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Events and Reports - Sweden Rock Festival 2010 - Sweden Rock festival 2010 Day 3
Sweden Rock Festival 2010 Day 3 featured reviews:
- MSG
- Steel Panther
- Cinderella
- Billy Idol
- Gary Moore
MSG
The third day started with rain, rain and even more rain. It was hard to find shelter and in front on the stages it sure was impossible to find a dry spot. Sadly I missed The Screamin' Lords and the first half of MSG. Michael Schenker brought in a true super band with Chris Slade on drums, Chris Glenn on bass and original singer Gary Barden back in fold.
The reincarnation of Schenker Barden released two critical acclaimed albums "In the Midst of Beauty" and the acoustic "Gipsy Lady", but main focus was on the first MSG albums. One of the guys from my camp said that he didn't care to go see Schenker play old UFO tunes and I see his point, because when I joined in on the party Schenker played Lights out, Rock Bottom and Doctor Doctor only abandoned by Attack of the Mad Axe man.
Schenker looked a lot better compared to my last Schenker gig in 2006, which was unbelievable weak. I have never been a fan of Gary Barden's voice but he did great live. Barden seems to be the frontman that can hold down Schenker's ego. Chris Slade is always a pleasure to watch. A good gig, but my heart still beats for the McAuley Schenker group era.
Steel Panther (Sweden stage)
Today sure was Cinderella day, so I only considered Steel Panther to be an opening band for Cinderella. Let me understate immediately: Steel Panther kicked ass and was the most entertaining band I ever seen. They totally stole the show and delivered the best concert of Sweden Rock 2010. I found myself in tears several times just from laughing at the silly jokes. This must be the most unpretentious band that ever walked the earth.
Steel Panther played every song off their debut "Feel the Steel" and wanted to finish off with some. 80's classics but only got to Kickstart My heart before their time was up. Singer Michael Starr sounded better than Vince Neil though.
The concert is impossible to review because it was a comedy show. After the first song bassist Lexxi Foxxx found a mirror and started to freshen his make up. The chemistry between the members was great and especially guitarist Sacthel and singer Michael Starr were hilarious and making fun all the time.
If you ever get a chance to see Steel Panther GO! Everybody had a great time and even though the pussy dominated theme is a bit overdone on record it just seemed right this afternoon in company with Steel Panther. We even got an advice: shave your balls if you want them licked because no one wants to wrestle with ZZ Top. I just had a fucking excellent time.
It hadn't been funny if Steel Panther didn't deliver musically. Singer Michael Starr sounded really good live. His tone has a touch of David Lee Roth. Musically Steel Panther were tight and Satchel's solos were flashy - the solos suited the music.
Steel Panther brought back the 80's - a time when it was all about having a good time wearing spandex, big hair and the perks were drugs and sex. Steel Panther gave us the best show at Sweden Rock 2010 and the most entertaining Rock concert in my life.
Setlist:
1.Eyes of a Panther
2.Asian Hooker
3.Fat Girl
4.The Shocker
5.I Want It That Way
6.Guitar Solo
7.Party All Day (Fuck All Night)
8.Community Property
9.Turn out the Lights
10.Girl from Oklahoma
11.Eatin' Ain't Cheatin'
12.Hell's on Fire
13.Death to all but Metal
14.Party All Day (Fuck All Night)
15.Kickstart My Heart
Cinderella (festival stage)
Finally!! For the past 18 years Cinderella has topped my lists of live acts I had to experience. The band never tours Europe so when Sweden Rock finally got them signed for this year's festival all other bands receded into the background.
There was a meet and greet prior to the show. I was all ecstatic to finally see Jeff LaBar, Eric Brittingham, Tom Keifer and Fred Coury and have a few words with them. Cinderella is one of those bands where it is hard for me to distinguish between a rock critic and a fan.
Tom Keifer has had trouble with his vocal chords and his vocals sounded a bit rusty during the first songs Second Wind and Push Push. Cinderella played the main stage and the area too big for the band, since the intimacy was lost. Maybe the band felt like they lost touch with the crowd being on the big stage but there was something that prevented this concert from being great - it was good, but not great.
Eric Brittingham didn't move much on stage. Fred Coury left the kit and joined Tom Keifer to help him out during the first verse of the acoustic Heartbreak Station. Maybe it was the overwhelming feeling of finally seeing Cinderella that made this concert experience slip through the cracks. We were a handful Cinderella fans at our camp and sadly all had the same feeling afterwards.
The settng should have been a smaller stage and it should have been dusty to create the correct setting for Cinderella. The setlist was basically Greatest Hits. Tom Keifer sounded better as the concert progressed and played the piano for the big power ballad Don't Know What You Got Till its Gone. Jeff Labar was the most energetic and he worked hard. For the encore LaBar wore the shirt of the national Swedish football or Ice hockey team plus a funny looking sailor hat. He didn't look to Rock N' Roll in that outfit but maybe he won over some of the Swedes.
Overall it was great to finally see Cinderella. Sadly there was never a connection between the band and the crowd, which makes concerts so special. Great songs, but I am sure a smaller stage would have made the experience much better both for Cinderella and the fans.
Setlist:
Second Wind
Push Push
Somebody Save Me
The Last Mile
Night Songs
Fallin' Apart At The Seams
Heartbreak Station
Coming Home
Shelter Me
Nobody's Fool
Gypsy Road
Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)
Shake Me
Billy Idol (Rock)
Billy Idol was another artist that suffered from the unpredictable Swedish summer weather. Just a few songs in a big shower hit the festival ground and two of Idol's best tunes Scream plus White Wedding had to be enjoyed from afar in a beer tent where it was dry.
In 2005 Billy Idol played the concert of the year and therefore my expectations were sky high. Of course the weather did help with the party mood but a scandalous setlist and absent Billy Idol didn't help either.
The setlist was a mixture of Generation X songs, new songs and the Idol hits. Sadly the focus was on the mediocre Generation X songs. Apart from Scream and White Wedding we only got these classic Idols tunes: To be a Lover, Eyes without a Face and Rebel Yell. The rest of the set was dedicated to Generation X and the new tunes. I don't mind airing new songs but the song order just lost people. Steve Stevens - who is one of the most gifted players around - didn't really get much spotlight because there were too few flashy rock songs and too many primitive punk tunes. There was a handful new tracks and especially a ballad was quite cool because Idol played around with song titles from his career in the lyrics.
Billy idol seemed absent and asked a few times "where are we?". I was highly disappointed and it was very symptomatic that a long boring version of L.A. Woman ended the show. My thoughts go back to November 23rd 2005 where Billy Idol and Steve Stevens proved how great this could have been with a 2 hours and 15 minutes kick ass show.
Gary Moore (festival)
What should have been the biggest day of the festival with Cinderella and Billy Idol turned into an average evening. Headliner Gary Moore should save the night. Gary Moore has compiled a new band and is about to play rock music again. According to Classic Rock Magazine Gary Moore was supposed to make a summer tour playing a rock set based around the Wild Frontier/After the war albums. That didn't hold good (check out the setlist below).
The show started with a tape playing the Dunluce intro from "After the War". It went directly into thundering drums that makes up the intro to Over the Hills and Far Away. The smile was back on my face J The return of Neil Carter on keyboards made the band sound a bit more authentic. Gary's vocals sounded good and his guitar was screaming during the solo. The melodic leitmotif of Thunder Rising sounded really good live.
A great start to the concert. Gary chose to revisit the brilliant "Run for Cover" album and to my surprise he digged out the heavy Military Man. Odd choice, since I regard the song the weakest on a really good album. Gary has been in the studio making new rock songs and he aired some of the newer material which sounded alright, but didn't knock me over.
Empty Rooms got the audience back on track - a fantastic song and a fantastic version. Sadly the only song off "After the War" was Blood on Emeralds. A good song but not a party tune. The crowd really needed to be ignited. Gary Moore wasn't really throwing a party since he stood stand still with his jacket zipped up and he looked like he freezed his ass off. A song like Ready For Love, Wild Frontier, After the War or Victims of the Future could certainly have lifted the concert.
Out in the Fields did lift the concert, but it was followed by Still Got the Blues and Walking by myself. Excuse me - Gary Moore has billed his tour "Summer of Rock" and then overlook the "Corridors of Power" and "Victims of the Future" albums and still choose to play a few blues tunes - that ruined the last part of the Gary Moore concert. The first part was brilliant though and if only he could stick to the Rock then I would go see Gary Moore again. As long as he still plays the Blues stuff I really don't care. The stage presence was boring as well and the 4 piece couldn't fill out the big stage since none moved around.
Setlist
1.Dunluce (tape)
2.Over the Hills and Far Away
3.Thunder Rising
4.Military Man
5.Days Of Heroes
6.Where are you know
7.So far away
8.Empty Rooms
9.Old Wild One
10.Blood of Emeralds
11.Out in the Fields
12.Still Got the Blues
13.Walking by Myself
14.Parisienne Walkways
· Day 1
· Day 2
· Day 3
· Day 4
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MSG
MSG
MSG
MSG
Steel Panther
Cinderella
Cinderella
Cinderella
The crowd at Cinderella
Cinderella
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Billy Idol
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Billy Idol
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Billy Idol
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Billy Idol
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Billy Idol
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Billy Idol
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Billy Idol
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Billy Idol
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Billy Idol
Gary Moore
Gary Moore
Gary Moore
Gary Moore
Gary Moore
All pictures taken by Steen except Billy Idol pictures taken by Lunah of Metal Moments - www.metalmoments.net. | Written by Michael
Saturday, July 31, 2010 |
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