Last Thursday my friend David and myself headed down to Haggis Farm in Barton for the Cambridge Rock Festival 2009. It turned out to be an absolutely fantastic four days of great music and, from Friday onwards, glorious sunshine.
Thursday night kicked off with a Led Zeppelin tribute act called
Led Zep Too. Dave and myself then missed out the intervening act in order to see a Pink Floyd tribute called
Pure Floyd on the main stage. I have to confess it was a strangely emotional experience to be singing "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" in Syd Barrett's home town.
During the Pure Floyd show I looked out of the side exit of the main stage and the heavens had well and truly opened! You know when there is torrential rain and then suddenly it
really starts to come down sharply? Well that's how it was, except instead of subsiding after maybe 15-30 minutes it just went on...and on...and on... for hour after hour! By the time we left the Main Stage area around 11.45 the site was an absolute mudfest with puddles of water everywhere!
We got back to our tent, mud splattered and wet but, as the rain kept coming and the water table rose it soaked through the ground sheet and into the tent. By the early hours I was trying to get to sleep in a very soggy sleeping bag! One chap I spoke to the following day described the weather as "like a monsoon" and to be honest he wasn't far wrong. I haven't seen rain that intense and that prolonged for a some time.
By daybreak on Friday morning, the rain, thankfully, had stopped. So I pulled on a pair of damp jeans, a damp Mostly Autumn tee shirt and my boots and Dave and myself squelched our way down to the main stage where the stewards were laying down straw to try and soak up the moisture from the ground.
The first band we saw that day was in the early afternoon - a rock band called
Soliss playing on the Alternative Stage. After their set we went directly to the Main Stage to see
Dead Like Harry. They were described as a cross between Fleetwood Mac and The Beautiful South but to my ears they had more in common with Deacon Blue or, to give a more recent example, Captain. They were rather good though and Dave and myself both bought a copy of their "When We Were 17" EP after their set.
Next up were veteran rock band
Joker. They elected not to play their own material and played a load of covers instead. This turned out to be a great move as they were songs that everyone knew and the audience could join in with and this gave everyone a lift.
After getting a bite to eat we returned to the Main Stage to catch the latter half of a performance from blues singer/guitarist
Danny Bryant. After his set we headed down to the front for one of the bands I had come here to see - my beloved
Mostly Autumn! Unfortunately the Mostlies suffered from some horrendous technical and sound problems which would have broken lesser bands, but their talent, professionalism and strong songs won out and, somewhat against the odds, they delivered an excellent set.
Dave bought a copy of the recent Mostly Autumn anthology "Pass The Clock" whilst I went back to the tent to fetch my fleece as it was getting a bit chilly by now. When I returned
John Lees' Barclay James Harvest were setting up, before finally going onstage some time around 11.30 p.m.
I'd seen BJH once before (supporting Asia at the Wulfrun Hall in 2005) and they were rather good. They are a band that I feel that I should investigate further as they're not one who's work I'm all that familiar with. Their set began with a pleasant, gentle number. However the pace of the show didn't quicken from there and after about four or five more pleasant, gentle songs it was, becoming, for me at least, a bit of an anti-climax after Mostly Autumn. After a further two or three songs Dave and I called it a night and we headed back to the tent.
On Saturday we woke up bathed in glorious sunshine which lasted all day! After grabbing some breakfast we headed down to the Alternative Stage to catch all-girl rock band
Emerald Sky. On stage I would have guessed that they were all in their early twenties but the girls were in the audience for other shows that day and they didn't look much more than teenagers. Credit to them though because they're a good little band and these girls really can play. Dave bought a copy of their album after their set.
On Saturday the Alternative Stage area was also home to a couple of very nice people from progrock.co.uk who had set up their music stall there. I had a nice chat with them and came away with six CDs by Pure Reason Revolution, Magenta, Frost*, Solstice, The Reasoning and Beardfish.
After dropping our CDs back at the tent we went back and sat on the grass outside the main stage, just chilling out, soaking up the sunshine and listening to the music. Just wonderful! The ground had dried out by now so I decided it was time to go barefoot for a while!
We strolled into the Main Stage area to catch a performance from
Kilminster & Hockridge and stayed to watch a fine set from
Phoenix -a group who grew out of seventies rock band Argent. From there we went straight back to the Alternative Stage to catch the better part of a set by
Tinyfish. Their on stage banter was very funny and musically they are a band that I will investigate further.
Straight after Tinyfish it was back to the Main Stage again to see blues/rock singer
Deborah Bonham, who is the younger sister of the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. My word can she sing! What a terrific voice Deborah has!
Following Deborah's set we got something to eat and chilled in the sunshine again. It was around 8.20 when
Never The Bride, consisting of Catherine Feeney and the formidable Nikki Lamborn, took to the Main stage. Maybe Never The Bride are one of those acts that you have to see live in order to fully appreciate but I thought they were absolutely superb. One of the highlights of the festival for me. Deborah Bonham joined them on stage for a fine version of Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" which finished their performance. I bought one of their CDs after their set.
As soon as Never The Bride had finished we headed straight down to the Alternative Stage where another of the bands I really wanted to see at the festival -
Soltice - were already playing. I felt instantly at home with the vibes, the music, and the ideology of Solstice and I absolutely l-o-v-e-d them! Another highlight of the festival for me.
Things were running late on the main stage by now.
Very late.
Uriah Heep were originally due on stage at 8.40, 20 minutes before Solstice began their set on the Alternative Stage, but Solstice had finished their set by now, it was 11.00 and there was still nothing doing! No worries though, as it was a lovely summer's evening and still quite warm, so Dave and myself sat on the grass outside the Main Stage chilling out for a while having something to eat and drink and catching part of the set by Uriah Heep who came on stage around 11.45. Incidentally the headliners for that day were The Quireboys who, I'm reliably informed, came offstage at exactly 3.08 a.m!
On Sunday we woke up to more glorious sunshine (and some really loud snoring from a nearby tent!) and headed down for a breakfast of tea and a bacon roll. Initially we saw
Sacred Heart on the Main Stage before decamping to the Blues Stage to see a young band named
Kuda Bux. I picked up another Solstice CD from the lovely people on the Prog Rock stall before getting a picture by Paul Fordham and some arts and crafts stuff that I'd had my eye on all weekend. I also guessed, correctly as it turns out, that they would be setting up the merchandise stall for Breathing Space outside the Main Stage. Both Dave and myself got a Breathing Space tee shirt and a pre-release edition of the band's new album "Below The Radar".
We dropped all our purchases off at the tent before returning to the Main Stage to see a photogenic young rock band called
Morph. Following this it was down to the front again to see a superb set from
Breathing Space. Lead singer Olivia Sparnenn is a likeable and very beautiful young woman with a wonderful voice and Breathing Space are a fine band that are very much on an upward trajectory. Long may that continue. And please somebody post a picture of Bryan Josh testing the keyboards during the soundcheck...!
Next up were
Airrace who had a suprisingly commercial sound, a little remeniscent of a rockier GTR.
Dave and myself then went to the Touchstone merchandise stall (Dave got a copy of their first album, I got a tee shirt) before heading down to the front again.
Touchstone were another one of the bands that I came here to see. They have the potential to be much bigger commercially as they appeal not only to Prog Rock fans such as myself but have an edge to them that would appeal to fans of Nightwish or Dream Theater. They delivered an excellent set and the band's petite lead singer Kim Seviour is definitely a star in the making!
After the Touchstone set I also obtained a souvenir! Drummer Al Melville threw his drumsticks into the crowd at the end of the performance and I caught one! Well, I say caught, it actually deflected off someone's hand bounced off my shin and I picked it up off the floor, but "caught" sounds a bit more Rock N Roll doesn't it?! Anyway, I am now the proud owner of a battered drum stick: Pro Mark Milennium II - American Hickory 5A, in case you were wondering...!
Sadly, things were running late again on the main stage with the result that Karnataka were informed that they couldn't play, which was a shame, and Simon McBride was relocated to the blues stage. Dave and myself chilled outside in the sunshine for a while, having something to eat and listening to The Sonic Manipulator.
Focus, featuring original members Thijs Van Leer and Pierre Van Der Linden, took to the Main Stage on time. There were a few Jazz-Rock noodlings that were pleasant enough but washed over me a little bit but for the most part Focus were very good. "House Of The King" was sprightly, "Sylvia" - a track I have always loved since I first heard it as a six year old - was magnificent and it was wonderful to hear it live after all this time. Their other best known song, "Hocus Pocus", I always thought was a bit jokey in comparison but on seeing it live I understood it's appeal. Thijs Van Leer lead the crowd in a mass sing along of the mad operatic bits before the band headed into the rock freakouts that followed. Great fun!
At 11.00 p.m the place was packed to see the band that headlined it all:
Asia. Asia were magnificent and their set list was flawless with one classic after another; "Wildest Dreams", "Only Time Will Tell", "Time Again" "Here Comes The Feeling", "Sole Survivor", "Open Your Eyes", "Fanfare For The Common Man", "Never Again", "My Own Time", "An Extraordinary Life" "The Heat Goes On" and ending with "Don't Cry" and "Heat Of The Moment". I was in my element. I sang along with every word and especially so during "An Extraordinary Life" which is my manifesto and my favourite song of the last two years. Finally after a fantastic day, Dave and myself went back to our tent, finally crashing out at 1.15 a.m.
I had a fabulous time and I'm hoping to go again next year. Cambridge is a lot smaller and much more relaxed and informal than some of the major festivals like Glastonbury or V. It's also noticable that although they have their own designated area it wasn't uncommon to see some of the artists mingling with the crowds or in the audience to see other bands. At one point on Sunday I found myself standing next to one of my musical heroes watching Focus on the Main Stage, and earlier on in the day two more of my musical heroes were standing behind me at a fast food stall. I've not encountered anything like that before and it was a
very surreal experience let me tell you! A bit like going into Sainsburys and bumping into Stevie Nicks at the checkout queue!
Part of me felt that I should say something, tell them how much I love their music, maybe get their autograph, do all the things that a 'fan' would do; but then I thought. "Y'know what Dave? They're here to chill out with their loved ones, relax and enjoy the music just like you. Be cool, show them some respect and just leave them be". So I did. But then I felt like maybe I was being rude by not speaking to them! Yes, I do overthink things I'm afraid. It's a fault of mine.
Mostly though I found it a freeing experience. It was good to get away from the World for a few days. It reminded me that a lot of the new music I like is from bands who are self managed, self promoted and self published - indie in the truest sense of the word - and not ones who are likely to nominated for a Mercury Prize or be championed in the pages of the NME. And that's OK.
It was also good to spend time with people who have similar musical, spiritual or ideological world views as my own. It made me feel like I was less alone and it gives me the courage to be more of myself. To follow my own path, at my own pace, even if I'm dismissed as an irrelevant old hippy for doing so!
Cambridge Rock Festival 2009. It were grand!
Finally - a few clips:
Asia - Fanfare For The Common Man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJcw39Faufk&feature=channel_pageSolstice - Cheyenne
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pERYV-Ns4q4&feature=channelBreathing Space - Questioning Eyes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNmEczokffU&feature=channelDead Like Harry - When We Were 17
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7a8HKUnFdA&feature=channelFocus - Sylvia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqsgs2pjpNU&feature=channel_page
Well, here we are again at the start of a new football season - and now the team I support are playing in the Premier League! How weird is that?!
