Hard Rock Hell III
Prestatyn Pontin’s
5th December, 2009

View: between beautiful ladies on couch, front-right

Hi-di-hell? If somebody asked me where I’d host a rock festival, Pontin’s would not feature in the Top 10. But it should. Carpet so soggy you don’t feel guilty having a piss on it, and not a curfew in sight. The last day of the three-day rockathon saw my focus on the main stage, with notable contributions from W.A.S.P, Queensryche, New York Dolls and Spit Like This. The prize for filling the venue goes to W.A.S.P., their set including, among others, The Real Me and I Wanna Be Somebody, before ending with a blinding Blind In Texas. Queensryche took advantage of a sound glitch at the start of their set to claim an extra 15 minutes’ injury time, which was needed to cram in their monster 14-song set-list. Classic glam-rock came in the form of New York Dolls, who delivered a stellar performance and increased their fan-base with the youngsters in the crowd. Spit Like This brought proceedings to a climactic close. The single, ineligible male contingent were not left disappointed, with bassist Vikki looking every bit the rock fantasy, which explained the carpet.

Reviewed by Richard Hogg
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