Live Review : Call of the Wild Festival 2022 - Day 2

I realise as I am going about my morning ablutions that looking at the schedule there is no way I am going to be able to catch every band over the next 3 days. It’s already a late start for me (because bacon) so I decide to just roll with it and see as much as I can. Those I’ve missed, I will try to catch you elsewhere later in the year.

The first victims of the Bacon Incident are Steal The City, who sounded okay from the campervan!  So the first band of the day for me was Twister. They play melodic hard rock and are from the north east. Their powerful harmonies are a major strength. They also have video screens in their amps that make me smile but I couldn’t get a decent photo of them because the stage, tall already, was made taller by all Massive Wagons’ pyro gear set up for later and I have very short legs. Got some great shots of up their noses though! They are a serious band but like most of yesterday’s bands they also have fun. They are modern not classic, polished but not complicated and they give it their all. Their hard work attitude is really paying off for them, and I very much enjoy watching them. They seem to be everywhere at the moment, but why not when they are so good?

Let's have a bit of sleaze in the morning next. If I wasn’t awake before, I am once The Suicide Notes get going. They're like a modern day UK Faster Pussycat. They have a punky attitude and they're dirrrrty. Singer Billy T has a bit of a Spike/Tyler thing going on - he's not the best vocally but he is a brilliant frontman. He's so good at engaging the crowd. He's coolness personified, and the band reached the parts other bands can’t – well my parts anyway!

At this point I head into the Dead Skull Coffee sponsored third stage which is in a marquee at the back of the field and catch a new band to me, Dead Writers. I like them, they're upbeat and they have a touch of sleaze but they're also poppy. There’s some fabulous piano playing and some good rhythms. The singer is a bit of a skinny emo and they have a clone of Joey Ramone on guitar. They are bit goth, a bit Sisters Of Mercy ish. The singer fell down, and I still don’t know if it was part of the show or an accident. They do have a hard edge though and the singer puts me in mind of Marc Bolan in both looks and voice. The music goes a bit dark but I did enjoy it.

Back in the arena and I catch the end of Bastette’s set. They've changed the line-up somewhat since last time I saw them with a new bass player and also now Laurie Buchanan on guitar. They are sounding good, Caroline still has a powerful voice (as well as the shiniest bottom in rock) and it all melds together well.

Empyre next with their slow doomy power metal. They're still very technical and complex but this year the music seems more festivally, more suited to an afternoon in a field than previously. The crowd are responding well but then sadly the rain curtailed things a bit. There's a lot of echo on Henrik's voice today but altogether it was a powerful set and I enjoyed it.

The Takeaway Thieves then brought us some more good time party rock. They bounced hard and they bounced fast with some fabulous solos from guitarist Ben. The band are having fun, the crowd are having fun, it’s all good. This is another band that's swaggers, mostly due to the offbeat charm of their singer Peter McLaughlin who has the art of jaggering down to a T. They are blur of movement on the stage. They have the energy of Duracell bunnies, especially bass player Adam, and by the time they finish I am in dire need of a nice sit-down somewhere. They finished with ‘This Is Rock & Roll’ and it is, it really is.

Due to the logistics of having to actually eat at some point today I missed most of Florence Black but I'm told that as usual they put on a stunning set of hard heavy blues rock and power metal that everybody enjoyed.

These Wicked Rivers still have a stage set with lamps and paisley that looks a little bit like a bordello, but it kind of suits their musical style. Their sound is bluesy, actually my speech to text app made that into bloozy and that kind of suits them! So blues but in a rock way with added harmonica. The whole thing is a very laid-back experience - it's groovy man. I feel like I am in a world of delta blues and muddy rivers; it’s very nodding-along sort of music with a '70s vibe and I like them.

King Creature aren't really my thing music-wise but even saying that I can appreciate how bloody good they are. I did enjoy this set, they are loud and heavy but still melodic. There’s some very tight thrash that is performed really really well. I’m not really au fait enough with this genre of music to give you a comparison, but if it’s what you like I highly recommend them. 

Back to the marquee next for a familiar face, the vocalist from Avarus works behind the bar in the Waterloo Music Bar in Blackpool and is I believe the son of owner Ian. They are a metalcore shouty band but it's okay there's some melody in there as well! They draw a good crowd, the tent is packed. And they are obviously very popular even though they are a bit outside my musical comfort zone. They’re a bit strong on the intro tapes but otherwise okay. They get a bit political, a bit Rage Against The Machine, but this is totally acceptable.

Back outside again and I catch Ricky Warwick, a huge crowd favourite. Today he plays both old songs and new, and they are all classic. I'm still not the biggest fan of his voice but the music is good and his guitarist is the smiliest guitarist you could ever hope to watch. There's lots of dancing and singing happening near me and everybody's enjoying it. The songs come from his whole back catalogue including Thin Lizzy and The Almighty and it’s proper singalong good times.

Finally we come to headliners Massive Wagons and BOOM there's a lot of pyro going on on that stage tonight! There’s also a lot of straight ahead rock. The set starts with mostly newer songs from their last two albums, but the older ones creep in a bit later on so even the fogeys like me are satisfied. They've matured like a good cheese in the last few years and tonight is a master class in showmanship, good music and the results of working damn hard to make your dreams come true. Just when you think they might stop for a breather, no, they are back in again and back there with another bouncy chorus,  There's no banter between songs just banger after banger. They've kept the older songs for the end, and there’s more pyro. There are flames, fireworks and a massive confetti cannon and they also throw in a cover of Twisted Sister’s ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’. They’re wrong though, we ARE gonna take it, and we’re gonna keep asking for more.