Live Review

High Voltage Day 2 – Victoria Park, London

• 15th Aug 2010

Day Two:

A Little more bedraggled and with bags under our eyes we approached the festival gates for day two of High Voltage, there was more excitement and noticably more people flooding in for prog riffs, blinding sunshine and some deep gutteral metal beats. We decided to head over to the main stage to check out what the Quireboys were doing, after about 15 minutes of stading around watching the crew fiddling with wires and mic’s it became clear there was some form of “technical problem” so we thought it best to go and find some entertainment and booze until they had fixed things and took a wander down to the Wall Of Death (something everyone in the country had heard of or been to but us), we’d made it just in time to catch the next show so thought we’d go in and see what all the fuss was about, we found ourselves standing at the top of a 20ft high, ricketty wooden tube, looking down at a collection of old 1920’s Indian’s and a go-cart and before long were somewhat aghast at the crazy people driving said vehicles in circles horizontally on the wall without hands, in side saddle and even straddling the handlebars. Though we were less worried about the guy on the bike than the troupe of other riders stood at the bottom waiting for their turn, it was great fun and I’d suggest if you’re near one someday go in and check it out, it’s deffinately worth the £3 entrance.

With adrenaline pumping we went back to the main stage hoping the problem had been fixed and found the Quireboys playing to a mingling crowd, these guys describe themselves as hard rock and it was pleasant enough I suppose but not terribly interesting, the pretty boy singer Spike was fairly static on the gigantic stage and the watching crowd seemed (in my view at least) to be relatively un-moved, though granted this could simply have been their hangovers kicking in! we’d had enough of that and so went off to find our partners in crime who were investigating the Eagle Vision Cinema, which appeared to be using the building from Trash City (who recently performed at the Camden Roundhouse). We went inside to see what was happening and walked in to find them showing the classic rock movie Spinal Tap, so we stuck around for a ten minute giggle at the sillyness of it all.

After a quick bash on the dodgems and gaining a few extra bruises (that i’d later attribute to being hardcore and throwing myself about in a mosh pit) we went over to the “Wizards Hat” prog stage to catch some of Steve Hackett’s set, having grown up listening to early Genesis I was somewhat intreagued by what he had to offer in his solo work, unfortunately I was a little dissapointed, while he was technically very good and the sound was clear I was left a little cold by the show and the music. Not wanting to bring the mood down we left the fans who all seemed in repture to it and grabbed a bite of lunch (again stupidly priced with pathetic portions) and walked back to the Metal Hammer stage to watch High On Fire a “stoner metal” band from Seattle, I’d heard good things, and expected them too considering the affiliations with bands like the Melvins and Sleep but was sorely dissapointed, it was to say the least a damp performance with a boring blend of what I suppposed was meant to be power metal guitar pumped out at a lo-fi level and dull vocals, we went back to the main stage where things were still running a little late and managed to catch some of UFO’s set which was thoroughly enjoyable and lead nicely in to the Bachman Turner duo who played a nice relaed sunday afternoon set.

One of my bands of the weekend were on next at the Metal Hammer stage, the Blues infused stoner metal band Clutch knocked my socks off! they really were utterly fantastic, playing a high energy set including songs like 50,000 unstopable watts, Profits of Doom and (my favourite) Electric Worry Singer Neil Fallons wonderfully southern twang and deep rolling vocals make this band truely something special and I would urge all of you to check them out, if you get a chance to see them live you will soon be converted. Next on were Opeth a band who perfectly marry the prog sound with heavy metal, I had seen these guys play once before at Download 2009 and they had an unfortunate spot billed right before Motley Crue and infront of that crowd they didn’t exactly shine, so I was excited to be seeing them in an environment they were more suited to. The songs were beautiful and seamless and the band made it look terrifyingly easy, they lead in with the soft sounds of Windowpane and exited on a high with the fast paced and heavy sounds of Deliverance brilliant work boys! I was full of energy and needed a top up of cider so we made a quick dash for the quiet beer tent, were served quickly and so my dear friend decided it was a good idea to force a warm shot of Jagermeisfter on me…this should NOT be drunk warm, a gentle warning to you all. So cringing a little and trying to wash away the taste with my Gaymers we walked back just in time for Down the final act of the night on the Metal Hammer Stage.

This was my third time seeing Down play, and I’m pleased to say by far the best, singer (and former Pantera frontman) Phil Anselmo seems to have cleaned up his act and was lucid, upright and hairless. This side of Phil was certainly a good one, his singing was stronger and clearer, the growls deeper and the more tuneful moments more powerful, the band in general were full of energy and put on a great performance and as usual guitarist Kirk Windstein was on top form, the crowd were loving every minute of it and went wild when they played both Lifer and Stone the Crow finishing with Bury me in smoke it was all in all a high moment for this often apprently troubled band.

After the Down boys finished up for the night there was a mass exodus of metal fans apparently done with the festival and ready for some more partying in the capital, however we couldn’t pass up the chance to watch Emerson, Lake and Palmer, who many consider to be one of the greatest ever supergroups. So with coffee in hand we went back to the main stage for the last time, there was still a pretty decent sized crowd there for ELP as many people love them, I can’t say I am one of them, though they played well and are clearly tallented musicians, this live performance didn’t convert me, though I can at least now say that I have seen them right?

So my final thoughts on this little London Festival, it’s deffinately a festival that is all about the music, choosing the put on bands that will please fans of music rather than trying to cater to what is “popular” and steering clear of filling the site with shops and clothes stalls and other distractions, it’s a simple but effective recipe for what I hope will become one of THE festivals to go to. My only real gripe as ever these days was the price of beer and food, thought this was not any different to the many other British festivals, I still find it amazing that the kind of events that started out being all about music and loving life and each other has now sadly become all about marketing and money, I’d love to find a festival who one day break the mold and make things just that little bit more affordable. I look forward to seeing what next year has to offer!