Set in the very agreeable surroundings of Lowther Deer Park,
Kendal Calling is like no other festival I’ve attended. Bucking the trend that
has seen many smaller festivals go to the wall, Kendal Calling seems to be
going from strength to strength, increasing its capacity rather than throwing in
the towel; it’s good to see.
FRIDAY
We arrive Friday morning and rapidly pitch our lodgings for
the weekend before de-pitching and re-pitching having originally pitched in a
no pitching area; phew, now that deserves a beer. Thirst quenched we make our
way towards the sounds of “one two, two, check check” to find they’re not quite
ready for us. A couple of calls to artists on the other side of the fence put
our minds at rest that we’re not missing a note.
 |
| The Lottery Winners |
Once the gates open we hurriedly make our way to the House
Party stage to see The Lottery Winners
kick off the festival in real style. Their
set of guitar and harmony driven indie pop anthems-in-waiting contains songs
bristling with hooks and confidence. If you’ve not managed to catch this Leigh-based
quartet yet then put it at the top of your to-do list immediately. We will be featuring the band in more depth
on Eartwister when the time is right.
A quick skip to the main stage to catch The Minx ply their spikey brand of punk infused mischief sees the
band truly delighted to be making the step up.
This reflects in their performance which is probably the best I’ve seen
them deliver to date, so job done then.
Despite the compact site and actually reading the map the
right way up, we still manage to visit every tent before finally stumbling on
the Chai Wallahs’ stage (it was where we came in stupid) only to discover we’d
missed Jesca Hoop. We decide to stick around to watch Karima Francis, who today is joined by guitar and bass which adds depth
of sound to her set. Karima appears to
be in a much happier place these days, and whilst older material still has the
feel of a tortured soul , songs from her new album ’Remedy’ such as current
single ‘Glory Days’ are tinged with more than a little hope, ‘Let's live today like tomorrow is over’
Off to the Calling Out stage for Hatchem Social who if I’m honest were a little lacklustre today.
They probably weren’t helped by the fact that people were still making their
way on site, but never the less they were missing a certain sparkle. The new
material still sounds pretty good though, notwithstanding that every time I
hear that guitar line from ‘I Look Like a God When You Dance with Me’ I leave
singing The Eels’ ‘It’s a Beautiful Day’.
 |
| The Correspondents |
Back on the main stage The
Correspondents are doing what the correspondents do to great effect. Those
familiar with frontman Mr Bruce were lapping up every second whilst newcomers
must have been thinking fancy dress Saturday had come a day early. There is no
denying that the man knows how to play a crowd, and ‘What’s Happened to Soho’
in particular goes down a treat.
Meanwhile The Lake
Poets ,aka acoustic singer
songwriter Martin Longstaff was
entertaining an altogether more relaxed audience on the Woodland Stage, and
pleasant enough it was too, if you like that sort of thing.
Back at the Calling Out stage it’s a poet of a very
different kind in the shape of London MC
Ghostpoet, all tripped out, dubbed up Hip Hop, like Portishead meets Dizzee
Rascal for tea and valium. We like it,
but it seems at odds with the un-forecast sunny weather and more suited to a
5am meltdown.
Little Comets’
show on the same stage is the polar opposite, with guitar lines that would not
seem out of place on an indie reworking of Paul Simon’s Graceland, considered
rhythms and memorable backing vocals, all meaning they are not without charm. Despite
splitting opinion amongst friends on the night, the Calling Out tent is near
full for the first time today with the majority of those gathered inside buying
in wholesale.
So to tonight’s headliners and here we find ourselves
slightly torn between Maximo Park on the main stage vs Little Barrie on the
Calling Out stage. Having missed the
opportunity to catch Barrie after the second day of Live at Jodrell Bank fell
foul of the weather, we decide that it’s possible to do both. The plan is to
take in the start and close of Maximo’s set with a slice of Little Barrie as
the filling in the Maximo sandwich, sounds tasty.
 |
| Maximo Park |
As Maximo Park launch into their set it becomes apparent
that not all is well in the state of Kendal as the sound is painfully
quiet. It seems whatever limiters they
have set on the mixing desk have strangled
the power of current single ‘Hips & Lips’ and there is little sign of
their grip loosening; so we decide to bring forward our schedule and head to
the Calling Out stage in the hope the problem is rectified by the time we
return.
No such problems here as Little Barrie is already churning
out his dirty brand of old school R ’n’ B which is much heavier live than his
recordings would suggest, almost Hendixesque in places. There is no doubt that Barrie is a serious
player and it’s easy to see why both Primal Scream and Paul Weller have made
use of his talents. If he wants to make the step up from cult to a wider audience
however, he may just be one or two hooks short.
We arrive back at the main stage just in time to hear the
volume go up and Maximo kicking into top gear. As Paul Smith gives his
trademark hyperactive Jack-in-the-box performance we have to confess to
enjoying the experience a little more than predicted. ‘Our Velocity’ (great
song) and set closer ‘Apply the
Pressure’ are obvious highlights as day one draws to a close, at least for us
anyway.
SATURDAY
Despite their relatively young years the Travelling Band are by now festival
veterans. They seem to have found their place in the great scheme of things and
prove an ideal choice to open proceedings. They do what they do very well and
whilst not everyone’s cup of tea, for those who over indulged on Friday night
they are an affable introduction to another day in the fields.
We catch a few songs of Jack
Martello’s soulful acoustic set which is pleasant enough before heading up
the hill for Leeds’s own exponents of the dark indie arts Wind Up Birds. Unless
you subscribe to Paul Ackroyd’s somewhat grim view of life there’s not much we
can recommend here. It’s straight down
the line indie rock delivered with little panache, with Ackroyd’s John Cooper
Clarke style delivery stuck on top like a cheap glacé cherry; not for us then.
 |
| Little Roy |
Back on the main stage Little
Roy has young and old alike lifting their legs high to his sound-system
Reggae. Rolling out early hits such as ‘Bongo Nyah’ alongside a smattering of
Nirvana covers from his ‘Battle for Seattle’ album, only a fool would have bet
on his set not being well received. There have been no shortage of Reggae acts
riding the coat tails of others in a bid to cash in lately but thankfully
Little Roy is not one of them. His
covers bring something new to the party (and party it is) with ‘Lithium’ in particular
hitting just the right spot.
It’s up to the Calling Out stage once again to see Jake Evans (Bad Lieutenant) whose solo
material has punch, melody and strong vocals, making it worthy of closer
inspection. His SJM rep seems concerned
about the sound for some reason. I’d have been more concerned that the tent was
near empty.
Elsewhere Dodgy
are mixing up the old hits and new material but predictably it’s the likes of
‘Staying Out for the Summer’ and ‘In a Room’ that the punters crave, although the new material does show they still know their way around a pop
song . They also do a cover version of Frank Wilson’s Northern Soul classic ‘Do
I Love You’, which makes for Dodgy by name and dodgy by nature. Consider
yourselves told boys, don’t mess with perfection. They save the day however, by closing the set
with ‘Good Enough’, which it just about is.
 |
| Spector |
Indie popsters Spector
are next up and not for the first time we witness some sloppy playing by the
London boys, with drummer Danny Blandy in particular seemingly having timing issues. Never the less, the singles are fantastic, as
is stalwart and soon-to-be-released set closer ‘Never Fade Away’, but you have
to wonder if it’s going to be enough? They play another slow song halfway
through the set which on this listening verges on the extremely dull. Do we spy
a chink in Spector’s armor?
Actually closer to Penrith than Kendal we are less than 35
miles from Scotland. So perhaps no surprises
then, that The View have pulled the
biggest crowd of the day thus far and without doubt they are loving it. To the
party they bring uncomplicated songs with terrace friendly hooks and the
ability to hit a chorus in six seconds flat (‘How Long’), not to mention an air
that they couldn’t give a f**k. This, my friends, makes them a natty little
festival act. Apparently the boys from Dundee also have a good line in stage
banter but I can’t confirm this until I’ve located the appropriate translator.
One question though. Why only fill 40 minutes of your hour long slot? I hope
the Kendal team paid them appropriately.
It’s been some time since I’ve visited Shed Seven’s back catalogue, and in truth I’d forgotten they’d
released so many good songs. ‘Going For Gold’, ‘On Stand By’, ‘Disco Down’,
’Getting Better’, ‘Chasing Rainbows’, ‘She Left Me On Friday’ and ‘Dolphin’ are
all present and correct and delivered with a swagger that made for a thoroughly
enjoyable way to spend an hour. The band looked like they enjoyed themselves
too.
When it came to tonight’s headline slots we’d already made
the decision to go with Tribes over Dizzee
Rascal on the main stage, not because we have no time for Dizzee but rather
because we’ve yet to catch the acclaimed Camden four piece live. However, they’re running a little late on the
Calling Out stage which gives us ample time to watch Dizzee crank it up to
fever pitch before we leave, and crank it up he does. There’s nothing quite
like watching thousands of music fans jumping in unison, and as Dizzee puts new
song ‘Bassline Junkie’ through its paces it makes for a wonderful sight.
 |
| Tribes |
It’s a shame to leave Dizzee who is clearly firing on all
cylinders but our final trip up the muddy slope is not in vain as, Tribes are busying themselves in discharging
what will surely turn out be one of the
sets of the festival. Familiar songs such as ‘Sappho’ are feeding off a new
energy and dispensing a liberal sprinkling of fairy dust to which it seems no
one present is immune. The band is off to America in the morning to start work
on their second album and tonight has the feel of a final celebration before
the work begins. The new songs on show sound pretty strong too, so we can only
hope our American cousins don’t suck the soul out of them, polishing to the
point of disintegration as is often their want. Back in the now ‘when My Day Comes’ fizzes as
if trying to escape the confines of the tent whilst ‘We Were Children’ ignites,
stamping giddy grins on all around me.
As we make our way back across the site we decide to take in
a late set by one of the hardest working live bands around, and one whose live
show has gained them a reputation for always delivering the goods, we’re
talking about Dreadzone. The south
London exponents of dancehall reggae may have been around for an age but they
do little to diminish that reputation tonight, and have the Chai Wallahs’ tent
(which is bursting at the seams) skanking into the wee hours.
SUNDAY
Sunday begins with no little confusion amongst the healthy
crowd gathered in front of the main stage, as it seems lightning has failed to
strike twice. Firstly the forecast electric storms have thankfully not
materialised but less thankfully, neither have Ian Broudie’s Lightning Seeds. As disappointed
punters are still digesting the news, Yorkshire three piece Mexanines shuffle on stage and it soon becomes clear that their riff
laden blues- infused indie is found lacking and fails to galvanise. The Arctic
Monkeys or Black Keys they are not, and despite Graham Coxon hand-picking the
trio to support on his
recent Manchester show, we’re less than impressed and move on.
Given an unforeseen gap in our schedule we take in a few
songs by Devon singer-songwriter Ryan
Keen (not long off supporting Ed
Sheeran), his acoustic sway making for pleasant listening whilst his guitar
playing on ‘Thank You’ is something to behold.
Back up on the Calling Out stage The
Hummingbirds’ modern take on skiffle meets Mersey Beat harmonies is being
well received, whilst a speculative stroll up to the Woodlands stage to see
what Stephen Langstaff has to offer
is less than rewarding.
 |
| Twisted Wheel |
Back on the main stage Twisted
Wheel are greeted by their fiercely loyal fans and fire their way through a
set that includes a smattering of new
material (destined for the new album due in November) and fan favourites alike.
They’ve not gigged for a while so I imagine this was just what the doctor
ordered. The chants of “Wheeeel, Wheeeel”
would suggest so.
The soundtrack for lunch is the comedy folk of The Lancashire Hotpots, who are conducting
pantomime proceedings from the main stage to the amusement of all. If I tell
you that album titles include ‘Never Mind the Hotpots’, ‘Achtung Gravy’ and ‘Hard
Days Pint’ you’ll get the picture.
 |
| We Are Scientists |
We Are Scientists
are not quite at their best today, but in truth they don’t have to be. That’s
the beauty of Kendal Calling. There is a real willingness for all the artists
to succeed, and if you need a lift there are thousands of willing helpers on
hand. The noise that greets early single ‘The Great Escape’ and the sing-a-long
that follows typifies the festival’s spirit.
The same could be said for Inspiral Carpets’ set which they seem to make very heavy weather
of. The Hingley vs Holt debate becomes moot as the overall performance seems
clumsy, sluggish, at times even slapdash. To be fair this is not lost on the
band and sees Holt tweeting ‘Not our best
gig today but a brilliant weekend overall at Kendal’. So perhaps just an
off day, we all have them after all.
No such problems for everyone’s second favourite team and
our penultimate act Feeder, who not for the first time are right on the money.
It occurs to us that we’ve never actually been to stand alone Feeder gig
before, but rather just caught the band at numerous festivals over the
years. It also occurs to us that ever
reliable, we’ve never seen the band turn in a poor performance and nothing
changes here today. Flying through what
is best described as greatest hits set it all seems so easy for the Newport
boys.
 |
| Tim Booth - James |
And so to festival closers James, who bait and tease as they
slowly turn up the heat, warm, simmer and finally bring to the boil.
First things first though, James sound great tonight and
Booth’s vocal is far from past it as some have suggested. Indeed Booth
possesses a skill that eludes so many singers who are content just to hit the
right notes, you believe him when he sings.
He’s not without support though, as James as a band have mastered
dynamics, and use them to their fullest to swell and contract at will.
‘Johnny Yen’ poignant, ‘Sometimes’ joyous, and ‘Laid’
triumphant. If anyone had their doubts that James could pull this off, then
they were firmly put in their place tonight. It’s a fitting end to a wonderful
festival, in a wonderful setting. Now all we have to do is pin down the
organizers for an interview.
No comments:
Post a Comment