|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
#1
10-12-2010, 08:22 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Summer's End 2010.......reminiscences.
Just gotten over the aftermath of another Summer's End festival. What a CRACKING weekend.
It started off with Mortis arriving in his Tank and ended with me setting fire to a Motorway Service Station.......I kid ye not! Peter turned up at Chez Waye in probably the largest car I've seen in many a year. "Blimey Pete, that won't fit on my drive"....."Yes it will!! But I won't be able to get out of the door." The taste of things to come.  We set off on the Friday and I have to say that, for someone who normally drives on the other side of the road, my Dad did a great job of maneuvering that beast in and out of the traffic. When we got to the Severn Bridge crossing I handed Peter the £5.50 for the toll but it was all in coins which we had to get into the collection tray (the toll booth is unmanned) in order to open the barrier and allow us to continue on our way. "I can't reach the tray" says Mortis. So he opened the door and nearly throttled himself because he had forgotten to undo his seat belt. In desperation he threw the money and, amazingly, all but 10p made it into the receptacle. I frantically groped in pockets for more money and after a few minutes we were on our way. Thank god there wasn't a queue because we might have been lynched for holding up the traffic. We were staying at the same hotel as previous years and when we arrived the look on the receptionists face was a picture. "Oh...you're back again. We've put you in the same room as last year so you won't have to crawl up the stairs when you get back tonight"........how thoughtful!!!! We made it to the venue where we met up with Jamforte and the lovely Prog Devi and set up the Aural Moon banner and deposited the interview gear up on the balcony. I was getting thirsty by this time so Dad and I wandered over to The Cross Keys pub and ordered a couple of pints of the Nigerian Lager (sorry Guinness) and saw an old friend sitting at the bar. It was Moo, bassist with Touchstone. As seems to be the norm these days cuddles were shared, I love Moo, and we went outside for a smoke and a chat. I say WE, I mean Moo and I, because Dad spent the next few minutes lecturing me on the perils of smoking. I managed to get him to belt up by sending him inside for more beer.  Rob Cottingham of Touchstone also arrived and after another beer we decided we should get back to listen to the nights entertainment.First up were The Resonance Association. They reminded me a bit of GLOW who played here a couple of years ago. Two guitars and programmed backing tracks. They played well and made for a good festival opener. Next up were Tinyfish. This bunch of guys are great fun to watch and, with their brilliant new album, The Big Red Spark, they have the makings of a brilliant set. They did not disappoint. Rob Ramsey did his narrations wearing a variety of costumes and it was obvious that they were enjoying themselves. Simon Godfrey had a few problems with his guitar synth and Leon's drum kit couldn't have been tied down properly because it kept moving around but it shows the skill of the guys that I don't think many people really noticed. Guitarist Jim and Bassist Paul kept things ticking over really well. The highlight of the night for me. That night's headline act were The Defense of The Realm, a veritable supergroup featuring Jem Godfrey (Frost), John Mitchell (It Bites, Frost) and Pete Trewavas (Marillion, Transatlantic). With Jem around you know that it should be a light-hearted event. And so it proved. There was even a phone call with Phil Collins which was a supreme P**s take. The music featured songs by, among others, Frost, Kino and Transatlantic. Great entertainment indeed. Following this we packed up and headed back to our respective hotels and, yes, I was grateful for the ground floor room and the fact that my bed was close to the bathroom so I didn't have far to crawl....I mean walk, during the night. Saturday was going to be amazing. Peter went out for a drive to visit the area he used to live and I, stayed behind to nurse my hangover.....I mean do some research on the bands that we might be interviewing. At the hall we set up again. Tinyfish came up to the balcony and talked to us at some length about the making of the new album and generally have a good laugh with us. We also got a bit of an exclusive in that Leon had become a permanent member of the band the previous evening. Thanks guys. I went downstairs and bumped into another of our moonbuds Steve aka Eloy1964. That was a really pleasant surprise as I wasn't sure he was going to come along. That days entertainment stated off with Haken. I'd bought their album Aquarius and was really impressed with it's shifts in mood from heavy to melodic and back again. A little "growling" but not to a huge degree. I went down into the main hall for this set and was surprised at how the sound quality was very different from up in the balcony. The vocals came over much clearer downstairs. Haken played a very good set. Next up were Ark. I'd seen Ark back in 1988 at a pub in East London and thought they were great fun to watch as well as hear. So it proved again. Singer and flautist Ant had on his face paint and masks and generally acted out the songs. Bassist John Jowitt smiled the whole way through and Guitarist Steve Harris of Iron Maiden fame played a blinder. A set that proved that Prog can be fun. Words can't describe the next set.....but I'll try. Unitopia were the band that I was most looking forward to hearing this weekend. Our very own EMOONGIRL had introduced me to their music 18 months ago and I fell in love with it from the outset. Brilliant musicianship, thought provoking lyrics and a wonderfully eclectic mix of styles had me entranced from the first listen. I wrote about them in an article I did and was really surprised when their lead singer, Mark 'Truey' Truack, phoned me up for a chat. We've been friends ever since. Their set was simply stunning. They started off playing a large part of their newest album 'Artificial' and if I'd been concerned about the ability to recreate the sound of the album live that doubt was dispelled within the first few bars. It was fan-bloody-tastic!! I'd taken up a position in the main hall about 2/3s back and the mix there was nigh on perfect. They played more songs from their second album "The Garden" and also my two favourite tracks off the first album. The title track "More than a dream" and the beautiful, mesmerising and moving "Justify". I cried and noticed that I wasn't alone in that. I think Steve, who was standing next to me, may have shed a few tears as well. The final song in the set was "The Garden" a real epic that changes mood but never ceases to impress with the beauty of the writing. The last section really builds to an incredible climax and has been compared to the ending of Supper's Ready. I can sort of see what the critics mean but to my ears they are completely different in feel. The crowd gave them the ovation of the weekend and even sang Happy Birthday to Truey as it was his big day on 10/10/10. He and the rest of the band were visibly moved by the crowd reaction and outside after the set I've never seen so many people coming up and saying how much they enjoyed it. Brilliant!!! Jam, Laxmi and I went over to their hotel a little later and they gave us a VERY in depth interview. We bumped into them a few more times over the weekend (usually in the bar ) and they were always friendly and gracious.With the interview over we went back to the hall for the headline acts Agents of Mercy and Karmakanic. I was a little surprised to see that Karmakanic were on first as I'd expected them to headline. Someone suggested that it was because Agents of Mercy have a new album to promote. Cynical devil!!!! The line up for the bands are basically the same but with different vocalists. They both feature Roine Stolt and Jonas Reingold, for example, and with those two legends in tow you know that you're in for a treat. Very slick and with Nad Sylvan doing the singing for Agents of Mercy you get a great sound. I really enjoyed the sets. It was getting late and after a quick G-juice top up we went back for some much needed shut eye. I was really on a high after the Unitopia set and had a restless night............Mortis did as well apparently. He said something about me snoring. Nonsense!!!! Sunday arrived and got off to a great start. Multifuse are a band I knew nothing about. The main writer is drummer and multi instrumentalist Peter Fallowell with singer Cherie Emmitt. For the live performances they are augmented by two keyboards, guitar, bass and a backing singer. They are truly international as the members come from UK, France and Italy. The music is a real fusion with a feel for minimalism at times, rock, jazz and classical. Very interesting and, for me, the surprise package of the weekend. The vocal arrangements in particular stood out. They, too, gave us an in depth interview that Jam and I found very interesting. Next band were Dead Heroes Club. Heavier and to a degree slightly politically motivated but still entertaining. They did songs from both of their albums and went down pretty well with the crowd. Their Bass player had what was probably the longest hair I have ever seen on a musician at Summer's End. Made me quite jealous to be honest. There was now a longish break as the stage had to be set up for Phideaux. Not easy as there are Ten people in the band. There were a LOT of people who were looking forward to hearing them and I was one of them. They did not let me down. I wasn't that familiar with their music having only heard their recent album Number Seven a couple of times so I was amazed that they didn't actually play any of the tracks on that album concentrating instead on previous releases. Mind bogglingly brilliant song writing and polished performances from the whole band. A real delight. We managed to grab hold of Phideaux Xavier himself for a chat and after a while it got a little cosy because all the other members of the group arrived one by one and put in their two pennyworth worth. A long and interesting interview and it proved to me that a vast majority of people in Prog are supremely decent and friendly people. That means a lot. Sylvan were supposed to appear last year but had to pull out so it was really good to see them here this year. They played a long set and I was pleased that they played a big section from Posthumous Silence which was the album that first got me interested in them. I thought the lead singer coped really well as he was obviously suffering with a sore throat but soldiered on. I was moving around the hall at this time and kept bumping into people who wanted to chat so I didn't get to hear all of the set but what I did hear was VERY impressive. Festival closers were The Watch. They are renowned as a band who play in the style of early Gabriel era Genesis and, yes, they do cover songs from those albums but to call then a Genesis tribute band is to do them a huge injustice. They write their own material as well and what they played in the set was extremely beautiful to these ears. That being said the tracks that stick in the mind were the Genesis numbers. Can Utility and the Coastliners was AMAZING. That track is an often overlooked track when people talk about Genesis classics but for me it's right up there with the rest. The Musical Box moved along at a great pace and show closer Supper's Ready had all the old prog heads dancing around. Some members of Phideaux had joined us and I hope they weren't scared by my trying to dance in 9/8.... Needless to say the encore had to be something special to round off the weekend and it was.................The knife. Sadly that was that and another Summer's End came to a close. HUGE thanks to Lambsie and Huw and the whole team for another fantastic year. Nice to know that there WILL be a Summer's End 2011. I hope that some of you Moonies will try and make it. The only other thing that happened was on the way home. Dad had very kindly agreed to run me home again even though he had a tight schedule for dropping off the Hire Tank and getting his flight. We stopped for coffee at a Service Station and while Mortis was looking for Pork Pies to restock his magic coat (remember that?? ) I had a smoke. I was very good and disposed of my ciggy butt in the proper place then went to get some coffee. While I was there in the queue I heard a commotion outside and looked to see clouds of smoke billowing out of the bin. Yes, Moonbuds, I'd managed to set the place on fire. I got out there with a bottle of water to try and put out the flames and got there at the same time as a staff member and between us me managed to extinguish the blaze. We made a rapid exit and got home without further incident. I hope you've enjoyed this (rather long) report of the weekend. I had a blast. Huge love and thanks to Jam, Prog Devi and Eloy1964 for making the time even better but MASSIVE love and affection to Mr Mortis for looking after me so well. You really are a STAR Peter and I can't imagine my life without you in it. Bless you. See you next year moonbuds. I took some photos and it anyone wants to see them I could post links to them. 
|
|
#3
10-12-2010, 02:30 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Re: Summer's End 2010.......reminiscences.
great write up KeithieW .... you were immense on stage ( meant in the nicest possible way ) take care mate dave from devon ..... possibly one of the greatest festivals i have ever seen
|
|
#4
10-12-2010, 02:34 PM
|
||||
|
||||
|
Re: Summer's End 2010.......reminiscences.
A Bloody Great review my friend... actually made me almost feel like I was there.... maybe someday I will be able to make it across the pond for summers end... til then its always fun to read about the adventures of Keithie and Mortis!!! Thanks for sharing with us my friend!!!!
|
 |
| Thread Tools | |
| Display Modes | Rate This Thread |
|
|
|
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:17 AM. |
Hybrid Mode
