Gig review: Redrock Festival – The Dublin Castle, Camden – 24/9/17

Last night’s Redrock Festival was proof, if I needed it, that sometimes things don’t go as planned but often that’s a good thing and they actually turn out better than you could have expected. 🙂 I’d originally planned to go to the festival to see two of my favourite bands, Fragile Things and Saint Apache… It was a Sunday night and I had to get up for work early, so was planning to leave early… things took a slightly different turn 🙂

Fragile Things

I turned up at the venue about half an hour before Fragile Things were due to play and found that they were already onstage. After an initial panic that I may have missed their set, I settled in and managed to catch the last half of their 45 minute performance. It was awesome. I saw them at Amplified Festival, so I knew that they are a fantastic live band. In this intimate indoor venue, the ambience was even more perfect for their sound. There were quite a few fans in attendance. Fragile Things’ music is high-energy and their passion for the music is contagious. The four band members each have their own individual style, which makes this an interesting band to watch. The music is perfect for dancing and singing along to, and forgetting your cares for a while. I managed to catch one of the new songs they played, “The Big Reveal”, which is a heavy number and sounded amazing live.

I was also glad I caught their recent single, “Better Than This”, and the title-track from their EP, “Broken Sun”, which are two of my faves.

SET LIST: Enemy Is I/You’d Never Know/Memories and Wine/Bastard Child/Open Cage/Better Than This/So Cold/The Big Reveal/Broken Sun

Fragile Things really are a must-see rock band. Frontman, Richie Hevanz (ex-Heaven’s Basement), has a fantastic voice and he really knows how to engage with the audience and convey the emotion in the songs. The rest of the band are very charismatic on stage as well. Don’t miss your chance to see this band live. They have quite a few dates lined up.

Follow Fragile Things:

Website: https://www.fragilethingsofficial.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FragileThings_

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/fragilethingsofficial

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fragilethingsofficial/

LaFlamme

I was expecting Saint Apache to play after Fragile Things, but the line-up had been changed due to band members not arriving on time, etc. Next up were LaFlamme. I didn’t know anything about this band and wasn’t sure what to expect. They play rock and roll with a punk edge. Their songs have quite catchy melodies. I enjoyed their set. Their influences include The Ramones, Lou Reed, and AC/DC. They reminded me a bit of bands like The Clash. There were some great riffs and guitar parts in the songs.

They have a few more tour dates lined up this year.

Follow LaFlamme:

Website: http://www.laflammeband.co.uk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/laflammeband/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/laflammeband

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laflammeband/

The Black Bullets

The Black Bullets were up next. I’m so glad that the stage times changed, otherwise I would have definitely missed this band, and they were brilliant! It’s hard to describe how brilliant they were, you just have to catch one of their shows when they play near you. They are a must-see punk rock band. The lead singer reminded me of Iggy Pop, that same kind of attitude and charisma. He’s memerising. The bass player’s T-shirt said “Sad Goth”, but she’s anything but sad; she has a great stage presence and is mostly smiling 🙂 She also did some gymnastics while playing the guitar, which was impressive!

This band put all their energy into their performance and are really something special.

One of the songs they played was “Mockingbird”, which I think is their latest single. The guitarist said they had an awesome video for the track, but the singer said we should make up our own minds as to whether or not it’s awesome. I’ve just watched it and can confirm it is awesome 🙂

It was an energetic and highly entertaining 45 minute set. The Black Bullets are now definitely one of my new favourite bands.

Catch them on tour if they are playing near you.

I wasn’t familiar with their songs, so couldn’t tell you which ones they played, but I did manage to get a snap of their set list:

Follow The Black Bullets:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBlackBulletsUK/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BlackBulletsUK

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theblackbullets13/

Saint Apache

Saint Apache were the next band on stage. I’d been looking forward to catching them live. I featured their excellent track “You’re Not A Slave” as Track of the Day back in August.

That song sounded great live, too! They played all the songs from their latest EP, “Wolf Machine”, as well as a couple from their debut EP (“Right On The Money”, “That Ship Had Sailed”).

Saint Apache’s drummer was unable to make it to the show, so they had a stand-in Chris Phillips from Scout Killers.  They played a cover of Scout Killers’ “No Reason”. The drummer did a great job playing the Saint Apache songs.

This band has a lot of energy and their funky rock songs are the kind that can really get the crowd involved. The lead singer spent most of his time off the stage, making use of the rest of the room as well 🙂 He’s a brilliant frontman and sings with passion.

Saint Apache are on tour in the UK in October. Catch them if you can!

The band went down so well that the crowd asked for one more song. As the drummer was only standing in, they played one of the songs again, “The Story Doesn’t End Here” 🙂 It was great to hear it twice, though, as it’s one of my favourites.

Follow Saint Apache:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/SaintApache

Twitter: https://twitter.com/saintapache

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saintapache/

Redwire

I decided to hang around and watch Redwire, who were up next, because they were the band who’d organised the whole festival. The bands were hand-picked by Redwire and they were all great, so I thought Redwire’s performance would probably be good as they have good taste. 🙂

I didn’t know anything about Redwire and wasn’t familiar with their songs but I enjoyed their set. They did a great cover version of “Dream On” (Aerosmith), and their performance seemed to go up a notch after that. I especially liked their last track “Born to Lose”. They have a great melodic rock sound.

SET LIST: Fight To Stay/Run Down Town/Street Lights/Libertine/ Dream On (Aerosmith cover)/ Born To Lose.

Redwire are the house band at the weekly jam night at The Dublin Castle. They play a set every week and are also available to jam with other people who turn up to play and want a backing band. Free entry, every Tuesday night, sign up from 7:30pm if you want to play a slot!

Follow Redwire:

Website: http://www.redwire.band/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RedwireBand/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/redwiremusic

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redwireband/

KilliT

Maria Haskins, my fellow Rock and Roll blog writer, has been raving about KilliT for ages (check out her review of their album from last year HERE). For some reason, I’d never got around to listening to them. I usually like the same music as Maria H., so I decided to stay and watch them. I’m so glad I did! They are amazing. I managed to get a photo of their set list, so here’s what they played:

Most of the songs were from their debut album, but they also did new ones. I was hooked from the start. They play powerful, catchy, addictive, heavy rock music, with thought-provoking lyrics. I loved every minute of their performance. This band deserves to be massive.

KilliT were the perfect headliners for this day of great rock music.

I think I’m just a little bit in love with this band, or maybe a lot. They are fantastic. I was impressed by how all of their songs were brilliant, without exception, which is rare for any band. The lead singer is charismatic and is great at interacting with the crowd. The guitars were awesome and the whole band look like they love what they do. A perfect end to a perfect night’s entertainment. I expect to see this band gracing much larger stages in the near future. The future of great rock music is safe in their hands 🙂

They have a few dates lined-up this year, check out their website for details: http://www.killitband.com/tour

Follow KilliT:

Website: http://www.killitband.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/killitband

Twitter: https://twitter.com/killitband

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/killitband/