Where was I, oh yeah, 'nice' people. It's great to play your instruments brilliantly, it's even better to cram venues with happy punters, even betterer to do it for the love of it rather than the money - but when you're a 'nice' person as well - well, that's when I really warm to a band..................Anyway, I'm veering away from the main thing here - reviewing the bands at Stormin';

Cannot believe Stormin' came round so quick - and cannot really believe I was on board to check out the superb bands on offer courtesy of Veece and Michelle who just keep coming up trumps year after year with such a stunning array of bands. I was keeping my eye on the weather forecast a whole week before the Stormin weekend and was cock a hoop to see that rain was very unlikely - mind you, so was a heatwave, but let's just be thankful for small mercies

Nige took several songs to get into them cos he is a rocker at heart and although I am trying to widen his appreciation of other forms of music it is not an easy task.
 

The only thing he knew about Diablo was the drummer Dave, cos all the email contact from the band was from him

But along with Dave there is Steve on Bass guitar, and also Paul on Lead Guitar

Davey on vocals, well, I say vocals, but this guy is multi-talented and was a superb frontman, a vocalist, a guitarist and he played keyboards as well, in fact, at one stage I'm sure I saw him sweeping the stage..........!!

Along with their own stuff they added Monster, Creep, American Idiot, along with superb compositions which seemed to go down very well and bring in more and more people song by song. I know Nige was especially taken with 'Spit Upon the Ashes' and he was even singing along at one point (and he wasn't even pissed yet!).
 

And this is the icing on the cake for me cos not only are these guys good musicians, they fall into my 'nice' category. Hence it was MY pleasure to have my picture taken with THEM. A really down to earth good bunch of lads. Dave drums joked that could Nige possibly Photoshop the picture to make him look like George Clooney but, d'y'know Dave, in my eyes you are perfect just the way you are. Hey, I know I am overweight and no spring chicken but I enjoy my music, love meeting great people and what I say comes from my heart. I reckon that is better anyday than being drop dead gorgeous and an arse..

Had a lovely chat with the guys before Nige dragged me off to stuff his face with a massive hot dog. Actually, I fancied a large sausage myself.

Dave was telling me that they knew everything was against them playing first on the Friday night, but their spirits were heightened when, song by song, they noticed the tent filling up: 'Val, you don't how good a feeling that was to see crowds coming in. It really lifted our spirits.'

The band consist of Mike on vocals and violin, Bruce on double bass, 

Simon on drums, and Danny on keyboards. 

 
 
 
 
 
 

The main thing that makes this band stand out from their contemporaries is the the fabulous patter from Mike.
The quick fire Irish style music from these Teessiders is superb, and their versions of Dirty Old Town, Brown Eyed Girl, 500 Miles and Wild Rover had me jumpin around like a young 'un, 

You have to MEAN it and not pretend it, and it was obvious that Mike loves what he does and can quite easily take the, mickey out of himself and his 
roots and get a laugh from it too.

A rare talent. A very satisfying band who didn't seem to be on long enough. 
 

Would love to catch them again at a local pub - in fact I have made my mind up - I will. 

And next time I will make a point of chatting to 'Smoggy' to get some low down on this band. Apparently they do really well in Teesside but are not known too well further north or into the Durham area.

These lads could play forever -  they paced themselves perfectly and turned out some excellent prog rock. If you ever got into the Eighties Prog rock bands such as Yes, Emerson Lake and Palmer and liked your tracks as long as albums then this band will have you floating above the floor (like a lot of the bikers watching the band tonight) they create the mood perfectly and if you want dedication and accuracy you won't be looking too far past Prognosis. The newest members are Tim bass, & John keyboards, although they have been with the band quite a few months now and have settled in brilliantly alongside Paul, Tim, Kev on drums and the marvellous vocals of lead man Paul Harris better known as 'Moose' to his friends a fantastic frontman who has such an incredible voice, god knows how it lasted after performing  for over two and a half hours but still injecting his own personality into the music.They play a great balance of songs new and old which introduces a variety of moods and pace, featuring a full light show, atmospheric effects and incredible Lasers,

I was looking forward to Comfortably Numb (the song, not from too much JD!) but missed it cos we were in the main tent.

But we did catch Fanfare for the Common Man and Soul Survivor. Other gems that were appreciated by a very large crowd was Day for Night, Floyd medley: Breath/Time/Money, Mama, Blackfield, Mouth of Madness, Sole Survivor, Every Day, Heroes and others (well, we're not gonna spoil the next gig for you!). 

It makes you think when you realise that the Iris Tent can hold as many people as Newcastle City Hall. Just think of that.

Many years on they are still wowing people with their choice of Rock - or as Scotti Slack Rat would say 'Raaaaaaaaaawk'. Priest, UFO, AC/DC, The Cult - splendid covers done superbly.

This group are almost like a 'brand' in as much as you know exactly what you're going to get just by looking at the label; and you get tons of great quality heavy rock.

Phil, by his own admission, is a 'camera whore' and now he's a Stormin' whore cos he loves a crowd and now he loves a Stormin' crowd - and oh how they loved him.

Drummer Keith has been with the band over three years now and has been known to improvise at times although nowhere near the extravagance of Phil! 

Bass man Colin Hird spend more time off the stage than on, amongst the audience when snap happy Nige caught him mid jump off the fence (knew taking Nige would pay off in the end).

Colin Hird has an infectious smile which certainly endears him to the crowd and I must say, I always get a great welcome and a snuggly hug off him whenever we meet.

Even Mark, who can sometimes 'go through the motions' proved that he has still got it. A superb voice, some great poses (even Nige managed to catch them) and a very popular set that got the thumbs up from absolutely everybody we talked to.

It's no surprise why this band are still at their peak over a decade later when you see them rockin Stormin to the core.

Hi-energy rock and roll but with some soulful songs in there too. 'I Don't Love You Anymore' may come over better on CD in a living room but certainly showed the band's scope. 

Needless to say their singles 'Hey You' and '7 0'clock' caused the most noise and excitement from the audience and overall I enjoyed the show the band put on. Oh, loved 'There She Goes Again' too.

Spike seems to like the JD as much as me - mind you, he can't hold it as well, he was noticeably deteriorating during the performance as the JD was flowing.

Overall.................erm, not sure. Good, but didn't move me totally.

Unfortunately missed Bessie and the Zinc Buckets (yes, the legendary) and I know Roxy from Skinflint was looking forward to gigging with them and by all accounts they brought the house, er, sorry, tent, down as usual. 

A band who I have an unbelievable amount of respect for and fall into my 'nice' but fun category.

Playing Stormin' is the final stamp of approval and the band can now take a breath and pat themselves on the back for sticking in and proving that commitment, skill, a zest for playing and LOOKING like you are enjoying every minute pays dividends.

They may have been first on the bill, but the crowds just poured in to see these guys rock the Stormin stage. In fact, the one thing that stood out for me - well apart from their good looks, their talent, their skill and youth (stop me now....) was bassman Al - the way he grinned through the whole goddamn performance was the epitome of this band's rise to fame. 

He loved every minute - and he showed he loved every minute - and when you know someone is so deeply enjoying himself, then how the hell do you not join in the fun????? 

And he now holds the record as the only guy to play Stormin three years running. 

Yep, he plays with the also mind blowin' Maiden England too. Is there no end to this guy's talent!

Superb self-penned stuff. I need to hear more....

Their set culminating with Deep Purple's own personal favourite - Highway Star and then Smoke on the Water.
 

It can't have been long since Skinflint looked at other bands and wondered what made them tick and could they emulate their peers.

And now full circle has been reached when new younger bands are looking at Skinflint and wanting to be as popular as them. Most of their set consists of covers but they have a wondrous supply of their own songs which are really superb and deserve to be aired more frequently.
 

It was when I was talking to the Skinflint guys that Mark Maiden England came up to congratulate the lads on a superb performance. Not much I can say to follow that.
 
 

Praise indeed from one who knows. Hi to Nichola too who is always on top of the ME gig list and always keeps Riffs up to date.
 
 

They play some blues based covers, some of them from way back but brought slap bang up to date with some fast paced guitar from Bad Bob.

I Fought the Law got the Bandits treatment, along with Substitute and you just know there had to be a Dr Feelgood track in there too! But what wowed me the most was a stupendous version - with some stunning slide guitar - of Rod's Stay With Me. Superb Mr Bates, Whalebone Pete, Brad Dolphin, absolutely superb. 

 

Steve Gilroy was on hand to help the Bandits unravel their cables and got Nige to take a pic to show just what a tangled mess he has to deal with.

Bumped into Steve just weeks before when I caught him on stage at Washington with the Dirty South. Took an instant shine to Steve at Stormin' as soon as I saw he had a bottle of JD in his hand. Feels lovely and warm sliding down my throat.........

I know Nige took lotsa pics, I know Nige loves the band, as do lots of you, and I know it's an era gone by, but that is my point, it IS an era gone by and some of these bands are looking decidedly past their sell by date.

Okay, I enjoyed Doctor Doctor, I enjoyed Lights Out, and Rock Bottom, but when I looked at the guys performing them, it made me sad. And deep down I think Nige was sad too, that the band didn't look like he hoped they would.

I missed out on Scorpions a few weeks ago at Manchester Apollo, even though Nige could have got me a ticket (a long story!) and by Nige's account they did the business - but it's just a shame I can't say that about UFO. Don't get me wrong, I'm not slagging them off - I have too much respect for them (or any band come to think of it) to do that. I am just really disappointed that they didn't just get out there and kick ass like Skinflint did. 


Pete Way was truly Waysted and Phil Mogg was high, and struggling. 

Only Vinnie Moore came across as anywhere near decent. Sorry guys, you don't know just how much I'd like to say that UFO rocked. But they just didn't. In the words of Dan McCafferty: 'Too Bad, Too Sad.'
 
 
 

Fraid Nige has gone off in a sulk so I'm gonna design this Stormin' page myself and get it uploaded asap. Could do with a new look anyway. He will come round when he realises you can't live a dream.....................

So that was it for Stormin rock weekend. A massive thanks to Veece and Michelle who work tirelessly for most of the year to bring you just two days of hassle free live music. And of course how can I forget all the 'backroom boys' who work on the sound, the lights, the security, the food - every damn thing has to be thoroughly thought through and put into action.

You see how many people were in the tent for UFO? Well it takes nearly that many staff to make sure Stormin runs smoothly. And have you noticed how it always does? So thanks guys. We really DO appreciate it.

And just before I sign off I would like to say a big 'thanks guys' to all those good sports who had their pic taken with me - maybe the Skinflint lads thought it may have been like having a pic taken with their mother - but they all joined in the spirit and had a good laugh - which is just as well or I would have taken down their pants and given them a damn good smackin!!! 

And talking of joining in the spirit, I must mention Phil Sticky and Diablo and, oh, loads of peeps, even some guys who recognised me from Riffs wanted their pics taken with me and I show them here 
-   even though I can't remember their name - aren't I a dizzy bitch?!! Cheers guys - you Rock. Sorry, Raaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwk   Val.