HRH Sleaze 3
O2 Sheffield - Saturday 31/8/19
Review by; By DeeDee
It is impossible to catch all the bands during the annual HRH Sleaze Festival held at the O2 Academy in Sheffield. Here are just a few that caught our attention on the Saturday.
LOVEBITE - Hard to fathom but this Birmingham based band are actually playing their first gig for about 3 years. Jonny Sparks leads the Sleazy Rockers, who are just perfect for this festival, with ‘Can’t Fight Your Love’ and ‘Striptease’ getting Saturdays show underway, big time.
A rendition of Bon Jovi’s ‘Runaway’ adds to the party atmosphere and they finish on ‘Sin City’. Love this band, so energetic and Sparks is a terrific frontman.
DAXX AND ROXANE - These London based Swiss rockers have been favourites of mine for over a year now. Their stage presence is electric tonight, they have come a long way in the last 12 months.
Covers of ’Superstitious’ and ‘Jumping Jack Flash’ are mingled with original tracks, to bring the house down. Absolutely brilliant set, keep an eye out for them as they soon tour with The Dust Coda.
A new single is also due out in the 18th September called ‘Interstellar’ that features Don Airey of Deep Purple fame.
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ROCKY SHADES WRATHCHILD - Well if there was ever a band to sum up sleaze it must be Wrathchild, these days the show is slightly less shocking as the exotic dancers keep their clothes on, but Rocky still provides plenty of antics with a canon. Tonight he is joined by 2 members of New Generation Superstars, Jonny Suicide on bass and Gaz Wilde on sticks, with Oz Paul playing lead guitar. ’Stack Attakk’, Trash Queen’ and Kick Down The Walls’ precede the Pistols ‘Pretty Vacant’, not everyones cup of char here in the O2, but a good reaction from those who did stay the distance.
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CRASH DIET - The Swedish glam metal band, provide plenty of hard rocking, riff filled tracks and a lot from the new album ‘Rust’, which is released on 13th September. Vocalist Gabriel Keyes adds plenty of charm, while Martin Sweet on guitar, cranks it up and shows us why they are held in such high esteem. Totally superb and when you thought it couldn’t get any better, ex-frontman Olli Herman appears for a duet of ‘In The Raw’. If you haven’t seen Crash Diet and like your rock, sleaze laden, they head out on the Skid Row tour in December.
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VAIN - Headliners tonight on stage 1 are the San Francisco veterans, with Davy Vain at the helm. I listen to most of the songs from the 1989 ’No Respect’ album and remember how captivating Vain were in those days. ‘Icy’, ‘Down For The 3rd Time’ and ‘Smoke and Shadows’ are thrown out before ‘Beat The Bullet’ brings the hour and 30 minutes to an end. A bit heavy going for those who are still standing, but great to see Vain have still got attitude and know how to rock the night away.
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Time to say goodbyes and head back to the hotel, it’s been fantastic, can’t wait for tomorrow.
