Month: March 2022

Wickerman Festivals 12 and 13

My penultimate Wickerman article commences with the 12th festival which took place in 2013. Dreadzone were back for their third appearance and Dundee rock band Fat Goth were on their second showing. There was as ever the contingent Scottish representation with Primal Scream and singer songwriters KT Tunstall and Amy MacDonald.

On the roster were Welsh folk band Glendale Family, ska bands Random Hand and the 9-piece Amphetameanies from Keighley and Glasgow respectively and some rambunctious ska punk from London’s Buster Shuffle. Casual Sex from Glasgow were very much in the Orange Juice/Fire Engines mould and there was a decent set from the Edinburgh rock and roll band William Douglas and the Wheel.

Also on the bill were Mark Wilson, Maask, Machines in Heaven, Bellowhead, Friends in America, The Hang Project, Galapagos, Mark Thomson & Neil Patterson, The Yawns and Gardens of Elk. Dexys produced a rather limp set, and The Enemy from Coventry were also in town.

Wicker had over the years had many punk bands on the bill, many of whom were ageing and who should maybe give up the ghost! One sparkling exception to this viewpoint was the Rezillos from Edinburgh who were superb and their stellar single 1978 single ‘Top of the Pops’ went down a storm! My fave punk band Stiff Little Fingers also produced a fine greatest hits set.

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The Rezillos. Image Credit Blurt.

The post-burning act was my first opportunity to witness Public Service Broadcasting who were at the stage in full computer voice mode even when acknowledging the audience, they were thoroughly enjoyable, and I have seen them a couple of times since.

The best band of the weekend and arguably the finest ever Wicker performance was from the legendary Nile Rodgers and Chic. They were so accomplished and a visual spectacle and played hit after hit reminding you how many fine tunes he has written/produced. Normally one of our crew would wander off but everyone remained in place for their terrific set complete with dubious dad dancing and I have never seen the festival crowd so engaged!

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The incomparable Nile Rodgers and Chic. Image Credit godisinthetvzine.co.uk

Our accommodation at Dewhurst Towers in Kirkcudbright is literally next door to the Selkirk Arms which has an old-fashioned front room with the portable TV in the corner and fine Guinness on tap. The back room is the food lounge area with a large sunny beer garden, and remarkably it can get proper warm in Scotland in July! They also have lodging rooms and the Proclaimers resided there when they played the festival.

Other pubs in the town were at different times the Gordon House Hotel (AC/DC regularly on the jukebox), Masonic Arms (best pub in town), Commercial (apparently the racing driver David Coulthard has been spotted in there over the years as he was born in neighbouring Twynholm), the Steam Packet (by the harbour), the Royal (used to watch Open Golf) and the Tides (battered establishment where we watched the racing and contained a commendable jukebox).

Wickerman 13 in 2014 had Dizzee Rascal, Shed Seven, Jason Dupuy and the Mac Trio on the bill. The old troubadours Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Idlewild’s Roddy Woomble plus band and the always top value the Beat played. I created a first by catching two individual sets on the Main and Acoustic stage by Colonel Mustard and The Dijon 5.

Also on the roster were Explosion Soundsystem, The New Piccadillys, Neon Waltz, Vladmir, United Fruit, Broken Records, The Zombies, The Feeling, Skerryvore, The Chair, Cockney Rejects, Pale Honey and Schnarff Schnarff.

Another punk band who could still most definitely cut the mustard were The Members. They were a very tight unit and thunderously loud and their extended closing track of Sound of the Suburbs was sublime. British Sea Power were as excellent as ever.

We saw a highly touted Glaswegian three-piece rock band called The Amazing Snakeheads who produced a rip snorting live set to a frenetic packed tent. They had just released their sole album Amphetamine Ballads but disbanded the following year. I have just discovered that tragically their lead singer Dale Barclay died of brain cancer in 2018 at the brutally tender age of 32. I now feel even more privileged to see them in their heyday!

The final band to reference was a terrific vibrant set from a Scottish female 4-piece called Teen Canteen who produced slabs of sugary indie-pop and they since received acclaim and sessions and airplay on Marc Reilly’s 6 music show. 

Manchester Venues 54 to 56

Returning to the cosy environs of Salford’s Sounds from the Other City (SFTOC) festival this week, I am continuing to traverse down towards Salford Central train station. Behind the excellent New Oxford pub, lies the St Phillips Chapel Street Church.

The church is nigh on 200 years old and is a Grade 2 listed building and its architectural style is apparently Greek Revival. In addition to their Sunday services, they also have concerts, recitals, and community activities.

I have seen four gigs there; however, my first attendance was an individual visit on 10/12/10 outside of the SFTOC roster. It was the first time I had visited that area and Uncle George and I had a sally around a couple of local pubs before venturing to the venue. As it was my first Church gig, I was fascinated to see how it would pan out.

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St Phillips Church with Bexley Square in the foreground. Image Credit Pinterest

It was a surprisingly relaxed atmosphere however understandably toilet facilities were very limited. To my astonishment they served alcoholic beverages including a keg of real ale. We grabbed a drink as it would be rude not to and caught the support band Frankie Rose and the Outs who are a lo-fi indie group. Their driving force Frankie Rose is an ex-member of Crystal Stilts, Vivian Girls and Dum Dum Girls and the Outs consisted of a further three female members and their sound had a Spacemen 3 dream pop vibe.

Overcoming my ingrained Catholic guilt (it should be considered a medical condition!) from my youth regarding suitable activities in religious buildings, we took a pint of the finest ale to sit in the pews upstairs. We begin to watch a psychedelic rock outfit which was an odd experience in the surroundings we found ourselves in.

The band in question was Wooden Shjips, which has also resulted in a spin off band called Moon Duo. They hail from San Francisco and their sound consisted of long epic guitar wig outs. I have always found this genre of music in equal parts intoxicating but unsettling due to its repetitive psychedelic swirl!

My other three attendances were under the auspices of SFTOC. The first in 2012 was Withering Hand playing under the stage name Dan Willson. He is an Edinburgh based musician and previously played guitar for a group in Bishops Stortford called Tinfoil Circus amongst other bands and he has also supported Frightened Rabbit and King Creosote.

In 2017 I saw Ola and the following year the nattily titled Have you ever seen the Jane Fonda Aerobic VHS? They were a Finnish garage pop rock group with sweet melodies, a very odd combo but also good fun I seem to recall. 

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Have you ever seen the Jane Fonda Aerobic VHS? Image Credit discogs.com

Nearby the Church is one of the festival’s central hubs on Bexley Square. Located there was the Bexley Square Live Tent and in there in 2017 I saw Tobi Sunmola. Tobi was a young rapper who hails from Nigeria but is now based in Manchester and appears to be receiving some attention with airplay on national radio. The following year I witnessed Kxngs, an electronic loungecore act from London.

Next door to there in 2017 was the Bexley Square Bar Tent where alongside obtaining refreshments I saw Liohness, a drum and bass act who reside in Bristol.