Live Review : Steelhouse Festival 2021 - Day 2

Saturday dawned bright and…… nah. This is Wales. The wind got up a bit overnight, the rain came in and Saturday morning was wet and blustery. Much re-pegging and such was done on the various campsites as people woke and surveyed the havoc wreaked by the unforecast gales. Thankfully casualties seemed to be minor, and it was soon time to head into the arena to see what the second day would bring.

Today’s show was delayed a little due to damage to the stage equipment caused by the previous night’s weather, and then when openers Revival Black were finally ready to go on it took 3 goes due to last-minute power cuts! But all was good at that third try and the scouse lads hit the stage like little hairy tornadoes. They are another high-energy band, with some immense tunes and a couple of potential Proper Rock Stars in frontman Daniel Byrne and bass player Jamie Hayward. Daniel because his vocal range and versatility is stunning, and Jamie because in recent months he has really developed his stagecraft and draws the eye with his boundless enthusiasm and audience interaction, not to mention an actual bass solo at one point! The songs are well-crafted, with catchy riffs and singalong choruses, and the positive crowd reaction is great to see. I truly believe that this band have a bright future ahead of them, and I hope they will remember these kind words when they are megastars and need someone to ghostwrite their autobiographies!

Second band today are Hands Off Gretel, another bunch of young pretenders but with a sharper, punkier style. Frontwoman Lauren is also a little bit scary. The lyrics are hard-hitting, with a bit of a political edge, and I kind of feel like this band bites. My inner jury is still out. These are very talented musicians and they seem to be very much treading their own path in terms of what they play and what they like. I’m just not sure if it’s for me, but it certainly went down well today and they too got a great reception from the crowd.

Florence Black are local boys and you can tell that from the off. This may be their first gig back since “the happening” but they have a relaxed and chilled vibe to them. There are no nerves nor hesitancy. They know what they are here to do and they know what this crowd wants, Rock. They specialise in an oil and gasoline hard rock style that is reminiscent of early The Almighty, but there is enough personality in the band to make what they are doing their own. Essentially they give the people what they want, driving riffs and chorus to howl along to. Job done.

Kris Barras Band came next, and here I have to admit to puzzlement. I have seen a lot of people heap a lot of praise on Kris over the last couple of years, and to be sure he’s a great guitarist and his current direction seems to be more rock than the blues he started out playing. But. I don’t see the “special” in him or his band. They are competent, tuneful, loved by the crowd. I’m just not seeing the “it”. I was a minority of one here, as again the crowd were hugely enthusiastic, so I’m just going to assume that it needs someone with a different musical taste to mine to really appreciate what Kris and his band are all about.

Not so Toby Jepson, I totally get what he is about. His Saturday set was a fill-in – unfortunately Black Spiders were unable to make it due to a positive covid test so Toby stepped up. His current band Wayward Sons (who also nearly didn’t make it, see Day 3) moved to Sunday and today Toby got up by himself to give us an acoustic set. If you follow him on social media you will probably know that he has been doing the odd livestream under the moniker of “The Kitchen Busker” and that’s basically what he did today, songs from his back catalogue (particularly his time in Little Angels). The best thing about this is how well these tracks work when stripped down to their bare bones. ‘Young Gods’ In its full band form is a playful glam stomp but with all the pomp and circumstance removed it's actually a Springsteen-esque rallying cry for the doomed youth. Toby has lived and breathed these tracks for a quarter of a century and he is now a maestro at wringing every last drop of emotion out of them. He may well have played them a thousand odd times, but he manages to pull off the magic trick of making you feel that this is the first time he is crooning his way through ‘I ain't gonna cry’ and he is doing it just for you. If the sun had been shining it would have been perfect summer afternoon laid-back loveliness, sadly in the rain and a howling wind that took a lot of the sound away it felt a little flat. Plus, he’s cut his hair. What’s that all about?

I don’t want you to think that I was on a downer for the whole day on Saturday though, because the next band cheered me right up. Another “local” band for Steelhouse, Those Damn Crows proved to be a huge hit. Their cheerful hard rocking, posing and shape-throwing brought a smile even to this grumpy old lady’s face. They ran through a set lifted from both of their albums, and their performance was just sublime. There were lots of mutters about headliners next year, and to be honest I really don’t think they are far off that stage. Their happiness was infectious, and even the rain cleared up a bit. Those Damn Crows are another band who I suspect will prove to be the future of rock n’ roll. Those Damn Crows are ready to take it to the next level, and based on today’s performance I reckon they will smash it. I really don’t have words to describe how polished their performance was, whilst at the same time still being on the same level as the crowd. We were Crows, Crows were us. An epic performance from a band who are on the verge of bigger and better things. I suspect that this will be one of those times that you look back on some years down the line and are proud to say “I was there!”

And now for something completely different. Therapy? are a throwback to the grunge-tastic 90’s. Therapy? were essentially the British Nirvana. They united the tribes. Back in 1994 it didn’t matter whether you were a bedwetting indie kid or a socially inept metaller, you loved Therapy?. They were simultaneously Metal it was ok to like and indie with big fuck off guitar drops. Twenty seven years later I find it strange that the strangled punk strains of ‘Screamager’ is being passed off as Classic Rock. Whereas a lot of today's offering is smooth and comforting, Therapy? still sound like they are thoroughly pissed off with everything and everyone. But what I start to realise as they throw out angst filled track after angst filled track is the true meaning of Classic Rock is recapturing something that used to mean the world to you. To the hordes piled up at the front screaming back every syllable of ‘Knives’, they are recapturing a moment in their lives where it was them and Therapy? against the world. They maybe noisier than we usually get in these parts (and they did a drum solo. A bloody drum solo!) but god to do they earn their stripes. Huge crowd pleaser. I preferred the Crows personally, but I definitely picked up on the Therapy? love.

Finally, the sun sets, the rain stops for good and it’s time for The Darkness. The lights go up, the stage is set, the vocals that only dogs can hear are tested for pitch and volume, and the theatre commences. Yes, theatre. Because although The Darkness are an accomplished rock band, they are also not really a rock band. They are instead a rock performance. Justin Hawkins poses and preens in his tasselled chaps, whilst the rest of the band are solid. Brutal almost in their ordinariness against the peacock glitterbomb that is Justin. His between-song banter is prose, his vocals shatter glass, and we the crowd lap it up. We dance, and we sing along, even to those unreachable notes. Our throats hurt, but we are carried along on the wave of the performance. It’s a tsunami, a tidal wave of pop-tastic rock music and shoulder-shaking laughter. Surely they can’t be serious, but at the same time they are (and don’t call me Shirley). The songs are what you would expect, all the hits you remember and some that you’d rather forget. The performance is polished, even the roughness is rehearsed. You know they have done this a million times before but it doesn’t matter, you still enjoy the show. Well, until Justin leaves the stage for a costume change and comes back wearing a pir of tiny, tight daisy duke denim shorts. No really. Then does a headstand on the drum riser. He’s impressively flexible, but a ting part of you is still going “Why”? You squash that pretty quickly though, and just go with the flow. Your voice is hoarse from the high notes, you want to hate this band but secretly you love them. They are the musical equivalent of your bit in the side – much as you love your regular rock bands you still have to occasionally sneak away and see The Darkness behind their backs. They are magnificently awful, and awfully magnificent. I love them, I hate them, I never want to see Justin in those shorts again. But it was a great show.