A Shirt on Sunday: H.R.H. C.R.O.W.S. 2019 – Sheffield O2 Academy by hockney

View this thread on steempeak.com
· @hockney ·
$12.01
A Shirt on Sunday: H.R.H. C.R.O.W.S. 2019 – Sheffield O2 Academy
![20190907 HRH CROWS 20190915.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmSqiGTwWTtj4eWEbyfpj8cWvJgcfvmhfxRVBSVkW5Aytw/20190907%20HRH%20CROWS%2020190915.jpg)Last year I came away from the inaugural HRH CROWS (Hard Rock Hell: Country, Rock, Outlaw, Western, Southern) excited at the prospect of returning this year for another weekend of fine music headlined by Molly Hatchet. In truth, the weekend was disappointing.

Not much has changed in Sheffield in the last year: a beer guide pub has closed, while Doctor Who has been nosing around a bit.
The festival, however, has lost its way. Molly Hatchet vanished from the bill (that weekend they played a gig in Pennsylvania), to be replaced by Rob Tognoni, a generic pub blues guitarist. There was scarcely a bandanna or flannel shirt to be seen on stage over the weekend. There was an excess of blues artists - I’m not against blues, but it’s not the same as southern/countr rock - and many metal bands who didn’t really fit the outlaw tag. It’s as though the organisers had no faith in the remit they’d defined.

There were some great acts:
![20190907_1310 Elevation Falls.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmR4HHFeSYsdUs46ivoY8sjzStjhSqCTkD1TDm3tUsgX5E/20190907_1310%20Elevation%20Falls.jpg)
Elevation Falls are an Irish folk-metal band with blues aspects. Yeah, I know I’m going back on what I just wrote, but their singer Hazel Jade has a quite staggering voice and the band did an acoustic set where they came across incredibly well. The blues numbers showed off Jade’s voice and her ability to jump a couple of octaves on the beat. Unfortunately, they were totally misplaced in the line-up and the crowd was not on their side.
![20190908_1231 Elevation Falls.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmQZEs5Pzb3vbbGJf6ETg4n8Az7JvyWaP6AQmRqXvBmWFR/20190908_1231%20Elevation%20Falls.jpg)
On Sunday morning they did an excellent acoustic set featuring a great cover of Heart’s ‘Alone’, given they are all too young to remember it being released. 

![20190907_1215 Collateral.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmZUaE5yJPhu8CXH2RyvbexuSQ8NN3JVmKXELJ6mEv9EZC/20190907_1215%20Collateral.jpg)
Collateral were far better than their records suggest, with a lot more grit and definitely ticking the ‘Outlaw’ box by channelling Aerosmith and Bon Jovi.

![20190907_1411 Wattingers.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmatXPXU2TRcidX8kwh68hPkwD8brRvhtWmvU3fTz4g4Cw/20190907_1411%20Wattingers.jpg)![20190907_1452 Wattingers.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmTH5c2qDxwxPi3afUXr7TKGs9VgPaDUurMKKekUCaXCXe/20190907_1452%20Wattingers.jpg)
The Wattingers arrived with their own audience. Leaning against the rail were a statuesque couple in Western attire, both obviously part of the retinue as they appear on the album cover. A steam-punk three-piece (sweet!) of singer and percussionist dressed in the style of ‘Hell On Wheels’ TV show and a bass player modelling the latest in Mad Max dog-style facial gear. The trio are bolstered by ‘Ezekial Obediah Wattinger’ - a drum machine and synthesizer fashioned from wood, bones, a steam engine and an old reel-to-reel. Sisters of Mercy meets Ministry meets Johnny Cash!

![20190907_1404 Swamp Born Assassins.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmSjw7x4UzQCfjhVGV4X3CoVVFgDM3Npgy6BwzDg84E6PX/20190907_1404%20Swamp%20Born%20Assassins.jpg)
Swamp Born Assassins and Sons of Liberty were proper Southern Rock and both did a fine job. The Assassins had a female backing singer ala Cassie Gaines of Lynyrd Skynyrd, but lack Skynyrd’s swing (and clashed with the Wattingers who were too good to leave). Both were fronted by ageing men in hats who could play a mean harmonica and were excellent frontmen.
![20190907_1622 Sons Of Liberty.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmPNYgiuh9ALyixxSByHVp4VdsByV3dAyqBXeoPCMp2vUp/20190907_1622%20Sons%20Of%20Liberty.jpg)

![20190907_1807 Outlaw Orchestra.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmYz32GhL29bMZB7qQLDuETfDrjzvQt8G9oWCPuK8ng8Mi/20190907_1807%20Outlaw%20Orchestra.jpg)
Two of last year’s highlights made return visits this year, the first being the wonderful Outlaw Orchestra. They are still playing rock-grass with aplomb, now joined by a new banjo player who also plays minimalist but effective lap-slide guitar to give an extra depth and more silliness. The stories are still tall, the jokes still dumb and the grooves still infectious.

![20190907_2102 Jason Scorchers.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmVfPA1PkmxH1ck8zTBuE68auZcYDzdPeEP4zUfXbLRQkY/20190907_2102%20Jason%20Scorchers.jpg)
Saturday’s twin headliners - Jason & The Scorcher and The Kentucky Headhunters were both better than I expected and exactly what I wanted. The Scorchers are a Southern bar band with a front man modelled after Norman Wisdom. They sold me early in the set with a song about coal mining, “Where to stand and be a man you have to learn to crawl”.

![20190907_2304 Kentucky Headhunters.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmQ4zsRDxLqGFWspUy8FyqZ85duQG51jptffk5DPv4PZih/20190907_2304%20Kentucky%20Headhunters.jpg)
The Headhunters have been going for 50 years and it shows in their material and classy playing. Their lead guitar player is a small man of advancing years, who wanders around the stage with a huge smile and knocks out lovely solos as though he’s been doing it all his life. Which he has.
The next morning I met one of the Headhunters at breakfast and he was very friendly, considering the lack of sleep and being late up and all that.

![20190908_1513 Finding Georgia.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmVhmgfTziTFzKAeKp8QjunetCy43GjaULCYoaDBuMguks/20190908_1513%20Finding%20Georgia.jpg)
Finding Georgia was the only other band of the weekend with a female lead singer, and a whole different proposition. They brought country & western music from Leicester, (Country & Leicestern?) played with gusto and a nod to the 80s soft rock acts. Some great songs about drinking, revenge, and, er, being Welsh in a built-up area. A highlight was a song mixing ‘Enter Sandman’ with ‘Don’t Stop Believing’, showing that Metallica and Journey are just two ends of the same continuum.

![20190908_1759 Dead Men's Whiskey.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmXjvWBGncvZp7fZgctJYGRzesdBCZxr4n4vpDAaBXt4ab/20190908_1759%20Dead%20Men's%20Whiskey.jpg)
My favourite new band of the weekend is Dead Men’s Whiskey. Young men playing metal with a slight drawl and a lead singer based on Jack Black. They have tapped into a rich vein of songs about being a heavy metal fan (‘The Fight’, ‘Last Train Home’ that reminded me of when I had hair. There was also a song about a giant robot, which quite logically (at the time) included a Rick Astley chorus. The emotional highlight was a song dedicated to the singer’s mother (so they MUST be a country and western act) that brought grown men to tears, while their fab cover is ‘Kiss From a Rose’, the old Seal song.

![20190908_1842 Gorilla Riot.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmfMjJun4Ees4znfoidPhGELhNjDJoEeTH9DB4Zp54fyiv/20190908_1842%20Gorilla%20Riot.jpg)
Gorilla Riot were the other returning champions from last year and by rights should have headlined the Sunday as they are a proper C.R.O.W.S. band and had the crowd in the palms of their hands.

![20190908_2006 Matt Pearce.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmdd4E2gMrabLRKru2QvweqT9yPBasnTh6yEUUnHkAjDJ7/20190908_2006%20Matt%20Pearce.jpg)
Matt Pearce was the only blues artist of the weekend I enjoyed; he channels Gary Moore and Peter Green, even to the point of a gold Gibson Les Paul and a cracking version of ‘Oh Well’. His album is very good and the crowning song is the title track ‘Got To get Home’ with its gospel chorus to set the arm-hair on end. The band was also mighty fine and having a guest saxophonist gave the set a nice tonal variation.

The HRH organisation has dropped the ball with this particular project and next year it’s being folded into the Blues weekend, which the crowd attendance for some of the blues acts this year may have shown them wasn’t a totally good idea. I’ll be awaiting the line-up announcement before I put money down on C.R.O.W.S. chapter 3.
And that’s my last trip to Sheffield in the foreseeable future. It’s a great city, and well worth a weekend trip, even if there’s not a bizarre metal festival happening at the time.

![20190908_1618 HRH.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmWDBNfFkoKdMovbfBYA5NvgDCxWZT4EzibEryrhEerEAu/20190908_1618%20HRH.jpg)
👍  , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and 1354 others
👎  
properties (23)
post_id80,018,504
authorhockney
permlinka-shirt-on-sunday-h-r-h-c-r-o-w-s-2019-sheffield-o2-academy
categoryshirtonsunday
json_metadata{"tags":["shirtonsunday","hrhcrows","outlaworchestra","deadmenswhiskey","sheffield"],"image":["https:\/\/cdn.steemitimages.com\/DQmSqiGTwWTtj4eWEbyfpj8cWvJgcfvmhfxRVBSVkW5Aytw\/20190907%20HRH%20CROWS%2020190915.jpg","https:\/\/cdn.steemitimages.com\/DQmR4HHFeSYsdUs46ivoY8sjzStjhSqCTkD1TDm3tUsgX5E\/20190907_1310%20Elevation%20Falls.jpg","https:\/\/cdn.steemitimages.com\/DQmQZEs5Pzb3vbbGJf6ETg4n8Az7JvyWaP6AQmRqXvBmWFR\/20190908_1231%20Elevation%20Falls.jpg","https:\/\/cdn.steemitimages.com\/DQmZUaE5yJPhu8CXH2RyvbexuSQ8NN3JVmKXELJ6mEv9EZC\/20190907_1215%20Collateral.jpg","https:\/\/cdn.steemitimages.com\/DQmatXPXU2TRcidX8kwh68hPkwD8brRvhtWmvU3fTz4g4Cw\/20190907_1411%20Wattingers.jpg","https:\/\/cdn.steemitimages.com\/DQmTH5c2qDxwxPi3afUXr7TKGs9VgPaDUurMKKekUCaXCXe\/20190907_1452%20Wattingers.jpg","https:\/\/cdn.steemitimages.com\/DQmSjw7x4UzQCfjhVGV4X3CoVVFgDM3Npgy6BwzDg84E6PX\/20190907_1404%20Swamp%20Born%20Assassins.jpg","https:\/\/cdn.steemitimages.com\/DQmPNYgiuh9ALyixxSByHVp4VdsByV3dAyqBXeoPCMp2vUp\/20190907_1622%20Sons%20Of%20Liberty.jpg","https:\/\/cdn.steemitimages.com\/DQmYz32GhL29bMZB7qQLDuETfDrjzvQt8G9oWCPuK8ng8Mi\/20190907_1807%20Outlaw%20Orchestra.jpg","https:\/\/cdn.steemitimages.com\/DQmVfPA1PkmxH1ck8zTBuE68auZcYDzdPeEP4zUfXbLRQkY\/20190907_2102%20Jason%20Scorchers.jpg","https:\/\/cdn.steemitimages.com\/DQmQ4zsRDxLqGFWspUy8FyqZ85duQG51jptffk5DPv4PZih\/20190907_2304%20Kentucky%20Headhunters.jpg","https:\/\/cdn.steemitimages.com\/DQmVhmgfTziTFzKAeKp8QjunetCy43GjaULCYoaDBuMguks\/20190908_1513%20Finding%20Georgia.jpg","https:\/\/cdn.steemitimages.com\/DQmXjvWBGncvZp7fZgctJYGRzesdBCZxr4n4vpDAaBXt4ab\/20190908_1759%20Dead%20Men's%20Whiskey.jpg","https:\/\/cdn.steemitimages.com\/DQmfMjJun4Ees4znfoidPhGELhNjDJoEeTH9DB4Zp54fyiv\/20190908_1842%20Gorilla%20Riot.jpg","https:\/\/cdn.steemitimages.com\/DQmdd4E2gMrabLRKru2QvweqT9yPBasnTh6yEUUnHkAjDJ7\/20190908_2006%20Matt%20Pearce.jpg","https:\/\/cdn.steemitimages.com\/DQmWDBNfFkoKdMovbfBYA5NvgDCxWZT4EzibEryrhEerEAu\/20190908_1618%20HRH.jpg"],"app":"steemit\/0.1","format":"markdown"}
created2019-09-15 08:11:06
last_update2019-09-15 08:11:06
depth0
children6
net_rshares31,004,249,067,204
last_payout2019-09-22 08:11:06
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value6.054 SBD
curator_payout_value5.952 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length8,409
author_reputation14,528,548,322,874
root_title"A Shirt on Sunday: H.R.H. C.R.O.W.S. 2019 – Sheffield O2 Academy"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
author_curate_reward""
vote details (1419)
@steevc ·
At least you found some good music to enjoy. The steampunk lot look interesting. Would the Georgia Satellites fit into what they are supposed to have? They were a band I enjoyed, but never saw live.
👍  
properties (23)
post_id80,035,883
authorsteevc
permlinkre-hockney-pxw514
categoryshirtonsunday
json_metadata{"tags":["shirtonsunday"],"app":"steempeak\/1.16.1"}
created2019-09-15 21:00:39
last_update2019-09-15 21:00:39
depth1
children2
net_rshares11,286,131,432
last_payout2019-09-22 21:00:39
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length198
author_reputation273,317,013,544,223
root_title"A Shirt on Sunday: H.R.H. C.R.O.W.S. 2019 – Sheffield O2 Academy"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
author_curate_reward""
vote details (1)
@hockney ·
$0.02
Dan Baird, who was the Georgia Satellites' singer & writer, was a headliner last year, although I didn't know who he was at the time :)
There was a lot of good music, but last year's lineup was so much better and more varied.
👍  ,
properties (23)
post_id80,045,594
authorhockney
permlinkpxwuus
categoryshirtonsunday
json_metadata{"tags":["shirtonsunday"],"app":"steemit\/0.1"}
created2019-09-16 06:18:36
last_update2019-09-16 06:18:36
depth2
children1
net_rshares113,519,358,325
last_payout2019-09-23 06:18:36
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.012 SBD
curator_payout_value0.012 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length225
author_reputation14,528,548,322,874
root_title"A Shirt on Sunday: H.R.H. C.R.O.W.S. 2019 – Sheffield O2 Academy"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
author_curate_reward""
vote details (2)
@steevc ·
Ah yes, I remember you wrote about him last time. Festivals will alway be hit and miss depending on who they can get and the whims of the organisers. I was at a festival over the weekend, but need to do a writeup
properties (22)
post_id80,046,076
authorsteevc
permlinksteevc-re-hockney-pxwuus-20190916t064800859z
categoryshirtonsunday
json_metadata{"app":"partiko","client":"android"}
created2019-09-16 06:48:00
last_update2019-09-16 06:48:00
depth3
children0
net_rshares0
last_payout2019-09-23 06:48:00
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length212
author_reputation273,317,013,544,223
root_title"A Shirt on Sunday: H.R.H. C.R.O.W.S. 2019 – Sheffield O2 Academy"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
@curie ·
Congrats on a Curie vote!
Hi hockney,
<div class="pull-right">
https://steemitimages.com/DQmXgrYG8AKimJKRSu2urPB5SPcftN6GCGx2gVJJMwBkuTu/Curie%20Logo%2075px.png
</div>
This post  has been upvoted by the Curie community curation project and associated vote trail as exceptional content (human curated and reviewed).  Have a great day :) <br>
 
Visit <a href="http://curiesteem.com/">curiesteem.com</a> or join the <a href="https://discord.gg/G6RPUMu">Curie Discord community</a> to learn more.
👍  
properties (23)
post_id80,049,017
authorcurie
permlinkre-a-shirt-on-sunday-h-r-h-c-r-o-w-s-2019-sheffield-o2-academy-20190916t093339
categoryshirtonsunday
json_metadata{}
created2019-09-16 09:33:39
last_update2019-09-16 09:33:39
depth1
children0
net_rshares11,065,076,869
last_payout2019-09-23 09:33:39
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length466
author_reputation542,555,842,389,955
root_title"A Shirt on Sunday: H.R.H. C.R.O.W.S. 2019 – Sheffield O2 Academy"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
author_curate_reward""
vote details (1)
@cg-author ·
$0.02
Haha, it's awesome to see a post about an Outlaw Country and Southern Rock show happening in Sheffield, of all places. Definitely not where I'd expect to see something like that. I live in Dallas and make my way down to Austin every so often, so I can't swing a belt without hitting an up and coming outlaw country star in the head with a decorative belt buckle. There's some really great musicians coming up in the genre, though, which is freaking awesome.
👍  ,
properties (23)
post_id80,086,552
authorcg-author
permlinkre-hockney-pxzd92
categoryshirtonsunday
json_metadata{"tags":["shirtonsunday"],"app":"steempeak\/1.16.1"}
created2019-09-17 14:51:09
last_update2019-09-17 14:51:09
depth1
children1
net_rshares115,572,399,071
last_payout2019-09-24 14:51:09
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.012 SBD
curator_payout_value0.012 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length457
author_reputation3,066,667,330,713
root_title"A Shirt on Sunday: H.R.H. C.R.O.W.S. 2019 – Sheffield O2 Academy"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000
author_curate_reward""
vote details (2)
@hockney ·
As Jason of the Scorchers said, Sheffield is an industrial town and that's a big part of the vibe, for me, in this music. In Britain, it begat heavy metal in Birmingham, but in the US, you got outlaw & southern rock, etc.
And I agree - there's great music coming up these days as Skynyrd, Hatect, etc. ride into the sunset.
properties (22)
post_id80,093,028
authorhockney
permlinkpxzq0a
categoryshirtonsunday
json_metadata{"tags":["shirtonsunday"],"app":"steemit\/0.1"}
created2019-09-17 19:26:42
last_update2019-09-17 19:26:42
depth2
children0
net_rshares0
last_payout2019-09-24 19:26:42
cashout_time1969-12-31 23:59:59
total_payout_value0.000 SBD
curator_payout_value0.000 SBD
pending_payout_value0.000 SBD
promoted0.000 SBD
body_length323
author_reputation14,528,548,322,874
root_title"A Shirt on Sunday: H.R.H. C.R.O.W.S. 2019 – Sheffield O2 Academy"
beneficiaries[]
max_accepted_payout1,000,000.000 SBD
percent_steem_dollars10,000