Z-ROCK 2009
JB's, Dudley, UK - 29th May 2009
Line-up: Wig Wam, Steve Grimmett Band, Stampede, Redline, Angel House
Review by Jon Wilde, (crappy phone) pics by Jon Wilde
This gig was the first night of the annual Z-Rock festival held in Dudley, just south of Birmingham, UK. I unfortunately wasn't able to make the second night (shame when you consider the line-up included John Waite, Ted Poley and more) but a night 'climaxing' with Wig Wam is good by most accounts.
The actual build up to the gig was fraught as I didn't get any tickets. Even though they had been ordered a couple of months before the event, and 'apparently' posted not long after that, nothing ever arrived. Several (hundred) phone calls and e-mails later (the event organiser went on holiday for a week just when he should have been there sorting problems) I managed to get hold of someone and organise for the tickets to be on the door on the night of the gig. Amazingly they were there, but it was all massively unprofessional and not a great start.
The attendance on the night was, I would guess, around or just under 200. For a venue that looks like it should hold nearer a thousand people, and for such a good line-up of bands, the turn out was pathetic. However, if everybody else had as much hassle getting tickets as me (either this year or in a previous year) I'm not surprised the turn out was crap.
There was also the issue of a well publicised signing session which every band was apparently going to do. Did they materialize? Did they fu.. Band members were in the crowd if you wanted to go and have a chat with them, but the fact these very formal signing sessions were promised and not delivered on was again utterly unprofessional.
Anyway, onto the bands... First up was Angel House. Lead singer/guitarist Pete Easthope really does have a startling likeness to a younger Lord Bath (look him up on Google). The band put on a decent enough set but the crowd didn't seem to have woken up this early in the evening. The players were tight and skillful, but the music was perhaps a little one dimensional. Still, I enjoyed Angel House's set and would certainly be happy to see them play again.
Next on the stage was Redline. Lead singer Kez Taylor, in fact the whole band, put on a fine show and played some damned decent songs. Guitarist 'A.D.' looks like a cross between James Hetfield and the muscle-bound guitarist character from the Guitar Hero computer game. He played some mean riffs and really gave the band a hard rocking edge. The only downer was Kez's unnecessarily tight trousers which, thanks to Mrs Rock Realms' astute observations, had an eye-mauling Linford Christie thing going on. It was bloody off-putting, especially when he put his foot up on the monitors, but nothing a well placed hand (in front of my eyes) couldn't fix.
Stampede were a good band and most people seemed to rate them highly. Have to say they didn't do a great deal for me, but that says more about my personal tastes than their performance or talents. Lead singer Reuben Archer fancied himself as a David Coverdale clone even though his voice is hewn more from the Bob Catley brand of rock. Colin Bond's bass was lost in the mix which was a great shame - he really looked like he was a cracking player and it would have been good to have heard more of what he was pumping out.
Have to be honest, I didn't take a lot of notice of Steve Grimmett's set. He sounded good from where we were sat, but for me his music is of a style that works better on album. The man has a mighty voice and bundles of stage presence but there's a certain something missing when he's in the live atmosphere. The closest comparison I can make is seeing Yngwie Malmsteen. He is another artist who needs the perfection of a studio and a massive production to compliment his prodigious talent. Live, he sounds too constrained.
Final band, and the one everyone was waiting for was Wig Wam. I haven't seen them before, even though they were the very first band we interviewed on Rock Realms. Was it worth the wait? You betcha!
Front man Glam (Åge Sten Nilsen) is a colourful character to say the least. He strutted onto the stage wearing a headscarf, full length luminous red coat with some sort of pom-pom style periphery... and a flared spandex suit with obligatory exposed chest. He looked thoroughly over the top but we wouldn't have it any other way. If the man wandered out in jeans and a t-shirt it just wouldn't be Wig Wam.
It's easy to forget how many good songs the band have written until they reel off classic after classic. I don't think they've actually written a bad track yet. The fact they are all astonishingly brilliant musicians obviously helps. Wig Wam tend to come across as a piss take on the outside but, under the surface, these guys are as good as it gets.
Teeny (Trond Holter) does things with his guitar that would impress anyone. His take on Van Halen's 'Eruption', brilliantly entitled 'Erection' is a marvelous example. The real skill is the way he adds flourishes and touches at will through every song. The bit where he played a complex guitar solo behind his head was beyond mere showing off!
Flash (Bernt Jansen) on bass and Sporty (Øystein Andersen) on drums maybe get less credit than the other two, but they are both just as good at what they do and add a fantastic rhythm section to this great band.
Ultimately, though, the night was all about lead singer Glam. He may have fluffed his lines a couple of times, but the way he recovered, joked about it and got on with what he was doing is the mark of a great front man. I can't remember the last time I saw someone as good as him. Not sure I've ever seen anyone this good. He has a sensational voice, bundles of stage presence and the sort of fun personality you should be able to buy on prescription. Wig Wam promised they would be coming back to the UK later in the year... and a new album is on the way. I CAN'T WAIT!!!
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