Reviews

Bloodstock Open Air 2017 – REVIEWED!

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FRIDAY

It’s day one of BOA 2017 and we’ve got our obligatory black band tees on, grabbed our wristbands and are headed into the arena for a weekend of pure metal fun.

Friday sees Swedish metallers Soilwork take to the main stage with classics ‘Nerve’ and ‘Stabbing the Drama’ but the sound doesn’t seem quite settled yet and most of what you can hear is distortion and cymbals. Luckily the Kraken tiki bar is on hand with cocktails and you can get your mitts on a Black Kraken ice-cream again, but be warned, it stains your teeth like you have scurvy. Maybe pirate emulation is the point? There’s also a pretty extensive merch stand this year at BOA, taking a leaf out of the Wacken book perhaps, you can now dry your bits with a Bloodstock towel… drink from a Bloodstock flask… don some fabulous branded leggings… the list goes on! This of course is in addition to BOA’s Exploding Ape collab which includes gym wear and an onsite Strongman/Strongwoman competition.

Over at said competition, a whole host of incredibly hench and serious looking women are taking turns lifting incredible amounts of weight to see who can complete the most clockwise rotations on the turnstile. It looks insanely tough and there’s a decent crowd cheering them on. Just to the side we spot The Motley Brew – which is possibly the most British thing ever. A tea tent, serving almost every tea under the sun (and free biscuits, bonus) out of proper mugs, with puns everywhere. We drank ours out of “Sweet Chai of Mine” and “Love in a Percolator” mugs… narf.

Nearby on the Sophie (Lancaster) stage, Denderq are busting out melodic but heavy harmonies and shout out to the BOA crew for “such a well run festival”. Following them, another UK band (and veteran Bloodstockers) Season’s End take the stage after an extremely long hiatus. It doesn’t seem to have done them any harm however, and lead vocalist Becki Clark is absolutely belting it, their symphonic style is fairly rare in UK bands so it’s nice to see them back on the scene.

Over on the main stage a guy dressed as a bloody Patrick Bateman is staring blankly into space and starting to creep the security guards out, but it’s time for Cali thrashers Testament to take control of the arena. Now, I always take it as a good sign if a metal band decides to rep their own tshirts and Testament have no problem doing just that, tick one for Metal-bingo. They’re also playing what can only be described as just good solid chuggy metal, to a pretty huge crowd, who are more than happy to jump around a bit as it is absolutely bloody freezing outside now. Goth girls in jorts are freezing their goosepimpled pale legs right off, and I bet come nighttime they actually have a faint eerie glow being almost translucent. In contrast there seem to be a lot of men rocking a leggings/fur coat combo, looking extremely pleased with their fashion choices this weekend. Bloodstock welcomes all. Testament are a testament (geddit) to old school metal, there’s loads of hair-windmilling and epic guitar solos, and one extremely tiny child with bunches and a mini battle-vest is bopping around to them as if it was tots tv.

On the Sophie stage, Shrapnel are getting all screamy with a crowd ready for some rioting, and the penultimate main stage band Blind Guardian come to the fore with an electric blue-lit entrance. They’ve always been a band with a lot of presence, but I will never not giggle that lead vocalist Hansi Kürsch is so unassuming that he looks like he could be doing your taxes or offering you legal advice. Nevertheless their uniquely symphonic sound is well received here at Bloodstock and the crowd joins in when asked “you will be our backing vocals… we have full trust in your skills… this one’s called Nightfall”. Kürsch is also keen to add “We are going to dedicate this one to Amon Amarth because it’s thanks to them we are here, we lost all our stuff” as the band is playing on entirely borrowed equipment.

Last up, Swedish Viking metal in the form of the mighty Amon Amarth, with an absolutely amazing headline show. They have fire, they have drinking horns, they have ever so much hair… they have a giant headbanging serpent on stage and dance moves (yes, I am claiming the rowing as a dance move) but above all else they are just furiously brilliant at what they do. Click HERE to read our complete headline review.

SATURDAY

Saturday sees the tiny but loud Jager stage fired up with UK scamps Bangover who have gathered a frankly massive crowd then incited them to create a circle-pit around the entire stage, only to then crowd surf (well you know… be ceremoniously carried) from there to the main stage at the end of their set.

Annihilator are rowdy good fun on the main stage, yelling “We are from that racist terrible country called… Canada… I know I’m sorry, I’m sorry eh” and joking “Our money has the Queen on it, so thanks for that guys”. With an album due in November it’s nice to hear some new stuff too “…finally back to early thrash roots… it’s called Twisted Lobotomy” which is absolute shredsville and the crowd is clearly loving it.

A little punky, a little rocky, a little classic metal… Spyder Byte on the Jager stage are just downright decent and judging by the crowd they’ve gathered, they could really play a bigger stage next year with no problems. Municipal Waste are determined to smash shit up with a giant circle-pit from the outset, even before they’d dropped a note, screaming “We’re Municipal Waste and we’re fucking back!”. Calling out “I’m all fucked up on buckfast right now… we play buckfast thrash” and the topical slew of hatred “Fuck Donald Trump! This song’s called ‘I wanna kill the president” only serves to amp up the already rowdy crowd even more, and a record 711 crowd surfers were recorded going over the barrier during this set alone.

Florence Black have pulled a decent crowd over on the Sophie stage, but we’re off in search of sustenance. Yet again Bloodstock have upped the ante when it comes to food, for a small festival there really is a more than decent offering. After looking into stalls selling Paella, Ostrich burgers, Vegan wraps, smoked meats Texas-style and some heart-stoppingly sugary doughnuts, we settle on a gigantic chicken offering from Burrito Boys which was fantastic.

Back at the main stage, Hatebreed enter to the laid back Bad Boys theme to emphasise the juxtaposition of their immediately screamy harsh metalcore flow. Lead vocalist Jamey Jasta stops for a breath and to say “You guys never disappoint man… this is why people come from all over the world to Bloodstock! Thanks for the positivity guys” as a pack of fluffy unicorn people march through the crowd throwing horns.

As the sun goes down you could be forgiven for thinking that the stage was being set for a headliner, but no – the insane amount of props and settings belong to penultimate act – Kreator. Heralded onto the stage by two demonic people brandishing red flares and a giant explosion of red tickertape, it’s clear Kreator mean business. There is a bit of unfortunate-ness with the curtain snagging on the giant devil horns at the back (a man dutifully tramped out with a ladder about halfway through the first song to unhook it… so rock n roll) but the band are absolutely killing it. There’s tonnes of pyro during ‘Satan Is Real’ and the massive church windows are actually screens providing more visuals to light up the stage, it really is a huge undertaking for a non-headline set. ‘Violent Revolution’ and ‘Pleasure to Kill’ go down a storm and it seems like the arena is shoulder-to-shoulder packed, as a huge silver and white streamer explosion rains down over the crowd.

Kids wrapped like tiny Egyptian mummies are streaking around the place as Bloodstock gives their two headline announcements for 2018, Gojira elicits an enormous roar of approval but the reaction to Nightwish is mixed at best.

Onto the actual mainstage headliner for Saturday – Ghost. Despite a technically good set, and a hardcore set of fans down the front they just don’t have the wow-factor we just experienced with Kreator, it’s maybe a shame for them that they followed such a great show. Read our full review of Ghost’s headline show HERE.


SUNDAY

Sunday finally brings the sun and we’re on the hunt for the best tattoos of BOA 2017 – check out our gallery on Facebook to see if we snapped yours! Possessed and Obituary are both shouty good times on the main stage, and Prognosis are absolutely ripping up the New Blood Stage, to a packed tent.

Local Derby lads HELL are predictably mad, with their stained glass window backdrops, crown of thorns and underlings lighting burning sconces. After a little technical difficulty with his headset, vocalist David Bower, armed with a handheld mic is now creeping around the stage amongst the eye-watering amount of pyrotechnics criss-crossing the pit area, calling out “How’s it going bloodstock? It’s been awhile…”. After a brief exit he returns to the stage dressed as a demonic Mr. Tumnus (read: Narnia meets the ninth circle) clicking his hooves as he sermonizes the crowd with a flaming trident. It’s all very surreal, particularly when he makes the ultimate metal Dad-joke “You should have told me bloodstock you were wearing black… we would have changed”. Groan.

Welsh ragga-metal band Skindred are much beloved by the UK metal scene and they absolutely do not disappoint, heaps of banners and backdrops do nothing to distract from the fact that they are completely unique and amazing at what they do. With a tribute photo of Roger Moore on the drumkit, mash-ups of the Imperial March and Benji’s signature spiked sunglasses you could be forgiven for thinking Skindred are all about the gimmick, until you hear them bust out the likes of… er… “If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands”… oh.

No worries though, Benji soon yells “we stand together as people who love fucking rock music right now… this song is about people coming together and living as one… Doom Riff” which is exactly the kind of wild, raucous metal we came here for. With a barrage of strobe lighting for ‘Sound The Siren’ he asks “…you like the new songs? Yes or no don’t fuck about!” before launching into ‘Pressure’ which gets everyone up and bouncing. Benji jokes about “Anyone want a tshirt? On this side? Twenty five fucking quid go and buy one you cunts” before getting serious mentioning the death of a friend, and noting “…none of us are promised tomorrow, just like Sophie (Lancaster)” and urging everyone “if you love someone go and fucking tell them”.

‘Kill The Power’ is huge, but it’s the firm favourite ‘Warning’ featuring a mass twirling of tshirts… bras… one giant inflatable t-rex… for the Newport Helicopter, which is really impressive. Skindred walk that fine line between being cheesy Butlins comedy and just really fucking awesome. Obviously as Brits we love everything about that.

Up next, Arch Enemy destroy the stage with vocalist Alissa White-Gluz, who is a force to be reckoned with. Her Frozen-esque locks, shredded leather and fringed jacket make her look like some kind of ethereal warrior, and that raw bloodcurdling roar earns her a mark of respect amongst the death-metal crowd. As three people on microlights soar above the arena, Alissa addresses the crowd “This is a very special show… about 3 years ago ae released an album called War Eternal… since then we’ve been touring, we’ve done about 300 shows…and this, Bloodstock, is the last one of this War Eternal cycle!”.

Next up on the Jager stage, Voodoo Blood are giving a belting classic metal show to an increasingly large crowd, but as they finish up the arena is filling for finale headliners Megadeth. What a way to close Bloodstock 2017 – Megadeth are true masters of their genre and the crowd is loving them, out with a raft of Marshall amps and some serious shredding they are the perfect sound to end what has been an exceptional weekend. Check out our full Megadeth review HERE. The Bloodstock blues will hit hard next week but for now we are riding out on a serious high, this festival really is family, and it seems pretty strange to be going back to our normal lives for another year. With two announcements already down, we can’t wait to see what else BOA has in store for 2018.

All photographs © A. Hyams – Do not use without permission

Finale headliner Megadeth close Bloodstock 2017!

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Someone said all good things must come to an end, and sadly it is the final night of Bloodstock Open Air for another year. On the plus side, tonight sees the mighty Megadeth return after headlining the festival last in 2014, this time as part of their Dystopia World Tour. The LA thrash idols fronted by Dave Mustaine, known for their political commentary and lyrics, are sure to have something to say about the current events in America unfolding this week – adding to the overwhelming anti-Trump sentiment coming from many of the bands both last year and this.

As the giant screen backdrop explodes into the Megadeth logo, the band enter with an eardrum shattering blast of pure thrash metal for ‘Hangar 18’. Again BOA have absolutely nailed the sound this year, every note is perfect and Megadeth just keep rolling through a rock-solid set. The likes of ‘The Threat is Real’ and ‘Wake Up Dead’ have the entire arena going nuts, the pit is jumping and you can’t move without being thrashed in the face by someone’s wild headbanging hair.

Backed by an absolute wall of Marshall stack amps, the band stop for nothing, not even for a giggle at the guy crowdsurfing the inflatable ducky getting unceremoniously bounced into the pit. The screen visuals are also pretty interesting and topical, with despotic world leaders and killers flipping over and over during ‘Sweating Bullets’, but it’s the incredible acoustic intro to ‘Conquer or die!’ performed by Kiko Loureiro that has us in utter awe. Bathed in orange light centre stage, Loureiro picks alongside strange disembodied hands doing the same on screen, it’s unnervingly incredible to actually be able to see what he’s doing from anywhere in the arena.

It’s the sense you get with this whole show – these are just people who are incredibly good at what they do, and there’s no stage set, costumery or amount of pyrotechnics that can come close without that level of mastery that comes with years of practice. Oh and as any good metal band should – everyone gets a turn, there’s a chance for drummer Dirk Verbeuren to do his thing from his lofty height mid-stage and everyone else takes turns at dueling guitars during ‘Poisonous Shadows’.

Finally on pause, Mustaine calls out “Good evening, are you feeling good? See I didn’t wanna waste your time tonight by talking a lot…” as the crowd jubilantly chant “Me-ga-deth” back at them. Following this he says “…they told me tonight was the biggest Bloodstock ever. Thank you for breaking that record… hopefully we'll beat that next year, and it'll get bigger and bigger and bigger” which, at least for the second half, doesn’t garner much reaction. I think there’s an unspoken hope amongst the crowd that Bloodstock remain a smaller festival, one which is well run and for the most part, avoids the trappings of the larger festivals. It’s why people come here.

Of course ‘Symphony of Destruction’ was going to be huge, but there is nothing like the wallop hearing something so iconic, so anthemic, up close and personal, in the flesh. Oh and if ever there was a more poignant time for this song, I don’t know it. The AV depict bombs exploding, guns, the American flag aflame, and a lot of fat white men sitting around with cigars laughing and to be honest it’s all a little too real right now. Heading into the encore of ‘Peace Sells’ we spot two very happy Megadeth fans in furry clothing who have a primo view of the show, I mean, if you can’t headbang to Megadeth on top of a bin, dressed as a carpet at Bloodstock… when can you?

Closing out with an insanely heavy ‘Holy Wars… The Punishment Due’, Mustaine takes one last chance to address the crowd “Drive home safe tonight… as always you’ve been awesome… and we've been Megadeth!” and with that, it’s over for another year. Megadeth absolutely brought the house down, ending BOA 2017 in a blaze of glory.

All photographs © A. Hyams – Do not use without permission

Ghost headline Bloodstock Open Air 2017 – Are they the marmite of metal?

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Night two at Bloodstock and we’ve seen a whole host of spectacular bands already. It’s with little surprise that we see the arena considerably less full than yesterday, Ghost are one of those marmite-type bands who seem to divide people pretty cleanly into love or loathe.

The loathe crew really do have a point though, there is just no necessity for a twenty minute introduction of classical piano pieces and a choral arrangement. Honestly not even the actual Pope requires that kind of ceremony. The stage is set pretty sparsely with only some stained glass window banners as a backdop, but the nameless ghouls are sporting their metallic demon masks and darting about the place to make the most of the vast bare space.

Papa Emeritus emerges in his traditional Pope garb and painted face, in the midst of a huge cloud of smoke and it’s straight on with ‘Square Hammer’ and ‘From the Pinnacle to the Pit’. Yelling “Bloodstock are you with us?” it’s clear from the crowd reply that minds are not being changed tonight. Ghost fans are fans, but the margins who are there simply because it’s a headline act, aren’t convinced. It’s not that Ghost are awful by any stretch, they’re good musicians, it’s just they’re not actually that exciting.

Out of the robe now, Papa is leaping around the stage in some sort of cross-emblazoned 90s shiny bomber jacket and there are some rather sombre nuns pacing around during ‘Cirice’. ‘Year Zero’ serves to amp things up a little, only to be sabotaged with the comedic sermon preached by Papa, swinging a censer ball around and trying to look ominous. Yeah sure there’s some pyro, strobe and flash bangs going off, but the atmosphere in the crowd just isn’t there to back it up.

In the crowd someone dressed as Papa Lazarou is yelling “I’m the real Papa” to the mirth of those around him, and Papa Emeritus appears to reply with “I want you to say loud in your British English voices… NOOOO! In you life… say no to shit.” which seems fairly apt as the area has thinned considerably with more people saying no to Ghost (and the fact that it’s cold as balls tonight).

Closing with ‘Ritual’ and ‘Monsterance Clock’ there’s actually little ceremony at the end and people are walking before they even strike the last note. It’s hard to judge this Ghost performance without conflict – they’re good, but they’re not great. They’re capable, but they’re not exciting. I guess the biggest thing to recognise is that they were preceded by one of the most insane Kreator shows we’ve ever seen, and unfortunately for Ghost, their slower more melodic style is sort of like throwing a bucket of water on all that built up fire and fury.

All photographs © A. Hyams – Do not use without permission

Amon Amarth headline Bloodstock Open Air 2017

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It’s Friday night, we’re all wearing black and the arena smells strongly of rum and beer. Let’s do this.

Twice now, the Swedish vikings have hit the second-from-top billing at Bloodstock Open Air and tonight they finally get to bring their full fire-fuelled show to the hallowed ground of Catton Park. There is nothing about the stage set that suggests Amon Amarth intend anything less than a completely immersive show tonight, with the drum kit set atop a giant viking helmet, sporting two insanely huge upturned horns. It’s Iron Maiden levels of crazy.

Burning straight out with ‘The Pursuit of Vikings’ and some very synchronised headbanging, they draw the remaining stragglers from around the arena into their fold with their melodic yet heavy sound. Yelling out “Bloodstock! Welcome to our little Viking feast… for the first time we are headlining this motherfucker… are you ready to feast like Vikings tonight?” they throw themselves headlong into ‘First Kill’ and the crowd follows suit, there are a lot of people with incredibly long hair here, and they are windmilling it with wild abandon.

Joined on stage by a couple of battling vikings in full gear, flanked by an obscene amount of pyrotechnics in the form of fire cannons (which can be felt even at the back of the arena, they’re damn hot!) as well as an almost constant blast of smoke between bursts of strobe lighting, Amon Amarth are absolutely killing it. They are hands down one of the best headliners BOA have ever booked, and it’s been a long time coming.

Vocalist Johan Hegg yells out “You guys are loud! I’m not surprised though… this is the true metal country” and pushes the pride button inside every British metalhead, we just bloody love being told we’re the best at this – especially as for many, Bloodstock is the only time of year you get to be surrounded by kindred spirits. Following up with a tradition for the band which was apparently started here, he calls for the crowd to sit down “…and show the world how it’s done… this is Viking fucking rowing!”. Now if there’s one other thing the British love, it’s the chance to re-run some cheesy childhood memories, and this bares an extraordinary similarity to Oops Upside Ya Head at school discos… Aaaanyway, a huge portion of the arena is given over to seated metallers pretending to row-row-row their boats. We are such a strange country.

‘Deciever of the Gods’ and ‘Destroyer of the Universe’ go down a storm with the already hyped up crowd, and a Loki-esque character takes to the stage to stomp about a bit, but mainly he seems to be getting in everyone’s way. Being very literal with their song-to-décor ratio is a good thing in my book, I appreciated the face melting amount of fire during ‘Death in Fire’ and the torched rune during ‘Runes to My Memory’, I mean you really know what they’re trying to convey. Vikings like fire. Taking to the front of the stage armed with an array of drinking horns, the band take a moment to toast their main stage debut “We want to take this opportunity to raise our horns to you… skol! Or cheers!” eliciting a huge roar from a crowd who in turn are thrusting their own drinking horns high into the air.

‘Guardians of Asgaard’ is bone shatteringly heavy and the sound quality here tonight is absolutely top-notch, but it’s finale ‘Twilight of the Thunder God’ that rocks us to our core. During a simulated (thankfully, no rain here) thunderstorm with lightning and a rainy backdrop, a giant serpent/wyrm from the album cover, is wheeled on stage and it’s just one of the most amazing sets we have ever seen here at Bloodstock. Targaryens would feel right at home. As they play the song out and call “Stay safe, row hard, and most importantly, raise your horns!” there’s a sense the crowd here would have easily gone in for two more hours of Amon Amarth, and that’s really what a headliner should be, right? A vaccum where nothing else matters outside of the moment. I reckon they achieved it.

All photographs © A. Hyams – Do not use without permission.

Bedford Park Concerts 2017 Review

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August 2017 saw the town of Bedford celebrating its 21st year of putting on its brilliant Park Concerts.  With everyone still reeling from the success of last year's event, which saw performances from rapper Dizzee Rascal and the one and only welsh legend Tom Jones, organisers really had to step up to top that for this year's concert weekend.  Boy did they certainly do that! 

The weekend provided three nights of amazing performers. Friday night (4th August) took us back in time to the 80s and 90s for the ultimate party that was oozing with cheesy pop goodness. The evening got off to a great start with performaces from 90s Zambian solo artist Rozalla who was most famously known for releasing the track "Everybody's Free" and singer/songwriter Nik Kershaw. Kershaw not only saw fame as a solo artist but also wrote big hits for other artists. Including Chesney Hawkes infamous "The One And only" which Nik also performed himself this weekend dedicating the song to Hawkes. Friday night also gave us the lovely and rather sparkly Baby D who performed three tracks, one of which was the amazing club classic, "Let Me Be Your Fantasy". One act of the night that was getting people talking was 80s english pop band Go West. The Duo enjoyed their peak of popularity between the mid 80s and onto the early 90s with hits including "We Close Our Eyes" and the iconic song written by the band for 1990 film realease "Pretty Woman" which was indeed the unforgettable "King Of Wishful Thiking". We were lucky to see both of these being performed on friday night also. Friday's biggest performances came from 80s pop hunk Jason Donovan, Livin' Joy and DJ Dave Pearce. Shortly after 8pm, the pit area of the arena was filled with middle aged women anxiously awaiting the arrival of their favourite 80s hearthrob. Donovan still looked great, and performed famous hits of his including "Sealed With A Kiss", "Nothing Can Divide Us", "Especially For You" which he sang with a guest female soloist for Kylie Minogue's segments of the single, the amazing "Any Dream Will Do" from the infamous musical Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat" and he finished his energetic set with fan favourite "Too Many Broken Hearts". In My opinion, Aussie favourite Jason Donovan has certainly still got it! His stage presence was charismatic, cheeky and comical. During sets for Livin' Joy and Dave Pearce we were treated to many 90s club classics and heavy bass beats while watching an amazing laser light show from the stage which filled the grounds. 

Saturday evening (5th August) Bedford featured artists including, London based band Victoria, Bedford town boys The Wholls, 90s indie band Feeder and headliners Kaiser Chiefs! In amoungst thousands of people eating pizzas, mexican cuisine and drinking rather large quanitities of Pimms, I could feel how electric the atmosphere within the park really was. Chatter of people so excitedly waiting to see their favourite bands of the evening, including the performers families and friends.  Rock/indie, Bedford boys The Wholls drew in a younger audience while performing original songs "Give It Up", "Perfect Waste Of Time" and "Roll It Out". The local lads are quickly climbing up the music fame ladder after recently signing to big recording label Sony. If you like new up and coming bands, you should definitly check them out. Their debut album is out now. 

The first of the most anticipated acts of saturday night were met with a rather loud roar of excitement from the crowds of people in front of the stage.  Of course this excitement was when 90s welsh rock band Feeder stepped on stage. The band  formed in Newport in 1992 and were originally named Reel. The band found fame with the name feeder later on in their career. They are said to have been inspired by Nirvana, The Police and The Smashing pumpkins. Feeder gained much more media attention in 2001 during the release of their third album which featured lead track "Buck Rogers".  Now some time on are now looking very different, but can still play an amazing live gig.  Over the weekend we saw them perform a variety of hit singles including the chart topping "Buck Rogers", "Feeling A Moment",  "Just A Day" and the very mellow "Just The Way I'm Feeling" which caused the arena to become filled with fans gently waving their mobile phones with torches on in the air. Lead vocalist Grant Nicholas also revealed that they will be releasing a best of album in September 2017. This album will feature all the favourite hits and also debut nine new tracks. During the final song of Feeder's set a flare was lit in the crowd which to be perfectly honest looked quite spectaluar with its yellow glow and smoke filling the pit area. Despite looking rather awesome, this was a big hazard which could have caused harm and this was dealt with very swiftly by the security team looking after everyone over the weekend. 

Onto Saturday night's headline act! English rock band Kaiser Chiefs! The park was filled with screams and excitement when members of the band stepped on stage. Even more so for front man Ricky Wilson. The band was formed in Leeds in the year 2000 under the name Parva and released just one studio album which was titled '22' in 2003 before then establishing themselves as Kaiser Chiefs. With six studio album releases under their belts they are still going strong and continue to make great new music.  The five piece opened their exciting set with the ever popular "Everyday I Love You Less And Less" to which at the end of the song singer Ricky Wilson came to the very edge of the stage to encourage ticketholders to be louder and dance.  Over the course of the evening we saw them perform hits including "Never Miss A Beat", "Modern Way", "The Angry Mob" which we saw Ricky teaching lyrics to the audience to sing along with him, "Ruby", the massive "I Predict A Riot" and a favourite of Wilson's from their latest album "Hole In My Soul". Their latest singles from the 2016 album 'Stay Together' are quite different from the slightly heavier rock style that we are used to hearing from Kaiser Chiefs, they have a bit more of a slight pop/indie sound with catchy lyrics and more mellow rythms. During their set the very energetic front man was continuously playing up to cameras and playing one side of the audience off against the other during tracks. We were even asked by the band to sing "Happy birthday" as a birthday cake was brought out filled with candles on stage to celebrate the birthdays of a member of their sound crew and also drummer Vijay. After filling the park with music, strobe lighting and fans jumping around like caged animals the lads left the stage leaving us all shouting for "More, More, More" The rather tired looking band members returned to the stage once more to perform not one, but two more hits for us. They played "Misery Company" and then ended their set with the brilliant "Oh My God" I can honestly say Kaiser Chiefs have to be the best band that I have ever seen live! I am still feeling the buzz since seeing them on saturday night. And I'm pretty sure I will be for a very long time. Before this weekend I had enjoyed them, but now I love them! 

Still reeling from the night before, we then attended Sunday's Bedford Park Proms. A much more relaxed kind of day with a lovely calm yet excitable atmosphere. This year's theme was Bedford Proms Goes To The Movies. Upon entering the grounds we were greeted by a replica of the famous Delorean from "Back To The Future", which looked amazing with twinkling lights and its doors up in the air so that we could see some fun movie props from the films. All that was missing was Doc Brown and Marty Mcfly. On the far side of the stage we could also see a huge inflatable of Staypuft from the Ghostbusters films and a birds of prey meet and greet tent inspired by the enchanting Harry potter film franchaise. The Proms really was an event for all of the family to enjoy.  The grounds were filled with people equipped with tables, chairs and fancy food spreads. We even spotted someone that brought their own drinks bar with them. While some were sitting in their fold up chairs, covered with blankets just soaking in the ambiance, others were chatting with friends and relatives while dining on some rather exquisite meals which even included snacking on  lobster! Very elegant stuff indeed. A popular and clever food choice taken by many ticketholders was large quantities of watermelon. Have you guessed why? It was a little reference to the iconic film "Dirty Dancing". 

To get the musical evening off to a start we saw the young, talented and very brave children of the Pilgrim School Choir enter the stage with their teacher. All smartly dressed in their school uniform sporting lovely green blazers the children began to sing some of their favourite classics from the movies. Their time slot gave them the chance to perform well known songs from musicals and feature films including "A Whole New World" from Disney classic Aladdin, "When I Grow Up" featured in Matilda, "Do-Re-Me" from the timeless film and stage show The Sound Of Music and popular Mary Poppins track "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" which was made famous originally by Dame Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. The small choir sang beautifully and were very professional on stage during their performance. It was very lovely to watch as the primary school children smiled at their families who were sitting in front of them in the pit area with cameras and tears of joy feeling immensely proud of their little ones for such an amazing achievement. 

Shortly after a small interval entered the next act of the evening. The students from The Redford School of Speech and Drama. The teens looked flawless as they were elegantly dressed in tuxedos and ball gowns as they walked onto the stage to take their places. The teenagers began their set with their rendition of the chart topping single "Skyfall" which was the title track originally made famous by popstar Adele from the James Bond film Skyfall. With gentle harmonies their version was just beautiful and soothing. The Choir then went on to perform Journey's "Don't Stop Believin" which was also featured in hit TV musical show Glee. The choir featured a male and female soloist during their version of the peppy pop song with the rest of the group performing in an accapella style.  One memorable part of the performance from this group of talented people, was a female soloist coming forward to sing latest disney release "How Far I'll Go" which happens to be the lead track on the soundtrack to Disney's Moana. The single was originally performed by Auli'i Cravalho who also voice's the lovely Moana in the animated feature film. The young blonde vocalist in the school choir sounded remarkably like the original voice actor while performing this song. She had the most beautiful and delicate voice, her rendition literally gave me goosebumps. The group performed a medley of music from feature films to finish their set, which again featured acapella vocals. During the medley the choir performed tracks which included "Part Of Your World" from The Little Mermaid originally sang by Jodi Benson, the "Star Wars Main theme", "Rule The World" originally performed by Take That for the film Stardust, "The Circle Of Life" from The Lion King, "The Time Of My Life" from Dirty Dancing, and an amazing leg slapping routine to "You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone" which was used in the film Pitch Perfect and was performed by actress and singer Anna Kendrick. During this amazing medley of memorable soundtracks the group also performed approproate theatrics on stage to accompany each hit that they sang. These young people had amazling talent and really could go far in the music industry.

For the main concert, which started around 7.30pm our ears were treated to the sounds of the London Gala Orchestra who also introduced the Bedford choral society and west end stars Joanna Forrest, Daniel Koek, and opera vocalist Alison Buchanan. Daniel had performed "Born Free" and also sang "The Prayer" alongside Joanna. Alison Buchanan performed the ever wonderful "Ave Maria" with the orchestra also. During the concert we heard many well known soundtrack releases from feature films being performed by the London Gala Orchestra which also heavily focused on the amazing compositions of the award winning John Williams to which they played some of his most memorable pieces such as the "Star Wars Main Theme", "The Imperial March" also from Star wars, the "Jaws theme" from the movie of the same name, the "Superman Theme", the "Jurassic Park Theme", the theme from the whiptastic "Indiana Jones" and many many more. At the end of the night the orchestra brought their time to a close by playing the patriotic "Rule, Britannia" and "The Land Of Hope And Glory" as they were joined on stage by all three vocalists wearing great britain attire. The grounds was a sea of Union Jack flags waving in the wind. They then performed famous music from the James Bond film franchaise during a spectacular firework display, which also saw the organisers set off what I can only explain as mushroom cloud flame throwers which were situated in the pit area of the park. Sunday was definitly the most enjoyable night of the three for me (minus the Kaiser Chiefs on Saturday evening). There was no rushing around, no being trampled on by people trying to see their favourite acts. Just good old fashioned patriotic fun.

 

My weekend at Bedford Park Concerts was certainly a busy one. But nevertheless a very enjoyable one. I loved my time there as did our photographer and our 2 year old son. 

I wonder how Bedford will be able to top this next year? 
I can't wait to find out what they will have in store for their 2018 weekend!

All photos by Kane Howie

For more photos visit 

FRIDAY!

SATURDAY!

SUNDAY!

No More Secrets – An obituary to Secret Garden Party

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29 July 2004 – 24 July 2017

As the mud settles in Huntingdon and we readjust to normality, it’s those moments where we find ourselves alone with our thoughts where we reflect on a whirlwind weekend that chewed us up and spat us out, kicking and screaming, back into the real world. Billed as the last ever (though rumours flood those conversations as the rain flooded our tents) this review inevitably strikes a more consolatory tone of what has to go down as one of the best festivals this country has seen.

I’ll crack on with my actual review of this year’s SGP. The one that’s a compromise between what the festival was like and what I actually got up to (which is probably best reserved for a private audience) in a language we can all understand. If you’re familiar with my festival review style, which is unlikely, you’ll know that I prefer to relay the festival as an experience, not a blow-by-blow account or detailed description of a particular set. I hate writing generic baloney like so-and-so stole the show with their trademark blend of floor-ready Venezuelan techno beats and signature Botswanan ukelele riffs, reminiscent of their first few albums before they went mainstream, and they mixed their music in their gran’s greenhouse using samples recorded from the humming churners at an early industrial cheese factory. If you want that, you’ve come to wrong little crevice of the internet.

Line-up

In another festival this would probably be the biggest section. Whilst credible and enjoyable, the strength of SGP lies beyond the list of names on the payroll. Acts ranged from Akala to Eats Everything, Toots and Maytals to Metronomy. None of which were particularly inspiring on paper but I enjoyed every set one I took in.

Musical highlight

The absolutely fucking radical set of fanny-out, bass heavy anthems from Peaches. Dick, dick, balls, 2000-and-dick… and Sucking on my titties like you wanting me… She was incredible, from start to finish. An unexpected treasure; defiant, empowering and spectacularly unapologetic.

Peaches

Lowest moment

The rain on the Friday night [this is when Paul's camera broke!]. I left for the Main Stage area in a t-shirt, shorts and a jacket of optimism but by the time to main acts kicked off I was riddled with drizzle and my motivation to slide through the puddles speedily fizzled. There were welcome breaks from the black clouds as day broke. The sun poked its head out to brown my mud-specked skin before applying another level of slippy slop to the festival floor pretty much from thereon-out. 

Setup, setting and organisation

As always impeccable. Originally conceived as an antidote to the increasing commercialisation of the UK festival scene (and that was in 2004) the way I always pitched SGP to my friends was an unrivalled setting with a unique and genuine approach to the finest of details.  A festival that embraced it’s rural surroundings; that simultaneously allowed the locals to celebrate their environment, and culture, but also people from across the country to immerse themselves in a world that blended the pastoral and the fantastical, or magical. It’s something which has been embedded in our culture for thousands of years, both reaffirming and reconnecting with a past. Everything from Stonehenge to Narnia is woven into this place they created to escape from the grind of daily life – our relationship with nature, through the looking glass. 

I tell my friends about the stage design; the Pagoda on the lake, the Drop cut into the verge, the Lost Woods, the boxing ring and its terrace of hay bales. The world they have created through the years is immersive, authentic, full of surprises and most importantly, believable.

The sound was underwhelming, never quite loud enough to get lost in. I guess sound is more of an issue to some than others but it was universally noticed. Personally it didn’t kill my buzz as much as the rain but there were several occasions where I could found boogieing pretty much inside the speaker boxes at Pagoda.

Pagoda stage

Vibe

As good as it gets. Perhaps a victim of its own success, the broadening of the crowd added a few extra elements that I hadn’t noticed in previous years but there was never an edge. Our gang of three snowballed into diverse bunch of dispersed groups within 24 hours. We flicked between and clung to these guys the whole rest of the time; a cracking bunch of maybe twenty people – unbelievable characters. In my head it felt like our age and experience framed us these mythical role models; heavenly manifestations of reprobatory shenanigans. In reality they probably just kept us within sight like loco parentis guardians of lost children. In the name of balance we’ll just leave it at a group of absolute sick guys that found another two kindred spirits and joined forces gloriously, and effortlessly. Every random encounter and interaction ranged from entertaining to uplifting; weirdness, coolness and just a general unguarded approach by nearly everyone I came across.

Best food

We quickly got word of a stall known colloquially as ‘Buttermilk Chicken.’ I don’t eat meat, but let me tell you, their buttermilk, deep fried hallumi burger with a hash brown on top was probably the best burger I’ve ever had the pleasure of hamming.

Personal highlight

Personal highlight for me was just the people I met and whom I shared the whole experience with; from Thursday morning to Monday afternoon. A real festival experience should be a story in of itself – a deeply personal one, much deeper than simply following an itinerary and wandering between stages at specific times on specific days to specifically have a specific laugh. So many good people. We met a few first timers, who’d never done a festival before, and the way the embraced it for me was an inspiring cocktail of expectation and nostalgia. It’s hard to explain without sounding like a complete twat, but I’m willing to sprinkle a little twattery on top at the expense of integrity, so chiggedy check this one: as a seasoned festival head, I knew what to expect in terms of the camaraderie and connections you can make at such places, but seeing it spark for the first time in someone else filled me with a bittersweet ambivalence. It was beautiful to see people’s minds being opened, and blown while at the same time being acutely aware that although for them, it was the start of the incredible journey that is your twenties, and your youth, it was also the end of mine. There were parallels between myself and Secret Garden Party itself. An unwavering commitment to celebrating the weekend as if it was my last, and the knowledge, that actually, maybe it was my last, at a festival.

Summary

In the end, a great send-off and a particularly poignant one for me because it was also a send-off for my best friend and photographer/general partner in crime at all these festivals we’ve done over the last decade, starting with Exit ‘07. It also turned into a send-off for my new friends, and in many ways, the remaining part of my own youth. All these goodbyes – old friends, new friends, a fair few clothes and trainers, Huntingdon and SGP. This is an obituary of sorts and I have to give thanks to SGP, the organisers, the people who worked it, the people who went, everyone, for giving me everything I wanted from it to such a significant extent. It was a complete festival experience undoubtedly. I gained a part of me on those fields and I left a part of me on those fields and I guess that’s as big a compliment as you can pay to a festival. It will be missed.

I’m still sad now. I’ve got a bad dose of festival blues. Midnight blues not by-the-beach-at-high-noon blues. I got back Monday night. The next 48 hours are a blur of nostalgia and social, physical and emotional withdrawal. I was holding back tears at Grey Worm and Missandei’s sex scene when I finally got round to catching up on GoT. I had to get a ten hour flight to Vegas on Thursday and cried at the inert and sterile performances in Rogue One, a true testament to the serotonin splurged in that incredible weekend (and I’m usually one of those ‘if the milk turns out to be sour’ cool af mf’s). Even in the cold, wet reality of Monday morning, I didn’t want to leave. But life is not a festival (I write this on a road trip across America) but I couldn’t imagine life without them. At 31 I’m coming to terms with some melancholy realities but if I have any advice it’s as follows. Go to festivals. Go to as many as you can. Meet as many people as you can and soak up as much as you fucking can, while you fucking can. You’ll be a better person for it. I heard someone describe Secret Garden Party as ‘Glasto-lite’ by the kind of person whose personality slid quicker than my old Reeboks in the Cambridgeshire mud but it has been a true great in a superficial, over-commercialised scene and the perfect platform for me to express myself outside of the boxes and hoops we navigate in our day-to-day.

Special shout-out to the tepee wankers and the ‘Secret’ girls and of course man like Paul Taylor, best of luck in the Big Apple my g x

 

words: lloyd w

photos: paul taylor

London Film and Comic Con

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London Film and Comic Con is quickly becoming one of the best conventions to attend within its genre and it hopefully wont be long before it is at the standard of San Diego Comic Con. Running over three days, guests from TV Shows, Films, Comics, Wrestlers, you name it, were in attendance. 

LFACC is not just an opportunity to snap a picture or grab an autograph off your favourite celebrities but it is also an opportunity to Cosplay, dress up as a favourite character from a film, show or comic and admire others who are dressed up too. The people in cosplay are often asked for photos just as much as the guests are because these people really do go all out and they make a more than impressive effort which is simply astonishing.

Some of the costumes people wore were epic, there were zombies, transformers, Davey Jones from Pirates of The Caribbean, Drop Dead Fred and many more.

There is so much to see at comic con, it gets incredibly busy but you do have the best time. No one judges you, unless you're entering a cosplay competition then they are judging you in a good way. One thing I noticed is how excitable all the fans were and how friendly and supportive fans were of each other. 

This event took place in Olympia London. The bottom floors was filled with merchandise stalls selling every kind of collectable you could want. There were Pokemon, action figures, comics, trading cards, autographs, you name it!

The upper floor was where all the guests were. They were scattered throughout the floor, making it quite a mission to get a quick look at everyone but fun. We saw Will Wheton, Alexis Denisof, Alyson Hannigan, Emily Kinney, Alicia Witt and many more.

The most popular guests were from Game Of Thrones. There was Natalie Dormer, Kristian Nairn, Julian Glover, Gemma Whelan, Daniel Portman, Conleth Hill, Pilou Asbaek , Daniel Naprous and Finn Jones. Other popular guest included Benedict Cumberbatch, Matt Lucas, Tom Skerrit, Pamela Anderson, Alyson Hannigan who played Willow on Buffy, Kevin Smith – famed actor, director and writer of films such as Clerks and Dogma. The Walking Dead cast, Steven Yeun, John Carroll Lynch, Emily Kinney, Alicia Witt and David Morrissey and Back To The Future stars Christopher Lloyd and Tom Wilson (Biff).

The weekend was organised well I thought, especially in comparison to previous years, baring in mind the last one I attended was almost ten years ago. I liked the fact that autographs and photos could be purchased online where as before, you had to queue early to get a ticket to queue again during your allotted time. This saved so much stress and congestion having it online.

I, for the first time ever went as a spectator and a spectator alone, how I managed to not go and meet Alyson Hannigan when I was the biggest Buffy fan ever is beyond me. 

I did however, catch up with Alicia Witt as was a fan since a teenager. At the bottom of this review I have included my interview with her. 

LFACC is more than worth going to. It is easy to get to, the entry price is not that costly, I believe standard day tickets ranged from £15-£20 per adult. The cost effective part are the autographs and photos as every guest varies, there are also packages available from Silver to Gold etc. To determine whether it is worth it is simply up to you, how much you want to meet a guest, how much you want to add that autograph to your already signed poster or collection. For me, years ago, it was worth it as I had some of the best times at this event and for everyone there at the weekend, I know they felt the same. 

Some guests you could walk up to without a ticket and pay at the table, that is nice for impulse meet and greets. I know that my friend really enjoyed having her photo with Zoe Wanamaker and meeting Kristian Nairn who was a teddy bear, so lovely and so friendly, we wanted to take him home ha!

The weekend also included guest talks which required a seperate ticket but you get to hear great stories from some of the biggest guests such as Benedict Cumberbatch and Alyson Hannigan.

I highly recommend anyone who is a geek, a fanatic, a lover of film, tv and comic to go to LFACC even just to have a gander. I have missed this event, I didn't realise how much and I hope to go back next year.

http://www.londonfilmandcomiccon.com/

Alicia Witt interview

Alicia Witt is an American actress and singer/songwriter from Massachusetts. If you were a teen in the 90’s, it is likely you are familiar with her work from playing Cybil Shepherd’s daughter in the TV series Cybil, playing a disturbed teen in the film Fun (which I never recovered from, ha!) to playing the lead in teen horror flick Urban Legend and being in one of my favourite movies Mr Holland’s Opus.

More recently, Alicia is know for her roles as Paula, one of Neegan’s gang in The Walking Dead and Superstar Diva Autumn Chase in Nashville.

I walked past Alicia and suddenly my teen years came flooding back, I then saw she was selling T shirts and Vinyl. Having a closer look, it was apparent that Alicia is a singer/songwriter and not just an actress which I was unaware of until that moment. I shouldn’t have been surprised though, seeing as she sang on the show Nashville.

Watching fans go up and buy her music and also being the Nashville fan that I am, I decided to request an impromptu interview. Given that Alicia was at her signing booth and meeting fans, Alicia was incredibly kind enough to give me a few minutes of her time which I truly appreciated considering she was there to meet fans, not do interviews. This just goes to show what a lovely, genuine and professional woman she is which was so wonderful. I really enjoyed meeting and chatting to Alicia, she is very down to earth and as I said, lovely.

If I had more time and had been prepared there would have been so much more I would have asked but fans were waiting to meet her and who am I to delay that?

I have since listened to Alicia’s album Revisionary History which I am really enjoying and recommend, it may not be country but was recorded in Nashville with Ben Folds and has a lot to offer (review on its way) Alicia will also be releasing new material in the fall.

Hi Alicia, so good to meet you, how are you?

I am good thank you and you?

I am fine thank you. You are here today at LFACC for being in many shows and films as well as selling your own music. I wanted to quickly talk about your time on the show Nashville. How did you enjoy your time on the show?

I was thrilled to be on it, not only do I love the city Nashville, I have spent tons of time there in the last five years but I was also a huge fan of the show and I had seen every episode up until the point that I was asked to be on it. So I was really thrilled.

What did you think of the character (Autumn Chase) when you read the script? She was a bit harsh.

Well you know what, I don't think that she started out that harsh in the first episode, so I was quite surprised that she was getting nastier and nastier as the scripts went on and that’s not how I thought she would be. So I was hoping to get to know a bit more about what made her that way and see her break a little and I have a feeling that might of happened in later seasons but then the new show runners came in and a lot of the actors who had been on it weren't on it anymore as you may have noticed like Aubrey (Peebles) never came back, which is so weird. I love Aubrey

Yes so do I, I think she had the best voice on the show

Have you ever heard her sing live with her own music?

I haven’t

She is like a Blues singer

Wow

Yeah Aubrey is amazing live

You also write and sing your own music?

I do, this is my album (shows me her vinyl of album Revisionary History) I have sold out of my cds

Wow, that’s really good

It is really good, my suitcase will be a lot lighter so I am very grateful 

So how would you describe your music, I believe this album was recorded in Nashville?

The last album was produced by Jacquire King who has done everything from Kings Of Leon to Tom Waits and he James Bay, you name it. So my music, I think , the one I did with Jaquire which is coming out this fall and is called 15,000 Days is more pop, I don't really know what genre to put it in other than that, its pop music with strong lyrics and is piano driven. Its not so far removed from the style of maybe the James Bay album is a good comparison actually.

So perhaps singer/songwriter?

Singer/songwriter but its produced it has loops and sound effects and it has more pop which I love. The album that’s out now, Revisionary History, was produced by Ben Folds.

Yes I saw that, that must have been amazing?

It is, he is a phenomenal producer and has always been one of my favourite artists and he sings back up vocals and plays drum and bass on the album.

That is pretty cool. 

I also saw you played at The Bluebird Café in Nashville

Yeah, I have played many times, it is amazing, I love it there.

Well I can't wait to listen to both albums and will review them too, I love how you have your own music as I had no idea till I arrived just now and I love it sometimes when you stumble across music that way.

Thanks so much for talking to me today and enjoy the rest of the weekend here.

Thank you so much Hannah.

Kendal Calling 2017

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Heading to Kendal Calling for the second time, I pack my bags with excitement and made my way to the beautiful Lake District to attend one of the best smaller festivals the UK has to offer. There really is something special about the place, the stunning views, forests and ancient woodlands surround you with a warm atmosphere filled with revelers that keep the spirits of the festival alive.

For those that gained early entry into the festival, Thursday night took us back to the 80’s with a raucous start from the Happy Mondays, by leading straight into Hallelujah. Whilst the band may be more famous for their laddish charm and stage antics, Bez owned the stage by shaking his maracas and danced in his unique way that kept the audience chanting for more, a perfect act to hype up a crowd that waited for Scottish rockers Franz Ferdinand. Proving why they keep going from strength to strength, these guys filled the site with an electric crowd that sang along to all the hits including Do You Want To, Take Me Out and No You Girls.    

Friday marked the beginning of the festivals first full day, with the likes of Kate Nash, DMA’s, Circa Waves, Jake Bugg and headliners Stereophonics on the bill. Kate Nash entertained in her colourful one piece, standing side by side with her female twin bassist and guitarist, conveniently dressed in their matching Kate Nash T-Shirts.

Making their debut at Kendal were Australian band DMA’s. Taking us back to the 90’s with an indie influence and the attitude of Liam Gallagher, lead singer Tommy remained static and lack luster, yet still managed to command the crowd. Circa Waves, Jake Bugg and the Stereophonics all took to the main stage on Friday night, however a bland and aged Stereophonics were unimpressive, and like many others, I headed off after the first song and made my way straight to the Calling Out stage to support South Londoner Hip Hop artist Loyle Carner. There’s no surprises this guy has been nominated for a Mercury Prize, charismatic and humble, and not afraid to shout out his love for his mum, this 22 year old will have no problem gaining a huge fan base.  Carner proved why he is destined to be one of the UK’s biggest Hip Hop artists and the crowd sealed their support by singing a long to favourites Ain’t Nothing Changed and NO CD.

Saturday provided an electic line up, with a great selection of up and coming bands playing the Calling Out stage including crowd favourites Honeyblood, Field Music and Shame, whilst the main stage lineup took us down memory lane with rockers Reverend and the Makers, Feeder, Editors, Brian Wilson presents Pet Sounds and Manic Street Preachers all showing us why they reserve a slot on the main stage.

For the Beach Boys fans out there, Brian Wilson delivered classic after classic hits including California Girls, Surfin’ USA and Good Vibrations.  At 75 years old and fragile looking, Brian proved why his legacy of work will never be forgotten. Both Editors and Manic Street Preachers ignited the crowds with an equally energetic performance from both sides, with Manics kicking off their set with Motorcycle Emptiness and Editors front man Tom Smith baring a resemblance for Michael Stipe with his opener to Cold.

Drawing to a close with a spectacular fireworks display as Tinie Tempah closed the main stage, Sunday night proved to be a success. Lethal Bizzle pumped up the crowd with an equally impressive mosh pit to match. The fans continued to show their support by lighting up flares and smoke bombs for non conforming Slaves, who electrified the crowd. Seasick Steve returned to the festival for a captivating performance and Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls performed an impressive 19 song set list. With a muddy 25,000 revellers enjoying the vast array of music, arts, markets and cinema, Kendal Calling has something for everyone.  Main stage aside, Kendal Calling has so much more to offer, compact in size you can get lost in the woodlands or head to Chai Wallah to listen to some cutting edge music. Whatever your preference, Kendal Calling is a must go to festival for all.

More photos here

Photos and review by Olivia Frayman 

Razorlight at Kew the Music 2017

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A week long summer series of picnic concerts spanning from 11-16th July, Kew the Music is set within the picturesque grounds of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, in the suburban district of Richmond, London. A UNESCO World Heritage site offering stunning landscapes, unique plants and impressive architecture, it’s difficult to imagine a dreamier atmosphere to soak up the sun, enjoy a picnic and listen to some fantastic live music.

This year’s star-studded line-up included talent such as ballad-queen Mary J Blige, pop girl band All Saints and indie rockers Razorlight. Off to see the latter on 12th July, I was very keen to lend my ear to a band I had loved so much back in my late teens.

As I bounded through the gates and into the greenery with my companion, it’s fair to say we were feeling pretty warm underneath the early evening sun. We were extremely lucky with the weather; it had been pouring buckets for Brit Singer-Songwriter Passenger’s performance the previous evening.

Being able to bring in as much food and alcohol to a concert (especially one in London) was a novelty for me, and one I appreciated very much! It was quite a laid-back affair, so we didn’t go all out with the boozing but it was a definite time and money-saver (it’s always annoying having to queue for another drink at the bar between sets). It also made us feel that little bit more appreciative towards the organisers.

Settling down with a good spot in front of the stage, we embraced the relaxed atmosphere and stunning verdant scenery. We were just in time for the start of ‘The Bluetones’ set which made for ideal background music as we munched on our picnic snacks and sipped from our cardboard cups of Prosecco in the early evening. There were, however, quite a few already rocking at the front as the opening song, the joyous ‘Slight return’, was played – my personal favourite of their set.

After a break and more time to chit-chat and fill up on Prosecco, it was time for Razorlight’s much-awaited headline show. The boys burst onto the stage with their hit single ‘In the morning’ from their second self-titled album ‘Razorlight’, a tune I’m sure we can all relate to at times! As it was still daylight, the atmosphere was relatively calm, with many enjoying the set from their picnic spots on the grass. Up next we enjoyed ‘Stumble and fall’, followed by ‘Keep the right profile’. With the mass of crowds at the front growing with each song, crowd-pleaser ‘Golden touch’ definitely brought even more fans swarming forward.

It wasn’t until a familiar favourite was played until my ears pricked up again – ‘I Can’t Stop This Feeling I’ve Got’ which had the now sizeable crowd chanting along in time. Up next, was the more morose ‘Wire to wire’; another song I’m fond of, from their last album ‘Slipway Fires’. It’s fair to say front-man Johnny Borrell’s voice shone in that one!

Picking up the tempo again, we were treated to 2006 single ‘Before I fall to pieces’, prompting lots of singing along to the recognisable chorus. As darkness fell upon us, the edgier the tunes got, encouraging more vigorous dancing (or shall I say, jumping up and down), singing and overall, a lot more energy. A string of bouncy hits heightened the atmosphere, including ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Lies’, ‘Don’t Go Back to Dalston’, ‘Who Needs Love?’ and ‘LA Waltz’.

I have to say, the energy in the crowds had really picked up and by the time the encore was starting, the masses were begging for more music. Concluding with the eagerly-anticipated number one single ‘America’ (my friend and I had been waiting for it throughout the whole set!), the show finished on an exhilarating high with plenty of liveliness, singing and dancing.

I had never been to a concert that had started off so relaxed and chilled, but then proceeded to finish with so much energy and character. I do feel that is what’s so special about Kew the Music and its stunning location – you can enjoy the best of both worlds at a concert there. Razorlight delivered a fantastic set that drew in my nostalgia and I eagerly look forward to returning to Kew the Music next year for another fantastic summer evening.

Truck Festival 2017

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Truck festival is the self labelled “Godfather of the small festival scene” and is one of the longest running small festivals in the UK. The festival based in Steventon in Oxfordshire was founded by brothers Robin and Joe Bennett and originally began as a birthday celebration for Robin. The brothers then handed control of the event over to Matt Harrap and his team after facing financial difficulties in 2012.  Now in 2017 in it’s twentieth year, the festival is still going strong with a line up that gets bigger each year.
In past years the festival has been known to find talents from up and coming bands that are trying to find their way onto the music scene to become arena sell out artists with many of these artists making their festival debut’s at Truck. Past performances include Biffy Clyro, Mystery Jets, Foals, Catfish and the Bottlemen and many, many more.

This year, Truck has seen a big change to the layout of the festival site compared to previous years’ usual look. The large area provided festival goers with eight stages, each with their own style of performances. Over the weekend, the ever popular Truck Stage, which is the event’s main stage in the centre of the site provided a huge variety of bands and artists for us to see.  Secondary to the Truck stage was the Market Stage which brough us performances from popular artists including Honeyblood, Tom Grennan and Twin Atlantic. The other six stages included were The Nest-the third of the bigger stages, then the slightly smaller venues that included The Barn, The Saloon Bar-which is well known for its country style, Veterans and Virgins stage, and lastly, not forgetting The Temple, and The Ruins venues that could be found within the Palm City area of the site which mostly showcases DJ sets including an amazing set from none other than Hollywood actor Idris Elba!

Also on offer on site was an array of activities and stalls for all ages to enjoy. Even fairground rides and games. As this is a family friendly festival, Truck saw the return of Angel Gardens which is a dedicated team of enthusiastic people in a designated children and family area. This area was situated just  off of the main arena and provided activities from 10am until 6pm.  Their tipi was full of lots of things to keep little ones happy and content. They had planned activities that included arts and crafts, singing and music, dance and movement, sensory play, story telling, cooking classes, races and games and even circus skills performances. Angel Gardens also planned to provide a bath and bedtime hour each evening from 5pm until 6pm where children can wash and relax to get ready for bed. I thought this was a brilliant idea, especially as I took my two year old son with me.
Next to the children’s area was a cinema with a diverse range of films for both  children and adults. The listings included big Disney movies- Moana, Up!, Toy story 1, 2 and 3 and also films aimed at a more mature audience like Jurassic Park, The Mask, Jaws, The Wedding Singer and the multiple award winning La La Land.

Each year the team at Truck festival has been known to provide ticket holders with a wide variety of food choices. Well this year there was even more! They had almost every corner of the food map covered. What was better is that because there was a much wider choice of foods this meant that people were spending a lot less time queueing for their grub. The food hall tent gave us pizzas, smoothies, indian cuisine, a hog roast, burgers, mac and cheese, tea and coffee and so much more. There was also many street cart food vendors on site around the arena which introduced us to greek street food, vegan and vegetarian cuisine, thai food, the list goes on and on. Feel good food stands were also donating all of their profits to many different charities which is a really nice idea. The one downside that I and many others noticed was the extortionate prices at the bar. I remember going to buy a bottle of water and being charged £2.50 to which I refused to pay, especially as I was able to buy the same amount of bottled water for just £1 at another food stall. Not only this, many people I had spoken to at the event were feeling a little cheated as they were being charged £5 per pint at the bar. And as there was a new no alcohol on return policy in place, this certainly rubbed a lot of people up the wrong way.

Speaking of grievances, If anyone reading this review has also read any other 2017 Truck festival related news, you will have undoubtedly seen a lot of negative articles about this weekend’s event. Here on behalf of myself and everyone at Summer Festival Guide, I do not intend to focus on the negatives that have appeared to over shadow many peoples opinions of this festival. Lets get the negativity out of the way. Firstly the weather was absolutely awful.  It rained, and rained and then rained some more. This of course turned the festival grounds into a giant muddy slip and slide and caused many campers tents to become flooded, including my own. No one is at fault for the very unpredicable weather conditions, but the security teams and production teams on site tried to help as much as they could by covering the worst effected parts of the ground with straw in an attempt to soak up the mud. Which worked to a certain extent.

While at the festival and since the event, I have spoken to many people as they were wanting to express their concerns to pretty much anyone who would listen as unfortunately the organisers of Truck festival haven’t appeared to be overly co operative. It appeared that the layout of the camping areas were not as well thought out as they maybe should have been.  There were five campsite areas which surrounded the arena, one of which was for the production team. The rest included general camping, the glamping and Zodiac camping areas which were priced higher than general camping as it provided extra facilities such as showers and larger tents and lastly the family camping area.  Family camping was the furthest away from the arena to which I can only assume was an attempt to keep it quieter for families with younger children which in therory is a good idea. Although in order to get the the festival arena, families were expected to walk through the general camping area which in my opinion and in the opinion of many others wasn’t such a good idea. Especially as it required walking down a hill that was turned into a giant mud slide after the heavy rainfall.  Not only that, it also was not ideal for young children to be walking through a campsite full of other festival goers that had a lot of alcohol and even recreational drugs on them which also left the general admission campsite in a bit of a state.  There is a very strict no drugs on site policy in place so clearly there would have been further security issues there too. Further issues with campsites included broken showers in the glamping and Zodiac camping areas. Ticket holders in these areas had paid over £30 extra to be able to use these shower facilities only to discover that they weren’t always able to. Lastly regarding complaints and unfortunate situations, over thirty reports were made to the organisers about items being stolen from tents, not only while the tents were empty but also when occupied while people were sleeping. Even though many people are left confused as to what is being done about these reports, it does appear that reports of stolen goods are still being dealt with. In all honesty it looks like the organisers at Truck festival will have a lot to think about while preparing for next year’s event.

Who’s ready for the fun stuff? The music highlights! The weekend provided us with an amazing line-up with so many great acts to see. It was so hard to pick which acts to go and see as many of “the ones to watch” had timing clashes so it mean’t a lot of running around for myself and our photographer. But totally worth it, no matter how much mud we may have been covered in. There are so many artitsts that I would love to include in this review but I have narrowed it down to just a few. One of the performaces that really stood out for me was the set from South London band Arcane Roots.  If you enjoy music from Biffy Clyro then these guys will be right up your alley. The band who have recently been raved about by DJ Annie Mac, attracted a lot of fans into the tent, which was eventually full to capacity. Just after perforfming their latest release, titled “Off The Floor” which in itself is a great head bopper, they then went on to sing a small segment of the massive  Linkin Park hit “Crawling”, which I have no doubt was a touching tribute to the band’s front man Chester Bennington who has recently passed away.  This was definitely a stand out moment for me and clearly many others in the room as it was met with applause.

An act that is defintly worth a mention is the unforgettable and high energy four piece, Yonaka. The band’s first appearance at Truck was in 2016 and they were named as one of the best sets of the weekend’s event.  This year they had returned to find themselves performing  on the main stage. With striking vocals from Theresa Jarvis and her very theatrical movements they had an amazing stage presence and captivated the audience. The band performed some of their singles including “Wouldn’t Wanna Be Ya”, “Ignorance” “Bubblegum” and the intense “All In My Head” to which they encouraged the crowds of people to sing along with them. If you get the chance to see them perform live, don’t miss out!

Saturday lunchtime brought us the very energetic Truck festival veteran that was the one and only Mr Motivator. This was certainly a segment to help festival goers get up onto their feet to shake off their friday night hangovers. With great music, funky moves and inspiring words during his half an hour time slot Mr Motivator really did bring out the inner sunshine in all of us during a very damp weekend.

Sunday evening saw probably one of the best acts of the weekend at the Market stage. Scottish alternative rock band Twin Atlantic. The quartet who formed in 2007 completly packed out their venue at Truck.  Not only was the Market stage bursting at the seems being at full capacity but they area surrounding was jam packed too. The band performed well known singles “Brothers & Sisters”, “Heart and Soul” and had blown the roof off of the venue during big hit “No Sleep!”.  Clearly these four lads would have been better suited to the festival’s main stage.  I really hope they will return to make this happen.

Lastly I cannot forget to mention the awesome headline acts! Truck organisers did not disappoint with these big names. Friday night concluded with the chart topping Franz Ferdinand.  The glasgow based indie rockers opened their impressive set with the very familiar “Matinee”. They also performed hits “Walk Away” and the massive “Take Me Out”.

Saturday night’s headline act was The Libertines. The band ushered on to the music scene in the early noughties with their debut single “What A Waster” competing with the likes of The Strokes and Doves. Following a hiatus in the mid noughties the band then reunited for gigs at the ever popular Leeds and Reading festivals in 2010. At truck crowds of fans saw them perform hits such as “Time For Heroes” and “What Katie Did”.

The biggest and probably most anticipated performance of the weekend was also the one that brought the weekend to a close. This came from huge British band The Vaccines! These guys had drawn in thousands of people to the main stage (even England footballer Stuart Pierce!) while they performed many of their greatest hits which included “If You Wanna”, “Post Break-up Sex”, “Melody Calling”, “Norgaard” and even sampled some new music from their forthcoming album. Their set ended with a spectacular firework display which left the entire site reeling in feel good vibes

To me, Truck festival 2017 was a success. I really enjoyed my time there and I would absolutely love to go again. Yes there were a few hiccups this year that can be improved upon, which the organisers need to take into consideration when planning the 2018 event, but I won’t let it dampen (pardon the pun) my view of a well rounded family friendly festival.

Bring on Truck 2018!

Photos by Kane Howie

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