HRH AOR VI – Hafan Y Mor, Pwllheli
(Thurs/Fri 8/9th March 2018)
Hi, dear reader, you know I do all this for
you, you smart and clever individual. Anyway here we are for my 5th
outing to the HRH AOR festival in, Hafan Y Môr translating to ‘The Haven’, at Pwllheli.
That’s Pwll = pool, and ‘heli’, short for helicopter.
We are at AOR VI (No 6 for you Millennial’s
not knowing how to count in Roman Numerals). HRH now have many brands, and the
AOR one being a particular favourite of most of my gigging friends, and acquaintances.
They have got to the point, where, even before HRH AORVI has played its last
note of the festival, AOR VII is almost sold out. Now, I could cut my balls of
to spite my face and have a little bit of a mini rant. You could theorise that
the good people of HRH could take the piss – they have your money (or a lot of
it anyway) for 2019s event. Knowing that it’s sold out, they could (hopefully won’t)
put out an average line-up. I only say this as, considering VI is purely AOR
this time, there are bands on show over this weekends that are either
a.
On the wrong stage – insert
band name here, but my choices are Degreed and Midnite City
b.
Clearly in no shape or form an
AOR band – here’s my four penneth worth – Aaron Buchanan and the Cult Classics,
Enuff Z’Nuff, Joan Ov Arc
What I will categorically state, is that despite not being AOR, Aaron Buchanan &TTC and Joan ov Arc, were both great bands, particularly 'AB&TCC' who exploded onto the Main Stage in my opinion and were one of THE bands of the weekend (more below). Whilst not being known to me before Friday, both most certainly are now, and isn't that what makes gigs worthwhile?
I understand that changes had been made by the organisers due to late cancellations, Great White aside. We appreciate all their efforts to give a mixed and excellent line up despite any obstacles they are presented with. Which is what makes HRH a sold out event 12 months in advance (almost).
THURSDAY
Anywho, we arrived a tad late on the Thurs
evening, thanks to the shite traffic getting out of both Wrexham and then
Chester. One of my fave melodic rock bands, Dante Fox was missed completely
unfortunately. We entered the main stage to the very busy and very loud set of
UK melodic rock stalwarts Newman. Steve was in fine fettle and introduced the
young whippersnapper of the band (Harry) as a 19 yr. old. Newman started this,
20 years ago and probably has gig t-shirts and undercrackers older than this
fella. What we heard was a strong selection from his latest album ‘Aerial’.
Musically Newman are excellent, but on a couple of the songs, particularly ‘If
Its Love’ Steve Newman’s voice wasn’t the best I have heard him do. My comment
aside, the set was going down a storm with the Pwllheli massive. Of particular
quality for me were ‘Stay With Me’, ‘Primitive Soul’, and the early Newman
classic (and set closer) ‘One Step Closer’.
If I were measuring in paint colours it
would be a ‘magnolia’ score.
We get ‘Dark Days’ from his ‘Slam’ album, followed by ‘Spotlight Kid’ and ‘Street Of Dreams’. At his point, JTT could have farted the next song and I’d still be happy as a pig in shit. Salán is a very good foil for Turner and some of his solos were close to Blackmore’s. A couple of rarely played Rainbow tracks for Bent Out Of Shape followed, the raucous ‘Drinking With The Devil’, and guaranteed sing-a-long-a ‘Stranded’. The filling between the two BOOS sandwich was a treat from his very first solo album, ‘Endlessly’. I swear to God that had he followed this up with ‘Rescue You’, I would have needed to be carted out in an ambulance. Sadly this was not the case, but second best was a song from the classic album he did with Malmsteen, ‘Rising Force’. Just 45 mins in, that was the set. Done. An encore dedicated to the great Ronnie James Dio in ‘Long Live Rock and Roll’ completed it. As a 51 year old bloke, if you have asked me 3 years ago if I’d get to see a Rainbows heavy loaded electric set, I’d have crawled though broken glass to witness it. Even this time, if I were any closer to him, I’d be receiving a restraining order. But, this is now my third JTL gig in the last 3 years and on each one I have been left feeling a little bit wanting more.
JLT was marked for a 90 min set, and like
his 2016 appearance, it was all over after an hour. I felt a little bit short
changed, even if I didn’t pay for my ticket. Considering his extensive and
excellent back catalogue, JLT could go from performing a very good concert, to
being absolute classics. Even if he dropped ‘LLRNR’ which isn’t his to begin
with, and replaced it with 3 or 4 others – ‘Déjà vu’, ‘Heaven Tonight’, ‘Tearin’
Out My Heart’, and ‘Rescue You’. That would be SOME gig. Do it Joe, you know
you can.
FRIDAY
Moving on to the Friday. A long day was
planned out, mainly sticking with the main stage. Up first are fellow Celts, The King Lot. I
really liked their first album and saw them supporting Dan Reed Network a short
while back. I always like to see bands like The King Lot, get a shot in front
of a ready and willing audience. Thankfully they did not fail me. As a three
piece TKL will give anyone a run for their money, even Earth, Wind & Fire! I
must say that with their new guitarist in tow, Jay Moir, The King Lot are a different
prospect to what I saw in 2016. They were tight as a nut, and the vocals from
Jason Sweeney were a joy to hear. Very few bands have that ‘sit up and take
notice’ vibe about them, but TKL are one of those bands. ‘As They Burn’ was a
strong song to get a crowd on your side, and the new songs prove they are
making big leaps and bounds on from the debut, with ‘Save Me’ and ‘All I Want’
making more than a mark. Going on first can be a killer as a lot of people
could still be tucked up in their vans after heavy night, but the guys managed
to pull in a very decent crowd. Props go to Jason for his humorous banter in-between
songs. I’m sad I missed them at the bar afterwards for a ‘drinkypoo of Irn Bru!’
Cruzh as in ‘Crush’ and not ‘Cruise’ as I
thought it was. This is proper AOR that the Swedes in particular seem to be
flying the AOR flag for. Even before they start, bass player Dennis,
resplendent in his fur wrap, and arm in the air salute showed off their
stagecraft. This is some serious shit I think to myself. I have to say,
vocalist Tony Andersson has one hell of a range to his vocals, and a various
points was hitting notes that only Labradors can hear. I was not aware of these
guys, but what was presented to me was very good, and in ‘In and out of love’
Cruzh have their Bon Jovi moment, I half expect Andersson to belt out ‘Tommy used
to work on the docks….’ They were out Bon Jovi-ing, Bon Jovi! If that makes
sense.
What does every good AOR vocalist need to
have? Did I hear anyone say, abs? With his bandana, and desire for showing off
his torso, Tony is every inch a 1989s MTV star. To qualify how good they
(Cruzh) are, I stepped over to see Fugitive for one song on the second stage,
and the gap, my friends, in difference is as wide as the smile on a Cheshire
Cat! Although Hippie Jesus (if you caught him – hair matted and with a John
Motson sheepskin) seemed to like Fugitive.
My favourite moment was not a song but an
introduction to his band. ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, the Ayatollah of rock and
rolla….Graham Greene’ . Well done Sir!
JD finished with a song that Ratt, Poison,
and all the Hair Metal Bands of the 80s would love to have in their repertoire....the unashamed, ‘Locked, Cocked and Ready To Rock’. It was a bit trapped in the
past, but that necessarily isn’t a bad sign. There were more hits than misses,
but had they had 45 mins like some of the others; they could have left more of
a mark on the audience
We are now getting to the sharp end of
Friday night. I had no idea who Aaron Buchanan and The Cult Classics were.
Coming onto the stage, they all looked as if they were there to make a huge
statement of intent. Sharply turned out, a whirlwind of movement from them all,
and right in your face. It was like being kicked in the balls (in a good way). Opener ‘Left Me For Dead’ reminded me of early
Alter Bridge crossed with Alice In Chains. Buchannan is a live wire of a
performer, hardly keeping still, and his delivery is great considering he put
more energy into one hour than all the previous bands could muster up!
AB&TCC are as near to AOR as I am to
being politically correct. That doesn’t matter, because as far as I am
concerned they gave one of the performances of the weekend. Fucking fantastic.
Marc Torien’s Bulletboys were up next. The audience
was stoked for these guys. I feel that I might be in the minority, but I saw
and felt differently to the crowds reaction. As far as I’m concerned, they should have been sponsored by ‘The Dairy Council of Great Britain’ as
these fuckers know how to milk out a song. It was all smoke and mirrors. I
thought Torien, looked great, sounded great and played guitar even better, but
I just don’t understand what all the pissing about was for. The few songs they
played (8 in total. Really?) there were extended intros, extended outros, and
the bits in the middle were too bastard long also. If I hear him shout ‘Are you
glad to see us Wales?’ I heard it 20 bleedin’ times. If I’m honest, it started
well with ‘Hard as A Rock, finished well, with ‘Smooth Up In Ya’ but the middle
was the shit, in a shit sandwich. I just did not get it. They were booked for an hour, played 5 or 6
songs in 50 minutes, and I wouldn’t have put it past him to count his money on
stage for the last 10. There was too much faff and fannying around for my
liking. You can tell he is taking the piss by throwing in a drum solo. I would
have swapped these around with AB&TCC. Where’s the mind bleach as I want my
mind erasing.
This is the third time in four years that I’ve
seen them. Do you know what is great? They have mixed up the set list for all
three gigs. It helps considerably that they have such and excellent and
extensive catalogue of great songs to pull from. There’s no light weighting or
fillers here folks, its full on Night Ranger power for almost two hours.
The new (ish) songs, opener ‘Somehow
Someway’, ‘High Road’ and ‘Truth’ fit in seamlessly with the older classics. In
fact if you didn’t know any better you would think they are all from their
golden period. It’s an artillery of voices, with five part harmonies, an AOR
fans wet dream. With Brad Gillis and Keri Kelli the interplay between both is
something else, and Gillis in particular is one of rocks finest guitarists, and
vastly underrated. The playing on ‘A Touch Of Madness’ is just to die for. Jack
Blades is taking something that I want. I don’t know what it is, but if I can
bound around like him for a couple of hours at his age, I’d be a happy man
indeed. Night Ranger are a well oiled
machine, its hit after hit, from ‘Rumours In The Air’ to ‘The Secret Of My
Success’ and the not very heard ‘7 Wishes’ and ‘Night Ranger’. For me, the
crowd responds better to the Damn Yankees songs than the Night Ranger ones.
They have enough great songs to draw in that don’t need to be Damn Yankees. One
of my favourite albums is ‘Man In Motion,’ there are some cracking songs on
here that never get an outing. With the
last five songs, Night Rangers phasers are set to ‘stun’. ‘Goodbye’, When You
Close Your Eyes’, the superb ‘Don’t Tell Me You Love Me’, segueing into Highway
Star, then onto the one-two sucker punch with ‘Sister Christian’ and ‘(You Can
Still) Rock In America.
Night Ranger delivered on all levels, song
choice, and performance level, and musically. There’s not that many bands out
there form the 80s that could match this level at this stage in their careers.
Here’s to 2021 or sooner hopefully.
SATURDAY
Blood Red Saints were on first on the main
stage. My worries that they might not be playing to a decent crowd were
thankfully the opposite. The room was pretty much filled out and BRS deserve to
play in front of numbers like this. They had 45 minutes to make statement, call
it 35 if you can shut Pete Godfrey up. That’s a big part of the show. ‘Another
Freak’ from their latest album was a stormer, a lot of bands try to write
anthems, and very few can do it better than BRS, especially on ‘Mercy’ with the
harmonies from Chemney, Naylor and Revill making it a killer. The band were
trying to move on quickly and pack the songs in, but stopping Pete Godfrey from joking, as like trying to stop Mr Creosote from having a ‘weffer
thin mint!’
Pete royally took the piss out of Rob Naylor’s
voice (who, when asked to say something, stated he had a sore throat), with
Pete commenting ‘you sound gay, where did you lose your voice? In the men’s
toilets? ‘
The large venue suits these bands to a tee,
as this is probably the best I have seen BRS perform. Amongst the golden
nuggets was a brief rendition of Take That’s ‘Back For Good’. Follow this up
with ‘Live and Die’ and ‘Kicking Up Dust’ and the set was glorious. God help
who had to follow this.
So, from the Blood Red Saints to one of
France’s patron saints, the all female Joan ov Arc. I would stake (see what I
did there) a good amount of money that a lot of the punters were like me, and
were a new experience. Despite having to follow Ted Bovis and the BRS, Joan ov
Arc were out to prove a point, that it’s not just the blokes who can kick ass. The
crowd had faded by the time they entered the stage. From what little I’d seen of
them on YouTube, it was nothing when compared to their live performance. The
vocals courtesy of Sam Walker were both powerful and ear-bleedingly high. Her
sister Shelley (lead guitar), looked as if she wanted to prove a point. There
was a bit of overplaying, but I can easily forgive that especially when they
want to showcase their talents in a setting like this. Four songs in and the
crowd had returned, and they were very well received. They proved that they could
mix it up, with the more soulful vocals of bassist Laura Ozholl taking lead on
a couple of songs. An anthem for the girls was proclaimed, and it kame with a
killer riff, and clearly one of the best songs of the set. They chose to finish
their set with an all-time classic, Freebird. It takes some balls to play a
track like this, so it was a good job than none were present, and they knocked
it out of the park, with Shelly Walker showing how good a guitarist she is.
Hand of Dimes came a close second to Night
Ranger, and join Blood Red Saints, The Idol Dead, and Aaron Buchanan and The
Cult Classics as the stand out acts of AOR VI.
I’m hopeful that the guys at HRH will come
up trumps next year and deliver the goods as an AOR festival. To many bands
were either not AOR or were on the wrong stage (especially Midnite City and
Degreed). On the way home, we talked about this in detail, and Styx would be
the choice. One of the few bands that can still cut it and matches the high
standard of Night Ranger.
The festival goes from strength to
strength, they have a brand that doesn’t necessarily cater to the AOR crowd, in
a good way.Just make it more pink n fluffy next year please.
There was a spare slot going on Sat night after Jack Russell's Great White pulled out a couple of weeks ago. I've heard on the grapevine that Spike books a caravan for him and the gang the same weekend as HRH AOR over in Criccieth. He is 'on-call' for the whole weekend. Its true I tell ya!!
There was a spare slot going on Sat night after Jack Russell's Great White pulled out a couple of weeks ago. I've heard on the grapevine that Spike books a caravan for him and the gang the same weekend as HRH AOR over in Criccieth. He is 'on-call' for the whole weekend. Its true I tell ya!!
Thank you from The Idol Dead for your kind words ;-D
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