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Like
creatures of the night they came, the Ghouls, the Goths, the Glam fans,
the Metalheads, even the Emo children and the just down right curious,
to all pay homage to the alter of the Reverend J. Riot ... no this
isn’t the opening of the new Wes Craven this is Trashstock 2010!
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If
you were there last year you'll remember the great line-up that
rocked Nottingham’s Seven bar. This year we see not only
a change in venue but also the addition of a second stage.
So basically we had on offer more bands, more variety and an
even greater homage to the bands that have made Trashstock a
melting pot of rock talent, not just from the UK but from all
over Europe and this year even the US.
As
I looked around at the crowd it was great to see so many
familiar faces in the crowd together with some new
one’s. This not only shows the loyalty the regulars have
to James and Michelle the patrons of this mighty event, but it
also shows that word has spread and Trashstock is the place to
be as it showcases some of the best underground talent around.
The
pleasure of opening up this years event, were JD & the FDCs,
who hit the stage running with a great blend of riff fuelled
rock and punkish exuberance that got the day off to a
ass-kicking start.
I
said this year we had two stages and after JD and the boys it was
a quick trip to the bar and then a short jaunt upstairs to catch
the Jukebox Junkies, who despite the smaller stage and room, kept
the party going in fine rock n' roll style. The sound might
not have been the best but this didn’t deter the band from
giving it 110%. |
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It
was back to the bar (can you see a pattern forming here?) for some
liquid refreshments then back to the main stage for the excellent
‘Dead Identities’, who return to Nottingham after a two year
gap to rock the joint once more, with great tracks like ‘Best
Day Of Your Life’ from the bands forthcoming new album, the
beefed up rocker ‘Wednesday Night’ and song of the set
‘Going Down’.
Judging
by the crowd reaction it won't be long before the guys are back
rocking the Nottingham stages once more. Definitely one to
watch out for.
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Next
on the main stage are a band who we just love and one band that
were made for Trashstock (as I told them the very first time I saw
them perform live!). Although they not on the initial
line-up the band stepped up to the plate and made excellent
replacements for The Erotics who had to pull out at relatively
short notice.
I
knew this band would be right up the Trashstock crowds street and
they didn’t disappoint. They romped through their set with
wild abandon like an express train without brakes, blistering
forth with songs from their recent ‘Shake The Faith’ album.
Opening
up their account with the title track off said album, they
instantly won over the crowd with their own spin on sleaze driven
rock ‘n’ roll.
The
band rocked big style with such monsters like ‘How You Feel On
Me’ and 'Out To Get Me’, before even throwing in a new track
‘Sweet Little Vice’. The set was rounded off in superb
style with ‘If You Ain't Down With The Rock’ and a great cover
version of ‘Long Tall Sally’.
After
this appearance don’t be surprised if these guys appear on
future Trashstock events, we love 'em, everyone else appeared to
love 'em and they certainly gave it their all. |
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It
was back upstairs for an all-together cozy set from the Rocket
Dolls. I say cozy because the crowd filled the small room and
more ... they were queuing down the stairs to catch the set!
Again the Rocket Dolls proved themselves to be one of the bands of
the day and rocked us from the rafters with their 25 minute set
based around their debut ‘Frame’ EP.
Highlights
of the short but impressive set included the massive ‘Frame’ and
the thumping ‘Broken’, with natural frontman Nikki Smash leading
by example with some sublime guitar work and expressive lyrical
workings.
The
pounding post grunge metal threesome really rocked and to be honest
really should have been on the main stage but maybe next time.
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Last
year one band stood out from the crowd and they were The Eureka
Machines. Such was the impact they made last year on the
Trashstock crowds that the boys from Leeds were back this year,
and again won best dressed band of the day award for the second
year running.
The
band really kicked serious arse again this year powering through
their set in impressive style with monster rockers like ‘We Are
The Population’, the storming ‘Do or Die’ and
‘Best Night of My Life’. The band also picked up
the longest song title award for ‘These Are The People That Live
In My House’.
The
band might not be metal but they sure can rock n' roll and
that’s what Trashstock is all about, it's not about genres it's
about having a good time and enjoying an intimate festival
experience and just rocking out. The Eureka Machines
certainly lived up to last years performance and rocked once more,
so don’t be surprised if these guys become Trashstock regulars.
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Speaking
of Trashstock regulars, next up were a band that have become part of
Trashstock folklore, yes I’m talking about German Glamsters The
Pleasures.
If
the Eureka Machines optimise the diversity of Trashstock then The
Pleasures represent the good time rock n' roll party atmosphere of
the festival.
As
the band were announced the crowd gave out an almighty cheer went
out from the very exuberant capacity crowd as Dancette, Lord, Neo
Patra, Sensei and Disco hit the stage.
It
was straight into the glam anthems with ‘Parade Parade’ and
instantly the party reached another level as Dancette showered the
crowd with glitter as the band romped into ‘Lollipop’ and the
excellent ‘Some Like It Rock’.
Anyone
who has seen the band's live will know it's party, party all the way
with these guys, or should I say "Glitter Babes" as our Ed
likes to call to them.
The
band paid homage to the organiser James with a song they wrote
especially for him, yes what else could it be but the stomping
anthem ‘Skull Hammer’, which saw Dancette pounding out the
chorus on a metal skull with a plastic bone ... which strangely
didn’t seem that odd at the time ... but maybe that was just the
Kopparberg that was starting to influence my judgment by this time
... who knows!?! |
The
rock n' roll glamsters keep the party going with ‘Break All The Walls’
which went out to the crowd and Trashstock as a whole, because this was a
festival that did just that, it broke down the barriers and provided an
outlet where people could be who they wanted to be without prejudice or
finger pointing, a sentiment that went down a storm with the crowd.
The
Germans were in full flight by the time the set reached the likes of ‘If
You Won't Stop Then I’ll Start’ and ‘Shake Life’, before a host of
balloons were thrown out into the crowd and mayhem ensued. The rock
just kept on coming as another great set was rounded off with ‘Honey
Moon In Venice’ the pop-tastic ‘Juicy Jaccuzi’ and the icing on the
cake a fantastic cover of The Sweet’s ‘Ballroom Blitz’.
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Again
the band totally stole the show. It would be hard for any
band to follow them after a performance like that but luckily the
next band had all the tools for the job. And that band were
‘The Glitterati’ who have been on a bit of a come-back trail
with the release of their long awaited second album. This
was also the bands return to the Trashstock stage since their
triumphant 2008 re-appearance.
In
true Glitterati style the band hit the stage running with ‘Fucks
Me Up’ with Paul in fine voice and dominating the stage as only
he can.
It
was straight into classic Glitterati with ‘You Got Nothing On
Me’ before the first of the new tracks from the new album 'Are
You One Of Us’ and ‘Fight, Fight, Fight’, which incidentally
was also the first single to be released off the new album.
This went down a storm with the fans with a lot of them singing
along to the song with the band, so from that you can only take it
that most of them either had the new album or at least the single,
which is always good to see and hear.
It
was back to the first album for ‘Back In Power’ before again
highlighting the bands true rock credential with the excellent
‘Right From The Start’ before returning to 'Are You One Of Us'
with the groove filled rocker ‘Too Many Girls’. |
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This
was one of the best performances the band have put together and I’ve
seen them on numerous occasions over the years. Whether it was the
intimacy of the day, the enthusiastic crowd or a mixture of both, today
the band were on fire.
They
continued to rock it out with a couple more new ones first up was the
superb 'Your Idea’ which was quickly followed by ‘Overnight
Superstar’. The set was rounded off with a couple of classics in
the shape of ‘Betterman’ and the set closer ‘Heartbreaker’.
Two songs that once again had the crowd singing along. This band are
back and yes I can confirm they are better than ever. Let's hope
they get the breaks this time around.
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One
band that have been going down a storm in their native Germany are
Lord Of The Lost, a band led by none other than The Pleasure's
guitarist Lord, who also have in their ranks Sensei, also from The
Pleasures. So you could be mistaken into thinking this is
another glam band, oh but how wrong you’d be!
These
guys are metal through and through, a much harder edged animal
indeed. The band were originally supposed to headline the
smaller stage upstairs but because of their recent appearance at
Wacken, the band were given a higher billing on the main stage ...
and what a treat they were!
Having
only heard certain tracks from the band via the Internet I was
really looking forward to catching them live and boy they sure did
not disappoint.
In
Lord they have a singer who leads from the front with a huge stage
presence and leaving the guitars to someone else really brings
this to the forefront.
They
opened their set with ‘Dry With The Rain’ and from here on in
they had the crowd in the palm of their hands with their own
unique breed of in your face German metal. |
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They
kept the intensity of the sound going with ‘Last Words’ and the angst
filled might of ‘Vicious Circle’, before putting their spin on Lady Ga
Ga’s ‘Bad Romance’, a really great cover which the band made their
own.
The
intensity of the set never eased and with every song the crowd seemed to
grow more and more excited, to the point of reaching fever pitch at times
with one young lady taking full advantage of the closeness of Lord by
trying to reach into his pants!
The
band continued to power through the intense metal with the excellent
‘Epiphany’, a track taken from the bands new album, before they
brought out the big guns with the likes of ‘My Deepest Fear’ and
'Never Forgive’, before rounding off a superb set with ‘Break Your
Heart’.
This
was my first encounter with Lord of the Lost and it won't be my
last. This band that are destined to conquer the world of Metal for
sure. I just hope we get to see them on these shores playing larger venues
because these guys have a sound for the big stages. Definitely band
of the day for me.
For
me the day could have ended there and then with Lord of the Lost and for
some it did, because there definitely wasn’t the same buzz around for
headliners Acey Slade and the Dark Party. No the room wasn’t
deserted by any means, there was still a sizable crowd, but the buzz
surrounding this set just wasn’t there.
Despite
this Acey and the band pumped out the rock n' roll like a headliner
should, with notable highlights being ‘She Brings Down The Moon’, the
excellent ‘Sugarcum’, before we were treat to one and a half versions
of ‘She Sells Sanctuary’. I say one and a half versions because
the drummer lost his beater halfway through the first version, but being
the true professionals they are they started up again from the beginning
and gave this classic Cult song a Dark Party style that did the original
proud.
This
is band I’d have liked to see on a bigger stage, maybe elsewhere during
this tour, because the certainly have that certain something about them.
So
once again the curtain fell on another successful Trashstock. I
thought last year's festival was great but this year topped it all
again. This year's festival saw a change of venue and the
introduction of two stages rather than just the one, which went down a
storm with bands and fans alike. I can't wait to see what next year
brings.
We
would like to thank James and Michelle for all their hard work and for
being such gracious hosts and putting on such a fantastic festival, and
we'd also like to thank Nick for sorting out our press credentials.
Looking forward to seeing you all again next year and to lifting the roof
once more.
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