up the ’Never Give Up’ EP a couple of years ago, you will be familiar with ‘Are You Ready’ clear guitar with buzzing rock and roll attitude, it’s a rapid fire number and has the Hangar 18 crowd jumping. They crash out with warm and appreciative applause to ‘Where Did you Go’ another with a furious chorus and sweet as honey bass. Already together for over eleven years, these lads are regular pleasers at festivals up and down the UK.
I haven’t seen what is a local band for me before, so it was down the stairs rather quickly to watch them from the beginning. The Herefordshire melodic rockers must be the most organised band of the day, the merchandise table was set out perfectly and the set lists typed out on top quality paper! The LP ‘Fools And Monsters’ dropped last year and the warming ‘Intervention’ set the pace. Mike Hoskins has an unmistakable and charming uttering, just enough roughness without having to strain his larynx and instantly likeable. A newish track ’Sticks And Stones’ was dished out next, a tale that reminded me of folk-rock in it’s delivery. The remainder of the thirty minutes continued with album tracks and ‘Unconditional’ pulled up the reins for some softer harmonies and melody. KinStrife at 4 o’clock on a Sunday afternoon, was perfect timing. ‘Fear’ also set out with breezy chords and a delicate balance. The words were pressed higher as it drifted and a simple rhythm was all it needed. A turnaround for ‘Get Away’ with its rugged pulse and a tribal hollering. It gradually got into its stride and deviated with some cool licks from Alan Kaye, ending quite heavily with a chanting of a chorus. ‘Make Me’ again fluttered in with dulcet chords, but it soon built into a sturdy number and this last song was so engrossing. I really liked this band, they have something unique, rock but with a harder ‘folk’ inspired spur. It was only left for us to sing happy birthday to Mike, who was handed a cake and bottle of ‘Jack’ for his 50th, by organiser Gary.
Another one off the bucket list, as I’ve been waiting to see these six Welshmen, for a while now. Right from the onset, drummer Dafydd Fuller shouts at us to get clapping, can’t argue with the man. Three guitarists and three of the guys on backing vocals, is a hardened combination. I count five different makes of axe as well, which can only mean this is going to be an intriguing performance. The debut album produced by the renown Romesh Dodangoda, ‘For All We’ve Left Behind’ only came out in February and 99% of the last minute, extended set, is a shuffle of eight tracks from it.
‘Avarice’ plunders in with a ‘Bonham’ style of sticks and Will’s shrieking lyrics. Whirling guitars summon up attention and as I guessed, with three up front, The Black Lakes, release more pressure than a volcanic eruption. A single from the guys ‘Fragments’ has all the mashing of ’Stone Sour’ and ‘Korn’ and the onslaught continues, with ‘Verity In Flames’ a frenzied attack of riffs and those power driving drums, are like open wounds, that are only briefly healed by Will’s masterful voice. Creeping up on us ‘Deathrone’ is a slogger, heavy and mutating into another of post grunge feel. I’m enjoying this, ‘Landslide’ and ‘The Divide’ are followed by ‘Ghosts ( Of Our Memories ) ‘ which is another layer cake of surprises. ‘One Step’ and ‘Dissident’ end a buzzing hell of a show and we all stood shell shocked afterwards.
A bit ruffled due to being delayed in traffic, the Wigan based guys soon recover, when they land on the Hangar 18 stage. Formed back in 2019 by Ex Bigfoot frontman Antony Ellis, they stunned me with their debut album last year and again this is one band I have wanted to see for an age. Signed to Frontiers Records, Kreek effortlessly produce rock anthems and melodies, with Antony’s huge vocal range leading from the front. Tonight they squeeze in seven from the eponymous album and ‘Missiles’ hits us for starters. After firing up the guitars, it then eases into a raunchy piece, with a staggering guitar solo, just to add more class. Undoubtedly ‘Meet Your Maker’ is one of the most catchy songs in the history of catchiness, I just love it.
The more velvety ‘Get Up’ dives into the groove with a sultry hook and ‘Down ’n’ Dirty’ spins with more passion and you just have to sample that bottom rhythm from Lee Andrews and Seb Sweet. There’s more six string magic from both Nick Clarke and Dan Collict, as this is an all round amazing performance and when ‘Man On My Shoulder’ squeals into being, the room is full of delightful punters. ‘Million Dollar Man’ has more striking bass and the contrast with Antony’s vocals is pure heaven, this one swells with big sounding verses and flows, without any interruption. They finish with ‘Bitch Killer’ instantly recognised by the audience as it’s an old ‘Bigfoot’ song. Excellent stuff and I can’t wait to see them again.
It took me a while like this power rock threesome, but after I did, I’ve remained an ardent follower and love the way they write. Take the recent EP’s ‘Intra’ and then ‘Venous’ which have tracks that signify the clear cut rock and roll attitude, we’ve come to expect from Skam.
As they take to the stage, ’Circles’ soon destroys the peaceful interlude, with its sky dive of an introduction. Faultless guitar and sharpness from Steve Hill, who’s also on the mic and as they cruise into ‘Take It Or Leave It’, the temperature rises and the room is rammed. ‘One Track Mind’ and ‘Bring The Rain’ are hurtled at us, before the doom ridden ‘Massacre’ which has to be the best parody of ‘War Pigs’ and totally honours the Black Sabbath classic. ‘No Lies’ also has a soul beating of a riff and is one that catches on those brain cells, resounding in your head for days after. There’s no letting up, even at the end as ‘Green Eyes’ from ‘Intra’ is thrown into the mix. No wonder there are so many of the bands T shirts adorning the venue, after over ten years the guys remain constant and it was a blinding set tonight.
In contrast to the last band, have only been in existence a couple of years now. The debut album ‘The Sinner Takes It All’ swept the feet off all the competition when it arrived in 2020. Since then they have wowed every audience they’ve played in front of, with their horror, goth type of rock and the fan base is colossal in numbers.
A pick of seven from the album are on the menu tonight and ‘Let Us Prey’ gets the proceedings underway. There are a few here tonight that haven’t seen SOS before and I’m always keen to see initial reactions. The first time you witness Dee (Bass) Fish and Kodi (Guitars) leaping up on to the stage risers in one swoop and demanding your interaction is never forgotten and the way vocalist Joey leans into your face for those singalong choruses just melts you. The play on words, similar to the album title, is also used for ‘Demons Are Forever’ and ‘No Plague Like Home’ among them.
Another thirty minute set, way too short, comes to a terrific end with ‘Pretty Little Nightmare’, (watch the video it’s a Tim Burton inspired piece of excellence) and the rapturous ‘Cold Day In Hell’, honestly you can’t help joining in with them right up to the last note.
Pip completes the band line up on sticks, which are cherished by the ladies who caught them afterwards. A band continuing to gain notoriety and certain to be on major festival in the not too distant future.
Are without Brad Newlands tonight, so Will Richards of ‘City Of Thieves’ has kindly stepped up to the drum stool. A relatively shorter set than usual, due to these circumstances, but a fiery one nonetheless. Rob Angelico struts around as he plies ‘Dynamite’ upon us. It’s a sensational opener, full of energy and Jack Edwards handles his Gretsch with jaw dropping accuracy.
More from the eponymous album are belted out, ‘Into The Night’ and ‘Leave If You Dare’ turn the evening into one of a massive crowd pleaser. Piston are looking good, you would never believe they’ve been on tour since the middle of April.
‘One More Day’ speeds along with more of Rob’s charming vocals and I have to say Will has done a magnificent job as stand in. Only leaves the cover of ‘Proud Mary’ to get the whole room jumping and reciting all the lyrics at the top of their voices. Great way to go out and once again the exuberant Piston are one of the best bands of the day.
Nothing fully prepares you for a performance by ‘The Treatment’. You can only buckle everything down and just wait for the tidal wave of energy to engulf you.
Currently headlining their ‘Devil In The Detail’ tour, Station 18 festival counts as the penultimate show, which has run for seventeen consecutive nights. Seeing the guys before they hit the stage, I’m amazed at how fresh and relaxed they all are. A mix of tracks make up the list, mainly from ‘Waiting For Good Luck’ but there’s a decent helping of ‘Power Crazy’ favourites and ‘Lets Get Dirty’ is the one chosen to launch their visit here.
For a band that got together in 2008, there are plenty of spellbinders in the back catalogue and ‘Let It Begin’ is always one that gets the crowd rocking. ‘Eyes On You’ and 'Devil In The Detail’ are more recent and well received then ‘The Doctor’ bulldozers in with another stomping chorus.
As Tagore Grey descends into the audience, he’s held high on someone's shoulders in true ‘Angus Young’ fashion and the room explodes. There’s just a mass of arms in the air, saluting Tom Rampton and the band as they carry on with some steadfast winners ‘I Bleed Rock And Roll’, ‘Wrong Way’, ‘Luck of the Draw’ and ‘Get The Party On’. Jubilation as ’Shake The Mountain’ ends the main set and they encore with ‘Rat Race’ and Running With The Dogs’.
What a show, what a band, this is why I love live music. And guess what ? We headed for the final show in Bilston the next night!!
So glad I came down to Swansea for this festival, it was a sheer delight. Big thanks to Gary and Kelly Spiller and The Hangar 18 crew. Amazing work by Midnight Tornado, who were excellent handling the sound and lighting. All in all a big success, yes a couple of technical niggles for some bands and some improvements will be made next year, but couldn’t knock it for value, friendliness and entertainment.
Station 18 Festival give yourselves a big round of applause.
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