S
o, it begins; two and a half days of non-stop
rock ‘n roll to wade through. From some of
our culture’s most celebrated veterans to the
new blood of rock spanning three stages with
fifty plus bands to rattle your skull to.
| Thursday
Having recovered(ish) from the first annual HRH
awards the night previous, following BLACK ACES
and KILLCODE on the main stage, WAYWARD
SONS bring that classic rock aesthetic with a fun
and lively set that cements the tone of what this
festival is all about. A perfect little warm-up for the
name that everyone here came to see, with former
Twisted Sister frontman DEE SNIDER turning up
with a rekindled fire in his heart that blew us away.
Tonight’s performance is sheer unbridled venting
from what had been one hell of a shit week for the
vocalist. After ‘The Kids Are Back’ squarely kicked
all of our collective brains-in, with a heavy breath he
addresses that his mother is currently in a vegetated
state after a devastating traffic collision. At 85-years-
old, she is one tough gal and we wish her all the
best. Putting all those feelings back into the music,
this is why Snider is the undeniable legend that he
is.
| Friday
THOSE DAMN CROWS open up the following day
to a rammed second stage. Not even the death grip
of a demonic hangover could keep the people away.
Bursting onto the stage with huge choruses and riffs
for days, they have the crowd firmly in the palms of
their hand. Seriously fun, and didn’t outstay their
welcome.
Taking in all that HRH has to offer, the exclusive
VIP acoustic stage is a perfect little getaway from
the barrage of beefy riffs flying all over the place.
The soft lighting and seating plan has the MTV
Unplugged vibe as BLIND RIVER treat us with a
translated version of their electric set that really
hammers home their dirty blues alter egos. It’s not
bad, with some impressive guitar duality that you
wouldn’t normally expect from an acoustic, just a
tad rusty in parts. Their follow-up KILLIT on the
other hand have taken the time to really convert
their set to a killer unplugged bonanza. Soulful with
a weight that you can feel being carried. Their vocal
harmonies are fucking delicious with singer Gaz
Twist’s cleaner than an angel’s y-fronts voice soaring
7 | www.RAMzine.co.uk
A rekindled fire in
his heart that blew
us away.
into our ears. Absolutely bloody lovely.
Now, back to the loud stuff. There’s been a lot of
hype surrounding Girlschool ‘she-redder’ Jackie
Chamber’s latest venture SYTERIA. For our first
venture into the main arena, it was a performance
that flopped on all manner of levels. With all due
respect to Chambers and co., it all seemed dated,