Review by Moose

Hinder were up next, and continued in the same vein, with a post-grunge slightly-bluesy metal thing going on - with tattoos. Oh yeah, it became clear around this time that the key phrase for the weekend was gonna be "mother-f*cker" - I think the bands must have had some sort of competition going to see who could say it the most times. Megadeth were next - the first band that I really wanted to see, or knew much about even, so I was off down the front. Dave Mustaine has definitely re-invigorated the band recently, and the set was a good selection of old and new to showcase some hot lead work and a real bite to the sound. The new stuff sounded good, while Peace Sells….. got the crowd moshing up a storm. My personal favourite Symphony Of Destruction was especially vicious - superb! Dragonforce were up next with their technical speed metal, but I have to say they didn't do much for me, and they probably didn't deserve to be quite so high up on the bill. Yeah, they have 100-mph drums, and a couple of hot guitar players but it all seemed a bit disjointed. They went down a storm though, so what do I know…….. Wolfmother took to the stage to a definite rise in energy from the crowd, and didn't disappoint, playing all the familiar stuff from their latest CD. They sound a bit less Ozzy-like in the vocal department live, which can only be a good thing!

Velvet Revolver were next, and brought a definite lift in the "been there, done that, bought the t-shirt" stakes, having played so many huge gigs in the past, either as VR, G'n'R or STP (ok maybe not the Stone Temple Pilots, as they were never that huge….). All the trademarks were there - Duff with low slung bass, Slash with Les Paul, curls and hat, Scott with military style cap and braces nearly holding his trousers up. They rocked, with a selection of songs from the mega selling Contraband CD, plus a few from the yet to be released Libertad CD. Things were really cooking by the time their set ended - both on stage and off.

Can't say the same about headliners My Chemical Romance though - as there was a definite negative air in the drastically thinned out crowd who had sloped off to see Korn or Suicidal Tendencies on one of the other stages, or maybe get a beer. This actually seemed to be an anti-EMO vibe from the rather hard core/traditional crowd, which in my view was a bit of a shame. Anyway, there was plenty of room down the front for those of us that don't care about labels or styles, so that was good. The MCR-ers were clearly pissed off though, bringing a bit more attitude to the performance that I think would otherwise be the case. There was no real "show" to speak of, but the songs from The Black Parade and the earlier Kerrang! TV favourites were well played and well received by those that put up a defensive line between the bottle hurlers and the stage. The set was rather short at just over an hour, and the lack of encore suggests they'd taken enough crap to knock it on the head early.

Shadows Fall, Aiden and 30 Seconds To Mars follow on the main stage and I stay put to sup a few beers and check 'em out. There's new-metal heaviness to all three of these bands, with the guys that are half a minute away from a crash landing on a remote planet sounding the most melodic. The girls loved the front man - some actor turned singer dude, you know all chiselled good looks. Obviously I hated him……

Bowling For Soup were up next, one of my favourite newer bands, so it was off down the front for me. They were a perfect choice for a sunny afternoon festival slot, with their combination of killer tunes and laser sharp wit turning the whole place into one huge party. Jared was on form today: stuff like "This is a song about Texas. It's called Ohio. It was written in California" had the crowd smiling, slamming and shouting at the same time - awesome!!! "Hey you guys on the hill, say hello to the guys down the front" quips Jaret at one point. "You guys down the front, say fuck you to the guys on the hill". "Fuck you!" screams the crowd in unison - brilliant. Songs stop for jokes and a chat then re-start with precision timing without even a nod, girls flash their breasts as soon as they appear on the big screen from one of the boom mounted cameras (actually confusing the band at one stage - Jaret "why did you all just go whooo, I have no idea what the hell is going on". They play The Bitch Song, The Girl All the Bad Guys Want, Punk Rock 101, 1985, I'm Gay and a bunch of other simple but effective songs, while clearly having a blast. They're back to the UK in October apparently, so miss 'em at your peril.

Next up for me is Lez Zeppelin on the small stage, and by now I was having a ball. Yeah, that's four female-types up there, but man can they play. The set was 100% authentic, with the pounding drums, wailing vocals and restrained bass. The guitar player even had the Jimmy Page moves down to a tee, as well as what I'm sure would be Page-approved stage clothes. They open with Immigrant Song and end with Whole Lotta Love, which also included that weird radio antenna thing to make the whooshing noises. Superb……. I catch the end of Machine Head and then the start of Slayer on the main stage prior to heading back to the small stage for The Answer, but hold on??? That's Bowling For Soup playing unplugged in the Nokia tent that's supposed to be for unsigned bands as part of the Rock Up And Play initiative. It's just Jaret and Eric, but they kill (again….) with a few requests from the crowd, more piss taking and even a note perfect version of Slayer's South Of Heaven just for a laugh - harmony guitar parts and everything.

The Answer are another of my favourite newer bands and the take to the stage to a warm reception from the crowd. They go for the throat with a powerful set drawn from their Rise CD, and don't let off 'til they're done. I can't believe how they've grown as a band in such a short time, with the guitarist and bass player especially oozing confidence. It's amazing to think they played the Louisiana only a year ago, and only pulled fifty people or so. They also have great PR, as a bunch of logo'd up beach balls were released into the crowd during the last number, just to make sure we all had a great time jumping around to punch them. Now it's the second stage for the last two bands of the day for me, with Satellite Party generating a lot of interest. There's Nuno from Extreme on guitar and Perry Farrell from Janes Addiction on vocals, although you'd be hard pressed to recognise him from those days as he's gone for some sort of slick city dude image. They also have what looks like a former stripper on backing vocals - always a nice touch. I've not got their Payloded CD, but after seeing 'em live I'll definitely be getting it.

There was a real buzz, and a real crush, prior to the arrival of Motley Crue and what an entrance they make. Dr Feelgood explodes from the PA and the band kick up a storm. Nikki Sixx still looks like the some kinda goth/punk/metal hybrid he always was, while Mick Mars moves around much more than he should if anything from their book The Dirt is to be believed. T-bone Lee pounds up a storm on the kit, but for me in Vince Neil that's the real surprise. He still has that nasal tone to his voice from time to time, but it seems to have been joined by a couple of mates called Power and Range since the last time I saw da Crue live. He also has the stage presence that only a seasoned pro can bring to a big gig, feeding of the energy from the crowd, then spitting it right back out with the next goof-ball chorus. It was just a greatest hits set, as they haven't done much new stuff of merit in the last ten years or so, but we get Wild Side, Home Sweet Home, Looks That Kill and a whole bunch of others so we don't care.

Unfortunately there wasn't much else on offer on either of the other stages either, so it was a case of putting up with the racket while waiting for Evanescence. Unfortunately they suffered exactly the same as the MCR boys had on Friday, with a very sparse but partisan crowd down the front, while the less open minded wandered off to find some bottles to throw. Amy is in great form on the vocals, although for me the band are a bit faceless. Totally faultless mind, especially the drummer who drives the set along with all the right dynamics, while the guys on the guitars and bass make all the right noises in the right places. There's a bit of added off-stage drama from either a keyboard player or a backing tape for most songs, while Amy pulls out the Baldwin grand piano for a couple of numbers. She seems a bit overwhelmed by the whole thing to start, but she grits her teeth and screams up a storm with a fine selection of tracks from both CD's. Interestingly, the keyboard she plays during the intro to Going Under sounds exactly the same as the grand piano, making you wonder if it's worth lugging such a huge thing up on stage. Still, it's rock and roll, so to hell with a bit of excess.

Last band of the day for me was Fastway on the small stage, with the not actually very Fast Eddie Clark on guitar - yep, him from the early days of Motorhead - and ex-Little Angels front man Toby Jepson on vocals. They play a few tracks that I recognise from the first couple of Fastway albums (yes, albums - this was way before CD's were invented….) and had some fun with some bluesy workouts that offered Toby the opportunity to show what he can do with a decent band if given the chance, and Eddie to show that he can still play a bit.

So that was it for me. I missed Linkin Park and Marilyn Manson to see other bands on the smaller stages on the Saturday, and decided that a quick getaway was better than Iron Maiden as headliners on Sunday, especially as the last CD I liked by them was Powerslave - and I didn't expect 'em to play too much of that!!!! See you at Download in 2008…...