Saturday 28th August 2010 saw the arrival of Leicestershire's
newest live music festival. The Artsin team spent the day there and here is our
report
Scroll down for reviews of all the acts but first - the festival in pictures:
The festival was headlined by top 10 rap star EXAMPLE
Example's headline set was attended by over 2000 people
Some top Leicester bands played at the festival, including
Charlie & The Martyrs
SuperEvolver
Jersey Budd
The Stiggz
The Screening
Dumbfound
Neon Sarcastic
Chezza
Strawberry Fields - a great success
The main stage and the Strawberry Jam tent featured a selection of top local bands playing alongside big named acts. The weather was kind and a big crowd turned out to see what Leicestershire's newest festival was all about.
A curious rostering some would say but no end of music to suit all tastes. That the hugely popular Screening and the Stiggz got to play on the minor stage whilst some unknown bands were playing on the Main Stage, is something only the organisers can explain. The whole day nevertheless saw people shuttling between one location and the other in order to see the bands that attracted them.
The Dance Tent saw a big lineup of DJs pumping out some massive beats and those who wanted that kind of music clearly spent some highly enjoyable sessions in the Risque Dance arena.
The Main Stage Line Up
The main stage shows kicked off at 1 p.m. with Birmingham's folk/Americana singer James Summerfield and his band. They have played at the Musician before now and their set of folk songs presented a soothing start for the crowd who were sitting on the grass enjoying a spell of bright sunshine, whilst shivering in a rather strong breeze.
Meanwhile the big sounds in the Dance Tent were already rolling across the field. Not a huge audience at this time but the turnstiles were busy with fans steadily turning up throughout the day.
The sound from the main stage was pretty good, although it didn't extend back far enough. If you were in the bar tent on the other side of the field, the main stage speakers wouldn't have given you much.
By the time the Naked Lights took to the main stage, a few spots of rain were on the way down. The Harrow based indie, Big Beats band told the crowd that they had "never been outside the M25 before", so playing in a field in Leicestershire must have been a novel experience for them. Their bouncy set of original pop songs and well known covers got some of the crowd to their feet and a few of their mates from London had come up to support them on their first festival appearance. The lead singer had a strong voice and lashings of personality and put on a performance that had all the razz of early Robbie Williams.
Nottingham's Nina Smith and her band gave the growing crowd a selection of funky, RnB style songs that delighted a selection of the festival goers who sat attentively listening and eating takeaways on the grass and dodging the light but brief showers.
Things warmed up a bit when Henrys Children came on stage with their lively mix of indie, folk rock and blusey numbers. The Birmingham six piece included four singers and a set of big rollicking rock songs that that went down well and drew people into the front of stage area. The voices of singers Rozie Rhodes and Jon Allen carried well across the field and the crowd were getting into the music now, as the sun made a more sustained appearance.
The first big Leicester band to appear was Charlie & The Martyrs at 4.45 p.m. Sadly they started their set a little before The Screening had finished theirs in the Strawberry Jam Tent. A lot of people got to see Charlie for the first time and the band's set of highly enjoyable songs were a hit with the all ages, mixed crowd of families and hardcore festival goers.
Charlie's rich, full voice carried across the field, backed by delicious rhythms from the Martyrs. The crowd grew as people came across from other locations, attracted by the very engaging songs come off the stage.
The energy from the main stage didn't diminish when SuperEvolver got going and Mab's rock star performance began to wow the crowd. This highly popular band has won a growing level of recognition from all quarters. The festival-sized sound and set of fizzing songs clearly animated the expanding crowd.
The pit in front of the stage filled with photographers, snapping away with huge telephoto lenses, as Mab's distinctive vocals rang out across the field, backed by blistering solos from him and Jimmi, excitingly backed with Marc's keys and vocals.
With compelling raw-edged songs and rock star quality singing, it's easy to see why everyone from Kasabian through to most of the local rockerati are raving about this band.
No Fixed Abode gave the festival something different next, as the style on the stage moved from rock to Hip Hop and RnB. The crash barriers filled as they put out some anthemic songs to an eager-for-more audience.
Leicester super star singer Jersey Budd took to the main stage with
Peter Oag on keys and
John Martin
on guitar. Joe's folky rock songs drew a respectable crowd as the sun starting to sink over the fields and the wind subsided. His presence on stage turned a gig into a concert, as one great song after another poured from the stage. He hoped that the "festival would continue" and we salute that very much. We look forward to his new album when it comes out soon.
I have long wanted to see The Holloways and despite their previous visits to Leicester, this was the first time I have seen them play live. I can see now why so many of my musician mates absolutely love this band. A huge cheer went up as the indie, punk, ska band took to the stage. Did Brian Fowler ride across the stage on a bicycle? Or had I had too many lagers by then? Festival goer Chris saw me writing notes in a corner and told me to put "It's been good all day" and yes Chris it was about to get gooder.
Now, it is dark and the big production lighting on the stage has come into its own. Floods and washes of purple and red lights are illuminating the smoke and it looks just like the scenes you see on the telly. The crowd is packed up against the crush barriers and Alfie Jackson is at the centre mic in his iconic red hat. The crowd are loving it, cheering them on, thousands of hands are waving in the air. Some are sitting on shoulders and the security in the pits are pushing back a few overzealous fans.
The Holloways launch into one utterly thrilling song after another, with Alfie's big voice and electric stage presence pushing the set on to ever more agreeable funky, geezer rock tunes. Lively catchy music is energising the now very large crowd in the darkness of a Leicestershire field and I'm thinking - this is rather good. Yes, really rather good.
As the Holloways break into a massive dance number, I can see several musicians in the crowd with really happy expressions on their faces, maybe thinking "we could be up there next year!".
I sit down to do some writing (at long last) in the backstage marquee behind the Holloways, still listening to their songs and the crowd cheering excitedly at the end of each number. After a big roar from the field, three sweaty band members stumble into the green room, hauling their guitars and amps behind them and I am almost at the end of another notebook.
The great thing about this festival was the range and variety of the music, a live music experience that had something for everyone, young and old. Established top name acts and newbie, rising bands and although some stages overlapped a little, you could get to hear most of the acts without loosing too much from the previous stage.
We hope that Strawberry Fields will continue to grow and prosper, a welcome addition to our local music scene and a well organised event that gave as much of a window to national acts as it did to our wealth of local talent.
Ok it clashed with Reading and Leeds but for those of us who couldn't make it, what a great opportunity this was! I'm sorry I couldn't say anything about the Dance Tent, other than Lisa Lashes wasn't there but who knows, maybe next year ...
Now, as an aging rock dude who's clubbing days are long gone, you might expect me to be unenthusiastic about the festival's headline act. Not a bit of it! Even for me Example's show was hugely exciting experience.
10:08 p.m. and the lights go up for the London rap artist who has made it into the high charts. Real name
Elliot Gleave, he has left his grimey roots for the sparkle of electro-pop and over 2000 fans were there to see what other local had festivals left out.
After a big dramatic opening, the smoke cleared to reveal an MC on the decks, a guitarist and bassist either side of the centre mic. Example walks on to the stage and huge roar erupts from the crowd. The massed ranks of paparazzi in the pit have their zooms glued on him. For the next 40 minutes the festival takes to the next level.
The crash barriers are straining under the weight of fans, people are getting up on shoulders, hundreds of cameras are glowing in the dark and the crowd is a mass of waving arms and glow sticks.
Great pulsating beats boom out from the stage as Example shouts "everybody say yeah"; it's dance on a massive scale. Beams of light search across the ocean of heads and some extremely bright strobes start to flash from the side of the stage. It wasn't the biggest sound stage we have seen in Leicestershire this year but it was well equipped with a good wedge of production lighting.
He breaks into "Kickstart" which, after the previous monotonously repetitive lyrics, is a song which I really like. He doesn't have to spend a lot of time writing his lyrics - 8 words and he's done the job. Ah but then it's not about the words, it's all about the highly compulsive rhythms and the image that the 28 year old ordinary bloke projects from the behind the mic stand. Ok, he's not got as much wow as Robbie Williams but he does have a massively bigger live profile than Eminem.
Example's press waxes from lyrical to despondent with phrases like "brilliant" coming in the same sentence as "bland". Take Mike Diver's review for the BBC as case in point and Michael Cragg said much the same in the Guardian.
But for now we can leave the musicologists to their words and just enjoy the exhilarating spectacle of 2000 kids who have waited all day for this one big moment. It was exciting, it was a climactic close to a hugely good day of music and partying and many will want to see Example again when he appears at Leicester's Auditorium on 15th October.
The Strawberry Jam Tent
The Jam Tent opening with a rockingly good acoustic set from The Stiggz. With Richard on the keys backed by the vocals of all the other band members, their non-electric set was every bit as good as what they usually do.
The modest marquee filled to overflowing as they played and quite a lot of their ardent fan base had come over from nearby Coalville to support them. They gave the crowd some of their best songs and everyone loved it. Several people said afterwards that they should have been on the main stage but then they were at the festival and they did give the people what they wanted - half an hour of exhilarating rock songs. Whatever these guys do, it's always good.
It was rather odd seeing The Screening playing on a tiny stage but like the true rock stars they are, they turned up and put on a cracking good set of their much-loved tunes. Well, even big bands do play intimate gigs occasionally and these gods of the Leicester rock scene played a full electric set to a rammed tent. From great bubbling dance numbers to their ear-shagging hit songs, they gave it their usual quality performance and the audience got a class encounter of the indie kind.
With a biog that says "Sleazy, dirty, bluesy, rock. A twist of old influences with a razor-sharp modern edge. This, is Citizen Smith", you could not help but be there and it was by no means disappointing. Big fat songs with ballsy beats and two classy lead vocalists, they filled the tent with their infectious music and a good crowd of people.
Chezza is getting known and having wowed the crowd at Superfly last Wednesday, the young grime rapper with his backing band packed the tent with bopping teenagers. On a roll, Chezza pumped out a set of his high-octane street raps, backed by three quality musicians - Adam Horton on drums,
Pascal Mowla on Guitar,
Chris Barwell on Bass and the gig turned into a party. Churning out lashings of energy and dazzle, it's easy to see why this guy has a following the size of which many acts can only dream about. With a single release on iTunes on 1st October you can see Chezza again on 15th October at the Auditorium.
In complete contrast Leicester band Dumfound gave what was, for me, an unmissable performance. The trio of top class musicians performed a virtuoso set of super-cool, truly captivating songs. Blane Maxwell was on the drums with a variety of hardware,
Bobby Hawkins put out superb vocals with Eddy O'Kane doing wonderful things on the keys. Memorable melodies, smooth lyrics laden with imagery and colour and rhythms that were high on resonance, made this a quality musical experience that was as faultless as it was enchanting. A music lover's and musician's band, Dumbfound have been lauded as "the best band in Leicester" on more than one occasion.
Indie/country came on stage next with Birmingham's Little Liam, being Liam Garland, a singer taught by Ocean Colour Scene's Steve Cradock.
Neon Sarcastic brought the Jam Stage to a resounding finish from 9.30 p.m. with their half hour of let's-all-dance power-pop floor fillers. The happy, clappy songs makes the crowd surge forward and the whole place is dancing, while on stage, John Willson's boundless energy and belting stage presence is getting everyone jumping on the spot and in the right mood for the big event on the main stage. They finished in time for everyone to take their places for the spectacular show put on my Example.
An exhausting day but a great event. O that the beer had been half as good as the music!
Now, as an aging rock dude who's clubbing days are long gone, you might expect me to be unenthusiastic about the festival's headline act. Not a bit of it! Even for me Example's show was hugely exciting experience.
