By Monk and The Dark Queen
It is a mark of Steelhouse’s stature as one of ÜR’s favourite festivals that it is one of the very rare occasions when your HQ team bite the bullet, max out the collective credit cards and traverse the singular most expensive of water in the Überverse for a weekend of classic rock as delivered by some of the finest exponents of the genre, both old school and new breed alike. And so it was that, this past weekend, we once again braved that long and winding path to the top of the mountain, hooked up with a tonne of old friends and basked in whatever the (in)glorious Welsh weather chucked at us for three days of quality rock ‘n’ roll action…
Nursing a surprisingly minor hangpver from Friday’s frolics, we indulge in more than a little sip of thon there Dead Man’s Whiskey, who kick off the afternoon by taking us into the pending storm (sic) with their brand of high-energy hard-boiled classic blues-infused hard rock which comes across like early ‘DC jamming with a nascent Skid Row in a back alley pool joint – except it’s on a big stage on top of a mountain! The perfect cobweb-shaking start to a day of quality hard-rockin’ action.
Austin Gold possesses a very Thin Lizzy vibe to its groove, which is no bad thing in my books, especially with their use of swollen Purple-esque organmatronics, which is another massive tick for me. They certainly get a suitably appreciative response from the growing crowd, and I look forward to delving deeper into their musical library…
Saturday’s bill had to be shuffled around a bit, due to Swedish retro rockers Blues Pills having to pull out (get well soon Elin), but more than capably stepping into the, albeit earlier, breach are the renascent Black Spiders, who deliver a set filled and fuelled with their usual mix of blitz and bombast, rowdy and rambunctious from start to finish. Even DQ overcame her arachnophobia to jive her way along to this ‘banger filled set, which realistically should have been higher on the bill…
- Black Spiders play the Firevolt festival in Stockport on Sunday 13 August and then tour in September.
The first of the afternoon’s “surprise” packages comes in the form of the revelatory Black Mirrors, who deliver heavy blues-inflected psychedelia that energizes as much as it chillaxes. Marcella Di Troia is a true tour-de-force, like Chrissie Hynde on steroids, commanding the stage with the confidence of knowing she has the backing of a group of musicians pumping out big riffs and even bigger harmonies with more slick than a North Sea oil spill.
Talking of strong frontwomen, The Damn Truth‘s Lee-la Baum is something else altogether. A 21st Century Janis Joplin, she is a complete firehouse, delivering a performance that sends shivers down your spine while simultaneously getting your feet tapping with the huge harmonies and massive melodies the band pump out. But, that voice dominates everything… holy fuck and all the fucks that are holy…
Steelhouse has always, often boldly, championed local talent, and such is the case with Florence Black, with the three lads from just down the road in Merthyr having first graced this stage back in 2015 and been regular return visitors ever since, showing that they have never forgotten their roots… and those lie in classic rock delivered with a heavy emphasis on grunt and melody. These bais may have the #WeightOfTheWorld on their shoulders but they carry it with more aplomb and panache than Atlas could ever achieve as they once again prove with this no-nonsense approach to what they do, and that is deliver quality NWoCR of the higest order.
Talking of local heroes, there are probably none more supercharged than Those Damn Crows. Given the amount of TDC tees and sweats being worn, it could be argued that, given their experiential growth from pub to arena status, they are more than worthy of headline status. And they certainly set about setting out their stall in that regard with a set that almost literally sees them set the stage alight with an incendiary 75 minute performance that extols and instills all their virtues as Wales’ premier exponents of the NWoCR genre.
- Those Damn Crows play Dunraven Brewery Field in Bridgend on Monday 28 August.
There are bands that do exactly what it says on the tin, delivering the goods expected and described, and Airbourne are just that band… Joel stripped to the waist with he and his band mates battering and ramming their way through a set of no-fucks-given old-school, stick it up yer arse if ya don’t like it pure rawk ‘n’ brawl nonsense that gets us all squealing and stomping the already developing mudhole in front of the stage. Yep, this is rock ‘n’ roll the old-fashioned way… and we love it!
With heavy rain forecast for the final day, we all enjoy the onstage sunshine while we can…
- PHOTO CREDIT: All photos © The Dark Queen/Über Rock. You can view our full gallery of photographs from day two HERE.
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