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Archived in This was the first time our boys (8 and 4 yrs old) have been to see a major band - and then they get to see six in one go. They’ve seen live bands before at motorcycle events, and while they’ve been impressed with the acts before nothing could prepare them for the performance from the Levellers et al.
The rain held off - we even had bouts of sunshine.
Here is a short run-down of the acts:
3 Daft Monkeys - a three-piece acoustic band that played, amongst other instruments, the fiddle, and guitars. Their set was very good and they impressed the crowd enough to ask for an encore (or two).
Chumbawamba - you may remember their ‘TubThumping’ single from a few years ago but they’ve been around a lot longer than that and they’ve played at a quite number of events since then. Their act was thought provoking and funny, even though they had a semi-political agenda.
Nathan & Quinn were, apparently, brought in at short notice - but you’d have never guessed it from the performance they gave. There set can best be explained as a brilliant acoustic folk guitar playing duo.
Seth Lakeman & his band. Mr Lakeman is an accomplished musician: he played the guitar and violin, and he sang well. They were good songs, delivered well, but he didn’t spark me off as the other acts did.
Dreadzone - Awesome, electric, brilliant, fun, cool (man). This group brought the event to it’s feet. Nearly everyone danced to the sound generated by this band - a mixture of dub, reggae, techno, and trance. I was so impressed I’ve now bought their second album ‘Second Light’.
The Levellers - after a short interval, while they prepared the stage after Dreadzone, the Levellers appeared and the headline act got the crowd back on their feet. For those that haven’t heard of them they are a folk rock band that play tunes that you can’t help singing (and dancing along to). During their encore they were rejoined back on stage by 3 Daft Monkeys to perform the final number.
This was all followed by a spectacular fireworks display.
All-in-all a brilliant days entertainment -
definitely ‘A Beautiful Day Out’.
