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Sonisphere Festival 2010 (Friday) - Day 1 @ Knebworth, Hertfordshire |
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Sonisphere Festival
Day 1 - Friday
30.07.2010
@
Knebworth, Hertfordshire
United Kingdom
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Download may have got the coup of the year by bagging AC/DC, but a festival headlined by Rammstein and Iron Maiden and supported by the likes of Alice Cooper, Slayer, Converge and Kylesa is hardly a duff weekend at Butlin’s, is it? Friday’s festivities serve as a sort of half day affair with the Apollo main stage closed for the day, and experimental sludge merchants/mentalists Chickenhawk give the intimate Strongbow bar a hefty kick in the nuts with a solid and very fucking loud showing that sets the tone for the weekend nicely. It causes all sorts of late afternoon mosh pit frolicking, but it’s nothing compared to what Throats open up on the equally tinky but open air Jägermeister stage. The grindcore-friendly five piece influence some of the most heinously cringeworthy hardcore ‘dancing’ of the weekend, but it doesn’t undermine their own vicious live presence.
It’s almost embarrassing to see how many people have turned up to see Europe for that song, particularly when so much of the Swedes’ material is vastly superior. Still, there’s enough of a decent reaction to the rest of their set - including a bizarre cover of Bob Marley’s ‘No Woman No Cry’ - to make it a success, and yes, ‘The Final Countdown’ sees everyone going bananas. Alice Cooper has quite a few megahits of his own in his arsenal, and though these days his stage show is more cabaret than ever, you can’t argue with classics like ‘Poison’, ‘Elected’ and ‘School’s Out’ - the latter of which both opens and closes his show, somewhat oddly. It’s all good fun, even if it’s unlikely to have Rammstein quaking in their boots. |
Reviewed by Merlin Alderslade
Photography by Justine Sutton & Oran Tarjan
Europe
Gary Numan
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Festival Reviews 
