13

The Sweetest Songs

It’s to their credit that they don’t lose too much of the crowd after Black Label Society’s set but then this is Hard Rock Hell and of all the crowds they are likely to play to you would expect this one to be the most receptive to a band with the Wildhearts legacy. I’m not sure anybody though is prepared for just how good they are tonight; we’ve seen them many times now and we know what they’re capable of but even I’m pretty blown away!

The set kicks off with ‘Nita Nitro’ and the first thing that strikes you is that the sound is spot on. The second thing is the renewed energy and vigour that this band has, it could be down to Ginger losing the weight of his dreadlocks but is more likely to be the addition of Scott Sorry to the line up. Since he joined he’s brought a freshness and a new enthusiasm to the band that seems to have rubbed off on everybody else and it’s great to see him and Ginger interacting and leaping around the stage. ‘Vanilla Radio’ sounds phenomenal tonight, with most of the crowd joining in on the chorus and when it’s followed by ‘Someone That Won’t Let Me Go’ and a fantastic version of ‘Everlone’ it’s already shaping up to be a special performance.

Ginger is on fine form and his crowd interaction is as amusing and entertaining as ever. There’s time for some of the newer material with ‘The Revolution will Be Televised’ and the recent Warren Zevon cover ‘Carmelita’, both of which sit well alongside the classics and prove that they have as much to offer now as they ever did. ‘Caffeine Bomb’, ‘Red Light, Green Light’ and an awesome version of ‘My Baby is a Headfuck’ all bring us to the final song. Despite it being nearly 2am after 2 solid days of bands and beer the crowd has remained and is in fine voice and they go nuts for ‘I Wanna Go’, which is delivered with fantastic energy and just sounds great no matter how many times you hear it. At the time of watching I noted that this was possibly the perfect set and looking back it’s hard to disagree with that, it was simply stunning and The Wildhearts prove to be the band of the festival.