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Events and Reports - Sweden Rock Festival 2010 - Friday - Grave Digger, D:A:D, Gary Moore
Friday, the 11th of June, 2010.
Grave Digger (Rock stage)
The German institution that is Grave Digger was to wake up the crowd at Friday morning, a tough task, and not too many people had gathered in front of the stage. German bands seem to know something about Power/Heavy Metal, and Grave Digger put on a spirited and heavy show. The set revolved around the later albums, offering a good mix of songs. Grave Digger celebrates their 30 year anniversary this year, and one can only admire their determination and dedication to writing and performing quality Metal! I'm not the biggest fan of Chris Boltendahl's vocal style, but as a live band, I've always though of Grave Digger as a band to be counted on to deliver the goods.
The Roundtable marked the first song I was familiar with, and I screamed my lungs out for the chorus "Together we stand, steel in our hand.". A great way to wake up for sure! The gig offered lots of highlights and a solid performance, and ended on a great note, with the excellent anthem Heavy Metal Breakdown!
Set list, Grave Digger:
The Gallows Pole
Ballad of a Hangman
The Roundtable
Hell of Disillusion
Wedding Day
Lionheart
The Truth
Excalibur
Valhalla
The Last Supper
The Dark of the Sun
Knights of the Cross
Rebellion (The Clans are Marching)
Pray
Heavy Metal Breakdown
D:A:D (Rock stage).
I definitely had to go see my countrymen in D:A:D! An excellent band, whose music was the soundtrack to many teenager's coming off age here in Denmark, so a certain level of nostalgia was involved. But unlike some of the other acts that were "cool" when I was a teenager, D:A:D has actually continued to put out great records until this day.
The band started out with three songs from my favorite album of theirs,True Believer, Jihad and Point Of View, from the album No Fuel Left For The Pilgrims. In my opinion, that album has such a special sound and atmosphere, and the songs sounded stellar live and really got to me. After such a strong start, I was totally warmed up for the show, and the guys in the band gave it all they got, shedding their instruments, while acting rather crazy.
Bass player Stig Pedersen is famous for dressing in over the top attires, and today he was wearing tight silver clothes from head to toe, as he jumped wildly around the stage, even standing on top of the drum kit at one point! The band surely is entertaining, while also delivering musically. The setlist today was just perfect, it was like every time they started played a song I felt like it was that exact song I wanted to hear at that point- a mix of the classic stuff they have to play and some songs, I personally didn't expect (but love), like Riding With Sue. A classic like Bad Craziness turned the crowd to maniacs, and it was evident today how popular the band is in Sweden, they really got a tremendous response!
A highly enjoyable concert from a band I hope have many good years left in them!
Setlist, D:A:D: (not complete)
True Believer
Jihad
Point Of View
Everything Glows
Reconstrucdead
Grow Or Pay
Riding With Sue
The Road Below Me
Isn't That Wild
Monster Philosophy
Bad Craziness
Sleeping My Day Away
Laugh 'N' ½
Marlboro Man
Checking out various bands
I had been recommended to check out NWOBHM band Praying Mantis, and that turned out to be an enjoyable experience. Not knowing the songs in advance, it is hard for me to judge the setlist, but seen as an independent performance, the gig was great.
I am not too familiar with Magnum, I love the voice of Bob Catley, and I've seen the band a couple of times before, where they have been splendid. So I decided to check out their show today. The band seemed in great shape. Bob Catley is such a strong and dedicated singer, and was backed up by a powerful band. I didn't see the entire show, but from what I saw the band delivered a satisfying performance.
Back at the campsite I had so much fun, I couldn't drag myself to see Cinderella, though I had though of giving them a try. I don't really know their material, and I'm not big on Glam, so I decided to pass this one up.
As the darkness thickened and the evening grew older, I headed for the festival ground to see a little of Billy Idol and Gary Moore. Lots of people were dissatisfied with Billy Idol's show, but it's hard for me to judge him, as I don't really know his music, except for the obvious hits, and don't really know a lot about him or his career. I didn't think the performance was as terrible, as I've heard some people say, but then again, I didn't have any expectations, and I didn't see much of the show.
Gary Moore (Festival stage)
Gary Moore was to play a "Hard Rock set" tonight, focusing on his more rock oriented material instead of relying on the blues stuff that made him such a big star.
After a short intro, Gary Moore broke into a strong version of Over The Hills And Far Away, a very good choice for an opener, the song has been covered by several Metal acts, and even the non-Moore fans knew this one! The first part of the show was really good, despite the band not really moving around or doing anything to let us know if they enjoyed performing. Gary Moore did look like he was in a world of his own, concentrating about the musical side of the gig, and neglecting the show aspect, which can be quite okay for a band like this. To me, it was really beautiful to hear Empty Rooms, performed very emotionally, and then it's okay that the band is so inanimate.
The field in front of the stage looked a bit too empty, Gary Moore didn't attract all kinds of people at the Sweden Rock festival, and I'm not sure he should have been giving the headliner spot. I enjoyed the show, but maybe the festival should take care not to get too far away from the Metal/Hard Rock style. The halfway empty field was testament to, that Gary Moore could not unite all the different people at Sweden Rock, as a headliner should.
Out In The Fields is a song dear to a lot of hard rockers, and really got the crowd going. Moore played with lots of feeling, and the fans went wild. He couldn't completely forget the blues stuff, and played a beautiful version of Still Got The Blues towards the end of the show.
As a person who doesn't really know that much about Gary Moore, or about blues for that matter, I'll say it was interesting and cool to see something a little different, and I left the show with a completely satisfied feeling. But as much as I liked the gig, I'm not sure I think Gary Moore fitted in as a headliner.
Setlist, Gary Moore:
Intro: Dunluce (part 1)
Over The Hills And Far Away
Thunder Rising
Military Man
Days Of Heroes
Where Are You Now
So Far Away
Empty Rooms
Oh Wild One
Blood Of Emeralds
Out In The Fields
Encores:
Still Got The Blues
Walking By Myself
Parisienne Walkways
When we arrived at the camp, several tents were already blown away, and Sweden Rock festival was about the experience the worst storm I can ever remember in the festival's history. A storm of epic proportions.okay maybe not that bad, but a lot of people woke up to not very nice surprises the next day, as half camps had been blown away.
· Day 1
· Day 2
· Day 3
· Day 4
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Grave Digger
Grave Digger
Grave Digger
Grave Digger
D-A-D
D-A-D
D-A-D
D-A-D
D-A-D
Gary Moore
Gary Moore
Gary Moore
Gary Moore
Gary Moore
All pictures taken by Steen | Written by Nina
Wednesday, August 11, 2010 |
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