It was straight to the Phoenix stage on Saturday morning to catch Trident Waters, a power trio from London who boast big, groovy riffs and a vocalist reminiscent of Chris Cornell with his powerful, gravelly delivery. ‘Control the Animal’ is appropriately feral, the kind of song that ought to be huge if it only got the right exposure. I left a little early as I didn’t want to miss Rockfiend favourites Collateral opening the Jeff Beck Memorial stage, but I could have stayed put. Collateral were about 20 minutes late to start causing a bit of grumbling where I was standing. Whatever sound problems were being ironed out didn’t quite seem to have been fixed and as a consequence, ‘Mr. Big Shot’ didn’t explode with the level of excitement it should have. But frontman Angelo Tristan gave it his all, a memorable sight in his Freddie Mercury inspired outfit, and clearly relishing every moment. This is a band who have undeniably mastered the art of a catchy tune, the irresistible ‘Midnight Queen’ getting everyone singing and the harder edged ‘Sin in the City’ bringing some crunch. A brief pause to replace a broken drum was another hiccup in a set seemingly plagued by problems, and though it possibly wasn’t how the boys envisaged their main stage debut, their infectious energy and enviable songwriting abilities triumphed.
MAID OF STONE FESTIVAL 21ST-23RD JULY 2023
Live Review
The rain started as Collateral’s set concluded, and didn’t stop for the rest of the day, a relentless onslaught that made eating lunch problematic. I can’t recommend the Texas Smoker enough but would suggest keeping your cheesy chips away from water! I hovered near the main stage as Kira Mac were performing and was impressed with Rhiannon Hill’s compelling vocals. The group seemed to attract a decent crowd despite the unpleasant weather and are certainly ones to watch with their no-nonsense, anthemic rock.
Tygers of Pan Tang were one of relatively few ‘classic’ artists appearing over the weekend and suffered a bit of an overlap with the incredibly popular Kris Barras Band. I plumped for the Tygers this time, having seen Barras many times before and wasn’t disappointed. Well, only in that ‘Love Potion No. 9’ was left out of the set! It was great to hear some good old 80s style heavy metal, more recent tracks like the popular ‘Only the Brave’ fitting in seamlessly with old favourites ‘Love Don’t Stay’ and ‘Paris By Air’.
As a long-time supporter of Gallows Circus, it was great to see them getting such a positive response on the Maiden stage. One of the last shows with the current line-up, the swaggering ‘Game On’ got things underway, the rueful ‘Holding my Breath’ the lone ballad amongst the chunky riffs. ‘Bones to Pick’ starts strong and gets better, the immense breakdown never ceasing to be a thrill. Throwing in a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Oh Well’ to appease newcomers to the band was welcome but possibly unnecessary; there’s enough Gallows Circus t-shirts on display to prove Ian Day and co. have enough clout of their own.
Choosing to stay dry, many remained in the Maiden stage tent for Sweet Crisis, a band who are surely destined for greater success with their wonderful, soulful rock music. There’s something of the Allman Brothers in ‘Treading in Deep Water’ with its blissed-out harmonies, keyboards and laid-back guitar groove. ‘Black Magic’ has such warmth and feels incredibly uplifting. The new tracks debuted sound fantastic, a cut above much of the generic, radio ready rock that generally gets better exposure. We’re given a choice of upbeat or chilled for the final song, and of course, we opt for upbeat and are rewarded with the riotous ‘Tricks on my Mind’. If you haven’t seen Sweet Crisis yet, do yourself a favour and rectify this as soon as possible; ‘If it ain’t got soul, I don’t wanna know’ indeed.
I was tempted to nip outside to catch Bad Touch but having just started to return to an acceptable temperature, opted to stay inside a little longer. Sorry lads, but I’ll be seeing you in a few months (for the seventh time) and am looking forward to hearing some new tunes.
Miguel Montalban and the Southern Vultures brought real virtuosity and funk influenced grooves to the Maiden Stage. It was an electric performance with the startling extensive instrumental sections the real highlights. If you saw a better guitarist than Montalban over the weekend, I’d be very surprised; the very image of a guitar god, from his leather trousers, to his snake-print shirt and shades, there’s so much substance behind the style. Delivering flash without ever forgetting about melody, 'Wander' and 'Go Off the Rails' really got the crowd bouncing.
I ventured back outside to watch American trio The Cold Stares bring proceedings on the Phoenix Stage to a close. Their unique, heavy blues is something to behold. A band big on riffs and bigger on class, there’s nothing showy here, just really good music played really well, and what more do you need? Opening with ‘Nothing But the Blues’ from latest album ‘Voices’, it's one cracking track after another. Chris Tapp's voice has real depth and warmth, but it's the rock-solid rhythm section that makes these songs really move. A band whose catalogue I will certainly be exploring in more depth, there's a seductive darkness to the likes of 'Prosecution Blues' that beckons you in.
As someone who controversially believes Mark III Deep Purple to have been the best line-up, getting Glenn Hughes as the Saturday headliner was always going to make me happy. And make no mistake, he’s still got the voice. Yes, he is prone to shrieking (tunefully) into the microphone, a demonstration that he can still hit the high notes, but most reports suggest people were struggling to hear him anyway! Sound issues aside, there’s no arguing with these songs, ‘Stormbringer’ remains absolutely monstrous nearly 50 years (!) after its original release, and seems particularly apt as the rain continues to pour. ‘Might Just Take Your Life’ follows, the funky ‘Gettin’ Tighter’ introduced as a tribute to Tommy Bolin; often overlooked but a significant figure in the Deep Purple story. I reluctantly bailed as the band played the opening notes to ‘Mistreated’, it had been a long day in the wind and rain, I was cold and I wanted to get a taxi back to my hotel before the rush. Sadly, that plan didn’t pan out and I could have watched Glenn until the end. But that’s a story for another time!
