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Well here we go again, after the
rather successful events of Day One the previous night, it's time for Day Two, the main
event. For many with bands old and new, and some in between. A couple of
farewells, a couple of hellos, and one return to the fold, Firefest IV was
already turning out to be quite a weekend.
As we turned the corner on to Talbot
Street it was obvious that this years Firefest was indeed a sold out
affair, with the queue passing the Welbeck Hotel's entrance and on towards
the car park at the end of the road. So onwards we marched to join the Melodic
hoards.
Jaded Heart
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Because of the unexpected early
queuing, Jaded Heart were already well into their set when we finally
got into the main hall, and sadly we only managed to catch the last three songs of their set.
But, what I heard of these guys
certainly rocked. As we took up our positions in the balcony to catch
‘Paid My Dues’, which got a warm response from the large quantity of
fans that had turned up early to catch as much of the days events as
possible.
The band continued to impress with
'Hero' before almost bringing the house down early with the aptly titled
‘Feels Like Home’. With new frontman Johan Fahlberg at the helm, the
band are destined for greatness, as he brings something special to the
band. Whether is his youthful exuberance or just
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his raw talent, the guy has that certain
something on stage that ignites the band. It’s a pity I didn’t catch
the entire set because having caught them in action many moons ago at
a Gods Festival, I would have liked to have seen the entire new-look
Jaded Heart package, but this just gives me the excuse to catch them next
time they’re on tour. |
Crunch
Next up were Crunch,
which are basically three parts Adriangale, with Jamie Rowe, Vic Rivera and Eddie
Campbell being joined by TNA’s Doug Odel and Joe Cruz on bass and drums
respectively.
To be honest I’ve only heard the
Adriangale's album 'Crunch' and what I heard I was really looking forward to
these guys, but things didn’t get off the most auspicious of starts with
the sound being a little muddy as they opened up their account with 'Reap
What You Sow’, before the title track of said album ‘Crunch’, which
was a little early in the set for me, but it was their set so they
obviously knew what they were doing.
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The first of the day’s real technical
problems came just before the beginning of 'No More Chances' as the
bass rig went down, but this didn’t stop the rest of the band keeping
things going and by mid way through the song Doug was back on line.
It was then time for something new
from the band, the suitably titled ‘Starting Over’ from the bands
latest EP.
After all the hard rock it was time
to bring things down a touch with ‘At A Moments
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Notice’, which went down a storm with
the diehard Melodic Rock fans. With the set almost over it was
time for the big guns as they finished off with 'Long Gone' and
outright song of the set for me, ‘Close To The
Weekend’. Then the band really brought it all to a head with the rocker ‘Faith’,
only to top that with ‘Feel The Fire’, which rounded off a mixed bag of
a set. I personally would like to see the band again but with a better sound,
however, for the
second band on the day it wasn’t bad at all. |
Valentine
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Now one of the
surprise packages of the day had to have been the next band Valentine, who
when they came on stage it was obvious that frontman Hugo had made the
most of his Steve Perry like looks and with guitarist Adam Holland looking
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remarkably like
Neil Schon from where I was standing, added to Hugo using all of Perry’s moves on stage, I really thought this was going to be a bit of a
joke. However, all my doubts were swept away when Valentine
opened up the set with ‘Find A Way’ and ‘No Way’. These two songs
really sent goose bumps down my spine. The crowd really went along on
this AOR magic carpet ride as things continued with ‘Tears In The Night’.
It may have been 15 years in coming, but the crowd were in fine voice from
the onset of the bands performance and they sang along to each and every
word.
The tempo of the set picked up a little
with ‘Golden Years’, but it was the gentler AOR that |
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really
brought out the best in Hugo’s voice, with the likes of ‘Never Sad’ and
‘Tell It To My Heart’ really setting the stage alight. Then when
Hugo announcing that a new Valentine album was on the way, this
announcement really sent the
crowd over the edge.
The set continued with ‘None Of It Matters’
before finishing off with a cover version in the form of Kansas’s ‘Wayward
Son’, which brought an end to one of the bands of the day for me and one I
feel will be treading the Firefest boards again. |
Jorn
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Now if it wasn’t for this next band I
probably would never have even considered being a part of this years Firefest, so thank to Jorn Lande
for making his presence felt at this event!
The last time I saw the great man
live was at one the Gods Of AOR festivals, then Jorn was somewhat of an
unknown quantity and was at that time seen by many as a little too heavy for that
line-up. I hasten to add I was not among them and lapped up
every second of that particular performance with great enthusiasm,
such was the passion on show that day. Since then though
thankfully his popularity has grown, with many of the critics of that
earlier show now praising him from the heavens as one of THE voices on modern day rock.
(Am I allowed to say ... I told you so!?!)
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The set opened up with ‘Angels Down’ and
it was immediate that Jorn was here to entertain as he posed in front of
the mass of photographers in the photo pit. At one point I counted some 24
(!) so called members of the press, some with camera phones and some with
digital cameras so small I wondered what sort of mags they wrote for,
that's my grouch over with though, I’m only sorry for those fans who
arrived early and got prime slots
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at the front of the barrier for the days events, only to see
the backs of scores of photographers, not just for the usual three songs, but
for the entire
sets of some of the early bands.
However, back the Norseman who really brought the
day to life with his stage antics. The band continued to rock big style with
‘Black Hole Sun’ and the fantastic ‘Duke Of Love’.
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With two superb guitar players like Tore Moren
and Jorn Viggo Lofstad and a powerhouse rhythm section of Steinar Krokmo
on bass and Willy Bendiksen on drums. The band
really went for the jugular with a couple of classic covers of Thin Lizzy’s ‘Ready To Rock’ and ‘Cold Sweat’, which lend themselves nicely to Jorn’s powerful vocals.
The second of the major technical
problems came as the band went into one of my favourite Jorn songs ‘Tungur
Knivur’ which saw the mike of Jorn go awol, but Jorn Viggo kept his cool and
quickly went into an impromptu solo. Thankfully things soon got back on track
after a bit of joviality from Mr Lande and 'Tungur Knivur' was once again heard
ringing out across the venue in all its glory.
The Norsemen continued their pillage with
the excellent ‘Stormcrow’ and the equally superb ‘Out Of Every Nation’
before rounding off a great set with the medley of ‘Come On’ and ‘Sweet
Talker’, before really nearly bringing the house down with Deep Purples
‘Stormbringer’. This may not have been a set that was to everyone’s taste,
but it sure made my day and was well worth the 6 year wait! |
Harem Scarem
Now on to a band who
came to say goodbye to not only the UK, but the World. Harem Scarem are a band who
deserved more Worldwide acclaim than any other on tonight’s bill. The band came
on to the scene with a storming self titled debut album shortly followed by
the acclaimed 'Mood Swings' album and made their mark on the Melodic Rock
community.
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The band marked their farewell appearance
with another sterling performance. As the band were introduced by Kieran
they quickly set about their task to give us a show to remember. Opening
up with ‘Dagger’, which was quickly followed by something a little rockier
from the 'Human Nature' album, with Hess in fine voice and Lesperance just
ripping it up on the guitar. The band were in top form and
seemingly enjoying every second of the night. It did make me wonder if this
really would be their last
show together, or would they perhaps appear in another form under another name,
because these guys really do just gel together so well when they're on stage.
The set continued with ‘Caught Up In Your
World’ with Hess again in fine voice. It still baffles me to this day why
aren’t this band bigger than they are with such great talent and song
writing. It's just criminal and as they continue their set with the likes of
‘With A Little Love’ and ‘Killing Me’, I was left even more dumbfounded by this.
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After a few Guinness courtesy of our host
Mr Dargen the band continued with ‘Don’t Come Easy’ before putting the
icing on a great farewell set with ‘No Justice’ and ‘Voice Of Reason’. I
just can't wait for the DVD of this show to be released because it's
definitely one to
reminisce over again and again. |
Tyketto
When
the next band first came on to the scene with their debut release 'Don’t Come Easy',
they were the support act for White Lion and totally blew them off the
stage. Then sadly with only a few albums under their belts, the band fell victim to
the Grunge era. Like many bands at the time they decided it was time
to cal it a day. The members
all went their separate way, although in 2004 the band got back together for one
more tour. Many thought this would bring about a new album, but with the
band members working on so many separate projects, this much anticipated
reunion was seemingly just a one off. Now in 2007 the band return in it's original form to officially bring Tyketto to a close with one short tour.
It
seemed only fitting that they played their last show in England in front of
this
partisan Melodic Rock crowd.
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With an introduction by ARFM’s legendary Steve
Price, the sold out Firefest gave the band the warmest of welcomes as they
got the ball rolling with ‘Nothing But Love’. It was as if the band hadn’t
been away, with frontman Danny Vaughn dominating the stage, while the rest of the
band Michael Clayton, Brooke St James and James Kennedy going along for
the ride.
They got the flow going with ‘Rescue Me’,
which sent raptures around the venue. I for one can't doubt the bands
ability to rock, but the band have actually in fact only released two albums, and with Danny's
almost
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constant touring as a solo artist with
his new band, I’ve heard this set so many times under different flags.
I know this is the last Tyketto show on these shores, but this won't
be the last time we hear these songs live, as Mr Vaughn will always
incorporate them into his set somewhere along the line. |
To many Mr Vaughn is seen as some sort of
Melodic Rock God and don’t get me wrong he is passionate about everything
he does, but I’ve gotten bored with it.
As for the set it goes down a storm with
the rest of the capacity crowd as the band carry on with the obvious crowd
favourites ‘Wings’, ‘Forever’ and ’Meet Me In The Night’. All good Melodic Rock
songs that went down a storm with the majority of the crowd as they
worship their hero, I say hero because Danny Vaughn’s the one they have
come to see. The rest of the bands are just a bonus.
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There’s no doubting the band have the
crowd in their pocket as they continue with ‘Summer Days’, before nearly
lifting the roof on Rock City with ‘Burning Down Inside’ and ‘Walk On
Fire’, with the later being dedicated to Steven and Gill as apparently the song meant
so much to them.
Mr Vaughn then announced that the band would
be releasing some of their old demos as a last farewell before carrying on with
‘When The Summer Comes’.
By this time I was wondering if the band
would be cutting their set short as time was getting on, but as the old
adage goes ... "The Band Played On" ... as the Rock City choir once again
sang loud and proud on ‘Strength In Numbers’ and equally as loud on
‘Standing Alone’, before the tempo was brought back down with ‘Sail Away’
and ‘Last Sunset’.
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The band were determined to go out on a
high and did away with the obligatory leaving the stage and coming back,
perhaps because they knew they had run over and didn’t want to finish
without playing the bands final song ‘Forever Young’, which rounded off
another professional set by a band that will surely be missed by many.
FM
As I looked at my watch it was clear with
Rock City’s strict curfew was going to mean that once again a headline act
at Firefest was going to cut their set short of that announced.
I like most others of the no-hardcore
melodic rock crowd were a little apprehensive when FM were announced as the
headline act for this years event, but I was willing to give Kieran and the
boys in FM the chance to show that he really know what the MR majority want
to hear.
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The FM set was one I wouldn’t have missed
for the world and was one of the finest headline acts of all the Firefest
shows to date. It was plain from the off that the band were really going to put on
a show to remember. After a big intro Overland and the rest of the boys really went
town as they opened up with ‘Free Fighting’. From this point on all
my doubts were set aside as they swept away the last twelve
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years as if it was only yesterday that
they had last performed together. The years might have taken the
toll on their bodies, but the minds were 110% on the money when it
came to tonight’s show, with Overland’s voice still able to reach
every note, while lead guitarist Andy Barnett looking even more like
Larry from the three Stooges, but my goodness he can still whip up a
storm on the old six string when he sets his mind to it. |
The band continued to impress with ‘Face
To Face’, with Overland and indeed the rest of the band taking a step back
as the whole venue sang out. It's these moments of wonder that really make
you question why this band weren't a much bigger player on the world wide stage.
I must admit to only knowing a few of the
bands songs, well I thought I only knew three maybe four, but it turned out
I know a hell of a lot more in fact. The first of these being ‘That Girl’, which
was incorporated with ‘I Belong To The Night’. Then it was time for a little
"THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY" video moment, although I won't say which band member was
which.
This was indeed the band that the
majority of the crowd had been waiting for, not just today, but for last
twelve years. They continued to pull out all the stops with the likes of
‘Burning My Heart Down’ and ‘Bad Luck’ (what do you know another two songs
I knew!) which both, like all of the set, went down an absolute storm.
The set was more of a greatest hits set,
which hit home to me that the band were more than just the one hit wonders I
thought, and they continued to turn my initial thoughts around with ‘Closer
to Heaven’ and the excellent ‘The Other Side Of Midnight’, again with the crowd
singing along and almost drowning out Overland with their enthusiasm.
The crowd were almost to take away as the
band went into ‘Blood And Gasoline’ and as I looked around the venue, this was
the first time in the events history that 99% of the crowd actually stayed
till the very end, and what an ending! The band mixed in a couple of covers with
something of their own, as ‘Frozen Heart’ was sandwiched between ‘Hey Jude’
and 'Heard It Through The Grapevine’, which wrapped up one of the finest
headline acts for Firefest in some years. There were no tantrums, no
prima-donna’s, just four guys doing what they loved for a very appreciative
audience and with the announcement of a full reunion tour in 2008, this
capped off a very memorable Firefest, so long may it continue.
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