Rumours of a less-than outstanding turnout for the first ever High Voltage can't dent the atmosphere or the weather at Victoria Park, and there's a fascinating mish-mash of vibes to dip into - from the relaxed and open ambience of Glastonbury (including a few welcome Shangri La set pieces) to the rawk with your cawk out ethos of Donington.
Black Spiders give the Metal Hammer Stage a kick up the ass with yet another indication of their status as one of the UK's favourite upcoming acts. Get that album out already, boys. The Answer have two albums to their credit, and their irresistible rock 'n' roll swagger proves to be infectious and a perfect mid-afternoon, beer-swilling main stage soundtrack. There's a whole different can of worms about to be opened over on the Prog Stage, where LA mentalists Bigelf unleash their glammy brand of psycho-prog on a largely unsuspecting audience. Despite being around for nearly 20 years, the quartet still only have three studio albums to their credit, which is both silly and unfair given how excellent they are.
Back on the Classic Rock-sponsored main stage, guitar-wielding Don Gary Moore wheels out a few hits in less than spectacular fashion, with his admittedly solid widdling often being upstaged by his extremely tight backing band. No such lack of bombast for Foreigner of course, who manage to top off their gloriously cheesy set with a full backing choir for 'I Want To Know What Love Is'. Superb.
If the hankies were out for that one, best keep them handy for Heaven and Hell's Ronnie James Dio tribute. Ronnie's presence is sorely missed tonight, but Glenn Hughes and in particular Masterplan's Jorn Lande put in a decent enough effort at covering classics like 'Die Young' and 'Neon Knights', even if Hughes' attempts at 'Bible Black' are less than convincing. Still, this is a stirring tribute to a man that defined what heavy metal is all about, and for what it is, it's a fine send off all the same.
No time for tears when it comes to ZZ Top. Have suffered the double whammy of both the emotionally-affecting Dio tribute and having to miss Black Label Society due to set clashes, those beardy boys from Houston are on cue to provide the perfect, groove-riddled antidote to wash away any early evening blues. Still so obviously and perhaps inexplicably enjoying themselves after over 40 years together, Billy, Dusty and Frank send the crowd into wiggling raptures with a well-executed set that sees the group's real mega-tunes left until the encore. And when it's an encore that breaks out 'Sharp Dressed Man', 'Gimme All Your Lovin'' and 'La Grange', it’s an encore worth waiting for.
review by Merlin Alderslade photos by Chris Perowne
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