I’m not sure how I saw this was an event but the Saturday looked good and Smith couldn’t make it so I dragged my kids along to this event. Based in Mote Park in Maidstone this is less than a mile from where I work and very local. I didn’t really know what to expect or even where in the park this was but it seemed like a fun thing to do. I did manage to arrange parking at work so I could avoid traffic jams after the festival.
I was mainly interested in the bands on the heavy stage which was a little stage in the corner of the festival area. I watched The Offspin who were an Offspring tribute band and they were pretty good, but I only knew about 4 of the songs they played and I didn’t know them that well. I enjoyed them though. Then I went to see Whitesnake UK on the main stage. I mean, Whitesnake are a UK band but I guess the cover band has to make themselves different some how. Apart from one song, I knew everything they played and it was absolutely great. I do love me some 80s slutty rock. The band opened with Bad Boys and closed with Still Of The Night! Stunning.
Next I watched most of the Kiss tribute band and it was fun even though I didn’t really know any songs. But next up were Live Undead – a tribute to Slayer and I was definitely looking forward to this. They opened with Hell Awaits, played War Ensemble and all the greats. The only one they missed in my opinion was Mandatory Suicide. But it was a great show and there was a mosh circle/pit in front of me. Really enjoyed their set.
After returning from the car I caught a little of War Pigs as I walked just outside the venue. I found this amusing, the level of “nasty” music when there was what looked like a church gathering in the park! Once inside I heard the last of the Ozzy set, it seemed they did a good job and then I waited for the Metallica tribute.
What I liked about the Metallica tribute was they didn’t try to be Hetfield on stage. They were just some lads playing Metallica songs rather than trying to emulate the band as a whole and I liked this. Their set was chosen by the fans so they played ten songs including a few I quite dislike – Whiskey In The Jar and Nothing Else Matters. But every other song was absolutely brilliant and I really enjoyed their set. The crowd loved it so much that the band had to ask the pit to calm down three times! It was a great day with great music. I think going to see cover bands is great – you get all the best songs and nothing from the new album which hasn’t been released yet.