Strumpfest
Thunder / Hurricane Party / Chariot / Renegade Playboys / Lunatic / Mitch / No Angels
29 January 2005
The Borderline, London
Rockers Digest were very proud to be asked to be associated with Strumpfest 2005. Strumpfest is an annual Multiple Sclerosis benefit event, held in the memory of TotalRock chatter Strumpet, who sadly passed away in January 2003. Please visit the Strumpfest website for more information about Strumpet, the festival and how you can make a donation towards the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Our first duty of the day was for Johan to photograph a meet & greet at the TotalRock Radio offices. Hurricane Party fan Sarah had pledged a considerable amount for the privilege of meeting the band. Sarah told us she guessed the lads would be expecting a 12 year old fan with some cds to sign, though that couldn`t be further from the truth. On arrival, the band looked very pleased to discover their fan was in fact an exotic dancer, who had no record to sign as she had given her copy to Slash, no less, the previous weekend. We left the lads to enjoy Sarah`s company and indeed the champagne she had brought for the occasion.
Due to an unfortunate confusion over dates Tommy Vance was unable to act as compere for the event so the task was taken on by the more than capable replacement Krusher.
The honour of opening the show went to Merseyside based covers band No Angels. The band kicked things off with the Van Halen classic Ain`t Talkin` Bout Love, with guitarist Mark K effortless taking on Eddie Van Halen`s licks. No Angels then managed to cram practically every rock classic you can think of into an extended medley. Medley`s are a bit of a pet hate of mine, but it has to be said at this early hour a blast through a host of familiar tunes was a great way to get things going.
The band included one original song, which had an old school Bon Jovi feel to it. This seemed to wake up Ian K who, despite playing some impressive Billy Sheehan influenced bass, for the most looked to be watching some paint dry on the back wall.
For Highway To Hell, Danny Strump, son of Strumpet, was fittingly brought on stage to help with backing vocals. This song was apparently one of Strumpet`s favourites and was both great reminder of why we were here and also brought a celebratory atmosphere to proceedings.
No Angels set list:
Ain`t Talkin` Bout Love / Medley / Tell Me One More Time / Sweet Child O`Mine / Highway To Hell / Medley (Breaking The Law / Run To The Hills)
Mitch appeared to have a few friends in The Borderline today and certainly left with a few more. The band are pretty much a straight-up rock band not unlike Nickelback or Creed.
Vocalist and guitarist Daz certainly put his all into the performance and by third song Can`t Understand was already drenched in sweat. His gravel vocals add the necessary passion into the likes of Dignity and Was It Like Tonite, giving them a "Dawson`s Creek" American rock edge.
Mitch know how to rock out too and the infectious Chinatown and particularly the Foo Fighters like Better Lost Than Found finished the set in an energetic fashion.
Mitch`s set included:
Can`t Understand / Dignity / Was It Like Tonite / Chinatown / Better Lost Than Found
Krusher`s announcement that very special guests Thunder would be appearing next for an acoustic set, considerably swelled numbers stage front and the response to their arrival was ecstatic. The band are natural entertainers, proven when problems with Ben Matthews guitar left them sat on their stools for close to 10 minutes, amusing the crowd with a tale of how drummer Harry James was in a grumpy mood as he hadn`t received a promised sandwich. One of those "you had to be there" moments, but it was akin to stand-up and completely broke down any barriers between "rock stars" and audience.
This atmosphere continued throughout with Danny Bowes comically mocking the crowd for coming in early on Backstreet Symphony and Ben Matthews milking the comic value of his large cowbell during I Love You More Than Rock ‘n` Roll.
Acoustic sets can at times become ponderous, but there was none of that here with Thunder. The band mixed things up with a rocking River Of Pain, an emotional Low Life In High Places and turning Stand Up into a country blues song, complete with harmonica from Luke Morley. Particular mention must also be made of Danny Bowes vocals which were positively soaring throughout.
Higher Ground closed this intimate performance, leaving behind both a warm atmosphere and beaming smiles all round.
Thunder set list:
Backstreet Symphony / River Of Pain / Low Life In High Places / I Love You More Than Rock ‘n` Roll / Stand Up / Higher Ground
As a result of the technical problems prior to Thunder, the Renegade Playboys set was trimmed to just five songs. Frontman KrayZ D seemed to channel all his available energy into the short time available, bounding around the stage with mouth fixed permanently open with a shocked expression on his face. He`s eccentric to say the least and today he`s sporting some bizarre plastic breast plated waistcoat whilst his stage manner brought to mind the madness Mike Patton used to bring to the stage in his early days with Faith No More.
The rest of the band appear more confident each time I have seen them and that confidence rubs off on their material which was better than I remembered it. 24 Hour Bitch incites a sing-along and following Sudden Rush when it`s announced the set is over there is a loud cry of displeasure from the audience.
As Krusher succinctly put it, he hadn`t seen young people rock so hard in that style in a long time, and he was off to buy a plastic breast plated waistcoat.
Renegade Playboys set list:
For Heaven`s Sake / Rain Song / Bad Gurlz / 24 Hour Bitch / Sudden Rush
Lunatic added some welcome variety to proceedings. Opener Bass Riff Bitch recalled the space rock of Monster Magnet, with bassist Gram Bisingy managing to immediately destroy one of his strings. Bisingy adopts a laid back persona of coolness, with an unlit stub of a cigarette permanently fixed in his mouth.
Drummer Bam Helsing has one of the best handle-bar moustaches in rock and is a flurry of energy around his kit as Face The Energy continued the filthy garage rock sound. Meanwhile, vocalist Chewy towers over the rest of the band and it seems the majority of the songs he introduces appear to be about sex. X-rated certainly was and contained a punky edge.
The band had started life as a two man project and are early in their existence as a live unit. As a result they don`t yet seem to fully gel in terms of stage presence but they make up for this with their infectious groove. With a debut album due out on Cargo records this year, Lunatic are well worth keeping an eye on.
Lunatic set list:
Bass Riff Bitch / Face The Energy / Invisible / Flash Your Cock / Let Me Suck You / Soulbreaker / X-Rated / Rear Nut Mama
Back when I was first getting into metal, I had persuaded my parents to buy me a copy of Kerrang`s Video Kompilation 2 as one of my birthday presents, primarily as I wanted Megadeth`s Peace Sells promo. Now amongst the good, Priest & Maiden, and the bad, Shy and Lee Aaron, on that tape was a video for a song called Warriors by a band called Chariot. I watched this many times and then discovered it was all too late as they`d split up. Consequently, I was very much looking forward to finally seeing them today.
As Pete Franklin leads Chariot to the stage with his trusty RRV red guitar, it`s easy to assume the band would simply look to please the crowd with favourites from their two albums from the mid 80s. However, Chariot have certainly got their eyes fixed on the future as half the set tonight was new material. It`s good material too, with the stomping Behind The Wire, which is set to be the next album`s title track, in particularly getting heads nodding. In this material they remain true to their NWOBHM roots without sounding dated.
The line-up is all original with the exception of new guitarist Paul Lane who plays some impressive leads. Bassist John Smith, in 1987 Chariot toothbrush clan t-shirt, might have a lot less hair than back in the day, but he`s certainly lost no energy and was clearly enjoying every minute of the set.
A run through of classics Run With The Pack and Warriors, complete with sing along close the set, before Krusher informs the band they still have time for one more and a crowd vote decides that will be Scream The Night.
Chariot were clearly the most "metal" band on the bill today and with the rise in popularity on the more traditional style, their return could be well timed.
Chariot set list:
When The Moon Shines / Your Time Has Come / Behind The Wire / Cold Hard Cash / Horizons / Love Or Leave Me / Heart Of Stone / Hour Of Need / Shut It Out / Run With The Pack / Warriors / Scream The Night
Hurricane Party had a fantastic 2004 and their success looks set to continue this year. As the bounding riffs of Killer begin the set, it`s immediately apparent why they are topping the bill today. The band possess charisma in abundance and are armed with a wealth of strong material. The fact that much of their material has yet to become available on cd seems lost on this crowd. The majority here must have seen the band on at least one occasion in the past as they sing along to the likes of Days Full Of Night and Liar with as much gusto as for the Get This EP material.
The fact is that Hurricane Party`s material is highly infectious and they pull it off in a live scenario with such class that even those that would not usually follow their brand of hard rock are compelled to come back for more. A couple of new additions to the set would indicate that Hurricane Party`s ability to write a good song continues.
I`ve noted before that the band are heavier than perhaps you`d expect, with Get This recalling AC/DC. Vocalist Richie Hevanz dedicates Let`s Get Started to Sarah from the meet and greet earlier in the day whilst Roadstar`s mixture of Aerosmith and The Cult creates a mass of bobbing hair stage front.
The band are set to hit the studio soon for a much anticipated new release followed by a great deal more touring that should continue to pay dividends if, as you`d expect, they continue this rich vein of form.
Hurricane Party set list:
Killer / Days Full Of Night / Liar / Get This / Too Late? / Last Survivor / Woman? / All I Want / Big Rock Show / Let`s Get Started / Roadstar / Steam
Krusher made the final toast of the day to Strumpet bringing a close to Strumpfest 2005. The day had not only been in aid of a worthy cause, but had also been filled with a great friendly and fun atmosphere in which to enjoy some good rock music. Here`s to Strumpet and to Strumpfest 2006.
LINKS:
Strumpfest
Thunder
Hurricane Party
Chariot
Renegade Playboys
Mitch
Lunatic
No Angels
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