It was certainly a promising start. A now-customary visit to the OK Diner just west of Chester for a late breakfast meant once again bumping into a few groups of rockers on their way to Hard Rock Hell, and I remembered a few of them from meeting them here last year.
This year's journey didn't take us via the scenic route to Anglesey, thank heavens, so we made the Hafan Y Mor Holiday Village on the Llyn peninsula in good time this year. We all checked in and I was really pleased to find that my VIP Pass meant that I was in a very lovely chalet very close to the main car-park, which meant unloading the car was a lot easier than last year.
Thursday night is the opening night, and for many this is the night to dress-up in the 'theme' of the weekend. This year the theme was Helloween, so it was time to slip into my red latex catsuit from Cathouse Clothing, add some latex devil horns, and head off to the event's opening ceremony and have a devil of a good time.
As I entered the main hall and removed my coat (it was a bit chilly on Thursday night) I could suddenly feel people staring. I was a little apprehensive and wondered if the outfit was a bit OTT for a rock night. "Oh well," I though, "fuck it." I'd brazen it out.
It was a great outfit for breaking the ice, and I met a couple of lovely girls too thanks to the outfit, as they also wanted photos. One in particular, a gorgeously foxy redhead, I was determined to bump into again over the course of the weekend.
I didn't catch many of the bands of course, but made sure I saw a bit of Massive Wagons and happily they played their brilliant song 'Red Dress'. Sadly, the sexy girls from the video never made it on stage with them,
but it was still a fantastic end to the night.
It was after midnight when I finally headed back to my warm and cosy chalet - a brilliant first night.
Friday dawned, and the promised clear skies hadn't materialised. Cloud and rain meant a dull start to the day, but as all the entertainment is under cover it didn't spoil things too much. The bands are split into two venues at Hard Rock Hell, and at 2.00pm the main hall opened, which would be featuring the big headlining bands of the weekend. A great band called Texas Flood started the show with some superb blues-rock styled songs. My VIP Pass again gave me a better view than last year, and a seat too!
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Dexi Delite -The Texas Flood @ Hard Rock Hell 8 |
There were quite a few people who recognised me from Thursday night - the usual comment was "You were the girl in that red outfit - WOW!" which was lovely to hear. I watched a couple of other bands before heading back to the chalet to change yet again for the coming night's entertainment.
I obviously couldn't repeat the success of the catsuit, but in truth I didn't want to try. Skin-tight latex is great for doing many things in, but sat watching bands for seven hours isn't one of them. I decided to wear my leather corset, thigh boots and tight leggings.
The first band to really catch my attention were The Brew, who played a brilliant and energetic set, and they weren't afraid to slow the pace and play some heavy blues, including some slide guitar. The guitarist even brought out a violin bow, ala Jimmy Page, for a wild solo. Fantastic. I'd thoroughly recommend seeing these guys again.
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Dexi Delite - The Brew @ Hard Rock Hell 8 |
Next up were Y&T, who have been recording and touring for 40 years! Their experience showed in a very polished set, sadly which had to be cut short due to all of the previous bands over-running. Not quite my style of rock, but I could see how well they played and was disappointed that they couldn't do a deserved encore - as were the crowd, who gave the band a standing ovation.
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Dexi Delite - Y&T @ Hard Rock Hell 8 |
The sun arrived in all it's splendour on the Saturday morning, and it was bright and warm when I stepped outside. I decided to head for the second stage initially, and I'm very glad that I did. The second band on that morning turned out to be Black State Highway, who as well as having a very sexy lead singer were also bloody brilliant.
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Dexi Delite - Black State Highway @ Hard Rock Hell 8 |
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Dexi Delite - Black State Highway @ Hard Rock Hell 8 |
I headed over to the main arena next, as I'd heard good things about the first band on the main stage - Blues Pills. I wasn't disappointed. With a heavy blues-based sound straight from the late 60's (think early Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, etc) they were utterly fantastic. Devil Man, in particular, blew me away. Outstanding sound, outstanding arrangements, and an amazing singer. If you get a chance to either see or hear this band, then they really are another Dexi-recommendation, and definitely one of the best bands of the whole weekend.
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Dexi Delite - Blues Pills @ Hard Rock Hell 8 |
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Dexi Delite - Hard Rock Hell 8 |
Next up came hard rockers Diamond Head, whose heavy riffs banished the lingering fairy dust (or whatever it was) of Big Elf. They got the crowd moving again, who had stood in a bit of a trance while Big Elf played, and their encore was a ripping version of "Am I Evil", a song covered by Metallica and Rob Zombie among others.
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Dexi Delite - Diamond Head @ Hard Rock Hell 8 |
Michael Schenker's Temple Of Rock band followed. For those who don't know, Michael Schenker began his career with German rock band Scorpions, before leaving to join UFO, then returning to Scorpions for a brief time, eventually going his own way with the Michael Schenker Band and Temple Of Rock. They hit the stage running, ripping through UFO's Doctor Doctor, an immediate crowd-winner. I was very surprised to see the Prime Minister, David Cameron, on drums, but found later in the band introduction that it was in fact Herman Rarebell from Scorpions! Separated at birth, I assume. The biggest cheers of the set came for some of the old Scorpions tracks Lovedrive and the sublime yet pounding instrumental Coast To Coast. A great set, and quite amazing considering that the band had flown in from Paris on the morning and were heading straight back to France the following day.
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Dexi Delite - Michael Schenker @ Hard Rock Hell 8 |
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Dexi Delite - Blue Oyster Cult @ Hard Rock Hell 8 |
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Dexi Delite - Girlschool @ Hard Rock Hell 8 |
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