Saturday review at Planet Rockstock 2023 with Michael Schenker, GUN and These Wicked Rivers

With many still shaking off the previous night’s excesses of Rockaoke, the Saturday at Planet Rockstock’s 10th anniversary event kicks off with Ransom playing the Graham Harding Stage at the distinctly non-metallic time of 11am. Cassidy Paris, all the way from Australia, is up next – supported by her guitar-playing father she whips out some smart soft rock tunes and there’s an enjoyable cover of ‘Close My Eyes Forever’, the Ozzy Osbourne and Lita Ford duet, in which she is joined by Danny Cecati from fellow Aussies Wicked Smile.

That band’s set is a more seasoned heavy rock revival, and it’s followed by bluesy roots from The Blue Lena, Night Demon’s molten metal, and the broody sounds of White Raven Down – the latter have the distinction of being called back for an encore.

If you want a short guide on how to smash your way into people’s lives in just 30mins, look no further than These Wicked Rivers - dizzyingly brilliant retro rock band performs the ultimate smash and grab. The segue of ‘Force Of Nature’ into ‘Shine On’ is a thing to die for, as is Planet Rock fave ‘Black Gold’ and ‘Testify’s coiling, libidinous throb.

The characterful Arran Day high kicks his way through earthy riffs and glimmering solos, while John Hartwell – the band’s remarkable but normally inscrutable frontman – cannot resist breaking into random grins as a packed house sing his songs back at him. During the closing ‘Don’t Pray For Me’ (written by keyboard player Rich Wilson – credit where it’s due), Hartwell emotes lines such as “don’t judge a man by only what you see”, and if there are dry eyes in the house, they sure as hell don’t include this writer. Good luck to any band trying to follow that.

DeWolff from the Netherlands, and Frenchmen Lazuli both have a good try. The bands dig distinct psychedelic and prog rock furrows. It makes their music a little hard to handle, difficult to define, but if you allow it to wash over you, the colours they leave in the memory are vivid. DeWolff are a prodigiously talented three piece, formed by brothers Pablo and Luka van de Poel with Robin Piso playing keyboards. Taking on a 20-minute song says a lot about their confidence, not to mention their talent, but it’s undeniably a hard sell.

Lazuli are possibly even more difficult to define in a few sentences – the star of their mellifluous, mostly laid back music is Claude Leonetti who plays the léode, an instrument he invented after losing the use of his left hand in car accident. It sounds like a cross between synth and slide guitar – definitely a you-had-to-be-there moment.

With GUN, at least, we know exactly what we’re getting. The Scottish rockers are the epitome of rugged, reliable hard rock, and they’re enjoying something of a renaissance at present thanks to Planet Rock favourite ‘All Fired Up’. Dante Gizzi continues to front the band with practised aplomb, and songs like ‘Steal Your Fire’ and ‘Better Days’ are always going to be lapped up at events like this. With new album ‘Hombres’ due next April this is probably the most exciting time to be a member of Gun for many years.

Rockstock has the reputation of luring rock icons to the South Wales coast – after Phil Campbell and Graham Bonnet, the mercurial Michael Schenker brings more genuine star quality to the Porthcawl stage. There’s always an edge with Schenker – his reputation ensures that. Some have said that you never really know which version of the German guitar hero will turn up.

Tonight it’s old school rock gold – and a joy to watch him belt out classics like ‘Light’s Out’, ‘Doctor Doctor’ (both UFO) and ‘Armed And Ready’ (Michael Schenker Group). It’s also great to see Robin McAuley return to the band – back in the late 80s Schenker briefly changed the name of MSG to McAuley Schenker Group, a mark of how much he rated the Irish singer. It’s more than impressive to witness how much that chemistry continues to thrive after all these years.

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