Firefest 2011

[Jez]

Anyone apart from Andre making it along this year? Cheers

 

 

Still don't know, as we are gigging Saturday which will be a late one. Gonna try for Sunday.

[Swazi]

Guys, any update ? How was Firefest this year ??

 

[Nightrain]

i saw Mitch Malloy's video yesterday on Youtube, looks like a fun party there

anyone's attending please make a report and photos

[Blue Charvel]

i saw Mitch Malloy's video yesterday on Youtube, looks like a fun party there

anyone's attending please make a report and photos

Holy fuck, it was a party... I know all the JSS, Augeri, etc. fans will throw stones, but for me easily the set of the weekend.

[Blue Charvel]

Oh, and of course I must pimp myself yet again...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDmDrkKbUic

[66 mustang]

very nice

[Geoff]

Oh, and of course I must pimp myself yet again...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDmDrkKbUic

Haha, nice one mate. Looks like you enjoyed yourself. Good times.

[Glen]

Oh, and of course I must pimp myself yet again...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDmDrkKbUic

 

Pete,

 

Not sure how I managed to miss you all weekend?? You werent up in the gods were you ;-)).

 

Loved that Farcry song by the way.....made me realise what we were missing with Farcry pulling out.

 

Full thoughts to follow....Im on holiday at mo so staying far away from computers!! lol

 

Cheers

[Swazi]

Oh, and of course I must pimp myself yet again...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDmDrkKbUic

 

VERY cool, mate !!

[Nightrain]

lookin' forward to the full report. Want to know how's the crowd, the setlist, which one is awesome, which one is poor, and everything. Festival like this make you guys living in UK are lucky guys, we don't have a thing like this here except extreme metal (death/grindcore/black) festivals which mostly I can't appreciate

[Glen]

OK guys, got a few moments on my hands so here is my quick summation of the Firefest weekend - Sat & Sun only -

 

Saturday

 

Talon

 

Wasn't overly familiar with the Talon back catalogue, but I enjoyed their set. Pretty straight melodic rock with no frills, but perfectly executed...the band in particular are pretty awesome in fact (as was demonstrated on the Sunday when they played with Kane Roberts). They were without new vocalist Shawn Pelata, but Mike O'Mara filled in nicely and seemed a bit sad to go actually...bless him. Makes me want to check out more of this band....and I'll take a listen to the new Talon III when it hits too

 

Vega

 

Id already seen Vega at The Borderline in London earlier in the year so knew what to expect here. Very strong live band. Workman is a great frontman...his vocal holds up in the live arena and the songs just sound amazing - pretty much played the whole of the debut, but no new songs which was a disappointment - cant wait for album no 2 next year!

 

Silent Rage

 

Wow the years havent been kind to these guys...apart from EJ Curse who still looked amazing...god that guy must spend his life in the gym??! Musically and vocally they were never going to sound as good as they did back in the days of 'Dont Touch Me There'...but it still rocked. We got a medley from 'Shattered Hearts'....probably 3 or 4 off the classic 'Dont Touch Me There'...and a couple from 'Still Alive' including a bombastic 'Unchained'.

 

Jeff Paris

 

Years out of the spotlight obviously had a bit effect on Jeff's performance - at first he appeared v nervous, but soon settled into what was a very enjoyable set. Vocally a little strained and some of his stage antics left a lot to be desired...quite a bit of fist punching (in a non aggressive way lol)...one classic moment was when we waved the band down about 10-15 seconds into a song and admitted he had forgotten the words. Fair play to him as he started again and pulled off a great performance. I liked Jeff....a real honest performance, and a hugely likeable character too.....played a really cool tribute to RJD and was willing and available for pics in the crowd throughout the whole w/e.

 

WET

 

I must admit that when Warrant dropped out and were replaced with WET, I whooped with joy. One of my favourite albums in recent years and knowing how awesome JSS is live this was always going to great and boy did they deliver! Easily the band of the w/e for me. The talent on stage was pretty ridiculous really - JSS on main vox, Robert Sall on keys, Martensson on bass and the Eclipse guitarist Magnus Henrikson on guitar! Every song was awesome, they interchanged vocals / keys / guitars like it was child play....played an inspired acoustic tribute to some fallen heroes...all in all faultless. Should have been headlining and my bet is that they will be next year with another album under their belt.

 

Strangeways

 

Not too many words needed here really. Got what it said on the tin - 'Walk In The Fire' in full plus a couple from Native Sons. Musically perfect....only marred by Brock having a cold and hence struggling a bit vocally. If you get a chance to see them live do so.

 

Steve Augeri

 

Moved up to headline slot when Warrant dropped out. Why God only knows. He was ably supported by the Valentine band and I can only praise these guys as musically they are spot on....most of the set consisted of Journey back catalogue and they sounded awesome. As for Steve Augeri....well here are my issues -

1. Vocally he sounded better than the last time I saw him, when he murdered a load of Tall Stories songs lol. Still not great tho.

2. Why was he singing Journey songs he was not involved with....would have made more sense to play songs from Arrival and Generations, which at least mean something to him, otherwise it just de-generates into a glorified Journey tribute

3. The new material is crap. There I said it. boring and crap.

Watched half of it and left for a kebab and pint elsewhere.

Oh and one more thing....I love the song 'Seperate Ways'....but to open and close with it?? Weird!!!

 

Sunday

 

Newman

 

In for Farcry. Truth be told I would have preferred Farcry.....and Pete's guest slot only reinforced that feeling. Newman played a solid set as always and got the crowd going which wasnt easy judging by the amount of hangovers in the room ;-))

 

White Widdow

 

Wow, Jules Millis cant really sing that well. Fact. I had never realised just how high quite a bit of the vocals were on these songs but man did he struggle with those high notes. Also as expected the songs on the debut - esp 'Cross To Bare' & 'Crimes of Passion' - were by far the better songs live. I enjoyed them tho - they had a great energy and the sound was excellent.

 

Alien

 

THE surprise of the w/e for me. Wasnt expecting much from these guys but wow they were excellent. Jim Jidhed was the strongest vocally all weekend. Absolutely flawless IMO. And the band werent that far behind either. Played most the debut and it was pretty perfect. Now I want Jim back next year to play a solo set - would be marvellous.

 

Kane Roberts

 

Unfortunately the same cant be said of Kane. Never the best vocally, god he sounded pretty awful and had actually drafted in Pete Newdeck to sing along with him on ALL lead vocals!! Combine that with the fact he was reading most of the words and this was pretty uncomfortable to watch! He seemed nervous believe it or not. Song wise we got all the favs including a host of numbers from S&S and it has to be said that Talon band were awesome playing with him, but overall a bit disappointing....I was expecting more charisma etc. He did pull out a couple of scatily clad women tho which was awesome....claimed he hadnt been 'out' for 16 years so had to bring something along lol! Eric Ragno wandering off stage shaking his head pretty much summed it up - a bit surreal.

 

Mitch Malloy

 

Have already seen Mitch and it was pretty much deja vu - white teeth, big sound...slightly shrill vox.....decided had had enough after about 20 mins and went for food. Dont get me wrong he's great, but been there done that.....and with Denander he was much better last time IMO.

 

Coney Hatch

 

I like Friction but the rest I could take or leave. Not really my thing. Band are as tight as anything and very professional. Not much more to add really.

 

Unruly Child

 

How the hell do I describe these guys?? Musically great. Vocally Free sounded pretty good, but visually is was a bit of a freak show....long flowing black dress, loads of bad makeup, mmmm. Also I could have done without the scripted interludes....yes she was reading from a book which was also a bit weird. Songwise it was great - probably more from the newie than the debut. What annoyed me slightly was that some of the 'grit' was taken out of the songs from the debut...it was as if they gave them a 'feminine' touch?? All in all I enjoyed them (and the guitarist was GREAT!), but nowhere near WET, Alien or Vega IMO.

 

 

So there you go, another great weekend.

 

Roll on Oct 2012!!

[Faron]

Nicely done mate, been waiting for your review, Alien was the band I was looking forward to hearing about, sounds like they were excellent

[JamesEagle]

Yeah, great write up. I'd really like to go next year, but suspect I might have to wait til the year after that. Augeri sounds awful, I assume he got quite a muted response?

 

Not sure I could have watched Unruly Child tbh.

[Blue Charvel]

Yeah, great write up. I'd really like to go next year, but suspect I might have to wait til the year after that. Augeri sounds awful, I assume he got quite a muted response?

 

Not sure I could have watched Unruly Child tbh.

Unruly Child didn't bother me, but the music and performance was a little laid back for me.

 

I had a slightly different opinion about Augeri for one. Thoroughly enjoyed his set as did my wife. Also really liked that he opened with "Jamie", freakin' LOVE that song.

 

Also for me the set of the weekend was Mitch Malloy, band came out on fire and just rocked it IMHO.

 

But it's all opinion anyway. W.E.T. was indeed ridiculous with that amount of talent on stage, hell of a set!

[Glen]

Yeah, great write up. I'd really like to go next year, but suspect I might have to wait til the year after that. Augeri sounds awful, I assume he got quite a muted response?

 

Not sure I could have watched Unruly Child tbh.

Unruly Child didn't bother me, but the music and performance was a little laid back for me.

 

I had a slightly different opinion about Augeri for one. Thoroughly enjoyed his set as did my wife. Also really liked that he opened with "Jamie", freakin' LOVE that song.

 

Also for me the set of the weekend was Mitch Malloy, band came out on fire and just rocked it IMHO.

 

But it's all opinion anyway. W.E.T. was indeed ridiculous with that amount of talent on stage, hell of a set!

 

Yeah I think Unruly Child were a bit too laid back.....a lot of it was mid-tempo....not really what you wanted after a long weekend of standing etc. Last year Nelson really rocked the house at that stage - full of energy - something like that is needed.

 

MM is a great performer - I guessed you would love him.

 

Still a shame that Farcry couldnt perform....loved the song you guys played and great at last to see the 'blue charvel', which I guess is what u were playing?? Nice stuff mate, hope to catch a full gig from you guys at some point!

[Glen]

Augeri sounds awful, I assume he got quite a muted response?

 

 

Far from it in actual fact - most of the crowd went nuts for him...afterall he was mainly playing Journey classics - it just didnt work for me cos of the reasons stated.

 

Also his material was a bit weak.

 

It was like big crescendo of crowd for the Journey stuff and then muted for his stuff.

[Glen]

Nicely done mate, been waiting for your review, Alien was the band I was looking forward to hearing about, sounds like they were excellent

 

Alien were excellent mate. Most people were just standing there in stunned silence. It was a masterclass in AOR.

[Blue Charvel]

Yeah, great write up. I'd really like to go next year, but suspect I might have to wait til the year after that. Augeri sounds awful, I assume he got quite a muted response?

 

Not sure I could have watched Unruly Child tbh.

Unruly Child didn't bother me, but the music and performance was a little laid back for me.

 

I had a slightly different opinion about Augeri for one. Thoroughly enjoyed his set as did my wife. Also really liked that he opened with "Jamie", freakin' LOVE that song.

 

Also for me the set of the weekend was Mitch Malloy, band came out on fire and just rocked it IMHO.

 

But it's all opinion anyway. W.E.T. was indeed ridiculous with that amount of talent on stage, hell of a set!

 

Yeah I think Unruly Child were a bit too laid back.....a lot of it was mid-tempo....not really what you wanted after a long weekend of standing etc. Last year Nelson really rocked the house at that stage - full of energy - something like that is needed.

 

MM is a great performer - I guessed you would love him.

 

Still a shame that Farcry couldnt perform....loved the song you guys played and great at last to see the 'blue charvel', which I guess is what u were playing?? Nice stuff mate, hope to catch a full gig from you guys at some point!

That was indeed "the" Blue Charvel, direct from 1984 for your viewing (and listening) pleasure. LOVED playing with the Newman guys, great musicians and really the coolest guys ever. They basically adopted me for the weekend, I felt like part of the band. Can't thank those guys enough really, looking forward to hanging out with them again as soon as possible. This year our main focus will be to get back on the damn bill for FF 2012 if it kills me. The guys are all on board, and if they give us the opportunity we will NOT let them down. Additionally if you really would like to see us next year, PLEASE let Kieran and the rest of the crew know... early, often, etc.! Based on the crowd's singing along with Over and Over I'm thinking we'd get a fine response!

[Nightrain]

looks like a fantastic weekend, should be heaven for MHR fans, thanks for the write-up Glen, yeah Pete i saw the youtube clip, looks like an awesome show there, but based on youtube, there's a slight pitch control on Steve when he sang 'Over and over again', but hopefully the real live version is flawless.

[Geoff]

Thanks for the write-ups, guys. Sounds awesome for the most part.

 

WET would have been awesome to see.

 

Kane Roberts sounds like a bit of a disappointment - isn't that Pete Newdeck chap a dreadful vocalist? Am I thinking of the right guy? Did he front Bad Ways or something like that? Reading lyrics. LOL! And who is this Eric Ragno character who was shaking his head walking off stage?

[Nightrain]

Eric Ragno is the keyboardist who seems to be a permanent pick of Frontiers.

 

Last thing I remember him playing in First Signal disc and also on the new Fergie.

[Blue Charvel]

Eric Ragno is the keyboardist who seems to be a permanent pick of Frontiers.

 

Last thing I remember him playing in First Signal disc and also on the new Fergie.

As well as the current FarCry disc. He's an excellent player and a great guy, plus he's from Jersey so how can I not like him?

 

Pete Newdeck is actually the drummer for Eden's Curse but is also an excellent songwriter and vocalist in his own right. He's also in Tainted Nation where he fronts the band, their website can be found here: Tainted Nation Official

[JamesEagle]

That was indeed "the" Blue Charvel, direct from 1984 for your viewing (and listening) pleasure. LOVED playing with the Newman guys, great musicians and really the coolest guys ever. They basically adopted me for the weekend, I felt like part of the band. Can't thank those guys enough really, looking forward to hanging out with them again as soon as possible. This year our main focus will be to get back on the damn bill for FF 2012 if it kills me. The guys are all on board, and if they give us the opportunity we will NOT let them down. Additionally if you really would like to see us next year, PLEASE let Kieran and the rest of the crew know... early, often, etc.! Based on the crowd's singing along with Over and Over I'm thinking we'd get a fine response!

 

Maybe we could have a fair-sized contingent from HH at next year's event...

[Blue Charvel]

That was indeed "the" Blue Charvel, direct from 1984 for your viewing (and listening) pleasure. LOVED playing with the Newman guys, great musicians and really the coolest guys ever. They basically adopted me for the weekend, I felt like part of the band. Can't thank those guys enough really, looking forward to hanging out with them again as soon as possible. This year our main focus will be to get back on the damn bill for FF 2012 if it kills me. The guys are all on board, and if they give us the opportunity we will NOT let them down. Additionally if you really would like to see us next year, PLEASE let Kieran and the rest of the crew know... early, often, etc.! Based on the crowd's singing along with Over and Over I'm thinking we'd get a fine response!

 

Maybe we could have a fair-sized contingent from HH at next year's event...

That would be cool, wouldn't it?

[Glen]

That was indeed "the" Blue Charvel, direct from 1984 for your viewing (and listening) pleasure. LOVED playing with the Newman guys, great musicians and really the coolest guys ever. They basically adopted me for the weekend, I felt like part of the band. Can't thank those guys enough really, looking forward to hanging out with them again as soon as possible. This year our main focus will be to get back on the damn bill for FF 2012 if it kills me. The guys are all on board, and if they give us the opportunity we will NOT let them down. Additionally if you really would like to see us next year, PLEASE let Kieran and the rest of the crew know... early, often, etc.! Based on the crowd's singing along with Over and Over I'm thinking we'd get a fine response!

 

Maybe we could have a fair-sized contingent from HH at next year's event...

That would be cool, wouldn't it?

 

Provided the line up isnt crap i'll be there again..............