Spirit Of Rock Winterthur, Switzerland June 2nd 2007 review

[Iceman24]

Thanks to "The Sandman", who read it through and corrected the text.

So, this time, my mate and I went to see the "Spirit Of Rock Festival" in Winterthur. The line-up was very good, because in the "Eulachhalle", where the concert took place, there's only place for 3500 people. On the previous day, Mötley Crüe played there, for example.

The first act, the Swiss rockers named China which had their biggest success in the 80s, we unfortunately missed, because the concert started earlier then expected, so we only got to see a few songs. But what I heard, I liked.

Then U.D.O., a German band with former Accept singer Udo Dirkschneider, went on stage. The band started well, but one thing is for sure, the band needs another singer. His mixture of Donald Duck and Dani Filth can hardly be described as singing. Most people seemed to like it, though. As already mentioned, I liked the music, at least in the beginning. As time went by, I realised that almost every song had the same clichéd 80s Metal riff. Also the guitarist didn’t impress me, even though you would have thought he was a guitar legend, by looking at his poses. All in all I can say, that was by far the worst act I've ever seen live and that's why I was glad when U.D.O. stopped playing after 45 minutes.

Now it was time for the “New Wave Of British Heavy Metal” band Saxon. I had already seen them in March, so I had big expectations, because they were awesome back then. The band began with "Let Me Feel Your Power", from the new album. Singer Biff Byford showcased again his very strong voice. After that he asked us if the volume is loud enough. We affirmed, and he was like: "No, it's not, but it seems that the politicians here have sensitive ears". It didn't really bother me, though, because I prefer it a bit lower. The sound quality is better then. Before they played a song, they asked us, if we preferred a "new song or an old song" and a "slow song or a fast song". This always resulted in "old and fast". Biff then said, that they only continued playing new songs if we all go out and by their new album the day after. We all promised and he said laughing: "You fuckin' liars". More or less in the middle of the show, he then tore apart the set list and tried eating it, which he then desisted. In between the classics like "Crusader", "Denim And Leather" and "Princess Of The Night" (which was fucked up by guitarist Paul Quinn in the beginning, so the band had to start over again), they also played some songs from the new album, which I liked, because "The Inner Sanctum" is really good. Once bass player Nibbs Carter then left stage and came towards us. I reacted immediately and managed to put my hand on his naked shoulder, which meant I had my hand full of sweat. I then wiped up some of the sweat on my mates arm. The musical highlight was probably "Wheels Of Steel", during which Biff told us to sing with "Grande Cojones". Saxon then played "And The Bands Played On" to close the show. Definitely one kick-ass performance.

After the concert of Saxon, the question was now, what could Motörhead be up to. When the three of them went onstage, they sounded better than I had expected. Lemmy's extremely brutish voice fits the music. Of course they also played some of the classics, like "Stay Clean" or "Ace Of Spades". Lemmy, by the way, also asked us about the volume, because they didn't want to ruin our ears. I think they were really loud, and lived up to their reputation. The audience was now on the climax of rocking out. The security guards carried out people all the time. After some songs, though, I had to say that Motörhead also became a bit boring, because the songs sounded more or less the same. For refreshment, they played an awesome drum solo. One of the best songs of the concert was one of the encores. They played the "Whorehouse Blues" – which they played acoustically. At the end of the concert, after Motörhead had played for a bit more than an hour, Lemmy threw out some plectrums. I almost caught one, but was hit in the face. Then I saw it on the ground and put my foot on it but someone grabbed my leg and took the guitar pick. It was like in fuckin' war. In the end I didn't have a plectrum, but I had seen Motörhead. It was a good performance, although it could have been a bit more varied.

The highlight of the Spirit Of Rock Festival was definitely the appearance of Black Sabbath line-up, named Heaven And Hell. The stage design depicted the entrance to a cemetery in which the drum set of Vinnie Appice was located. The concert kicked off with the psychedelic song "E5150". The spotlight illuminated the stage in blue hue. At first, metal legend Tony Iommi came onstage. A dark shadow appeared, wearing a shiny cross around his neck. This shadow took a guitar from a roadie and then the four of them started to rock. They played "Mob Rules". Soon after, they played the song I was waiting for. "The Sign Of The Southern Cross". All of them were in a good shape and Dio's voice was really strong, although his voice was a bit too low in the beginning. But then they adjusted the volume, which was again very loud. The fact that I was standing a few metres in front of the speaker may also have contributed to that. The people liked the performance, but they weren't head banging like they did during Motörhead's set, but of course, Black Sabbath makes Doom Metal. Tony Iommi, standing the whole concert right in front of me, managed to make one of the coolest moves ever. He wanted to start a guitar solo, when he realised, his glasses had slipped a bit. So he just kept playing one note, while he adjusted his glasses in professor-style manner with the other hand. Then he started to play the solo. It was also impressive to see the prosthetics he wears on his hand, because he had lost 2 fingertips when he was 18. The best performance, together with "The Sign Of The Southern Cross", was probably "Heaven And Hell" with the amazing baseline played by Geezer Butler. The song included some light effects like Dio in a heavenly light and then in red light looking like the devil. Heaven And Hell played for about 1 hour and 20 minutes. All in all, it was a really good performance, although they could have played longer.

The festival rocked, expect for U.D.O. Saxon again proved that they're an awesome live band and Motörhead made the concert hall into a madhouse. Also Heaven And Hell's performance was awesome too.

Some pictures

U.D.O.

Saxon

Motörhead

For the Heaven And Hell pics, scroll a little bit down, there you'll find them.

Edited June 25, 2007 by Iceman24

[The Sandman]

Nice review, even better pictures!

Not a problem btw

[Iceman24]

Heaven And Hell

[rQueen]

Damn you and your fine pics tall guy!

I'll see heaven and hell live tomorrow. I can't wait. I've seen Dio solo, Sabbath with Ozzy and now them! Yay!

And before them Dream Theater, what more could I ask for!!!