Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Seebronn (Rottenburg am Neckar) / Festplatz / Germany
Concert date: July 29, 2016
Attendance: 8,000
Ticket price: €135.00 (three-day ticket)
So it was time for the eleventh edition of the Rock of Ages festival, put on by the crew behind the German music magazine »Heavy, Oder Was?«. The same crew is also co-responsible for organizing the far more notorious Bang Your Head!!! festival, which went down two weeks earlier in Balingen. This year’s Rock Of Ages came up with a bunch of interesting names from the ranks of rock’s undisputed veterans. So, fourteen days after our visit to the little town of Balingen, home of the twenty-first Bang Your Herad!!! festival, it seemed more than tempting to also check out the village of Seebronn near the larger town of Rottenburg am Neckar, nestled in the Black Forest, right in the heart of the German state of Baden-Wüttemberg.
Unlike Bang Your Head!!!, Rock of Ages offers a much more relaxed schedule, or rather a less jam-packed lineup. There are no overlaps between acts, because there’s only one stage. With a name like »Rock of Ages«, it’s only logical that the bills are mostly made up of acts with venerable track records who got going in the sixties or early seventies. That also makes it harder to scrape together enough available names that are still active on the scene. Especially if you decide to run the festival three days in a row, which was the hallmark of this year’s edition of Rock of Ages.
So, day one. The first of the five acts on the day’s bill was scheduled for five in the afternoon. That was none other than Graham Bonnet with his backing band. The very same Graham Bonnet who first made a serious name for himself as a member of Rainbow, with whom he recorded the album »Down to Earth« (1979). Bonnet joined Rainbow after a career with the duo The Marbles, and after he already had two solo studio albums in his pocket. In fact, Richie Blackmore literally snatched him away from The Sweet, after they’d already picked him to replace Brian Connolly on vocals. Later on, Bonnet founded Alcatrazz, the band where Steve Vai and Yngwie J. Malmsteen took their first steps toward hugely successful careers. After that, Bonnet sang for Michael Schenker Group (MSG), plus Impellitteri, Stardust Reverie, Anthem and, among others, the Forcefield project. In short: a living legend among the planet’s hard rock singers. Besides Bonnet, his current lineup includes the highly respected former Fates Warning drummer Mark Zonder (also of Warlord), Brazilian guitarist Conrad Pesinato and bassist Beth-Ami Heavenstone. This crew recorded and released a two-song EP this year called »My Kingdom Come«. Bonnet, as expected, went straight in with Eyes of the World, a Rainbow tune. As a result, the nostalgic German crowd, loyal to the figure and legacy of Rainbow, was quickly his. What was distracting during the set was the realization that all the keyboards were backing tracks, and the same went for the backing vocals. Beth-Ami did chip in on backing vocals, but she did it so awkwardly that you quickly figured out she was seriously »bluffing«. Bonnet, who turns a round seventy next year, kicked off the show with real force, milking all the charisma of his forever dapper, hoodlum-ish »outfit« of slicked-back, brilliantine-greased hair. As the set went on he ran a bit short on breath, and his voice got a touch tired and ragged toward the end, despite a somewhat lower tuning, which still let him pull off even the more demanding chorus of the expected Rainbow hit Since You’ve Been Gone (orig. Russ Ballard) with total confidence. Over the course of a barely hour-long set, the repertoire also included: All Night Long (orig. Rainbow), S.O.S. (Bonnet solo), God Blessed Video (orig. Alcatrazz), Night Games (Bonnet solo), Dancer (orig. MSG), Desert Song (orig. MSG), Love’s No Friend (orig. Rainbow), Jet to Jet (orig. Alcatrazz) and the closing Lost in Hollywood (orig. Rainbow). Guitarist Conrad Pesinato did great and delivered an outstanding performance. From head to toe. Solos front and center. He certainly doesn’t come close to Blackmore’s originals in terms of style and, of course, »grip«. His guitar tone is also harsher and more »instant«, but Pesinato managed to plaster over every audible »hole« with his incredible playing technique. A lovely warm-up opener, then, with the great Graham Bonnet!
The first cold shower of the festival’s first day hit us fans pretty soon. Even before Graham Bonnet Band took the stage. The head of the festival organization, the one and only Horst, stepped out front on the stage and announced that UFO had cancelled today’s show because vocalist Phil Mogg had to go in for emergency surgery. Worn-out spinal discs. It comes with age, and the condition goes by the name »hernia disci«. So we were left with the song Doctor Doctor, which blared out on July 27, 2016, as the intro to Iron Maiden’s show in Split and just had to make do with that. Next year! UFO! You’d better show up in Seebronn! Horst also diplomatically consoled the crowd, saying the other bands had promised him they’d play longer sets. Bonnet didn’t exactly rise to the occasion there, though, as he stretched his show by a mere five minutes.
Saga, on the other hand, were a whole other story! Those tireless Canadians have always enjoyed extraordinary popularity on German soil. Their current tours of Germany are still regularly sold out, which makes Saga one of the very few bands with a career going back to the seventies that can, thanks to their popularity, still tour not only North America but Europe as well Saga, whose latest studio album »Sagacity« came out in 2013, stretched out their show. Just like Horst promised. They cut the songs from their current album from the set entirely, which was a surprise. They delivered a brand-new, top-notch show that casts a spell you can’t escape until the very last note of the set rings out. The band also put together an incredibly colorful setlist that (immodestly put) was a delight. As expected, the quintet, sharp as a tack in performance, opened the show with a song guaranteed to hook the audience. When you launch into Don’t Be Late, the »Silent Knight« classic, the German crowd is generally yours in an instant. And this time was no different. Right after that, the band was already surprising everybody by working in the »Heads or Tales« classic Social Orphan. It’s a song Saga very rarely play live. Next, the classics You Are Not Alone and On the Loose poured oil on the fire, and the band once again rewarded all the connoisseurs with a performance of Give Me the Money (»Saga«, 1977). Lest the writer of this report jinx anything, the band went on to confirm that this was a show of superlatives. Someone Should , an overlooked classic from the album »Silent Knight«, once again sent shivers down the spine. The whole setup was outstanding, ripe for recording and releasing a live album. The band’s decision to bring back Keep it Real from »Network« was interesting too, so a track from a later period of the band’s career rang out as well. The intensity was kept at full throttle by No Stranger from one of the band’s most successful albums, »Worlds Apart«. When Wind Him Up, How Long, What’s It Gonna Be, Humble Stance and Careful Where You Step followed one after another, the mood built steadily toward the big finale and crescendo. The show was slowly winding down. The band didn’t forget to slip the excellent Scratching the Surface into the mix, which was sung in full (just like on the original, of course) by the band’s keyboardist Jim Gilmour.
Saga remain extraordinary. Sadler has kept an exceptional voice. Full of charisma, unique characteristics, a unique vocal approach that gives the band’s musical ID card its special and one-of-a-kind touch. The swaps between Jim Chrichton and Michael Sadler between keyboards and bass guitar are incredible – Michael Sadler even played bass on one of the songs. Even more breathtaking is the live delivery of the backing harmonies surrounding Sadler. And not to mention the contribution of one of the most overlooked and unique guitar gems in the galaxy! That’s Ian Chrichton, who once again floored us with his brilliance. Pure poetry of a show. The band also had The Flyer (»Heads or Tails«, 1985) and Book of Lies (from the album »10.000 Days«) written down as extras, but they didn’t play them because they ran out of time. So. Saga played a concert an hour and fifteen minutes long, which means they stretched their show by fifteen minutes. If we draw a line under the show, it’s not hard to conclude that we witnessed one of the highlights of the entire festival.
Not to do anyone an injustice. The next act on the first day’s bill was none other than the »German Richie Blackmore«! That, of course, is the one and only Axel Rudi Pell. The seasoned white-haired guitarist, creamy white Fender Stratocaster, baroque »wild« getup! The great Johnny Gioeli (Harldine) is still in the main vocalist role, while the lineup is rounded out by (Rudi’s forever loyal) buddy Volker Krawczak (bass), keyboardist Ferdy Doernberg and, to top it all off, the one and only Bobby Rondinelli on drums. In that regard, Axel struck gold after the departure of the otherwise top-class but difficult-personality Mike Terrana, since the drum stool was taken over by a man who has left his drumming mark on Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Rainbow, Riot, The Lizzards and elsewhere. Axel Rudi Pell and his crew also stretched their show to an hour and fifteen minutes. Mostly they strung songs together into medleys of two or three. Led by the band, the man also presented his current studio album »Game of Sins«, which came out at the start of this year. The show opened with the punchy new song Fire, which was quickly followed by the classics Fool Fool, Nasty Reputation, Strong as A Rock, the outstanding Oceans of Time, The Clown is Dead, Burning Chains, Mystica, the gorgeous The Line, Edge of the World and a closing medley that brought the show to its peak with The Masquerade Ball , which slowly flowed into Casbah and then, as expected, on into Rock the Nation. In the middle, the band also allowed itself some solo wizardry (led by a keyboard and drum solo), woven into the song Game of Sins.
In an outstanding performance, with the stage practically bursting with the classic hard rock character that the band’s musical ID card embodies, Johnny Gioeli’s showing made a huge impression. He sang the show from the first to the last second at an exceptional level. No skimping on power. Top-notch all the way. In every register the guy kept a gripping, emotionally charged delivery. Even at the very end of the show he wasn’t short of breath. Incredible. All the while he ran to the left and right sides of the stage, talked to the crowd at the front of the catwalk and »teased« his bandmates onstage.
If you’re a fan of classic Rainbow, Deep Purple, the late-era Black Sabbath (with Tony Martin on vocals), then you absolutely have to check out the discography behind the name Axel Rudi Pell. Led by the solo masterpieces of the filigree-fine guitar master Axel Rudi Pell, who once again proved his wizardry on the Rock Of Ages stage too. Absolutely brilliant.
For the grand finale of day one, the organizer picked a band that doesn’t exactly fit the name »Rock of Ages«. Its purpose was to draw as big a crowd as possible to the festival, or rather to the first day of the festival. The German medieval metallers In Extremo. The Berlin band, active since around 1995, is considered hugely popular in Germany. Does anyone among you still remember their club show at K4 in Ljubljana, way back in 2001? So the beginnings were modest, but over the years the band has grown into a leading force of so-called medieval metal, which mostly thrives right on German soil. Dressed in ancient-times garb and equipped with an arsenal that, besides the usual instruments (guitar, bass, drums), includes »exotic«, mostly home-made instruments modeled on medieval origins and tradition (harp, bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy, zithers, assorted whistles and percussion). Troubadour metal, in other words! Most everything In Extremo do is sung in German. As the opening passages make clear, it’s not hard to tell that In Extremo flirt with the melodies of medieval troubadour folk music, while their aggressive, simple rhythms evoke the distant charm of something like Rammstein, along with German verses delivered in a curt, authoritative manner. In Extremo kicked off their show spectacularly. Fiery. Literally. With pyrotechnics. At the show they presented their new studio album »Quid Pro Quo« and, with outstanding stage dynamics, where the script didn’t leave the crowd even a sliver of room to catch their breath for a moment, they wrapped the grounds in a unique atmosphere that no other concert adventure comes anywhere near. At the head of the band still reigns the singer nicknamed »Das letzte Einhorn« (translated: »the last unicorn«), who had the crowd, armed with total command of the lyrics, literally eating out of his hand. It was precisely this fanatical audience participation (especially in the front rows, which were packed with »youngsters« too) that confirmed how popular and how big a name In Extremo are on German soil. The large lineup also uses the stage with great skill, with different instruments moving into the center of attention as the songs develop. So at the start of Vollmond the harpist stepped out onto the catwalk, and during Zigeunerskat the two bagpipers stole a good chunk of the spotlight, and so on… In short, a perfect carousel lasting almost two hours closed out the first festival day in grand style. Definitely the highlight of the festival’s first day, at least when it comes to spectacle.
Photo gallery
