Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Seebronn / Festivalgelände / Germany
Concert date: 07/30/2017
Attendance: 7,000
Ticket price: €109.00 (three-day pass)
Well, that’s it. The final day of this year’s Rock of Ages festival had arrived, held near the German village of Seebronn, deep in the authentically rural countryside of the state of Baden-Württemberg. The weather held. In fact, we were incredibly lucky again this year. The front moved off toward the Alps as we arrived, meaning the German south and southeast, so we spent all three days of the festival in dry weather, even though on day three the sky did occasionally (and innocently) threaten a little »wetting«.
The program on day three kicked off at 3:45 PM. Since it was Sunday, the lineup was »family-friendly«. So at one o’clock the family gathers at Mom’s, says an Our Father or two, slurps down some soup and, instead of heading off to see Severina, makes their way to Rock Of Ages, where among other things they catch Gotthard and Thunder. Germans are a rock nation, after all. The organizer had been cooking up a surprise for the opening slot of day three the whole time. Well, it wasn’t really a surprise, since when I picked up my festival wristband I got an autograph card, and who did I see on it, if not… Killcode again. Horst, wasn’t it enough already? Last year at Bang your Head, this year there too, and on top of that here at Rock of Ages? Okay, okay. I don’t know, but over the years the agency Coallier Entertainment has become a real fixture at both Rock Of Ages and Bang your Head, and all of it is of course tied to the name Twisted Sister. Gig-spoiled as I am, though, with their new show Killcode proved what a superb crew they are. They cultivate a special flavor of hard rock that blends a bit of southern and desert melody, a bit of punk mockery and plenty of catchiness, especially in the choruses, which are often backed by seriously flirty, infectious rhythms. That made it the third time in two years we’ve met the band, and again we had to admit you can’t fault them on a single thing. Polished show, superb tightness, dynamic use of the stage, constant communication with the crowd and a fair amount of sweat and blood spilled on stage. The guys really tore themselves apart up there, pushing to the very limits of performance, with singer Tom Morrisey confidently commanding the whole thing. The band has an EP and a self-titled debut studio album out, and they basically fired off the same repertoire as at Bang Your Head, since the set length was about the same. We got Show Me, Shot , Hammer, The Answer, Kickin’ and Screamin’, Hands Up , Opium Dogs, the Twisted Sister cover You Can’t Stop Rock n’ Roll and the mellow, incredibly infectious song with a pinch of pop charisma called The Wrong Side, which the organizer played at the end of last year’s BYH and ROA festivals, after the fireworks ceremony. In short, Killcode are a band with a polished look, sharp threads and a sharp, focused performance. The guitars work superbly and grab you. They build a fat, garage-y sound, while both guitarists fill the songs with an incredibly fine dose of soloing. A bomb to the forehead for an early-afternoon rock’n’roll lunch.
Next up were the real rock’n’roll jokers and German comedy circus known as Spider Murphy Gang. In the lineup they took over the role that similar Austrian clowns Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung filled last year. What can I say? The German crowd was clutching their bellies and rolling on the ground. Maybe the Slovenian crowd reacted somewhat similarly in the nineties when Slovenia’s Agropop played for them. I can’t even explain the phenomenon. In short, this is one of those bands only Germans and Austrians get. The humor, the outfits, the style, the delivery, the whole theater of it. Musically, though, wildly boring and instantly forgettable. They make up for the musical dryness with parody. Really, this band brought a playful hour of full-blooded humor »German-style« to the stage, and that was the whole basis of their visit. Otherwise, hand on heart, as a rock’n’roll fan who came to ROA from a totally different part of the world, I don’t really get bands like this. They did play properly, no screw-ups, and drowned their predictably arranged little songs in enormous amounts of gags, which is the band’s basic way of compensating for the otherwise »ringa-raja rock’n’roll« cheapness and generally infantilized musical pitch.
Things got back into a healthy rock groove with the arrival of Brits Thunder. This year they put out an excellent new studio album, »Rip It Up«, and their festival visit was of course part of the tour promoting it. Thunder remain phenomenal. Danny Bowes keeps all his charisma and is an infectious joker who constantly adds a dash of cynicism to his generally black humor. British humor. Most of the solos on stage were handled by Luke Morley, while the rhythmic drive and backbone were flawlessly held down by the seasoned and incredibly experienced Chris Childs and Gary »Harry« James, who recently left Magnum. And of course we have to mention Ben Matthews. He mostly held down rhythm on guitar. Three years ago the man was diagnosed with cancer and he beat it successfully. The only new thing about him is a shorter haircut. Thunder gave most of the set list to newer songs from the albums »Wonder Days« and »Rip It Up«, but they didn’t shortchange the crowd on their biggest career moments from the early nineties either. From the debut, the title track Backstreet Symphony and Higher Ground rang out, there was also Low Life in High Places from the second studio album »Laughing On Judgement Day« and River Of Pain (from the album »Behind Closed Doors«), while for the closing stretch they saved the fiery I Love You More Than Rock ‘n’ Roll from the album »The Magnificent Seventh!« (2005). Thunder are an incredible fortress of a live band and few can compete with them. A British hard rock stronghold to the bone. Their deeply insightful, elemental blend of blues rhetoric crossed with musical catchiness and melody remains unique, as does the stage show itself, with which Thunder bewitched the crowd. Without a doubt one of the strongest performances, in both feel and execution, of the entire festival program at this year’s Rock Of Ages. One of Thunder’s rare summer stage appearances, though. A gig that was over before it began, building with such fire and momentum. Truly a band you need to catch on a proper headlining tour of their own. Let’s hope there’s another chance for something like that,
The fourth act, or rather actress, also came from Great Britain. And she brought her backing band along. She was still in our debt from last year, when during her flight from London to Stuttgart, Stuttgart airport was shut down for a few hours for security reasons. So she couldn’t make it to the festival on time. Well, this year she finally pulled it off. Ladies and gentlemen. Kim Wilde. The pop rock diva of the eighties! In her mature years, after diving into gardening and even publishing two books on the subject, Kim Wilde has turned into a full-on rocker. She dressed for the stage accordingly. In black leather! After the second song she took off her sunglasses. Kim remains a charismatic and incredibly infectious presence. That goes at the very least for her smile, which she shared with the crowd. True, the singer has picked up a few extra curves over the years, but she still keeps her exceptional stage energy and dynamics. She knows the stage like the back of her hand. With a sextet as her backing band, in which her brother Ricky Wilde has been working for years as guitarist and backing vocalist, Kim held the crowd firmly in her grip for an hour and a half as they reveled in a run-through of her classic hits.
The band opened their set with a hit from the first record »Kim Wilde«. It could only be Water On Glass, Kids In America or? Chequered Love, of course. Next came Lights Down Low, View From a Bridge, Nena’s Anyplace, Anywhere, Anytime, the previously mentioned second hit from the debut »Kim WIdle« Water on Glass, then the songs Stone, The Second Time, Get Out, King of the World, If I Can’t Have You in an acoustic version (a duet with Ricky on acoustic guitar), Never Trust a Stranger, the big hit from the second album »Select« Cambodia, a cover of Republica called Ready to Go, the newer You Came, and the expected The Supremes cover You Keep Me Hangin’ On, which the crew used to close out the show. Kim Wilde came back on stage and first surprised with the inclusion of You Spin Me Round (Like a Record), which in the original belongs to Dead Or Alive, and wrapped up the concert with really the only hit of hers missing from the evening, Kids in America. In between it started to rain, but things settled down. It wet the grounds a little, but it was nowhere near a serious downpour, so it didn’t chase anyone away from the front of the stage. Kim more than redeemed herself with her visit to Rock Of Ages. She was never famous as a particularly technically gifted singer. But she has incredible allure, charisma, charm and that recognizable vocal »vibe« that brought her evergreens so vividly to life this evening. Of course, among her backing crew, Kim made sure to bring in an extra vocalist, who harmonized excellently and contrasted nicely with Kim Wilde’s lead vocal, and above all gave her strong support on the more demanding vocal lines. Sound and performance superb! If this keeps up, let’s hope Horst brings Tears For Fears or Thompson Twins to the festival next year, if Talk Talk are no longer active (the author’s wet dream, of course).
For the big finale, the excellent Swiss hard rockers Gotthard took the stage. The band is celebrating a whopping 25 years together this year and has been promoting its new, current studio album »Silver« since early spring. As expected, the opening of the concert followed suit, with Gotthard starting to warm up the crowd with an a cappella intro to the song Silver River. About as many people were crammed in as the day before, when they watched Saga perform here. So the grounds got a little denser still after Kim Wilde’s set ended. Gotthard are a Swiss story of rock’n’roll’s total triumph, no kidding around with them, they’re a guarantee of exceptional quality and a great constant in that respect. They gave the stage a picturesque boost with scenery tied to the cover and the essence of the new album. The band in its standard lineup, which alongside Maeder features the group’s boss and guitarist Leo Leoni, bassist Marc Lynn, drummer Henna Habegger, guitarist Freddy Scherer and touring keyboardist Nicolo Fragile. A winning formula. Really a brilliant, if not flawless performance, with superb singing from Nic Maeder, and Mountain Mama with the obligatory talk box moment from Leo Leoni. The latter, alongside Maeder, made the most of the catwalk too.
The band didn’t forget to include an acoustic medley, rounded out by the »folk-ified« One Life, One Soul, Let It Be, Angel and Heaven , during which the crowd (also egged on by Maeder) got more actively involved with singing. From the new material they hit us with the expected hit Stay With Me and the fierce Electrified, and otherwise covered all the eras of their career decently. The main ammo, the songs from the album »Lipservice«, they saved for the fiery ending, the concert crescendo, first wrapping up the regular part of their convincing show with Lift U Up, then, after the Beatles cover Come Together, setting the grounds ablaze with All We Are and the closing Anytime Anywhere. During the Gotthard show the weather played a few tricks too and dropped some raindrops, but things calmed down and we made it to the finish in dry weather. Gotthard remain the sweetheart of hard rock, always delivering the best. This time was no different, and in every way they lived up to the role of headliner of the festival’s third day. After a marathon tour running since this February, you could feel only a mild tiredness from the band, hence a bit more routine and reserve. It was one of the last shows of the long »Silvr« tour and the band could hardly wait to get back to their families. That’s why this March’s party with the band at the Gasometer in Vienna remains, of course, an experience that still ranks higher in quality than the meeting at Rock of Ages.
And so Rock of Ages festival 2017 came to an end. This year’s edition once again brought a heap of excellent performances, with the second day of the festival especially strong, and also stylistically »divergent«. For the big finale, in the very closing stretch of this three-day spectacle, organizer Horst Franz shared a few words with the crowd as usual, and the whole thing was once again sent off with a lavish fireworks display, keeping up the tradition of the Bang Your Head and Rock Of Ages festivals. With the obligatory multiple repeats of We Are Not Gonna Take It, of course. It can’t be any other way. So it was another gorgeous rock celebration, and we’ll be heading out to it again next year.
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