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Hi all,
Hope you are well. We still need a volunteer for RB (please check blog below), as well as volunteers for a very exciting event coming up in October (again, please see below).
(Athlete, by Claire Hann)
Coverage of Guilfest 2009/Basingstoke Live 2009 below, with more pics on the main site. Hope you enjoy...
The weekend commencing July 10 was always going to be one worth marking on the calendar, and it will definitely be one that will stay in my memory for quite some time.
With a fantastic line-up including Motörhead, Toploader, Athlete, The Charlatans, Brian Wilson, Will Young, The Stranglers, The Happy Mondays, The Lightning Seeds and Goldie Lookin Chain, Guilfest 2009 offered three very varied days of music for all.
With two stages (the main stage and an Ents 24 stage) and four tents (including Rock and Dance tents), it was difficult to know what to head to first – with so much on offer.
Upon arrival, early Friday evening, my photographer and I had time to check out some of Tragedy (a Bee Gees metal tribute act), as well as Attack! Attack!
While the first might sound like quite a bizarre mix on paper, I was quite impressed with what I heard, and it certainly seems like a good way of keeping the Bee Gees’ hits alive. The Welsh band Attack! Attack! were great to watch in the Rock tent. For such a fledgling band (born circa 2006), these guys came across as the complete performers, with a heavy-enough, but well arranged and layered sound.
The Guildford-born band The Stranglers took to the stage early Friday evening, delivering a hugely entertaining and energetic performance. This was definitely well worth the watch, even just for Golden Brown live. After a little bit of a wait (and a change to even louder speakers), Motörhead came on and played to quite a large and diverse crowd, consisting of older fans as well as a younger generation, who certainly didn’t mind the loud music on a Friday evening!
With a compulsory finish for music at 11pm (owing to noise regulations), the very strong Robin Ince-headlined comedy tent was left to carry on the night into the early hours. In my opinion, the earlier finish, the well-paced and organised nature of the festival and the range of performers and appeal to all ages in the crowd symbolised the best strengths for Guilfest. In cementing upon the family friendly nature of the festival after winning the Best Family Festival award last year, I feel that this furthered approach is really the way forward – offering something for everyone, of all ages.
This was particularly evident on the Saturday, with the West Ham singer Linda Lewis fighting worsening weather conditions, which apparently didn’t dampen either the singer or the building crowd’s spirits. After this, Saturday afternoon just got better and better, even if the weather didn’t. Toploader, who have been on hiatus since 2003, have now reformed and are back – better than ever. Renewed and invigorated, the group played some new material as well as some hits of old. While it was nice to see the crowd really getting into Dancing in the Moonlight, it was even better to see a band back writing, performing and enjoying their craft.
Athlete took the main stage of Guilfest into the early evening of Saturday, with a very popular set. As a slightly more mellow offering, it worked well in contrast against The Charlatans, who followed shortly afterwards.
Their frontman, a well noted and accomplished singer and performer, was definitely in the mood for the evening. The group played out to a very eager audience, as numbers peaked, spreading out to the back further and further.
After some wait, the rain hammered the fields and people waiting for Brian Wilson, but no one was prepared to come so far and falter when faced with the prospect of seeing the legendary songwriter, performer and core member of The Beach Boys. Wilson came out at half nine, with his band, and played to a respectful audience, happy to see such an icon in music still going strong. The group played some of The Beach Boys’ greatest hits, including Sloop John B, Wouldn’t It Be Nice and Surfin’ USA. For me personally, it was a dream come true to watch Wilson live, and it was difficult not to be impressed by the legacy of a true innovator of music.
Friday and Saturday at Guilfest were absolutely brilliant, and certainly did not disappoint. My only regret was that I couldn’t be in every place at once and see absolutely everything on offer.
For Sunday, July 11, I chose to attend Basingstoke Live – headlined by The Beat. The Beat were actually at Guilfest earlier in the day, but made the journey down the motorway for an early evening start at Basingstoke Live, which was also threatened to be hampered by rain. However, strong spirits again prevailed, as did probable conditioning to the unpredictable British weather!
Originally formed in 1978, ska group The Beat have had a long and certifiable contribution to British music. This was evidenced by the inclusion of Ranking Junior alongside frontman Ranking Roger and by the sheer mixture of young and old in the crowd for another family friendly day of fun. The combination of new and future fans and those who appreciated and loved The Beat back in the day made it clear that The Beat are still very relevant to music. This was further evidenced by infusing music and politics, with some modern sentiments which the crowd definitely approved of. All I shall say is that The Beat still proved their heart and dedication to British music, sounded great and were awesome to watch live.
It wasn’t just about The Beat though, with so many local musicians (many of whom I still love to watch and have reviewed frequently over the past two years) taking part in a great addition to the live music scene.
Three days of such live music makes you realise that it really is all out there to be enjoyed, and reminded me why for all the trials and tribulations of industry, that music really is the best, bringing everyone together. It also just goes to show that there are so many great performers and musicians out there, and some are closer then you might think.
- Louis Nicholson, Radio Basingstoke (photography by Claire Hann)
With a fantastic line-up including Motörhead, Toploader, Athlete, The Charlatans, Brian Wilson, Will Young, The Stranglers, The Happy Mondays, The Lightning Seeds and Goldie Lookin Chain, Guilfest 2009 offered three very varied days of music for all.
With two stages (the main stage and an Ents 24 stage) and four tents (including Rock and Dance tents), it was difficult to know what to head to first – with so much on offer.
Upon arrival, early Friday evening, my photographer and I had time to check out some of Tragedy (a Bee Gees metal tribute act), as well as Attack! Attack!
While the first might sound like quite a bizarre mix on paper, I was quite impressed with what I heard, and it certainly seems like a good way of keeping the Bee Gees’ hits alive. The Welsh band Attack! Attack! were great to watch in the Rock tent. For such a fledgling band (born circa 2006), these guys came across as the complete performers, with a heavy-enough, but well arranged and layered sound.
The Guildford-born band The Stranglers took to the stage early Friday evening, delivering a hugely entertaining and energetic performance. This was definitely well worth the watch, even just for Golden Brown live. After a little bit of a wait (and a change to even louder speakers), Motörhead came on and played to quite a large and diverse crowd, consisting of older fans as well as a younger generation, who certainly didn’t mind the loud music on a Friday evening!
With a compulsory finish for music at 11pm (owing to noise regulations), the very strong Robin Ince-headlined comedy tent was left to carry on the night into the early hours. In my opinion, the earlier finish, the well-paced and organised nature of the festival and the range of performers and appeal to all ages in the crowd symbolised the best strengths for Guilfest. In cementing upon the family friendly nature of the festival after winning the Best Family Festival award last year, I feel that this furthered approach is really the way forward – offering something for everyone, of all ages.
This was particularly evident on the Saturday, with the West Ham singer Linda Lewis fighting worsening weather conditions, which apparently didn’t dampen either the singer or the building crowd’s spirits. After this, Saturday afternoon just got better and better, even if the weather didn’t. Toploader, who have been on hiatus since 2003, have now reformed and are back – better than ever. Renewed and invigorated, the group played some new material as well as some hits of old. While it was nice to see the crowd really getting into Dancing in the Moonlight, it was even better to see a band back writing, performing and enjoying their craft.
Athlete took the main stage of Guilfest into the early evening of Saturday, with a very popular set. As a slightly more mellow offering, it worked well in contrast against The Charlatans, who followed shortly afterwards.
Their frontman, a well noted and accomplished singer and performer, was definitely in the mood for the evening. The group played out to a very eager audience, as numbers peaked, spreading out to the back further and further.
After some wait, the rain hammered the fields and people waiting for Brian Wilson, but no one was prepared to come so far and falter when faced with the prospect of seeing the legendary songwriter, performer and core member of The Beach Boys. Wilson came out at half nine, with his band, and played to a respectful audience, happy to see such an icon in music still going strong. The group played some of The Beach Boys’ greatest hits, including Sloop John B, Wouldn’t It Be Nice and Surfin’ USA. For me personally, it was a dream come true to watch Wilson live, and it was difficult not to be impressed by the legacy of a true innovator of music.
Friday and Saturday at Guilfest were absolutely brilliant, and certainly did not disappoint. My only regret was that I couldn’t be in every place at once and see absolutely everything on offer.
For Sunday, July 11, I chose to attend Basingstoke Live – headlined by The Beat. The Beat were actually at Guilfest earlier in the day, but made the journey down the motorway for an early evening start at Basingstoke Live, which was also threatened to be hampered by rain. However, strong spirits again prevailed, as did probable conditioning to the unpredictable British weather!
Originally formed in 1978, ska group The Beat have had a long and certifiable contribution to British music. This was evidenced by the inclusion of Ranking Junior alongside frontman Ranking Roger and by the sheer mixture of young and old in the crowd for another family friendly day of fun. The combination of new and future fans and those who appreciated and loved The Beat back in the day made it clear that The Beat are still very relevant to music. This was further evidenced by infusing music and politics, with some modern sentiments which the crowd definitely approved of. All I shall say is that The Beat still proved their heart and dedication to British music, sounded great and were awesome to watch live.
It wasn’t just about The Beat though, with so many local musicians (many of whom I still love to watch and have reviewed frequently over the past two years) taking part in a great addition to the live music scene.
Three days of such live music makes you realise that it really is all out there to be enjoyed, and reminded me why for all the trials and tribulations of industry, that music really is the best, bringing everyone together. It also just goes to show that there are so many great performers and musicians out there, and some are closer then you might think.
- Louis Nicholson, Radio Basingstoke (photography by Claire Hann)
