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Loopallu - Hayseed Dixie’s Little Fest in the West - Ullapool, Scotland - 23rd/24th September 2005
Report and Photographs by Barry Jones
Ullapool: Go to the back of beyond and then keep going for a few more hours. So why go? Good question, I’ll tell you why; two unconnected testimonies offered Ullapool as one of the most beautiful places on earth, that’s why. So why not go there, and at the same time see one of the best live bands on the planet?
Rainbow country
Deer Lick Holler’s favourite sons Hayseed Dixie are currently enjoying the endorsement of at least three of BBC Radio 2’s DJ’s, Jeremy Vine, Mark Radcliffe and Janice Long, the latter having even made the trip north to MC Saturday’s events. Having firmly established themselves in their native America over the last few years, Cooking Vinyl finally gave them the opportunity to release an album in the UK, Let There Be Rockgrass, which showed off their considerable talents, including, fairly bizarrely, a Darkness cover, as well as rock standards, and a few originals, one delicately titled “Keeping Your Poop In A Jar” (Song titles can tell you a lot about a band! Ed.) The Hayseed Dixie formula of giving those rock standards a high speed bluegrass style treatment seems to appeal to many, rock, folk and country fans alike, and despite touring the UK almost non-stop for the past twelve months, they’ve released another album, A Hot Piece of Grass, and there’s still no shortage of people who want to see them. |
Keith Chegwin’s sister y’know!
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Loopallu, Hayseed Dixie’s Little Fest In The West, was born out of an idea that the band had with local promoter Robert Hicks in April 2005 after a gig in a local Ullapool hall, and, one suspects, quite a few drinks. (Probably the same number of drinks which made the 900 mile journey from Liverpool to Ullapool and back seem like a good idea for a camping weekend! Ed)
There must have been moments when doubt set in, especially during the late summer rainstorms in Ullapool, which saw flooding and rivers bursting their banks, but as summer became autumn the town’s shoreside campsite was readied for action, just a week before it closed for the season. |
A tent by the sea.
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| Sheltered only, and not much, by the Outer Hebrides, Ullapool can suffer from the worst of North Atlantic weather, and on the Friday afternoon it did. Some early arrivers struggled manfully (me that is! Ed.), but ultimately in vain, to put up tents in the teeth of a gale, and torrential rain, which subsided as quickly as it arrived after just a couple of hours of havoc, and as afternoon turned to evening, the field eventually filled up with the hardiest of festival campers. |
“If you can’t fight wear a big hat.”
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| Friday tea-time waiting outside the festival site on the edge of the sea for the soundchecks to be completed seemed interminable, but even inside the big-top tent it was cold, as the Ullapool Junior Pipe Band opened up the event to a warm reception from the crowd. |
Ah, the skirl of the pipes!
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Hayseed Dixie then took the stage to commence proceedings in earnest and, despite wearing coats over their trademark denim dungaree shorts, the warmth between them and their audience was palpable. Their short punchy set to welcome everybody might have been a hard act to follow, but up stepped The Undertones and all was well. |
You mean you’ve had that shirt since the 70’s?
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| At one time a band continuing without its lead singer, and front man, would be unthinkable, but now it appears to be de rigueur, with Queen, INXS and The Doors all managing the successful transition. Add The Undertones to that list. The new singer Paul McCloone doesn’t try to emulate Feargal Sharkey (a government music Czar now, apparently!! Ed.) but struts and preens in a style all his own, and they deliver a blistering set of their own upbeat, tight and near-perfect pop songs. |
The Undertones new singer Paul McCloone. “Shut that door!”
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| Teenage Kicks and My Perfect Cousin understandably raise the biggest cheers, but it’s their sound check number, Jimmy, Jimmy, which still lingers, on constant mental playback, even days later; an absolute classic! Catch them when you can, you won’t be disappointed. |
A couple of Shoogleniftys
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After them, Shooglenifty’s Celtic folk rock fusion provides plenty of inspiration for the many dancers in the crowd. Very enjoyable, even though the sound engineer chose not to let us hear the banjo throughout the set, but maybe he had his reasons. And then off to sample some of the fringe events in the local bars. Everybody else had the same idea it seems, so the chances of getting in were slim, and actually getting a drink, slimmer, and so to bed.
Saturday morning was sunny and warm, but Friday’s weather experience ensured that everybody was well prepared in case it changed again without warning.
A variety of bands, mostly Scots, filled the Saturday afternoon slots, with Saltfishforty, from the Orkneys, impressing all with their fiddle/guitar set songs which punched well above their weight, sounding like a full band rather than just the talented duo that they are. |
Saltfishforty
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| An afternoon listening to interesting, but unfamiliar, material was lightened by stand-in band Mystyk Shoes, whose lead singer looked like Woody from Toy Story and whose set of covers included their own countrified version of Ace of Spades, apologetically getting it in early before the headliners Hayseed Dixie presented their own superior cover version. |
Woody?
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| Local Ullapool band Mojo Walk demonstrated how good a blues band can sound. No spring chickens (a bit like myself! Ed.) their maturity proved to be a distinct advantage as their rock influenced blues was a gritty alternative to the other types of music on offer throughout the day. Great musical ambassadors for the town. |
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| Glasgow’s The Hussy’s are the new project of ex-Supernaturals James McColl, and they delivered a spirited set with Fili, the only female vocalist in evidence all weekend, offering easy access pop punk sensibility with catchy songs which deserve a wider audience. |
A Hussy
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| The Cosmic Rough Riders exhibited sweet harmonies and jangling guitars, but appeared a bit less than match-fit. They sounded good, but somehow lacked sparkle and a charismatic leader, looking a bit lost in between songs, and even asking if anybody had any requests, not just to please the crowd, but because they appeared to have reached a stage where they seemed unable to think of anything to play. |
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2 Cosmic Rough Riders |
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| Any real magic that was lacking during the afternoon and evening was forgotten by the time Hayseed Dixie took the stage again. They are as good a live band as you will see anywhere. With the drum riser cleared of all equipment Bobby Ball look-alike “Deacon” Dale Reno had space to prowl around the stage and leap about, doing a very passable Angus Young impersonation while playing lightning fast mandolin licks, as clean as a whistle. He was often joined by bass player Jason D Smith, another stage prowler, and apparently a junior member of the band, who provided a solid, and often tastefully elaborate, background for Dale and his brother, banjo virtuoso Don Wayne, obligingly mugging for the crowd every time a camera was pointed in his direction, while playing with stunning accuracy and speed. |
“Deacon” Dale Reno (You’ll do for me, Tommy!)
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| Dale and Don Wayne’s father co-wrote Duelling Banjos, so as you might expect the tune received a real going over in a version dedicated to their now dead father. (Yeah, alright, it squealed like a pig, boy! Ed.(Cliché alert!!)) |
An obliging Don Wayne Reno
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| Barley Scotch, aka lead singer/guitarist/fiddler John Wheeler, led proceedings in fine style, strong of voice and convivial of demeanour, notwithstanding a fairly public disagreement with the sound monitor man, the subject of which was thankfully not apparent to anyone on the house side of the monitors. |
Barley Scotch (made up name!)
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They rattled off familiar song after familiar song (stopping only briefly, for a pee break! Ed.), including tracks by AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and Green Day, sparking dancing frenzies from the increasingly intoxicated, cigarette twirling, capacity audience, until finally, and sadly, this inaugural two day festival came to a close.
Their mountain men personae looked a bit of a sham once their wives and sweethearts and families joined them on stage prior to the encores, but their relief and joy at the success of the venture was apparent to all, and it looks like the event should be the first of many. The capacity of the crowd, 1500, is the same as the population of the town, so it looks unlikely to expand too much, and, thankfully, teething problems seemed few. The townsfolk seemed happy with the increased business, the security staff were friendly, if a little over eager, the local constabulary were probably a bit more in evidence than is entirely necessary, but all in all a well run event which showed that it can survive bad weather, and still provide great entertainment, in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Book early for next year! |
Hayseed Dixie
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| Apparently Hayseed Dixie are returning to Ullapool, their adopted spiritual home, for Hogmanay. Whether they have an upbeat version of Donald Where’s Your Troosers? ready for that remains to be seen, but everyone there will be having fun, rest assured of that. |
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Related links:
www.hayseed-dixie.com
www.thehussys.com
www.theundertones.com
www.saltfishforty.com
www.shoogle.com
www.ullapool.co.uk
www.cosmicroughriders.com
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