Review by Lewd Scoff
Pix by Helheim Photographic
The venue is starting to pump when I finally arrive just before 7pm. Some days I swear I couldn’t organise a runny shit in a gastric attack, but here we are at the Brightside for Glam Fest 2023.
Spewing I missed Tuff, and hopefully a rendition of American Hair Band (if you knew, you know). As a youngster, I was a huge fan of Ugly Kid Joe, and I know that their name is a reverse of Pretty Boy Floyd, but there being no Spotify or the like, it was hard for an impressionable 90s champ to hear the bands that weren’t part of that era’s mainstream. I now see why the generation before was so cynical of our woe is me, I hate my instrument and dad sucks attitude towards rock n roll.
At the end of the day, a Pretty Boy Floyd banger is pretty much the same as a Weezer shrug fest, just different attitude.
And tbh, I’m in the party corner.
Steve Summers leads the four piece through former hit after fan favourite, with a setlist that proves they’ve always kept up with modern cultural musical trends that lean towards the heavier side. After a while though, vocally, it started to be a little I scream, you scream, we all scream for them to stop screaming.
Set highlight Rock N Roll is Going to Set the World on Fire, was received like an audience on the sunset strip in 1988 would have when it was first released. Steve Summers sounds like a romantic Skeletor on occasion, just enough to be comically noticeable.
The musical equivalent of wearing an onion on your belt, I fear it was the style at time. 7 out of 10 descending major scales tend to agree.
The amps are saying no way !!!!!!
No way are Enuff Z’Nuff delivering a set filled with more classics than nanas tea tray through our amplification system.
After expert deliberation from the technical crew, the lads triumphantly hit the stage and stun the already sweltering crowd with a face-melting rendition of Magical Mystery Tour by the Beatles (check out 2022’s Hard Rock Nite tribute album), which segues into what can only be considered an onslaught of Cocaine Twin inspired southern boogie, good time rock N roll courtesy of party rocker, Kiss The Clown.
Songwriting is on display, coupled with some awesome lead work from Tory Stoffregen, on second song, Heaven or Hell. Eleanor Rigby is risen from the grave as Chip Z’Nuff creates empathy and pathos with his rough, velvet timbre, and it’s a true blessing to catch it live.
Fly High Michelle is a poignant message to a loved one since passed, disguised as 80s prom core. New Thing has me scrambling to see who came through the gate first, Enuff, or Nirffana. And fuck me, Kurff owes these lads some money. Great song, and another nail in the manky coffin that was grunge. 9 out of 10 “fuck yeah motherfuckers” .
Sweden has produced some fantastic music across multiple genres, and Eclipse from capital city Stockholm is no exception. Extreme power metal is where it’s at, and Eclipse have moved in, for the next 40 minutes at least.
A lot of references to Saturday night amongst the bands tonight, and Saturday Night (hallelujah) is no exception, a tidy little rocker with a chant-like chorus that just makes sense on this public holiday eve (Wednesday).
But then the wheels of logic start turning. I hadn’t factored in the time difference between Europe and Australia. So, when they sing ‘Saturday’, they actually mean ‘Wednesday’. Sorted.
Absolute mayhem set adrift in a sea of reverb erupts frequently from the fretboards as these mighty axemen don’t so much as play, as slay.
Erik Mårtensson leads us through a patchy version of crowd favourite Runaways. before the power of metal is threatened upon the crowd in the form of Masquerade. And they agree, returning the bands on stage energy with thunderous applause.
The Downfall of Eden is the Nordic D&D version of Bon Jovi’s Dry County. Twilight is great power pop in the tradition of The Rasmus; up-tempo, full of nasty snarl and delicate hooks. Hooks worthy of the inclusion of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Pure joy.
Concluding with Viva La Victoria, Eclipse were clearly a crowd favourite and left the crowd wishing that were flying to Melbourne tomorrow. 9.5 minor key stomps on a Scorpions head out of 10.
MurderDolls frontman Wednesday 13 brings the intentional date line debacle to a standstill, with a pure spectacle of disconcerting uneasiness.
The lights dim, and action……. Nearly. More of the dragged-out change-over delays that have plagued the night. (Editors note: Soundcheck delays earlier in the day rolled on into the night at no fault of anything except bad luck).
Out comes Wednesday 13 to the opening chords of Critical Acclaim by Avenged Sevenfold, minus the awesome harmony guitar solo and into Bloodsucker. I’ll admit, I’m not a fan of this band at all, but the crowd is here for as much blatant plagiarism as possible.
Playing tracks from the Fang Bang album, it was definitely party time at the expense of Wednesday 13’s ex-wife when the band cranked out My Home Sweet Homicide, with Wednesday sitting vocally between Sebastian Bach in punk mode and Rob Zombie. The band were definitely on point giving a fantastic show for their Brisbane fans.
Highlight was definitely the Scream for Me song. Dark low groovy fun.
And I looked for umbrellas with the middle finger emblazoned across them at the merch stand, but was sadly let down. Much like the fans whose calls for ‘one more song’ were drowned out by Poison’s Talk Dirty to Me, which they happily sung along to instead. Pure dedication. 7 other artists out of 10.
Headliners, Faster Pussycat finally Grace us with their presence after more change-over delays, and it’s worth the wait.
Taime Downes voice is on fire and so is the band. Wow. Some awesome on-stage energy fresh from L.A.
The cats played through a selection of their classic repertoire along with some rare gems, much to hardcore fans delight.
Drummer Chad Stewart holds a highly capable rhythm section with bassist Danny Nordahl never missing pick to string and rhythm guitarist Ronnie Simmons, equally in the pocket.
A cover of Carly Simon’s, You’re So Vain wasn’t really necessary, but it’s nice to know that I have such journalistic reach, and I Lewd Scoff, thank you, Faster Pussycat for the sentiment. Thank you. Again.
Riff after riff soaking in that East Coast sunshine, and dripping of postcode 90069 come courtesy of
Marshall stacks armed with Celestion weaponry that only Les Paul is authorised to load.
Particular attention must be made to the song, House of Pain, the bands, ‘serious’ slow rocker, and tonight’s great sing-along.
An excellent night out and all that. Cheers Glam Fest 2023. For a debut festival this one was particularly well organised and delivered. Bring on Glam Fest 2024!
P.S: The Brightside needs air conditioning.
Glam Fest has its final show today, January 28, in Sydney. Tix here: sbttix.com/glamfest
