I've been a Manowar fan since I heard them on the Friday Rock show, hosted by the immortal Tommy Vance, way back in 1983. It was a single called Defender and, on the strength of it I bought their debut album Battle Hymns. I've been hooked ever since.They get slagged to hell and I must admit they are so serious it's hilarious but what a band live! I've been going to gigs for more than 20 years and I've never witnessed anything like this - 2 nights, 3 1/2 hours each and their first six albums - 3 each night in their entirety, all played to perfection. It was one of the finest shows I'd ever been to. Not just their playing, which was incredible, the sound was simply breathtaking. Never have I been to a gig or festival where every band got a great sound, it was good wherever you stood, and the clarity in spite of the incredible sound levels was just amazing. So many outdoor festivals suffer with lame sound and they could take lessons from this.
Other highlights - sadly not many - Alice Cooper was excellent - he put on a blinder of a show. WASP sounded pretty much the same as they did when I saw them 16 years ago! They kicked ass in spite of only playing for 50 minutes. Stormwarrrior played in the rain but they were pretty good.
But the real highlight was the announcement was that Duff Leotard and Shitesnake had pulled out - WOOHOO!!
Next stop - WACKEN!!!
--------------------
Hail Santa...
posted July 27, 2008 14:18
