mINtSOUTH.com

It’s a shame this isn’t an audio review. And that the guy who did the film trailer voice-overs is dead. Otherwise this would sound more impressive: “1 week; 3 venues; 11 gigs; 55 bands…who would survive…and who would die on their ass. Only the crowd could decide.”

Now, this might not sound like a big deal to those who live in the big metropolitan areas where bands and gigs are as common as a street corner hooker – but in leafy, quaint Winchester most of the gigs are usually of the close to home variety. Local gigs, for local people. This is by no means saying a lot of them aren’t great, as highlighted by some of the acts appearing on this festival. But, well, sometimes we want more, you know? This is where WinchesterLive was aiming its sights - a host of big names and rising stars from around the country joined forces with the cream (and some curdle) of local talent, for a rare change to see some big acts on our doorstep.

So in the name of ‘journalism’ – I’m not sure what the accepted term for ‘amateur hack’ is – I felt I should go along to each night of the festival. My liver and eardrums weren’t too happy about it, and for a while it was a tense ménage a trois with no love lost between us – my ears loving most of the music, my liver falling out with me and stomping off to get drunk against my best intentions. But we made up, and between the three of us, managed to come to agreement on the highlights – and lowlights - of the week….

Monday

The first night was not looking good as the expected crowds were nowhere to be seen. Whether it was Monday lethargy or the late confirmation of the headline acts, the first night was in danger of being a bad omen with a very sparse attendance. Nicotine Smile – the love-children of Mods who had an affair with Johnny Rotten – kicked off the event in typical swagger. Whether it was tightness in sound showing an ever-growing confidence and improvement with every set, or the early start meaning Tom and the boys were still sober, I’ll never know, but they are getting better and more boisterous by the day.

Youth Movies really, really disappointed me, but rallied with a stunning psychedelic wig-out to end their set, making you wonder why they don’t stick with that more often. And have more saxophones. You can never have too much brass. Ironically, given the turn out, Absentee stole the show. Man, that voice. Like Nick Cave and Tom Waits have had their sperm merged to create a cloned offspring going through puberty ten times over. Which is high praise, in case you couldn’t tell.

Tuesday

Thankfully attendance was not an issue tonight, as Peggy Sue kept a huge crowd spellbound with their gorgeous voices, gorgeous lyrics and gorgeous music - a heady mix of ‘punky-folk’, ballads and vocals that make husky jazz greats sound weak. And toy instruments. Just don’t call them kooky… Not to be outdone, Emmy the Great clearly demonstrated why she has been dubbed ‘The Queen of Anti-Folk’ with a beautiful and enchanting set of songs.

Wednesday

The local bands were not to be outdone and two of them on the Wednesday showcase provided some essential listening. Birdpens mix of Kasabian beats and Morrisson-esque vocals is truly sonic. Yes I said sonic, and I stand by it. Would you prefer ethereal? Sweeping? Take your pick. Fox Cubs threaten to be as good as the Killers and have a compelling and catchy set of songs in the same vein, with a bit of art school thrown in for good measure, but all very distinctive and very much their own sound. I hope they’re huge, and are definitely worth catching live.

Thursday

Because of what you are about to read in the next paragraph, I found it hard to write about any of the other bands tonight – two of them I can do without as I’ve seen them far too many times, and Barefoot Confessor were extremely good. But due to the sheer….unexpectedness…of one of the acts, it’s hard to write objectively; Partly because I was too blown away to concentrate.

Imagine a world where Adrian Mole sang like Jamirqoui’s Jay Kay. Or where Carlton had all of Jazzy Jeffs rhymes. Two strange things happened to me at this gig which are very unusual. I smiled. And danced. Well, moved my feet a bit and jerked around like a lumpy sack with Alzheimers, but still…..I wasn’t the only one, which made me feel a lot less self conscious.

Gideon Conn was an unknown quantity to many, but was by far the greatest performance of the week. All hail the king of “Geek-Hop” ™ - More funk than should be good for you, hip hop beats, old skool rhymes and an energetic performance that suggests he’s had a transfusion of red bull. And comedy ballads about mobile fish sellers. Gideon Conn? Genius.

Friday

Sometimes I think you just have to hold your hands up, shrug your shoulders, hit the bar and admit defeat..that it’s just been ‘one of those days’. And so it was for SixNationState, who were oddly off kilter with an experimental set, on a night which should have seen them return as gods to a town which holds them dear to their hearts. Alex & The Ligers also suffered too from some sound and technical glitches which derailed what was otherwise another engaging set from a band who are one of the best indie-folk acts in the South. Shame.

Saturday

It’s no secret that I adore Mumford Sons, the daddies of the emergent folk scene. But even by their standards they played a stunning set to a packed and enthralled crowd and I’m beginning to suspect they could teach Jesus a thing or two about gathering disciples and creating a following. The audience was totally blown away and took the roof off in awe.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Thomas Tantrum continued their rise to stardom, with Megan’s cute petulance and wry observations making them irresistible. Art Bruts Eddie Argos was also clearly enjoying his set on the Saturday, jumping into the crowd who were gladly reciprocating the enjoyment.

Sunday

Rosie Oddie suffered too from the curse of the inexplicably missing audience, as well as from her sore throat. Yet despite this her set was one of the most appealing of the week – looking like a spandex sex bomb, and sounding like Macy Gray fronting the New York Dolls.

Die! Die! Die! don’t believe in stage boundaries and are not only in your face musically, but literally too - closing the week with a riotous firework display of a finale. Punk at its live best. Loud! Loud! Loud! And Good! Good! Good!

Phew, what a week. Some highs, some lows and some exciting new discoveries. Was it a success? Hell yes.

Has it put a big stake in the ground in Winchester to signpost it for bands? Absolutely. The bands loved playing; the fans loved the bands being there even more. Roll out next year.

Chris Roberts.

0 people like this post.

Like