Live Review : Rockflesh at Rockflesh'tival on October 2nd 2021

In a small sleepy suburb of Liverpool something primal has awoken. The true spirit of rock n’roll has arisen and has once more taken physical form. Like a pulsating parasite, it has crawled out of the primordial ooze and taken new human hosts. The ancient spirits of sex, drums and rock n’roll have been with us since the dawn of time and they chosen this moment, this day and this place to manifest themselves once more. They have chosen the decaying bodies of six (seven if you include the dynamic super sub drummer) aging homosapians from which to once more dominate the four corners of the known world. For a fleeting but pivotal moment Allerton has become the rock n ‘roll centre of the universe, the very eye of a tempestuous storm.

The players have lost all knowledge of who they once were, they are now merely slaves to the malicious whims of the gods of rock. It starts with stark rhythmic beats as ‘We Will rock you’  shakes the very core of the once tranquil neighbourhood. This is incendiary, it is primitive, and it contains the very essence of what rock is. You can feel the power, as the puppets on stage are forced to wring every inch of passion and commitment out of themselves. ‘Breaking the law’ continues in the same frantic and tumultuous manner. The mischievous rock deities that have claimed the soul the six unfortunate humans on stage, look on and laugh. The earth will soon once more be theirs.

‘Pour Some Sugar on Me’  is unbridled and unrestrained. What was once a slick piece of pop rock, is reimagined as a chaotic punk masterpiece, full of bile and unadulterated hatred. It is at that point that it all starts to slide into utter chaos. The demands of their malevolent overlords are too much for mere mortals that they have possessed. Lyric sheets start to decay, cues are missed and ‘Rock and Roll All Night” is played at a glacial speed that is almost unrecognisable from the original. As a final throw of the dice to appease the now furious gods of rock, the drummer is sacrificed in their honour and replaced by a man small of stature but big of hat. All is thrown into the final number. All the power, all the glory and all the effort and the evil spirtis of rock are vanquished and are once more banished back to their evil parallel dimensions. The effort is too much and the band go their separate ways never to speak of their exploits again.

For forty minutes this was the heart of the rock n’roll world. All compasses pointed to Allerton and the fate of the world was in these intrepid heroes hands. For a fleeting moment they were the most important, the greatest and the most incendiary band ever. But that moment has passed and now they trudge warily back to lives they thought they had abandoned for rock n roll.