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High Voltage Festival
Day 1 - Saturday
24.07.2010
@
Victoria Park, London
United Kingdom
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Prepare yourself - day one of High Voltage is upon us and by gosh the heat shows it. Equipped with sun cream, hats and shades (for the cool factor), ambitious rock fans swarm out of Mile End tube station and march towards the grounds of Victoria Park. Following a stream of brisk-paced walkers, an array of vintage YES, Genesis and Jethro Tull t-shirts are present - with some probably having the most daylight they’ve seen in years. A real family vibe is felt as almost four generations gather together to indulge in the sound waves of rocks beauty.
The first highlight of the day indefinitely comes from the Metal Hammer stage with the up and coming four-piece, Black Spiders. Whether Motorhead or Nirvana tickle your fancy, their solid riffs, harmonies and workmanship can be appreciated by all as they battle their way into the brains of Britain’s youth. Black Spiders can only get bigger and better as they prove to the nation they are the real deal, trickling a modern untouchable flow over their classic rock guitar accentuation.
With the shortest of strolls to the Prog stage, the band only a few strums into their set is none other than Dutch masters, Focus. Led after all these years by the genius that is Thijs van Leer, a growing audience begins to accumulate as musical delicacy flows through the monitors. Making their music as freely as it comes has certainly paid off, especially when presenting such phenomenal tracks as ‘Sylvia’ and ‘Hocus Pocus’.
Jumping straight into a complete differentiation of old to young fans is those waiting for bluesy doomsters, Orange Goblin. Clearly one of the favourites on the Metal Hammer stage today, a lively audience bang their heads to such tunes as ‘Some you Win, Some you Lose’, ‘Blue Snow’ and of course ‘Scorpionica’. Thumping bass and powerful drums pound into the nearby audience located at the Prog stage. A pleasure to watch at an open air event.
Talking of mythical beings, back over at the prog. stage comes one fearsome appearance from the mighty Bigelf (or should otherwise be known as ‘Black Floyd’/‘Pink Sabbath’). The audience are sucked into the presence of vocalist Damon Fox as he stands ferociously demon-like in between two church-styled Hammond keyboards. Plummeting through such songs as ‘Blackball’, ‘Disappear’ and ‘Hydra’, Bigelf have certainly been the most interesting band of the festival so far.
The toughest clash of the day has to be the decision between Cathedral and Zappa Plays Zappa - so running around like an excited puppy is the only outcome. Opening with the well known ‘Vampire Sun’ and ‘Utopian Blaster’, Cathedral get off to a thunderous start as the lively Lee Dorian jumps from side to side of the Metal Hammer stage. As they venture into a couple of newer songs, the crowd unfortunately begins to die down with a clearer interest in their older material. However, as soon as the first two snare hits of ‘Hopkins (Witchfinder General)’ are pounded, you know some new grass seeds are gonna need planting.
Meanwhile, the Prog stage is inevitably flooded with fans of the ultimate Frank Zappa tribute, Zappa Plays Zappa (performed by his eldest son, Dweezil). Intricately played pieces of musical excellence is well and truly captured and a fine job is certainly done in keeping the Zappa flame alight.
Foreigner strikeout an impressive set playing the best tracks from their back catalogue. Opening with the mighty ‘Double Vision’, the epic ‘Starrider’ shortly follows and before you know it the ‘surprising’ encores of ‘I Want to Know What Love Is’ and ‘Hot Blooded’ fill the field with joy. Shame on those too arrogant to see cheese at its finest.
As Foreigner finish, the crowd gets noticeably larger as they prepare for Heaven & Hells’ ‘tribute to Ronnie James Dio’ - their last ever show. Taking to the main stage is none other than Iommi, Butler and Appice with their heads held high in what could be an emotional hour and a half. Continual appreciation from the band to the thousands of people at High Voltage today is expressed extensively as they play an absolutely fantastic set. With shared guest vocal appearances from Jorn Lande and ex-Sabbath/Deep Purple vocalist Glenn Hughes, they plough through some of many great musical achievements that the late and great Dio played a huge part in. Dedicating such classics including ‘The Mob Rules’, ‘Children of the Sea’ and ‘Turn Up the Night’, the crowd is loud, lively and having a damn good time in the remembrance of Ronnie. As Dios’ wife Wendy walks onto the stage, the silence increases as she says a few words in his name.With one of the most memorable, emotional sets quite possibly to ever happen, the band end on their self-titled song ‘Heaven and Hell’ before coming back on for the inevitable encore of ‘Neon Nights’ with another guest appearance from Down frontman, Phil Anselmo. Long live Ronne James Dio, a true legend.
Despite Heaven and Hell being the true headliners of the night, closing the main stage is the ultimate ZZ Top. With the crowd a little less dense, the three Texas rockers put on a blinding performance and create a truly awesome atmosphere as daylight begins to fade. A friendly, enjoyable vibe is felt as they connect with each other onstage and with the audience. Pacing through such notables as ‘Waitin for a Bus’, ‘Gimme all your Lovin’ and ‘Sharp Dressed Man’ covers by Hendrix, BB King and Willie Brown were also included making day 1 of High Voltage festival one of the most memorable events London has seen for a very long time. |
Reviewed by Dave Sherwood
Photography by Daniel Gray
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Festival Reviews 
