STEELHOUSE FESTIVAL / HAFOD-Y-DAFAL FARM – Friday July 29TH
You only have to say you are ‘going up the mountain’ for your gig buddies to know where you’re heading. One of the most popular and enjoyable festivals of the year STEELHOUSE took place over the last weekend in July and yet again it was incredible. You only have to look at the line up, a mix of seasoned, new and some festival favourites, to realise how entertaining these three days were. So once the tent was up and the celebratory shots downed, it was off to the main field for Fridays bands, bumping into mates and fellow media friends along the way.
VALHALLA AWAITS are a local band from South West Wales who formed from the remains of ‘Revoker’ and ‘Dead City’. A four track EP came out in 2020 and we heard all of them today. Starting the festival off with a raging set at 3pm, they also added the singles ‘Where Do we Go?’ and ’Skin & Bone’ as well as slipping in the newbie ‘Inside The Sun’. The band are mighty loud, thunderous in fact and have a gripping and tortuous style. I like ‘Andrew Hunt’s’ vocals and stance, reminding me of a young ‘Ian Gillan’ and the dual axes of ‘Chris Green’ and ‘Rhys Carter’ provide VH with rugged riffs that strengthen the overall effect. ‘Snoz’ at the back and ‘Sam Kilby’ on bass complete the line up.
PHOTO – Copyright MPM-KS2022
THE HOT DAMN! Back in November 2020, members of ‘The Amorettes’ and ‘Tequila Mockingbyrd’ got together and formed The Hot Damn! Today they emerge onstage in full colour with almost fluorescent suits and suddenly the mountain is wide awake and smiling. ‘Dance Around’ and the bouncy ‘I didn’t Like You Anyway’ get the crowd cheering and as they hold up the back of their guitars to display the new song title ‘Live, Life, Love’ I for one couldn’t agree more. Pop rock, hot and sweet, but without overdosing on the sugar, hell, they could even win Eurovision.
The Hot Damn! are – Vocals/Guitar: Gill Montgomery. Guitar/Vox: Laurie Buchanan. Bass/Vox: Lzi Hayes. Drums: Josie O’Toole
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KIRA MAC A band getting a lot of attention recently, this was my initial viewing. However, you know what it’s like sometimes, you think where have I seen him/her before and it wasn’t long before I recognised ‘Bret Barnes’ and ‘Kira’ from another project ‘Thirteen Stars’. When musicians have so much talent, they are capable of anything and this sultry mix of sturdy rock and power riding vocals makes an incredible blend. ‘Kira’ certainly knows how to front a band, her presence controlled our attention throughout the set. Loved ‘One Way Ticket’ and the new single ‘Hit Me Again’.
SCARLET REBELS There aren’t many bands that can get an audience singing along to every word, but the Llanelli boys are masters of this technique and despite some guitar amp problems, we responded to all the songs with our best efforts. The last album’ See Through Blue’ was well covered and it’s evident why it reached so high in the charts. The contrast from high spirited riffs to those heartbreaking ballads, sets ‘The Rebels’ aside from their contemporaries and vocalist ‘Wayne Doyle’ is superb today. ‘Heal’ was delivered in a more pristine fashion than I’ve ever heard it before, what a class performance.
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THE DUST CODA The evening sun was the perfect backdrop for this band, a ‘Mojo Skyline’ is the title of their recent album and it couldn’t have been more fitting. The first of seven from it ‘Jimmy 2 Times’ allowed guitarist ‘Adam Mackie’ to strike low and on the hip, while the more pulverising ‘Demon’ introduced the shrill and reverb vocals of ‘John Duke’. If you haven’t caught these London based guys yet, I suggest attending their tour, that starts at the end of October. It was an absolute pleasure to watch them tonight, everything seemed to fall perfectly in place.
MYKE GRAY Today is one of a few farewell shows before ‘Myke’ moves in another direction. I must have seen him with his every incarnation, but ‘Jagged Edge’ and ‘Skin’ are the stand out ones for me. ‘Dan Byrne’ of ‘Revival Black’, has been enlisted as vocalist and I believe only met the band 2 days before his first stint at KK’s Steel Mill. Today his voice carries through the Welsh breeze and surrounds us with the unforgettable lyrics that ‘Myke’ has composed over the years. A set packed with ‘Skin’ songs gets me and most of the older generation joining in, what a band that was. The easy to follow lines of ‘Look But Don’t Touch’ and ‘Shine Your light’ are heard echoing around the field. As the show comes to an end, ‘Myke’ holds his White V high in the air, as a mark of respect and to say goodbye. Has to be one of the most enthralling and emotional sets of the day.
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INGLORIOUS The first time I saw Nathan and company was supporting ‘The Winery Dogs’ that must have been around the time of their first album, which I still maintain is one of their best. It took a while after the changes to the band for me to fall back in love with ‘Inglorious’ as I think it took time for the new recruits to gel. However, that time has now dawned and ‘Inglorious’ are back to being glorious. You can never dispel Nathan, the man has it all, charm, charisma and a voice that could launch a thousand of, well anything! Tonight he stands on the stage in front of us and the feeling of warmth radiates for yards. He is back, his band are ready and we are craving for the headliners to begin. We get a privileged shuffle from the bands back catalogue and I’m happy that so many from the self titled debut are aired. ‘Barracuda’ the ‘Heart’ cover is also a good choice and there are plenty from last years ‘We Will Ride’, I particularly like ‘She Won’t Let You Go’ and ‘He Will Provide’ that summon not only Nathan’s vocal’s but masterstrokes from the rest of the band. Leaving us with ‘Until I die’ another from the early years, it’s been immense. Inglorious hit the road in September, so grab your tickets now.
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Compere ‘Ian Danter’ from Planet Rock Radio, finished off the night with a rock disco and the party went on well into the night. The Friday ‘shit shirts’ were on display to the end, holding up the STEELHOUSE tradition and I do think a lot of alcohol was supped. Thoroughly enjoyed the first day and camping for the first time, made it more relaxing, particularly as I could enjoy a drink or two.
All Photo Credits – Kelly Spiller / Copyright MPM KS 2022
