Wychwood Festival - Cheltenham Racecourse - June 2006

Review and Photographs by Barry Jones

There’s a few things which make Wychwood 2006 stand out from the 2005 version. The most obvious one is the weather. Hot on the heels of a distinctly chilly, rainy, windy month of May, June set off in a far more favourable vein.

Wychwood 2006’s opening Friday was significantly full of pinkish people in summer outfits, obviously seeing the first sun of the year. It’s amazing how tents seem to go up more quickly in the sunshine, and even if they don’t, it doesn’t really matter anyway; who cares? The sun’s out.

Don’t worry, Cliff Richard wasn’t there!

Another difference is the line up. 2005’s acts seemed to be more eclectic, but maybe that’s because current world music superstars, Amadou and Mariam, were reserved for the Sunday night headline slot.

Seth Lakeman. A bit of a star!

Talking of which, Billy Bragg was an inspired choice for Friday’s headline slot. Although the wonderful Ian McLagen has survived from Billy Bragg’s Blokes phase, his set was a triumphant return to the Billy Bragg of old.

Ian McLagen. Is that a Small Face?

Good–hearted, public spirited and downright funny, he interspersed some of his greatest hits with some new songs and his customary eloquent and welcome rants (to me anyway!) about racism and David Cameron, amongst other things setting the tone for the week-end which was refreshing and a sheer joy. And how good a song is Levi Stubb’s Tears?

Billy Bragg “In 1649, to St George’s hill…,”

Dreadzone followed and were enjoyed massively by all the dancers and revellers.

Saturday lunchtime This Is Seb Clarke presented a rousing brass driven look back at a time when smart suits and Cuban heel boots were de rigueur for every self-respecting band.

This is Seb Clarke

In a world where everyone seems to be derivative of something more original, This Is Seb Clarke adopt a more open, homage-based pastiche, and do it very well indeed, most entertaining!

Then Chris Difford. He has some great songs and Squeeze were a great band, but a front man he’s not. He looks like a bank manager (No bank managerism intended!) and uncomfortable as a solo performer. He had vocal support, but it all seemed a bit home made for a main stage, unfortunately.

Chris Difford. “Help me!”

The Handsome Families’ strengths are most apparent in smallish venues where Rennie’s absurd between song ramblings can play tricks with your mind.
A big gloomy tent with a full-length bar and a television set, with sound, featuring an England football match, are not what I, or they, I assume, had in mind.

Brett giving it rice.

Add to that a sound balance which seemed to have Brett’s vocals mic’d up as backing, and Rennie’s as lead, probably didn’t play to their strengths either. They deserved better. Rennie pointed out to the assembled photographers that anyone taking a picture of her would come to no good, along with something indecipherable about snakes, equally chilling for those of us with camera!

Rennie Sparks. “Look away now!”

Martha Wainwright was also a little disturbed by the presence of photographers, suggesting that they wait until later when she’d had a chance to wash her hair.


Martha. Bad hair day apparently

On a very warm and sunny evening she showed the strength of good, simple guitar work, heartfelt songs and emotional delivery, although the shorts were probably a sartorial error, but what do I know? And since when has music been a fashion show? Well actually…

The Feeling also proved a crowd pleaser, especially with the younger of the female species in the crowd, ah the sartorial elegance of a vest (singlet for US readers). They have all the rock star moves and shapes and generated an arm-waving scene that Busted would have been proud of. Maybe it was Busted…

The Sawdoctors topped the Saturday night bill on the Main Stage, doing what they do very well, pretty much as they have been doing since whenever it was. They’re a bit like a Folk Rock Status Quo, with Irish accents.

Sawdoctors

Plenty to sing along to, pretty much what festival headliners should be I guess, but no real surprises, apart from a T Rex cover. How risky is that!

Saturday night silent disco (my word, not theirs) is not all that silent. It’s apparently the night that everybody had earmarked for getting shit-faced, and so they did. The “silent” bit refers to the fact that revellers get headphones which they tune to the music of their choice. The net result is of about a thousand people singing along to something different at music store listening posts, worse for wear, loud, and generally off key, what a great idea!

Sunday morning and the sun is still shining, how can it be? Australian Lisa Fitzgibbon offered good skin care advice and her own brand of power folk.

Lisa Fitzgibbon

With accompanying accomplished harmonica player (I was hoping for an accordion player there!), her set rocked a bit and gave a still recovering crowd something to cheer about.

The Borderline’s Barry Everitt made a brief appearance to introduce a few bands and plug his wonderful venue, and why not I say! But by the time I got back from lunch he’d gone again, a bit like the Lone Ranger, only without the mask, or the horse… or the faithful sidekick… so nothing like the Lone Ranger at all then really!

The Broken Family Band played in the same tent as the Handsome Family, with one distinct advantage, well two, one, the football wasn’t on, and two, it started chucking it down outside (Well that’s more like it!). Not that the Broken Family Band need precipital (no, I don’t think it’s a word, but it should be don’t you think?) assistance to get a crowd. They seem to attract a “mad Dad dancing” sort of reaction, all frantic leg movement with one hand holding a pint and the other in your pocket. (Years of practice I reckon, probably listening to The Pogues!) They would have been better on the main stage, definitely a Wychwood main stage band in my view.

BFB’s Steven Adams

Sunday and the festival finished with a bit of a bang really. Salsa Celtica with Eliza Carthy in tow, rocked out with Latin rhythms and a cast of thousands. Eliza has the claim to have played at all of the Wychwood festivals, all two that is. Different collaborations each year, last years was with Finnish band Varrtinna, she seems like a party animal, a boost to any festival.

The Peat Bog Faeries had flown in from Scotland, just to entertain us, and entertain us they did. Apparently having been a big hit at the Cheltenham Gold Cup race meeting a few months previously they displayed great musicianship, with plenty of dancing from a rain soaked crowd with genuine roars for an encore, unfortunately ignored.

Peter Morrison of the PBF’s

Amadou and Mariam topped the bill. The blind Malian couple, riding high on the success of their Manu Chao produced album, Dimanche a Bamako, were electric. Amadou’s guitar playing is terrific, the songs rock, with a heavy on percussion, very talented band. Sensing where he is on stage in relation to his microphone he postures and poses and plays lightning licks in a style I’d be hard pushed to find a comparison for, definitely African, but with a lot of Western influence. Mariam, for her part, seems unmoved by her husband’s shape throwing, in fact I don’t think she knows, a constant reminder for us of the real difficulties they face in their daily lives. A truly memorable show from two people who radiate peace, love and humanity. The show flew over, and there they were, gone.

The fabulous Amadou and Mariam.

So that was Wychwood for another year, tickets already on sale for next year’s event. Less surprises than last year’s inaugural outing, and there seemed to be an air of drawing in the reins, as if last year’s expenditure outweighed income. Still an eclectic bill, with all three headliners working out to their full potential. The weather helped, but it was a friendly event anyway, just added to by the weather, sympathetically and non-intrusively stewarded with good enough food, more beer this year than last, but not without some problems still, as demand was weather related high. There were other attractions there, an acoustic tent, which played until late, and which had some great acts apparently, but it’s difficult to see everything. Comedy was provided throughout the weekend, as well as the wonderful Solar Powered Cinema, which is a great place during the rain. I probably saw about half of the acts that appeared, and enjoyed what I saw and heard without being “blown–away” by as many of the acts as I was last year. That said, Seth Lakeman and Amadou and Mariam were real highlights for me.

Did it make the most of the lack of Glastonbury this year? I don’t know, the atmosphere was wonderful and totally non-threatening, the audience were generally older rather than younger, there were plenty of kids, but there was seemed to be a plan afoot to bring people in for single night’s events, which tends to give festivals a different feel. Will that strategy work in the long term? Who’s to say really, maybe themed nights work, but often that sort of plan veers towards the very safe, sure fire bet, rather than take risks, and if that was to happen that would a shame. It is certainly well worth another year to find out, it’s a fine, enjoyable event and deserves success.

www.wychwoodfestival.com

barry@americana-uk.com

Many thanks to Graeme Merifield