Always a good day out - if the weather is OK. Fortunately this year the weather could hardly have been better. I
would say that the
East Barnet Festival is always great value for money, but actually it's better than that as it's free! Well it's free to get in, but obviously things like the beer tent and the funfair aren't free - although (very unusually for a festival) the beer tent has real ale and the beers are at normal pub prices. Why can't all festivals be like this? It's
so nice to be able to have a few festival beers in the sun
without feeling you are being ripped off. However, I'm not here for the beer - I can always go to the few remaining local pubs for that.
There is a wide variety of live music to be found over the various stages, but none of the early acts on the Saturday look like my sort of thing and I've got to get my shopping done so I don't get down to the park until mid-afternoon when
The Fraudsters are playing.
This fairly well known local rock covers band turn out a solid set of crowd pleasers. Then it's time for something a bit different. With a name like
Dark Skies this band isn't likely to be a 'pop' or indie act - and they certainly aren't. If you were expecting something more Goth/rock/metal then you'd be right - Metal to be precise. Their sound is not a million miles from
Black Sabbath. They are obviously good musicians and have written some decent songs, but how do they expect anyone to take them seriously as a metal band when they dress like this?
I quite enjoy their music, but although they play well they appear to be performing a set of entirely original material. The crowd don't recognise
any of the songs - they just don't 'get it' at all. And the singer doesn't seem to 'get' why although he makes a good effort at giving a proper 'rock show' performance no one really seems to be into what they are doing.
Lose the shorts guys - as a 'metal' band they make you look ridiculous. A basic schoolboy error, but you are not the first 'rock' band to make the same mistake at this event.
Next act on the main stage is local blues band and East Barnet Festival regulars Hokum. They look like a standard middle aged pub blues band, but they actually give a more lively performance than many of the younger bands today.
Meanwhile, there is good stuff happening elsewhere on the site. There is a stage for new young bands and some of the times the stuff going on here is more lively than what's happening on the main stage - at one point there is a good band of kids with a girl singer doing a Rage Against The Machine song - one of the heaviest things I hear all day.
I seem to miss
Rangoon back on the main stage - or at least I don't seem to remember anything about them - shurely I wasn't in the beer tent the whole time? Things got a bit strange after that. Next was something billed as
Pop Coulture and a 'special guest' was introduced. I can't remember his name but I think he was a 'celebrity' from some TV show like Pop Idol or The Voice. He was given 'star' status and performed solo to a backing track. Nobody seemed to know who he was - apart from the handful of 'fans' who seemed to be going crazy in front of the stage. Maybe they had bused in specially? Or
minibused in.
And there would have been a few spare seats on the bus. Another act that no one apart from a (very) few who the hype seemed to work on seemed interested in. He was the only act of the day to do an 'encore' (even though hardly anyone was watching and it was
so obviously pre-planned) and returned having changed out of his 'pop star' threads into jeans and a leather jacket for some instant 'rock-cred'. I doubt anyone was convinced (apart from the tiny rent-a-fan 'crowd' at the front) or even cared.
Fortunately things took a major turn for the better with today's headline band - an act I suggested for this festival years ago but I never thought would play in spite of their local popularity..
The Fabulous Feedback Band used to play regularly in Barnet a few years ago and built up a considerable local following. They are (or were) a rock covers band - a
very good one but have now moved up in the World and call themselves a 'Function band'. Nearly all the rock stuff that earned them a big following has been ditched in favour of a far more indie/pop set for wedding and corporate gigs. I don't think many of the currant local festival crowd actually knew of this band previously, but they went down a storm regardless - getting a
far bigger crowd down the front and dancing that the previous 'star' turn. And they didn't even resort to playing 'Mustang Sally', 'Brown Eyed Girl' or the dreaded 'Sex On Fire'. Well done lads!
This band were easily in a different class to anyone else - all the other bands I saw today looked like 'pub bands' however well they played. The Fabulous Feedback Band were the only ones who
didn't wear shorts - none of the other bands seemed to get why shorts make you look shit. This is why they will remain pub bands. Go figure.
The Feeedback band played songs people like, and they played well. All the other bands I saw today played well too, but this lot play
very well. They were very polished and professional, but that's not what made them easily the best band of the day. They looked great compared to all the other bands, but that's not it either. They had something the other bands were sadly lacking in - charisma and stage presence.And of course it helps that they play songs most people know. A great end to the day! And so to the pub - then back tomorrow for more...
No comments:
Post a Comment