Brand new to the Festival Scene, Pandemonium Rocks went ahead in 2024, despite challenges associated in its formation. Fans were left disappointed when a flurry of artists such as Deep Purple, Dead Kennedy’s, Placebo, Gang of Four, Gyroscope and Petch were dropped from the bill within the few months prior to the Festival go date. Remaining as headliners, Alice Cooper and Blondie led the Pandemonium charge, along with international counterparts Wheatus, The Psychedelic Furs and Australia’s talent; Wolfmother, The Cosmic Psychos and adjoining local artists from each relevant state. With a history deeply embedded in music, Pandemonium Rocks turned out in the city of Newcastle as the only sideshow on the East Coast tour. Playing host to the mini-festival event, fans of all ages assembled in the iconic Newcastle Entertainment Centre as Wolfmother joined forces with rock elites, Alice Cooper, Blondie and The Psychedelic Furs.

Admittedly “coming to Newcastle for 20 years now,” Australian hard rock band Wolfmother kicked off the night in true nostalgic rock style. Lead singer Andrew Stockdale’s voice reverberated off the venues tin cladded walls as he called upon Newcastle as “The rock heartbeat of Australia.” Punching out well known tunes, most of which were drawn from the debut eponymous album, such as Woman, Dimension, Apple Tree and Joker and The Thief, the seated crowd were not disappointed by the calibre of performance delivered.

British New Wave band, The Psychedelic Furs are no strangers in the international music scene, with 8 studio albums spanning 40 years, the most recent release in 2020 with Made of Rain. With their biggest hits stemming from the 80’s, The Furs brought some old-school classics to the Newcastle Sideshow, with Love my way, Heartbreak Beat, Heaven and also included Pretty in Pink from the renowned 1986 same-titled movie.

Rock royalty Blondie was greeted by adoring cheers as the seasoned artist set to the stage in a hot pink suit and fat platform sneakers to join her band. Clad in a backdrop designed in old comic book art, with onomatopoeias “BAM” and WHAM” pixelated behind, the power that Blondie brings to her performance is evident by experience. Entering the 50th year in music in 2024, Blondie delivered onto her fans a set inclusive of X Offender, One Way or Another, Call Me, Atomic and In the Flesh. In a tremendous celebration of Earth Day, Blondie emphasised in just one powerful performance the gravity of her impact and relevance in the world of music.

After a long agonising wait for stage setup, Alice Cooper’s band finally took to the stage, flanked by 2 massive staircases on each side and a massive “BANNED IN AUSTRALIA- ALICE COOPER” banner, with the shock rock pioneer likeness firmly instilled in the newspaper artwork. A light behind the banner was switched and the Entertainment Centre cheered as the silhouette of the man himself, Alice Cooper appeared behind the banner, centre stage to the adorning guitarist. Breaking through the banner dressed in the infamous Black Suit, Top Hat and eye makeup, Alice blasted into a massive set of classics evocative of another time. It may be easy to dismiss the sheer amount of hits Alice Cooper has brought to the world in a whopping career of some 60 years, but we were instantly reminded with Lock Me Up, Welcome to the Show, No More Mr Nice Guy, I’m Eighteen, Hey Stoopid, Snakebite and Poison. The setlist was cleverly curated from an amalgamation of songs derived from the band’s 7 studio albums and Cooper’s 22 solo albums. Alice Cooper set a high bar with stage production, worthy of the wait between artist sets.

The Pandemonium sideshow in Newcastle delivered possibly one of the best audio productions witnessed so far in 2024. Regardless of the issues within the main tour concept, the sideshow event was everything it promised to be. With flawless performances, presented by music legends, dramatic stage shows and exceptional audio engineers, Pandemonium Rocks Newcastle was by all means a success in its own right, and a fitting backdrop for what was a night of good old school hard rock!

Review by Pieta Clarke

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