Saturday 5 December 2009

Hard Rock Hell: The bands, day 2

So here we are for another day of Hard Rock Hell!
Dan and Laura:


Toni and I:



THE GLITTERATI
The plan had been to watch THE GLITTERATI after a quick squint at Dumpy's Rusty Nuts. We had decided to give them a chance after their appalling behaviour at The Gaff recently. We saw one number as we walked through to see Dumpy's Rusty Nuts but that turned out to be it................


DUMPY'S RUSTY NUTS
Toni was intrigued by DUMPY'S RUSTY NUTS because of the name. Dan and Laura had been told to go and see them by some friends and so we did. It was incredible, there were more people watching Dumpy's Rusty Nuts on the small stage than there were watching The Glitterati on the larger one. Dumpy hasn't changed, the set was almost identical to ones that I was watching him play 20 odd years ago. His well crafted blues rock is as catchy today as it was then and the onstage banter/heckling and humour is thankfully totally intact. We were enjoying Dumpy so much that our plans to pop back and see The Glitterati were ditched and we stayed and watched all of the Dumpy's Rusty Nuts set instead. No photos cos the place was packed and we couldn't get a clear enough view.


GIRLSCHOOL
Another bunch of oldies, but goodies, GIRLSCHOOL kicked ass (Hysterica should watch Girlschool and takes on how things should be done!) A good mix of old and new tracks drew a large crowd. Whilst they have never been major players on the rock scene they certainly proved that they are as relevant and entertaining today as they were many moons ago.




See all the GIRLSCHOOL pics here: 051109GirlschoolHRHIII


TIGERTAILZ
WOW! TIGERTAILZ were on fire. They were just ripping it up and taking no prisoners today. This was best I have seen them recently. Bezerk album back to back once again followed by Girlschool joining them for a cover of Ace Of Spades, RESULT!


See all the TIGERTAILZ pics here: h051209TigertailzHRHIII





THE QUIREBOYS
It were just like back in the day! THE QUIREBOYS brand of Stones/Faces style rock n roll swagger is alive and kicking and the crowd loved it. Barring the personal changes this could have been a gig back in the 80s again. They were good and it was great to hear the crowd singing along to some classic tunes. Red lighting does NOT a good photo make but here are some anyway........




See all THE QUIREBOYS pics here: 051209TheQuireboysHRHIII

After The Quireboys we headed back to the chalet for some food and to get changed into different outfits for the evening!

Bitty Grim, Toni, Dan and Laura:


Toni and I:



W.A.S.P.
Blackie Lawless and co were on fine form as W.A.S.P. hit the stage. We didn't even try and get close to the stage as the place was packed. Once again we were treated to a great mix of old and new material with Mr Lawless (completely with trademark buzz-saw armbands) leading his cohorts through W.A.S.P. classics like L.O.V.E. Machine, I Wanna Be Somebody, The Idol and Blind In Texas. It was metal mayhem and the crowd loved it.




See all the W.A.S.P. pics here: 051209WASPHRHIII


QUEENSRYCHE
Unfortunately QUEENSRYCHE weren't as good as I hoped. I guess I had forgotten how I can only cope with Geoff Tate's voice in small doses! It was actually weird because he sings in a very charismatic high voice and yet talked in a very low dreary one. His crowd interaction just sounded like the most boring half arsed effort to communicate that I have ever heard at a gig. The crowd seemed to enjoy the band but they just weren't for me on this occasion. No photos of Queensryche as I just couldn't be bothered as we were too busy talking and drinking LOL


NEW YORK DOLLS
The NEW YORK DOLLS were another band that I had really been looking forward to seeing. They started with a bang and two great old tracks and then just seemed to fizzle out. The new material just didn't seem to have the trashy class of the old stuff and even when they played more older material they just never seemed to get their spark back again. That said, it was great to see them and it's just a shame that a certain Mr Thunders is no longer with us.




See all the NEW YORK DOLLS pics here: 051209NewYorkDollsHRHIII

Toni and I watched the New York Dolls from the seated area at the back of the arena, we just walked through and went and sat down. Dan and Laura came to join us only to be turned away. We looked around and saw that everyone in the seats had VIP passes on. We also noticed that the security guard that turned Dan and Laura away was only checking the passes when the people coming through were either men (or men with women), he didn't once check single women or women in groups. We can only assume that we got through because Toni led the way and I was in my tutu and so he probably didn't get past my legs as we walked towards and passed him! Dirty git! I felt really bad although it was OK as Dan and Laura went and watched some growly bands that weren't really out cup of tea.


LAUREN HARRIS
Wasn't very impressed with LAUREN HARRIS. Musically the band were pretty good but unfortunately for me Lauren's voice was all a bit High School Musical. Apparently she is the daughter of Iron Maiden bass player Steve Harris. She did announce that in 2010 they are not going to be called Lauren Harris any more but will adopt a band name. Wonder if it's because she wants to make it based on the talent of the band or because the "name" isn't working? Lauren didn't seem very comfortable on stage and had some really dire "stage moves" that showed her lack of confidence. They seemed to have a loyal following so good luck to them!




See all the LAUREN HARRIS pics here: 051209LaurenHarrisHRHIII


SPiT LiKE THiS
Sadly, the end of Hard Rock Hell was upon us. I couldn't think of a better way to end it all than to see our friends SPiT LiKE THiS blasting us out.





See all the SPiT LiKE THiS pics here: 051209SPiTLiKETHiSHRHIII

We had some photos taken by official HRH photographers at the event:

The Gang:


The Glitzes:

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