By Bona Pjarren
It’s Saturday at the O2 Academy in Sheffield and we’re kicking off a weekend featuring bands of a hard and glam rock, but ultimately celebrating the sleazy style of playing music. So, here are the reviews and interviews.
We kick off the action with some sleazy dark rock ‘n’ roll courtesy of Helsinki glunksters Plastic Tears, who mix classic rock with pop, punk, hard rock and glam elements for a unique sound, who’ve also used their HRH appearance to squeeze in a week-long tour around the ÜK. They are a decent band live, although they did seem to warm up after their first number. With tight melodic riffs they soon got the crowd on their side. They played such songs as ‘Riot Zone’, ‘Russian Roulette’ and finished with ‘Iris Kick’, all of which are well worth checking out.
Bai Bang have a big sound full of great melodic guitar riffs and really nice vocal harmonies. The lead singer Diddi is a consummate showman constantly trying to get the audience involved. They rocked the O2 with songs like ‘I Love The Things You Hate’ and ‘X Ray Specs’. Bai Bang finished off their set with ‘Big Time Party’ and a cover of the old time classic ballad ‘Smile’.
With corpse painted faces Gypsy Pistoleros are one of the more unusual bands of the day. Add to that their distinctive flamenco, glam, punk sound and you know you are in for a thoroughly entertaining set. They gave great versions of, amongst others, ‘Pistelero’ and ‘Django’. Gypsy Pistoleros’ set was unfortunately cut short but they did manage to finish on ‘Living La Vida Loca’ and left an appreciative audience shouting for more.
Kickin’ Valentina are a classic rock four piece guitar rock band. Live they are full of attitude with a driving heavy sound and raucous vocals. Gypsy Pistoleros had put in a fantastic set before them so it did take a couple of numbers to fully win the crowd over. But with songs like ‘Revenge Of The Rock’ and audience participation songs like ‘War’ they soon accomplished this feat. Kickin’ Valentina finished with a cover of ‘Burnin’ Love’ to rapturous applause.
Crazy Lixx have an infectious melodic sound that harks back to the halcyon days of 80’s metal. Every song has quite the anthemic feel to it and that really got the crowd bopping and singing along. On top of that Crazy Lixx have some seriously impressive vocal harmonies on songs like ‘Silent Thunder’ or ‘Anthem For America’. They did a great live version of ‘Blame It On Love’ and ’21 Till I Die’. They finished with ‘We Don’t Rest In Rock ‘n’ Roll’. Crazy Lixx are a seriously impressive band.
Hardcore Superstar deliver hard, fast, and driving sleazy metal. Slick riffs dealt with in a supercharged fashion gives pop style tunes a raw and thrashy edge. They came on stage to rapturous applause and played classics like ‘Wild Boys’. Joakim Berg really got the crowd going with his infectious enthusiasm. I’d like to give a special mention to Magnus Andreasson for some spectacular drumming, including some nice double kick. Hardcore Superstar did versions of ‘Forever And A Day’ and ‘Last Call For Alcohol’ with some nice guitar playing from Vic Zino. Martin Sandvik, the bassist, had his birthday today and so was presented with a cake and the audience sang him ‘Happy Birthday’ which really touched him. They finished their set with ‘We Don’t Celebrate Sundays’ and ‘You Can’t Kill My Rock’n’Roll’, a real crowd pleaser.
Michael Monroe‘s headline set is pacy with loads of glam punk attitude, he literally took the stage by storm. With loads of crowd pleasing tracks from his solo albums and his time with other bands like Demolition 23, he soon had the audience eating out of his hands. Add to that his playing of saxophone and harmonica on a couple of numbers and you have a night to remember. ‘Dead, Jail or Rock ‘n’ Roll’ was blasted out towards the end. While waiting for his encore, the band filled in with The Ramones cover ‘Hey Ho Let’s Go’. Michael finished his encore with the Hanoi Rocks’ hit ‘Up Around The Bend’ to rapturous applause.
Over on the second stage, I unfortunately managed to miss both Geordie hard rockers Wild Thorn and fire and brimstone-infused glunkers Paradise Alley, which was a shame as I understand they both put in solid set. I did manage to catch some of Glaswegian hard-hitting blues-infused rockers Bad Actress. They did a really good cover of ‘We’re Not Going To Take It’. All in all a great little rock ‘n’ roll band. Tight as a unit and pumped out some good solid blues-based rock.
Saturday’s main stage action kicked off with punk ‘n’ rollers The Idol Dead. They are a five piece with a good tight sound. They played with lots of energy and had a decent selection of well-written songs. They have quite a back catalogue to go at. The lead vocalist had a really good voice that was well suited to their type of music. They finished with ‘Bones Of You’, which is worth checking out.
Next up, Burnt Out Wreck is the solo baby of former Heavy Pettin’ songsmith Gary Moat, who has great vocals, as you would expect, and has gathered a very capable set of musicians around him. They have a classic rock sound that is quite reminiscent of AC/DC. With songs like ‘This Is Hell’ and, particularly, ‘Paddywhack’, which I really enjoyed, they really rocked the place.
Sweden’s Confess are a high energy five piece with lots of hard rock attitude. They have some powerful vocal harmonies which really help to fill out their sound and enhance their overall melodic style. In places they reminded me of Europe’s epic arrangements. They have some memorable songs including ‘Is It Love’, ‘Welcome Insanity’ and ‘Burn ‘Em All’. Confess finished their set with an accomplished cover of Tina Turner’s ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?’.
We stayed with the Swedish vibe, but a more groovy one, courtesy of Electric Boys, a power four piece with a solid rock ‘n’ roll approach. On ‘Mary In The Mystery World’ they had almost a psychedelic feel to the music. Other tracks had a blues rock spin. ‘Tumblin Dominoes’ had beautiful harmonized vocal arrangements. ‘Rags To Riches’ got funky and was a real crowd pleaser. They finished with their hit, ‘All Lips And Hips’.
ÜS metallers Lillian Axe are possibly one of the heavier bands on today. They have some interesting riffs and the vocalist has a good range, linked in with some stunning close vocal harmonies. They kicked of with ‘Mary Loves Company’ and proceeded with songs like ‘All’s Fair in Love And War’, ‘True Believer’ and ‘Show A Little Love’. Lillian Axe are a very entertaining live band and well worth catching.
Strip veterans Pretty Boy Floyd are a great little rock ‘n’ roll band that have stood the test of time. Years of experience have moulded them into a spectacular live band. With their melodic, anthemic glam rock styling they are a real crowd favourite. They performed various numbers from their back catalogue including ’48 Hours’, ‘Your Mother Won’t Know’, ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’ and, of course, hit single I Wanna Be With You.
Bringing things to a much mellower conclusion on the main stage, Mr Bog frontman Eric Martin teamed up with Demon’s Dave Cotterill for a stripped down set of two acoustic guitars and two part vocal harmonies. It made for a pleasant change of pace from the preceding acts. Eric has a beautiful voice which has lost none of its strength over the years. His cover of ‘Wild World’ was astounding. He ran smoothly through other songs like ‘I’m in Love Again’, a newer song, ‘Back in Blue’, ‘Just Take My Heart’ and ‘Take Cover’. And of course he finished with ‘To Be With You’.
I also managed to catch a couple of the acts on the upstairs second stage, including south coast swaggers Smokin’ Prophets, a high octane blend of Hanoi Rocks style sleaze rock and the glam chops of NY Dolls. They’re a decent four piece band who play well together with lots of energy. They have reasonable song construction if a little predictable at times, but were still a very entertaining band.
Headliners The Needful Things are a five-piece rock n roll band who’ve been there, done it, and even made the T-shirt! Featuring members of Drugdealer Cheerleader, New Generation Superstars, The Spangles, The Main Grains, Warner E. Hodges, Ryan Hamilton the Harlequin Ghosts, Teenage Casket Company and Witch Tripper, they’re not your typical band, getting together to play songs from their collective back catalogues. The result is a very entertaining band live. They have no airs or graces and really enjoy themselves on stage. Their enthusiasm is infectious.
And so came the end the latest sleaze rock invasion of the Steel City. And a thoroughly enjoyable one it was too… just a pity that ÜR bosses Monk and DQ were enjoying a well deserved break in the gothic paradise of Prague, as they would have loved this… ah well, maybe they’ll grace us with their presence again next year!?
- PHOTO CREDIT: All photos © Simon Dunkerley. Copyright remains with the photographer.
- HRH Sleaze returns to the O2 Academy over the weekend of 26-27 August 2023, with acts including Ted Poley, Crashdiet, Jetboy, Sister and many more. You can get your tickets HERE.
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