Artists: Various
Venue: Manchester, Academy 1
Date: 11-13th October 2024
"The smiles on everyone’s faces were as bright as the recent Aurora Borealis, which had recently lit up the UK’s night skies."
Friday
Strolling into the Academy 1, I got to see for the first time the fantastic stage set up with the Firefest logo emblazoned across a large screen. It was a clever ploy by organiser Bruce Mee to have Graham Oliver’s Army open proceedings, playing songs from the early years of the mighty Saxon, a band at the vanguard of NWOBHM, and one, who back in the day, I liked as much, if not slightly more, than Iron Maiden.
Ten years on, the first song at Firefest 2024 was ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Gypsy’, met with great enthusiasm from the crowd that had gathered early doors. Singer, and part-time stand-up comedian, Brian Shaugnessy kept us royally entertained throughout the band’s one-hour set. I think his banter was lost on the younger and international audience, but was hysterical for us fifty-year-old-plus fans. The witty comments came thick and fast; the best being, “Looked at line up and thought what a bill. Coney Hatch, never thought the day would come that I would be on same bill as guy who wrote the Crossroads theme” (a British soap from the seventies whose theme tune was written by Tony Hatch). The sound was excellent from the get-go, as it was for all bands across the three days, with only a few minor gremlins, which were soon remedied. This was the best lighting, sound and stage presentation of any Firefest, or any other festival, I’ve attended over the last forty-two years.
‘Strong Arm Of The Law’ brought the first singalong of the weekend, followed by the iconic ‘Denim & Leather’, incongruously, I wasn’t wearing either. Then it was way back to 1979 for ‘Frozen Rainbow’ and ‘Backs To The Wall’ from the eponymous Saxon debut.
This may be the one and only time I could forgive people talking whilst the band were on stage. The crowd increased throughout the set, and as it did, more people saw friends they hadn’t seen in years. The smiles on everyone’s faces were as bright as the recent Aurora Borealis, which had recently lit up the UK’s night skies.
“This one Saxon wrote about the assignation of a British violinist,” quipped Shaugnessy as guitarists Graham Oliver and Gav Coulson, along with powerhouse rhythm section Jamie Mallender (bass) and Rod Fearnley (drums) launched into my all-time favourite Saxon classic, ‘Dallas 1 PM’, albeit minus the taped commentary of the assassination of President of the United States John F. Kennedy in 1963.
‘Princess Of The Night’ with its amazing riff was dedicated to the celebrity, Lancashire steeplejack Fred Dibnah, before the band introductions. Talking of incredible riffs, ‘747 (Strangers In The Night)’ had the crowd banging (well nodding) their heads in appreciation. Original Saxon guitarist Oliver provided the guitar solo intro to ‘Motorcycle Man’, just leaving ‘Wheels of Steel’, although I’m not sure what Biff Byford would make of the inclusion of The Proclaimers ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’ in the Metal classic.
Never mind ‘Bullseye’ coming back, Firefest was back…and the bands played on! (Mark Donnelly)
Photos by Myke Gray © Myke Gray Photography
Lionheart’s appearance at Firefest was on the back of their well received third album since their reformation, ‘Grace Of A Dragonfly’, which was released earlier in the year. Speaking to the band beforehand this was their first live performance since 2017, mainly due to the huge number of other commitments of the individual band members. They had been rehearsing earlier in the week but not necessarily with all band members present all of the time. So, with this backdrop even veteran performer guitarist Dennis Stratton admitted to being somewhat nervous before going on stage!
However, they need not have worried as when they entered the stage with opener ‘Give Me The Light’ it was like they had never been away, albeit they were hampered early on by sound problems which meant that the classy vocals of Lee Small were way down in the mix, and with various unsolicited feedback from the guitars, Stratton announcing that he had horrible noises going right through his head! Notwithstanding all this, they carried on without undue moaning like the true professionals they are, and the issues did seem to abate somewhat, allowing us to fully appreciate the vocals of Lee Small who in my opinion is the most underrated singer in the Melodic Rock genre.
In terms of the set, this sampled material from across all three albums since their reformation and even three tracks from their long lost 1984 CBS release ‘Hot Tonight’. Highlights were the Stratton autobiographical ‘30 Years’, introduced by the man himself saying that it should really have been called ‘40 Years’ but that didn’t scan so well! And by the time the band got to ‘The Longest Night’ and ‘Don’t Pay The Ferryman’ they were really getting into their stride.
The harmony backing vocals of Steve Mann, Rocky Newton and Stratton give the band their signature sound and these were excellent as always, and for this set the band were augmented by keyboard player Alan Nelson, allowing Mann to concentrate on lead guitar in harmony with Stratton, another key element of the band’s sound.
The band concluded their set in fine style with ‘V Is For Victory’ and the spoken word anti-war reprise from their latest release and, despite the sound problems which unluckily only seemed to affect them, gave a smallish but enthusiastic crowd exactly what they wanted and indeed wanting more, but how likely that is given the schedules of the band members remains to be seen. (Simon Smith)
Photos by Myke Gray © Myke Gray Photography
Providing a synergy with the last Firefest in 2014, Coney Hatch were one of the main draws of this year’s festival. This was arguably the biggest crowd of the three days, so I wasn’t alone in my view. The quartet from Toronto, Canada, still boast three original members; Carl Dixon (lead vocals and guitars), Andy Curran (lead vocals and bass), and Dave “Thumper” Ketchum (drums); the quartet are completed by guitarist Sean Kelly who replaced Steve Shelski ten years ago.
‘Blown Away’ got the show off to a cracking start, with both the band and crowd really up for it. The video backdrop displayed various Coney Hatch images and logos, including a Cheap Trick style triple-paired one. ‘Heavens On The Other Side’ was one of the new tracks, which featured on last year’s ‘Postcard From Germany’ live album, before we got to the main attraction. As promised, the band played the whole of the ‘Friction’ opus in its entirety, and in its original running order, starting with the brilliant ‘This Ain’t Love’. To say that the atmosphere cranked up a level would be an understatement. Dixon and Curran spoke about each song before the band performed them to perfection. Dixon acknowledged that ‘She’s Gone’ is a lot of fans’ favourite song, although ‘Girl From Last Night’s Dream’ received an even louder reaction. ‘Fantasy’, surely their crowning glory, had the hairs on my arm rising and the crowd going wild. I’m reliably informed that ‘Coming To Get You’ and ‘Burning Love’ were performed live for the first time ever, not that you would have realised. And before you knew it, they’d played the whole album. Being greedy, I was hoping for the bonus track ‘Fuel For The Fire’, but they continued with’ Fallen Angel’ including a snippet of Golden Earring’s ‘Radar Love’.
One of the reasons why this Canadian band are so popular is that they’ve not got one, but two, great front men. Dixon, looking very dapper in his three-piece shiny black suit, brings the style, melody and harmonies to the band, whilst Curran, in his denim jacket and porkpie hat delivers the Rock ‘n’ Roll attitude in spades.
The popular ‘Hey Operator’ was followed by an awesome ‘Marseille’, with Curran on lead vocals, as good, if not better, than The Angels’ original, in my humble opinion. ‘Devil’s Deck’ is where it all started for Coney Hatch back in 1982 and would have been an ideal dénouement; however, we had one last song, the Marmite track in their back catalogue: ‘Monkey Bars’. Personally, I’d have preferred ‘Don’t Say Make Me’, but it did not detract from what was a superb set, and in true Firefest tradition, one that’s never likely to be seen again. They began with ‘Blown Away’ and ninety minutes later we definitely all were. (Mark Donnelly)
Photos by Myke Gray © Myke Gray Photography
Heavy Pettin’ are one of those “nearly” bands from the eighties who should have been massive but didn’t quite make the big time like some of their contemporaries. On the face of it they had everything going for them, their first album ‘Letting Loose’ was produced by Brian May and they had the look and sound to get to the next level, but a familiar tale of the record company trying to make them into the next Def Leppard and inter band tensions led to them throwing in the towel towards the end of the eighties. Fast forward to 2017 and the band reformed, initially featuring the two main creative forces in the band, vocalist Hamie and guitarist Gordon Bonnar, before old tensions resurfaced and Bonnar departed. So the 2024 version of the band only contains one founder member, the aforementioned Hamie, and the line-up is completed by Dave Boyce on bass, Dave Aitken and Richie Dews (ex Dare) on guitars and Mick Ivory on drums.
So, this was the lineup that headlined the Friday night of Firefest. This status had some advantages in that the band were able to have a full sound check in the afternoon, even managing to record a video for a forthcoming single, but the disadvantage was that by the time they came on stage at 11pm the crowd had thinned out considerably. I suspect the reasons for this were twofold; firstly a lot of people had come specifically to see the preceding act Coney Hatch, and secondly the lack of any public transport after 12 pm. Notwithstanding this, the band came on and gave it their all with a mixture of songs from their two big eighties albums, ‘Letting Loose’ and ‘Rock Ain’t Dead’, and some new songs due to be released next year on an album of new material. The band is a really tight unit with some experienced and talented players, and Hamie’s vocals were still really strong and to be honest better than I remembered or expected! His accent between songs was fascinating, being a weird cross between Glaswegian and the West Coast of America where I believe he has lived for many years!
Highlights for me were some of the old classics; ‘Love x Love’, ‘Sole Survivor’ and ‘In And Out Of Love’ and of the new songs I particularly enjoyed ‘Mother Earth’. However, whilst I appreciate the desire to showcase the new material, four new songs that the audience had not heard before was probably pushing it a bit. Another lowlight for me was the closing number ‘Throw A Party’ which even in its heyday was a bit cliched, but here not helped by extended solos and rather tedious attempts at audience participation. However, that having been said this was an enjoyable set from a band who proved they still have much to offer, and I for one will be investigating their new album when it appears next year. (Simon Smith)
Photos by Myke Gray © Myke Gray Photography
Saturday
Lost Weekend opened the Firefest Saturday show to a decent sized crowd and it was immediately apparent that the band were as tight as a camel’s ass in a sandstorm! Starting off with ‘Seize The Day’, the band showed no signs of rustiness despite not having played together for ten years. ‘Back Street Livin’’ and ‘Forever Moving On’ followed, with superb fretwork from Dave “Tommo” Thompson. The crowd were lapping it up and singer Paul Uttley’s performance was as good as any time I’ve seen him.
‘Can You Believe’ and ‘Angel Sublime’ were highlights for me of a great set, and it was good to see so many happy faces in the crowd and even some singing along. The whole band looked like they were enjoying themselves on stage, and ‘All Hands Fire’ cemented their Melodic Rock pedigree with seeming ease.
‘Lid Off’ was the heaviest song in their repertoire today and you can see and hear from this that they can rip up the joint if required! The band finished with ‘Stone Hearted Woman’ where again “Tommo” Thompson excels on guitar. The lads left the stage to great applause and I felt the audience would have been very happy to hear another couple of songs. Throughout the performance the sound and lights were perfect, and plaudits must go to the sound and lights guys. Here’s hoping the band continue to perform and perhaps release some long-awaited new music. (Stuart Dryden)
Photos by Myke Gray © Myke Gray Photography
As happens in every edition at Firefest, Bruce and the guys always sweat and try and get some of the classic “obscure and beloved” bands to reform and/or play some classic albums at the Festival. I think we can add Atlantic to this thought. I was really looking forward to this show and they did not disappoint anyone, taking the stage by storm in the shape of those perfectly crafted songs and musicianship. Simon Harrison was the only remaining member since 1994’s debut album, recruiting members and ex-members from bands like Grim Reaper, Serpentine, Idol Rich, etc. Harrison is the brain of the project, so no worries about the songs and quality here, but…are we going to miss Phil Bates’ voice live?
Starting off with ‘Can’t Hold On’ from the 1994’s first album ‘Power’, we knew that we were in for something extra special. Then we’re in for four songs from the perfectly crafted second album ‘Another World’, in a row: ‘Without Love’ is a hauntingly beautiful, up-tempo AOR ballad, ‘Missing You’ a mid-paced AOR rocker with beautiful tones coming out of Ian Nash and Nick Burr’s guitars, ‘Dream About You’ an AOR ballad resembling Journey’s most beautiful melodies, and ‘Whole Lotta Love’ with that marvelous guitar riff reminding us all of The Storm’s ‘I’ve Got a Lot to Learn About Love’! Wow… what a perfect AOR sequence!
It’s impressive how, despite doubts over Mark Grimmett’s voice and if he was a good choice for the band, he conquered the audience within minutes, proving to be a perfect choice. Moving on, the band got us back to the listening pleasure and memory of the first album with ‘Nothing To Lose’ bringing tears to my eyes.
Moving on, we are presented with ‘This Ain’t Love’, a great rocker reminding me of the awesome Bad Company. ‘It’s Only Love’ from ‘Power’ came next and it’s followed by ‘Hold On’, another AOR ballad, but from the second album. Beautiful, complex and “eerie” keyboards from Tim Bristow and a perfect mix from the live sound engineer, as there were seven people on stage and I could hear every detail. We’re talking about 3 guitars and several backing vocals!
Finishing off the set with the impressive ‘Ready Or Not’, first track from ‘Another World’, just showed everyone that perfect AOR is still alive and well. All the set was perfectly played by the band who has in Mark Pullin and Julian Hill a drum and bass duo with steady, pulsating and synchronized rhythms. With these songs, we can’t criticize anything more, just thank them for a perfect set! (Durval Gama)
Photos by Myke Gray © Myke Gray Photography
After being on an AOR high for most of the Atlantic set, it was time for Mad Max to hit the stage. I thought switching to the hard-rocking, riff-laden sound of Mad Max would be more challenging than it was, but if there is one thing I love about festivals like these it is that you get to hear every single sub-genre of the Melodic Rock we love, which keeps it fresh and exciting. With guitarist Jurgen Breforth as the sole remaining original member and fronted by young up-and-comer Steven Screamz, the band delivered a set filled with infectious riffs, thunderous harmonies, and sing-along choruses, focusing primarily on classic albums like ‘Night Of Passion’ and ‘Rollin’ Thunder.’
The band sounded tight, and the vocals, while not overly polished, were delivered with power and conviction. Classic Mad Max favorites like ‘Burning The Stage,’ ‘Starcrossed Lovers’ and ‘Heroes Die Lonely’ were played to almost perfection. The set ended on the highest possible note with the aforementioned ‘Night Of Passion,’ a song that, with the proper amount of record label support and promotion, could have easily been a hit in the American market back in the eighties.
Special kudos to the Firefest crew. Every show throughout the three days of the festival started right on time, and the transitions between bands were seamless, to say the least. Last but not least, all my gratitude to Bruce Mee who took it upon himself to ensure the event happened no matter what. I wish we Melodic Rock enthusiasts could steer clear of taking sides and just embrace these events for what they are: a celebration of the music we’ve loved for decades and a tribute to our Rock ‘n’ Roll heroes who still have the cojones to get up on stage and battle through the limitations that come with age. (Juan Aboud)
Photos by Myke Gray © Myke Gray Photography
I’ve been eager to watch Kingdom Of Madness for a long time since Mark Stanway (Magnum’s ex-keyboard player), teamed up with his long time bandmates Micky Barker (drums), Richard Bailey (keyboards/flute) with new members Mo Birch (vocals), Chris Dando (vocals), Brian Badhams (bass) and Alan Bell (guitars).
Expectations were high and the band kicked off with ‘So Cold The Night’ from 1979, Magnum’s 2nd album. A wonderful track that I couldn’t imagine they’d be playing that night.
Once you get past the strange feeling of not having Bob Catley’s vocals and having Chris Dando and Mo Birch, in his place, you get used to it and think wow, what a great band! First impressions were strange because Dando has a theatrical Broadway-like voice acrobatics and Birch has these Tina Turner mannerisms and looks. Once you get past that strange feeling, you start to love the band and their perfect blend of a Magnum Tribute with some former members and a Broadway Rock musical.
Moving on with ‘Back To Earth’ with its great chorus, from 82’s marvelous ‘Chase The Dragon’, you know that you’re in for a great night and set of special songs and deep cuts. Keeping pace, we are rewarded with one of the greatest Magnum tracks of all time: the awesome ‘Wild Swan’ from the mighty ‘Wings Of Heaven’. Back in time a little more, the band started the chords for ‘The Prize’ from ‘The Eleventh Hour’. ‘Le Morts Dansant’, sung by Mo Birch, gave the track a special emotion, reminding us all how much Tony Clarkin’s compositions are so special. Amazingly, next we get a pearl from the underrated ‘Rock Art’ album from 1994: the great high tech AOR track ‘Love’s A Stranger’. Adding some bits to the metronome, the band start the great ‘Start Talking Love’, again from the monster ‘Wings Of Heaven’.
How can we go wrong from what’s to come, which made the people sing their lungs off: ‘All England’s Eyes’ from the classic ‘On a Storyteller’s Night’ (1985) with its great riff played by Alan Bell, and the classic ‘Soldier Of The Line’ from with its guitar/keyboard duets and all those harmonious backing vocals. ‘Only In America’ from 1992’s ‘Sleepwalking’ is a great rocker that was perfectly executed by the band. Birch sung the next one, the overly beautiful ‘On A Storyteller’s Night’, and when we had the break for “Keep the night light burning…” the crowd went mad and sang with the band. Totally magic.
Almost at the end of the show, we finally are presented with the classic ‘Kingdom Of Madness’ then as the final sequence comes, the band choose to end the show, slowing down the pace, with the ballad ‘The Lights Burned Out’ (with Birch on vocals), which is a classic, but a slow burner at that time of the show. Anyway, for a good reason as it was dedicated to Tony Clarkin… and for the special end, we’ve got ‘Sacred Hour’. This one obviously, with that Hard Rock crescendo, made us rejoice in happiness. Awesome harmonized vocals everywhere. All in all, Mark Stanway and bandmates did very well with an amazing show, superb musicianship and a wonderful set list! (Durval Gama)
Photos by Myke Gray © Myke Gray Photography
I arrived on Saturday with a list of fantastic concerts to attend, but the most eagerly awaited is Skagarack. First time and maybe the only time I’ll be able to see the band. First song ‘Open Your Eyes’ from ‘A Slice of Heaven’ requires adjustments to the sound and, unfortunately, the realisation that vocalist Torben Schmidt has had his voice damaged by some problem that they later commented could be a very strong cold or even laryngitis; his voice was almost inaudible. The show continued with ‘Move It In the Night’, ‘Damned Woman’ and ‘Lies’, but even with the vigor of the new guys in the band, Dennis Perdersen (drums), Rasmus Lund Matthiesen (bass), Ken Rai Smith (keyboards) and the enthusiasm of Jan Petersen (original guitarist), the songs don't excite and some of this, I repeat, is due to Schmidt’s lack of voice.
It's followed by ‘Heart And Soul’ from the last album, ‘Angel Eyes’ from ‘A Slice of Heaven’, then ‘Peace Of Mind’, also from the last album ‘Heart And Soul’, where the band seems to adapt a bit more. Then comes ‘Sweet Dreams’, a sensational instrumental in which Jan Petersen shows all his skill and quality in his solos. We entered the last part of the show with a considerable improvement in Schmidt’s sound and voice... ‘I'm Alone’ from the debut and ‘Where Have You Been’ from the last album. During the last four songs the group and the audience get carried away and sing all the songs, especially ‘Anytime, Anywhere’ and ‘Hungry For A Game’, highlights where Manchester literally goes wild and the songs infect everyone.
Show over, and I don’t want to judge the band and especially Torben Schmidt for his bad voice. I hope to see them again and then, on a better day, I’ll be able to see a better show and thus admire this band I’ve waited so long to see live... and it was worth every song, every note, every solo. Thank you Skagarack. (Eder J. Fernandes)
Photos by Myke Gray © Myke Gray Photography
Cats In Space is a band I have known for a long, long time, so this show was highly anticipated. Their album ‘Time Machine’ dropped almost a week later, so I eagerly awaited new tracks to be played live that day, and that’s what we’ve got! The track ‘Time Machine’ from the eponymous album starts with a notorious tribute to the The Who’s ‘Baba O’Riley’ before forging its own path, showcasing the band’s harmonized vocal prowess. An awesome start for us die-hard CIS connoisseurs who want novelties all the time. In a real time machine we flew back to 2017, back to the sophomore CIS album ‘Scarecrow’, with one of yours truly’s favorites, ‘Clown In Your Nightmare’. The stage presence and PA mixing were impressive, making us hear all the backing vocals, harmonies and details. Damien Edwards’ has a different style to his predecessor Paul Manzi, but is a great vocalist indeed.
Chords from a Fender Rhodes led us into the beautiful intro for the semi ballad ’Kickstart The Sun’ from 2022’s eponymous album. Always impressive, these vocal harmonies from the Cats claim the best from the seventies, some of the eighties and the best from the future, creating their unique sound… unbelievable. The band moved along with ‘Teenage Millionaires’ from the same album. A CIS favourite for sure! Dean Howard’s guitar instrumental ‘Broken Hearted’ led us right to 2020’s ‘Revolution’ where the band clearly pay homage to The Sweet with all the vocal harmonies, portamento and chord progression. Greg Hart must be one of the most underrated composer geniuses of all time. Most of the people don’t realise and don’t know where he came from, but the guitar man from British treasure bands Moritz, If Only and GTS should be much more recognised for his work globally… and what a great stage presence! One of best guitar players of the weekend in many senses, and I’m not talking about technique; am talking about playing guitar for the song, prioritising it.
More of the great new album kicks in with ‘Immortal’ and ‘Occam’s Razor (Not The End Of The World)’ evoking all of those seventies influences the band’s known for. My heart almost stopped when I started listening to Jeff Brown’s pumping bass guiding us to 2019’s track ‘Thunder In The Night’, Disco/AOR greatness and a personal favorite of mine.
The set closer ‘Mad Hatter’s Tea Party’ blows the speaker next with its Supertramp keyboard intro, mixing all their influences and, as I wrote before, creating something unique.
We’ve got the encore with the successful ‘Hologram Man’ followed by ’I Fell Out Of Love With Rock ‘n’ Roll’. The band strangely chose a ballad as a night closer, but as the crescendo progresses and the music grows, you sense that it’s a perfect tribute for the night and for us to celebrate a band that oozes class. Cats In Space belongs to the higher league of bands that make the impossible, turn into reality. Unforgettable. (Durval Gama)
Photos by Myke Gray © Myke Gray Photography
When Firefest 2024 was announced, I was thrilled to see the original Touch listed as co-headliner for day two! It brought back fond memories of their last performance in Nottingham a decade ago, featuring Goran Edman on vocals. While it was a bummer that Doug Howard couldn’t make it this time, guitarist Craig Brooks and keyboard extraordinaire Mark Mangold stepped up to lead the vocal duties, transforming the evening into a journey through AOR magic and nostalgia. The first Touch album is a cornerstone in the Melodic Rock scene. It’s incredible to think these timeless tracks were created before Journey’s ‘Frontiers’ or Foreigner’s ‘Agent Provocateur’. This timeline emphasises the influence of Touch’s self-titled classic on both fans and fellow musicians!
The set was mainly composed of songs from Touch’s debut, sprinkled with additional tracks from the reunion CD they put out in 2021. Songs like ‘Black Star’, ‘So High’ and ‘When The Spirit Moves You’ remain staples of the Melodic Rock genre. I must give a massive shout out to Mark Mangold, who passionately sang the outro chorus of’ ‘Don’t You Know What Love Is?’ just like in the original recording. It was so vibrant and heartfelt ...no backing tracks, just pure talent on display!
The band played for roughly an hour and a half, which is rare at festivals, where all bands are limited to an hour at most. Towards the end of the set, Mangold and the boys served us the massive Cher hit ‘I Found Someone’. The excitement in the crowd was palpable, with people eagerly capturing the moment on their phones. Yes, phones can sometimes be a distraction, but let’s be honest, how often do you get to see this song performed by the original band?
To cap off the night, I was over the moon to snag a Touch t-shirt, which I can’t wait to show off back home in the US! Plus, the merchandise was reasonably priced, and the brand-new CDs were a fantastic deal, giving AOR lovers an excellent opportunity to expand their collections. (Juan Aboud)
Photos by Myke Gray © Myke Gray Photography
It’s been forty one and a half years since I first discovered Grand Prix supporting Iron Maiden at the Manchester Apollo. I was blown away by their performance which included songs from their just released ‘Samurai’ album. Irishman Robin McAuley possessed a great set of pipes. I went and bought the album the next day. It was a very pleasant surprise for yours truly when four years later he hooked up with my favourite guitarist and formed McAuley Schenker Group (MSG). Over the next few years, the group released (at least to these ears) three superlative albums. McAuley was heavily involved in the composition of the songs. Unfortunately, he wasn't particularly prolific over the ensuing twenty five years, until he teamed up with Herr Schenker once again for the MSF album / tour. As a result, I was fortunate enough to see them tour all over Europe and McAuley was singing as powerfully as ever.
This activity ignited the singer’s desire to record a new solo album ‘Standing On The Edge’ in 2021 which was critically well received, as was the follow up (last year’s ‘Alive’ album). To say that I was excited would be the understatement of the year when it was announced that Robin McAuley would be headlining Firefest 2024 on the Saturday night. Fast forward twelve months, here I am at Manchester Academy on a chilly evening. The vocalist’s band consists of MD and lead guitarist Keith Atack (formerly from seventies band Child) keyboardist / guitarist Ged Rylands (Tyketto), Wayne Banks on bass and drummer Josh Devine (One Direction).
Atack initially enters the stage alone and we’re up and away with ‘Save Yourself’, the title track from the second McAuley Schenker album, it’s heavy as hell and the vocalist sounds in fine fettle, taking control of the crowd from the get go. Next up is ‘Generation Mind’, the title track from Black Swan’s second opus and the crowd are really enjoying themselves as are this new band on stage. McAuley makes a point of thanking the Brazilian contingent who have made the journey halfway across the world for the festival. ‘Standing On The Edge’ quickly follows (worry not, not every song is a title track). The band, considering they’ve only rehearsed for a day and a half, are as tight as a gnat’s ass!
‘This Is My Heart’ has the crowd singing along and it’s a pleasure to witness this McAuley Schenker classic. Then we are treated to an amazing surprise – Phil Lanzon and Michael O’Donoghue, founding members of Grand Prix join the party as backing vocalists for ‘Keep On Believing’ and ‘Shout’. The crowd are delirious and you can’t help but notice McAuley’s joy and pride on sharing the stage with his fellow band members after all this time. MSG favourites ‘Anytime’ and ‘Love Is Not A Game’ keep the bar high and the band continue to excel, all playing their part and then some…we are not worthy! Solo numbers ‘Alive’ and ‘Say Goodbye’ sandwich the MSG ballad ‘When I’m Gone’ and McAuley nails the vocal (as always). The classic ‘Gimme Your Love’ closes the main set in style with some killer soloing from Atack.
It’s reunion time once again for the first encore when Lanzon and O’Donoghue are back on stage and this time it is for the majestic ‘Samurai’. It is difficult to put into words what an unbelievable moment this was for myself, the rest of the crowd and for the three former Grand Prix members…wow oh wow! The only downside is that the next song is the final one of the night and it’s the classic ‘Don’t Fear The Reaper’ which McAuley sang on the Circle Of Friends debut.
That was one of the fastest ninety minutes in gig history! The band truly were on fire, the setlist was amazing and Robin McAuley – well, what can I say…the vocalist is almost seventy-two and his voice still sounds fantastic. He is the consummate professional and effortlessly had the crowd eating out of his hands. This show was something special and one can only hope for a live recording to mark the brilliant occasion. (Az Chaudhry)
Photos by Myke Gray © Myke Gray Photography
Sunday
As with all previous Firefest weekends, there’s always a band you don’t know much or anything about that takes the festival by storm. Supremacy were that band! Hailing from South America, this powerful Melodic Rock quartet wowed the audience into submission. Starting off with ‘Passing Through’ showed their intentions with superb musicianship and classy vocals akin to Ronnie Romero. The crowd were lapping it up and no sooner had ‘No One Like You’ burst into life it was clear that this band were going to make people’s day. Not sure if they will add a touring keyboard player, as some of these songs have additional keyboard fills on their respective albums. Melodic Rock with added bite and by the hand claps and fist pumps in the venue there was no doubt the excitement level was rising.
For the next two songs, ‘Sin Paradise’ and ‘My Time’, singer Gus Monsanto joined in with acoustic guitar, but this didn’t take away any of the directness of the songs and the sheer melodic class. Bass player Paul St. Lyonne, already looking like a young Marco Mendoza, started the song off seated. The later was probably my favourite song of their set and garnered a smile from a rather battle-worn face! Throughout the show the band appeared to be enjoying themselves and always showed their appreciation to the audience and Firefest organisers. A piercing guitar riff introduced ‘Sirius’ and this was a serious (see what I did there?) Melodic Rock song of great style and groove. The guitar work of Danny Acosta was shown at it’s best on this track.
‘Mr. Big Shot’ was next and Monsanto informs the audience that the ex-Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick appears on this on the album. This is perhaps their heaviest song of the afternoon and is another faultless display of crowd-pleasing Hard Rock. The band then throw a curve-ball with a cover of Ozzy’s ‘Shot In The Dark’, and whilst it’s not a patch on the original they make a decent job of it. The songer popped off stage for a minute during the fretwork and not for the first time. Maybe someone had poured him a cup of tea! Finishing off with ‘Indigo Children’ was another masterclass of a song and cemented the band in the hearts of the Firefest audience. This is a band to watch as I can only imagine they’re on an upward trajectory and I would love to see them perform again. (Stuart Dryden)
Photos by Myke Gray © Myke Gray Photography
I was looking forward to Spanish songstress Gabrielle de Val and she did not disappoint. She started her set with ‘Natural High’, a catchy Melodic number that enticed the crowd to move closer to the stage. Following up with ‘Fuel To The Fire’ again showed off her vocal talents and what a tight rhythm section she has behind her.
Next came ‘Candle In The Window’ which appears to have become somewhat of a signature tune, beautifully augmented by the colourful keyboardist player. Some nice guitar work, and as with all the bands over the weekend the sound and lights were great.
Who doesn’t love ABBA? A cover of their song ‘Tiger’ was attempted but didn’t quite cut the mustard for me. It felt a bit forced and Gabrielle’s stage antics were a little too cheesy!
Next came the first of several special guests, none other than Tanya Rizkala from Melodic Rock band Epic. A duet of ‘Love Is Tough’ from the first ‘Circle Of Friends’ album was beautifully performed and there’s no doubt Rizkala has a really strong set of pipes. By the crowd reaction this went down very well, and when Rizkala broke into ‘The Girl From Lebanon’ it felt that she was taking over the stage, especially as she was joined by Robert Säll from Work Of Art.
Gabrielle de Val returned with ‘Moonlight Shadow’ and instigated an audience sing-a-long on this popular song of yesteryear. I must admit I remembered the words without hesitation and really enjoyed the band’s interpretation of the Mike Oldfield classic.
The guests just keep on coming as Robin McAuley arrived to great fanfare and proceeded to duet with Gabrielle on ‘Kiss In A Dragon Night’ which was the highlight of an enjoyable set. Finishing off with ‘Cry Wolf’ (which will be the title track for her forthcoming album) and ‘Take On The World’ confirmed a successful repertoire of songs in a somewhat stop/start set due to the number of guests. (Stuart Dryden)
Photos by Myke Gray © Myke Gray Photography
I am a Michael Bormann addict; one of the best voices of Rock ‘n’ Roll and a down to earth, talented human being. I can’t thank him enough for starting this Jaded Hard project which was, for me, a really anticipated show, and I can say that my expectations were surpassed! Setting thing off with ‘Heaven Is Falling’ from 1997’s ‘Mystery Eyes’, we all know we’re in for a treat! A classic Jaded Heart tracks, presented with a cohesive and well-rehearsed band, was one of the great intros of the festival with Bormann singing his ass off, and guitarist Andreas Rippelmeier sounding and performing like a beast.
“New” stuff from 2019 is presented with a double dose from Jaded Hard’s ‘Feels Like Yesterday’ release in form of the Hard Rock tracks ‘Feel Like I’m Living’ and the title track, totally resembling his former band, which sounded awesome!
Band mates Chris Ivo (keyboards), Michael Müller (drums) and Christoph Baumeister (bass) gave their perfect musicianship and secured a solid ground for Bormann to shine. And for a surprise, we’re presented with ‘Help’, a version of the Beatles song presented by Jaded Heart on their sophomore release ‘Slaves And Masters’. Some of the guys in the audience rushed in to buy some rare copies of this album in the merch booth right after listening to their live rendition of the song! Amazing how music touches people’s hearts.
AOR freaks rejoice! One more time to shed tears at the festival was urged during the rendition of ‘The Dream Is Over’ from ‘Slaves And Masters’; this sounded like a dream come true, I never thought one could hear this song live nowadays.
There’s some talk and criticism about the backing tapes used at the show. I tend to disagree in the case of Jaded Hard’s set, as it was used with a perfect volume just to add an extra weight and punch to the backing vocals. It never got in the way of real playing and singing, it just added layers of harmony.
Moving on to 2022, we got a chance to listen to ‘Heaven’ from Jaded Hard’s sophomore album ‘Power To Win’, another punch in the face of the non-believers. Changing set-lists a bit from the current tour, comes ‘No Hesitation’ from ‘Slaves and Masters’ again; this is a track I never thought they’d play that day, so I was happy about the surprise.
Hearts set on fire as we started listening to the keyboard intro of ‘Anymore’ from 2004’s ‘Trust’, a track that shows all of Bormann’s impressive vocals and compositions. Getting back to 1999 with the ‘IV’ album, the backing track started playing those children’s vocals we so wanted to hear, and ‘Live And Let Die’ comes soaring through the speakers. What an amazing song! How can we close a powerful set like this? Nearly impossible, unless you have a classic first album like 1994’s ‘Inside Out’ and that was it! The title track closed the set for a night that will never be forgotten! (Durval Gama)
Photos by Myke Gray © Myke Gray Photography
One of the hardest slots on a three-day festival to fill must be the mid-to-late afternoon on the final day. It’s when fans start to wane and taking longer breaks in readiness for the last evening session. So, it was an obvious decision to ask Midnite City to fill this position and reinvigorate the energy levels. To be honest, I could have gone to the pub over the road and phoned in this review, and that’s no disrespect to the band; on the contrary, I knew they would deliver a first-class performance. I was not wrong!
The sirens from the intro ‘Outbreak’ signalled the arrival of Midnite City as they set off all guns blazing with ‘Ready to Go’, which featured Shawn Charvette (looking more and more like the lovechild of Nikki Sixx) on keytar, alongside bassist Josh “Tabbie” Williams, guitarist Miles “Shape-throwing” Meakin, drummer Ryan Briggs, and of course the indomitable Rob Wylde. The peroxide blonde-haired frontman whipped the crowd into a frenzy as the band stormed through songs from each of the four albums released to date.
There was a great sound and mix enhanced by a magnificent light show, courtesy of Lee Foster, which featured a lot of (deep) purples. Their traditional, eighties Hair Metal-inspired Melodic Rock, with a touch of Glam, proved to the perfect mid-afternoon tonic. It was hard to say who was enjoying the most, the Midnite Army or fans seeing the band for the very first time.
‘Atomic’, ‘Girls Gone Wild’ and ‘Someday’ maintained the early momentum, before ‘Hardest Heart To Break’ and ‘One Step Away’ allowed both the band and fans to catch their collective breaths. It’s hard to believe that it’s seven years since Midnite City released their first single and video ‘Summer Of Our Lives’, still sounding as fresh today.
Wylde took time to sincerely thank Bruce Mee for putting on such a great event, not easy in this day and age; also, acknowledged by the fans in the venue. The band looked to be truly having a blast, as were the crowd, and this was probably the best I’ve heard the backing vocals/harmonies (an integral part of the MC sound) courtesy of Williams and Charvette. ‘Raise The Dead’ and ‘They Only Come Out At Night’ are always a perfect pairing and a highlight of the set. During the band introductions Wylde jokingly referred to Meakin as, “The Gunnar to my Matthew,” alluding to the “Timotei Twins” , aka Nelson.
No one was arguing with Wylde when he announced, “It’s officially party time.” Cue: ‘Can’t Wait For The Night’, which included the cheesy singalong, “Team One” (Myles) versus “Team Two” (Josh).‘Gimme Love’ and ‘We Belong’ brought the set to a tumultuous climax. Need a guaranteed crowd-pleaser, just phone Midnite City! (Mark Donnelly)
Photos by Myke Gray © Myke Gray Photography
Jelusick are destined for bigger things. Here, that didn’t always work. Dino Jelusick has a superb voice, powerful and emotional, just amazing, the album is excellent and the band arrive with much Hard Rock attack and headbanging. And no vocal sound for a moment. Dino went to his keyboards, no sound. He ditched his in-ear monitors.
And then things picked up. Their classic Rainbow feel sounds just right and although there’s a cover from earlier in Ritchie Blackmore’s career, the cover of Deep Purple’s ‘Burn’ with drummer Mario Lepoglavec singing the Glenn Hughes parts a little lower, he’s back again for the verses of ‘The Healer’ with the bass rumbling away and a great chorus.
Many gestures to the sound guy and a regular walk to check the keyboard, even when he wasn’t due to use it, showed some show trouble, as did his upbraiding of the crowd when they weren’t excited enough with bassist Luka Broderick’s solo – not the best move. Earlier there’d been mentions of a long set and the ninety minutes with only one album’s worth of material led to the bass solo and vocal and piano section.
Still, this was good overall, but almost not. He’s only young, Mr Jelusick (he informed us that we reminded him of a time he wasn’t born) and there’s time for him to become the huge star he clearly should be. (Steve Swift)
Photos by Myke Gray © Myke Gray Photography
Steve (aka Stiv) Overland and Firefest will always inherently be linked together, as FM reformed to headline, in what was initially supposed to be a one-off gig back in 2007. From that show, the mighty FM reformed permanently and are still going strong today. Over the last twenty-four years, outside of FM, Stiv has released albums with So!, The Ladder, Shadowman, Groundbreaker, Kings Of Mercia, and Lonerider to name but a few; however, tonight’s set was all about music he’d released on his six solo albums under the moniker Overland, with a couple of notable exceptions. Until this evening, he had only ever played one of these songs live.
Supporting the FM lead vocalist was an all-star band to rival the ones assembled by The Beatles’ drummer Ringo Starr. The stellar rhythm section of drummer Bob Richards (AC/DC, Asia) and Neil Fairclough (Adam Lambert & Queen), ex-FM keyboard player Didge Digital, backing singers Sonia Jones (who sang the title-track from ‘Monty Python’s Life Of Brian’) and Scott Towns (Steve Overland’s Social Media Manager), plus the very humble, always smiling, Robert Säll (Work Of Art, W.E.T.). Unbelievably, these seven talented musicians only first assembled, in Stockport, for rehearsals, four days prior to tonight, as they sounded like they had been playing together for years.
I usually like to know the setlist prior to the show, but this evening, like most, I was completely in the dark; however, loved all the songs played, particularly those from last year’s ‘S.I.X’ opus: ‘Disconnected’, ‘Together Alone’, ‘I Hear Your Voice’, and ‘How Does it Feel’. I know Stiv loves playing the FM songs, but you could tell he was having a blast singing something different. Three songs in, the captivating singer enquired how many people had the Overland albums. His response to the large cheers was, “Thank fuck for that!” Indeed, this was the largest gathering on the Sunday. Even those hearing those songs for the very first time were really enjoying themselves as they were so well executed. We even got a new song, ‘Getting Closer’ from the forthcoming Lonerider album ‘Down In the Dust’. Another must-buy from the Steve Overland discography.
Another heartfelt thank-you to Bruce Mee preceded ‘Like A River’, the only track from the debut Overland album, released way back in 1952 (sic) according to the singer. It wasn’t too long before the trademark “Whoa, whoa, whoa” made an appearance at the start of the brilliant ‘Edge Of The Universe’ from 2016’s ‘Contagious’. ‘Liberate My Heart’ was beautiful, and following ‘Radio Radio’, the singer introduced the band, and he could not have sounded prouder if he’d tried. Naturally, he had to finish with an FM song, one written with his older brother Chris, who sadly passed away last year. You could see Stiv welling up when talking about his sibling, it was a real lump in the throat moment. However, it was soon replaced with overjoyed emotion with ‘Tough It Out’, which surely was the mantra for Bruce Mee this weekend. Simply sensational. Another one to add to the long list of legendary Firefest performances. (Mark Donnelly)
Photos by Myke Gray © Myke Gray Photography
After numerous impressive shows throughout the day, I had mixed expectations for L.A. rockers Hurricane. Their reformed lineup, featuring only Tony Cavazo and Robert Sarzo from the original members, and a modest 2023 album release, led me to prefer them in a middle billing rather than headlining Firefest’s final day. Robert Sarzo’s absence from the live performance heightened anxiety, making Hurricane’s name sound like a cover band, despite Carlos Cavazo (Quiet Riot) skillfully handling guitar duties. While I admire Cavazo, it’s challenging to envision him as Hurricane’s guitarist without past collaborations or membership. The show blazed to life with ‘Rock Star Cheater’ from the 2023 release ‘Reconnected’. This standout track sets the tone – we’re rocking with the boys! It’s thrilling to see Cavazo shred in an intimate venue, up close to the audience. At first glance, new vocalist Dan Schumann may not visually embody the band’s image, but he delivers impressive vocals and tone. Replacing Kelly Hansen and winning over the crowd is not easy; let’s give him credit. ‘Over The Edge’ from their eponymous album comes next in the sequence – a great song I thought they’d save for the middle or near the end of the set, but perhaps they’ll throw in some surprises…
Next, ‘You and I’ takes the stage, a newer song that doesn’t particularly resonate with me, yet maintains the show’s momentum. Surprises came with ‘Don’t Want Anymore’ and ‘Crack The Whip’, classic 1980s rockers from the SNOW project, featuring brothers Tony and Carlos Cavazo. Reviving these songs delighted, but their impact on the band’s credibility remains uncertain. While enjoyable, these tracks are, at best, average. Notably, most attendees didn’t recognize them or sing along. To showcase more of their latest release, the band performed another track from ‘Reconnected’, the poignant ballad ‘Behind Your Shadow’, an excellent choice to momentarily slow the pace. Things take a groovy turn with ‘Dance Little Sister’ from Hurricane’s 1990 album ‘Slave To The Thrill’, my personal favorite. While replicating Doug Aldrich’s distinctive guitar tone, solo and Kelly Hansen’s vocals proves impossible, the band successfully captures some of the original’s essence. Carlos Cavazo’s improvisational solos noticeably deviate from Hurricane’s originals, suggesting minimal rehearsals preceded his performance. Great solos nonetheless.
In a thrilling twist, they launched into the iconic rhythm guitar riff from Quiet Riot’s ‘The Wild & The Young’. This electrifying surprise ignited the crowd for the first time, prompting mass sing-alongs. Cavazo’s guitar work made the moment exceptionally special. Quiet Riot’s set continued with the high-energy rocker ‘Run For Cover’ and the beloved, slow-burning, mid paced ballad ‘Don’t Wanna Let You Go’, both from their 1983 album ‘Metal Health’. Finally, Hurricane’s iconic hit ‘I’m On To You’ from their 1988 album ‘Over The Edge’ took center stage. This iconic song sparked fervent participation, with fans enthusiastically echoing its catchy “Na na na na na na” chorus. As if Quiet Riot covers weren’t enough, the encore dazzled with two blockbuster rockers from ‘Metal Health’: Slade’s iconic ‘Cum On Feel The Noize’ and the titular ‘Metal Health (Bang Your Head)’. These anthems ignited the crowd, fueling uninhibited singing and dancing.
In summary, Hurricane’s set was enjoyable but couldn’t match the brilliance of fellow performers that day. Reduced to a cover band with Tony Cavazo as the sole original, they performed only three timeless songs, three unfamiliar ones and multiple covers. These included two of Snow’s obscure tracks and five Quiet Riot renditions.
What we truly needed was a reunited Hurricane, performing more classic hits with at least three original members; that would’ve been ideal. Nevertheless, it was a great show. (Durval Gama)
Photos by Myke Gray © Myke Gray Photography
To see more superb photographs from Myke Gray from Firefest 2024. Please see his Facebook page and Instagram Page. Firefest Festivals Ltd and Fireworks Rock and Metal Magazine would like to say thank you to Myke for his stunning work over the three days.
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