2008 East Barnet Festival - Part 1

Subject	East Barnet Festival - Part 1
PostedDate	7/5/2008
	The East Barnet Festival is something to look forward to every summer - the only local event of note, and one which genuinely does have something for everyone.  It's a good day out for all the family with plenty to do.  Personally, I'm only really interested in the music side of things, along with the chance to meet up with friends and enjoy the hospitality of the beer tent. The music on offer is pretty varied and most music fans will find something they like, although as it's intended to be a family day out you aren't going to find any thrash/death/black metal and the like - ageing punk rockers will probably find one or two things to keep them entertained though.  If blues rock is your thing then you'll find plenty of the sort of acts you'll find playing in local pubs. Well you would do if most the local live music pubs hadn't stopped having bands or had been knocked down...  As with any outdoor event of this type (especially free ones like this) the weather on the day can make an enormous difference. Fortunately, on the Saturday this year the weather is reasonable. It's a bit windy and not particularly warm, but it's dry. The sun even shines quite a bit. Having been out late the night before, and needing to catch up on my sleep I'm not there early enough to catch the first bands. I arrive in time to catch Daddy These Men Scare Me. These local folk/punks have been going for many years and have a modest following - who actually scare me far more than the band themselves! As this is a 'family' event the band can't play their most popular song 'Teenagers' due to it's amusingly offensive chorus! The undoubted star of Saturday's show (and probably the whole weekend) takes to the stage next. Sandra Grant is an amazing performer and easily steals the show! Her mix of jazz and blues isn't the sort of music I'd normally listen to at all, but the minute she and her band take to the stage I am spellbound. Jazz, blues, soul, and rock too - it's all there. Sandra has surrounded herself with great musicians, but it's her who holds everyone's attention. Even though the weather isn't bad, there aren't that many people around to watch this performance - which is easily the highlight of the day. It's a shame not more people witnessed Sandra's performance because this really was something special - this girl is a class musician. She's not just talented, but multi-talented - she plays tenor and alto sax, plus flute - and she's a pretty good singer too - often combining several of these things in one song! I was not the only one to find myself entranced - some other well known local musicians and people involved with music were very impressed!  Although it's not normally my kind of music, I had to buy the CD afterwards. The CD is well performed and recorded, but I have to say it really doesn't give any idea how good Sandra's live performance is - although she plays mainly jazz and blues influenced music, she performs like a ROCK musician! Maybe that's why she won me over so quickly. If you get a chance to see Sandra Grant play live, I really can't recommend her highly enough.  The next band was David Casson and The Sway. This band have reformed specially for the occasion. Apparently they were a well known local band a few years ago, but neither I nor anyone else I know has ever heard of them and they don't draw a big crowd. The Sway play alt/indie type rock and are decent enough musicians, but they fail to float my boat. They are OK it's that's your bag I guess... Next up are Leika. They are also a bit indie, but with a bit more funk thrown in. Good musicians, and they seemed like a nice bunch of blokes when I met some of them in the pub day a few days earlier. Coast are due on stage next, but no one seems to know where they are! A call for them is put out over the PA as they are supposed to be on stage in a couple of minutes! Not very professional as all bands were told they should be there before the previous act took to the stage. The band get rounded up eventually and play fairly well after a fashion. They play indie rock but give the impression they aren't that bothered really. The final band I see are Hokum. They are good musicians and typical of the blues rock bands you will see in pubs all over London - I know they have played in Barnet a few times. The guitarist has a really good Chuck Berry type sound and is an excellent player. There is still another act to play on the programme, but 'P-Funk grooves, Acid Jazz and Latin percussion' from Robert Hokum and The Guv'nors doesn't really sound like my sort of thing, and I'm pretty damn sure that anything else following Sandra Grant will be an anti-climax so I head home as I have things to do and a busy day tomorrow...