The Germans at Rocklahoma

I am a huge fan of melodic hard rock, and nobody does it better than the Germans!
This year’s Rocklahoma line-up provided me with three brilliant bands to watch and enjoy.

First on my list was ‘Mad Max’, formed in Munster, Germany, in 1982. Michael Voss has been the lead vocalist for most of their albums (all except the first), and what a truly nice guy he is.

The music was great, with melodic guitar solos, big vocals, and sing along choruses. The small crowd seemed to enjoy the set. Their 1986 version of The Sweet’s Fox on the Run was brilliant and had everyone singing and dancing in the tent!

One of my main reasons for going to Rocklahoma was the inclusion of Herman Rarebell and his band, on one of the side stages. Herman, was of course the drummer with the ‘Scorpions’ from 1977-1995.

I was not disappointed, his new band were fantastic, and the singer, Timexx Nasty, (although not Klaus!) belted out some classic Scorpions songs, including ‘Rock You Like a Hurricane’, ‘Loving You Sunday Morning’ and ‘Blackout’.

It was such a shame that there weren’t more people to witness this fabulous performance; unfortunately they were up against Bang Tango on the other stage. Oh, well, their loss and a great front row view for me!

The band did a signing after their set, which gave me a great opportunity to meet and talk to the great man himself!

My final band, Bonfire, was one of my highlights. Having seen them in England in 1989, on their ‘Point Blank’ tour, I was very excited to see them again. It was also their first U.S. performance in twenty years.

They rocked in the afternoon heat, with Claus Lessemann singing some of their classic hits, ‘Sweet Obsession’, ‘Never Mind’ and ‘Ready 4 Reaction’.

Again I thought the crowd was disappointing, Bonfire’s success came mainly in Europe, and therefore maybe they weren’t so popular in the States. Never the less, I had an excellent time watching these great bands.

Cheers, Jo.