Gravity Festival 2021
The Station Cannock - Friday 15/10/21
Live review by; DeeDee & Georgia P
At long last the force of Gravity has pulled us into The Station Cannock, for this annual festival. Spread over three days this year it’s bigger than ever and we were there from the start to check out nearly every band. Sadly there were some last minute changes to the lineups due to illness, but that didn’t deter promoter Shaun Haynes, who filled the gaps and juggled the running times, so all went smoothly. As we at Rock Media UK were interviewing, photographing and reviewing, it was impossible to catch every performance, but we rushed around to cover most of the proceedings. Our reviews will be split over the 3 days and watch out for our interviews in the coming weeks. A stack of photos will also be published shortly.
It’s often difficult to be the first band on, as more often than not it’s a case of warming up the early birds, watching folk getting their drinks in, hugging mates and settling in their seats. But Straight For The Sun are one band that can overcome any type of distraction. Forming back in 2018 and based mainly in Birmingham, the five deliver their brand of punishing metal without any interruption. Naturally it’s been a couple of years since I last watched frontman Callum Green spew his vocals out, with tracks from the pulverising ’No Tomorrow’ EP. Have to say that in that time, he has grown in confidence even more and the band have increased their level of balance. The single ‘Walk’ from last year was a focal point and the latest drop ‘Remember Me’ is received with mass appreciation. Having just completed a recent tour with ‘Nervendings’ , watch out for SFTS on the road in 2022. (DD)
Next up, we have four piece rockers Saints Of Sin bringing their funk up from the South Coast to the West Midlands. Their line-up consists of Rui Brito on vocals, Marcus Sparxx Jenkins on guitar, Ashley Jenkins on bass and Josh Rose on drums. It's fair to say that they are a high energy band, bouncing up and down with the crowd as they kick off the show with 'Heart Attack' soon followed by 'Rocket'. One song that particularly stood out for me on their set was 'Stars In The Sky', if I'm being completely honest, it's been stuck in my head all week. A song that took me by surprise was their rendition of 'Uptown Funk' by Bruno Mars. It's pop gone rock! This was definitely a good move as it got the crowd dancing and singing at the top of their lungs. Finally, they close their set with '21 Shots' , a song from their album 'Welcome To The Circus', which is full of nothing but catchy riffs and strong, powerful vocals from Rui. (GP)
Like so many bands this is the first gig for Devilfire since the start of the pandemic. The emotion pours from the start and the charismatic Alex Cooper leads his men with all the soft melodic favourites that the adoring fans on the barrier have come to love. The last album ‘Black Soul Vendetta’ is well represented and we hear ‘Chasing The Pain’ for the first time live, a track off the recent release that featured Eric Dover (Lost Angels, Jellyfish, Alice Cooper). ‘Dream Evil’ is a three part story, the last will feature on the next album. I like the continuous link of this idea and how ‘Devilfire’ keeps it fresh. The previous album from 2017 ‘Dark Manoeuvres’ also gave us ‘Waiting For A Rockstar’ and ‘She’s Like Fire’ two more that get the faithful bouncing. Always a pleasure to watch these guys, with no rough edges they bring a polished and well executed set to the stage and never let their high standards fall one inch. Devilfire are - Alex Cooper/Vocals , Baz Blackett/Guitar , Kieran Topp/Guitar, Jamie Downes/Bass, Lars Wickett/Drums. (DD)
The lights start to dim and the crowd burst out into cheers as our final band of the evening, glam rockers Midnite City make their way onto the stage to 'Crawlin In The Dirt' off their latest album 'An Itch You Can't Scratch'. We have Rob Wylde on vocals, Miles Meakin on guitar, Josh 'Tabbie' Williams on bass, Shawn Charvette on keys and Pete Newdeck on drums. Throughout the night there were oldies but goodies performed such as 'We Belong', 'Summer Of Our Lives' and one of my personal favourites 'Ghosts Of My Old Friends'. During 'Atomic', singer Rob Wylde makes his way into the crowd, with fans grabbing a quick selfie at every chance they can get. They play 'Fire Inside' a soft ballad with a heartfelt guitar solo from Miles, soon followed by 'Girls Of Tokyo'. The evening comes to a close with 'Give Me Love' from their second album 'There Goes The Neighbourhood'. It's an upbeat tune that makes you want to dance. Excellent choice for a Friday night headliner, they really went down well. (GP)
What a blistering way to end the first day at Gravity festival 2021 , such a privilege to be a part of it all and before we head back to the hotel, there’s time to catch up with friends and some of the Gravity Team to share our favourite bits. But there’s little time for rest, as we will be back somewhat bleary eyed in the morning!