HRH Sleaze III – Sheffield O2 Academy
Sunday 1st September 2019
Review by; Hungryasabadger
Knock Out Kaine
I had heard nothing but good things about Lincolnshire natives Knock Out Kaine in the build up to the Sleaze show and I was itching to check them out and see if they were able to live up to the hype.
As the band took to the stage my first impression was that they certainly looked the part and fitted in well with the crowd HRH had attracted; 1980’s Sunset Strip chic with leather and double-denim was certainly the order of the weekend in Sheffield. As the newly revamped band (now a five piece) tore into set opener ‘Nothing Ever Changes’, freshly lifted from their upcoming album ‘Living Breathing Monster’, it was clear that the hype was more than justified!
Knock Out Kaine certainly have all the right ingredients and musical chops, with which to succeed in the modern rock arena. They can best be described as a heavy rock mix of Motley Crue, Cheap Trick and The Wildhearts and lead singer Dean Foxx definitely strikes an imposing figure with excellent vocals that sound a little like the Motley Crue era John Corabi.
The guys stormed through a tight nine-song set, mainly culled from previous releases, but found time to air another song from the upcoming new album. ‘Oxygen Thief’ for me was the highlight of the set, hook and riff laden from the off and spitting both humor and vitriol in equal amounts. All in all this served as a great introduction to a fantastic up and coming band and I’m sure it won’t be the last any of us see of them. Their new album ‘Living Breathing Monster’ doesn’t appear to have any fixed release date as yet but is available for pre-order now via www.knockoutkaine.bigcartel.com.
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Stop! Stop!
Having previously reviewed the latest album from Stop! Stop! I was intrigued to see the band perform live to see if the promise contained within the record would be delivered upon.
As the Barcelona three-piece took to the stage there was some initial confusion within the crowd as it appeared that three old codger imposters were readying to steal the bands thunder? Thankfully there was no need for the security guards to intervene as it soon transpired that it was just the guys in the band wearing grey wigs and play acting. Phew!
It was a good thing that the pensioners on stage were younger than they appeared as Stop! Stop!’s brand of punky sleaze metal was energetic enough to have finished most folk off, never mind just the infirm! Set opener ‘The Last Call’ was a rip roaring blast of punk delivered at a rate of knots and once the wigs came off, the rest of the set was performed at a breakneck speed with front man/bassist Jacob A.M pausing only momentarily to regale the crowd with a story of a girl who stole his manhood…..and I mean literally ala John Wayne Bobbit!
Jacob’s stage shtick is equal parts Heath Ledgers Joker and Steve Martins Saturday Night Live character, Wild And Crazy Guy. The guy never stops moving! I have no idea where he got the energy to keep that up throughout the entire eleven-song set and I’m even more mystified how his voice held up under the strain but he didn’t appear to drop a single note. The performance was simply breathtaking. Everyone around me appeared to be impressed with the energy, the banter and the ability of the band. The band rounded off the set with a belting rendition of Creedence Clearwater Revivals ‘Proud Mary’ that had the crowd singing along and made for a great ending of the show.
All in all Stop! Stop! have shown some great promise with both their last release and their stagecraft and I for one will be interested to see how far their efforts take them as, if they can channel their obvious talent in the right direction, they should have a bright future ahead.
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Reckless Love
When I first saw the line up for HRH Sleaze III I was very happy to see Reckless Love back in the UK but could not understand how the Finnish four-piece were not headlining the show? In my eyes Reckless Love were clearly the biggest name at the event and looking at the size of the crowd that had gathered to see them I was not alone in my observations. So, with this in mind, I secured myself a position very near to the stage barrier and awaited the arrival of Ollie and Co.
If I had to sum up the Reckless Love show in one word it would simply be “awesome”. With no new album to promote (I am reliably informed one is in the works…) the guys leaned heavily on songs from their four-album back catalogue. Luckily their back catalogue is probably the envy of most other young bands and is peppered with hard rocking hooks and sing-along choruses and with heart-throb front-man Ollie working the crowd like a young David Lee Roth it was obvious this set was going to go down well! From opener ‘Animal Attraction’ the band segued nicely into ‘So Happy I Could Die’ before treating the crowd to their sing-a-long favourite ‘We Are The Weekend’.
The guys last played the UK in November 2016 , making sporadic appearances across Europe in between UK dates, and it is clear that the band has tightened up considerably during this time as their set appeared absolutely seamless and the band operated like a well oiled machine.
Speaking of well oiled, it took Olli quite a while, by his standards at least, to inevitably whip off his shirt but once he did the female contingent in the crowd were in raptures while those of us nursing a dad-bod were ready to weep into our Viking Ale. If you’ve got it flaunt it Ollie!
Admittedly Reckless Love do skirt awfully close to an all out cheese-fest at times, even the saccharine laden ‘Beautiful Bomb’ is saved thanks to the musical skills and the all-out showmanship of the band.
The tight twelve-song set contained all the songs that the fans want to hear and the show ended on another sing-along classic in the form of ‘Hot’ lifted from 2010’s Animal Attraction album and let me tell you it was bloody hot in there by the time they’d done! No wonder the bar sold out of Viking…. All in all it was another fantastic showing by the lads from Kuopio and I am sure I’m not alone in saying I can’t wait to see them on these shores again. Please don’t leave it three years next time boys!