Once again I was lucky enough to be part of the team here at CGCM to have the chance to be involved with the Call Of The Wild Festival at the Lincolnshire Showgrounds. I went down with friends in their camper van (it is thanks to them I can get to the event) leaving Edinburgh in what appeared to be monsoon season. The driver had to take a different route to avoid what was carnage on the road making it a longer drive. We arrived at some ungodly hour nearby and parked up ready to head to the gate in the morning when things opened. The festival is well run, with plenty of good camping spots and you are never too far away from the action. That action involves two outside stages which sit side by side and a smaller tent stage further back nearer the entrance to the main arena. This year I had some interviews lined up before I arrived and by the end had done a number more than I planned. The thing is the festival is so friendly and most of the bands are really happy to chat with interviewers. Of course, doing that means I do miss bands at times but it is for me a price worth paying as I hope the interviews when uploaded onto the site shall show! Here is some of what I enjoyed on day 1 of Call Of The Wild.
ARTAX:
The first band I saw was Artax who are actually just along the motorway from me being from Glasgow. I somehow had never come across them before despite them being from Scotland! The band described themselves as a mix of prog and synth-wave pop. What I did notice was that the tracks that singer Katie Wills described as “cheesy pop” were not all exactly in 4/4 time. The music at times had an 80s vibe but all the way through there were interesting rhythms and some lovely guitar lines that showed emotion rather than just shredding. The opener “The Hand That Feeds” started with synth/keys (samples) before it kicked in with a bloody fun riff in some weird time sig. I found my head moving quite quickly. The song although not an epic had at least four parts to it from the opening synth, the big riff, a drop-down where Katie did some “oooohs” showing her range and hold and also a guitar solo from Callum Artax which was short but very sweet. “Temple” took me by surprise when it changed from an easy-on-the-ear style pop track into something altogether heavier with some vocal fry/screaming from Katie. Callum did a short instrumental called “Safe House Return” which actually reminded me a little of the sort of music created by Marty Friedman ex of Megadeth on his album Scenes. “Light Of Day” could have come from a 1980s movie soundtrack, “Cast Away” was a bit heavier (slight vibe perhaps of Evanescence but more proggy I thought) and “Vessels” once again showed Katie‘s vocals nicely. “Solstice” I noted as my fave track on this first look at the band. The chorus was probably the strongest for me. During this Callum knocked over one of the mike stands due to dancing around like a loon, Katie joked that it was “normally me doing stuff like that” whilst laughing. The closer “Machine” was “one for the metalheads” and I can see why from the second half of the track which was kind of djent sounding. This is a band I plan to try and see again as soon as I can as I found them interesting, very musical yet very commercial or “cheesy“. They also sounded like no one else over the whole weekend which made them stand out even more.
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ARCHY & THE ASTRONAUTS:
This was a very young band that I saw and also interviewed two or three years ago and they were back playing the festival again. A number of things have happened since I last saw them (as you will find out when the second interview with them goes up) including splitting and reforming with a new drummer. They are a three-piece and are quite eclectic, mixing rock, funk, and grunge amongst other genres. It is often a two-piece musically as frontman Archy often releases his guitar whilst singing so the rhythm section have to be on the ball as all attention musically is on them. I did miss some of the set due to interviewing but what I saw was very good indeed. I came in on a track which was funky and heavy and exceedingly groovy (baby). Right away I was impressed at their growth. They were good the last time but they seemed an altogether different beast this time. As always Archy loves to chat and banter with the crowd at one point pointing out a member of the audience who they met last time when he was in a spacesuit (it was for Shape Of Water another band on the bill that day) but as he said “so we hijacked him for this“. Then the next track started grungy but after a minute or so became much heavier with words being spat out at a fair rate of knots (quite punky in a way). “Tectonic” wouldn’t sound out of place on either a Hives or perhaps Arctic Monkeys album. Again a bit funky but hard rocking and very easy on the ear. There was some fun regarding the setlist as it would appear he said “Gunslinger” for the next song. Which would be fine if they had a song called that. In fact, the song they were about to play had “fuck all to do with guns” causing laughter as the banter went back and forth. He even changed one of the chorus lines which should have said “got nothing to lose” to “nothing to do with guns” which again caused some laughs. They finished with “Something Funny” which involved audience participation and references to doing a “panto version“. I could hardly believe how they had grown (and I do not want to sound condescending here, I am pretty darned old and they are pretty damned young) in the short period. They have obviously been working hard and onstage they really try to entertain.
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DEADFIRE:
Again I missed the start but I could tell right away that this Aberdeen-based band were attempting to destroy the tent with their music and energy. They were in the middle of a cover of “Ace Of Spades” with dancing girls onstage. Singer Charlie joked afterwards asking if anyone else thought it was “hot in here” due to the girls. The band sometimes does the Spongebob Squarepants theme song as a way to get folks singing along in preparation for one of their own tracks and they worked the crowd with it here. That next song had a “one-word chorus, can you guess the word” he remarked. There were a few shouts (some silly of course) but the correct answer was “HEY” which is a big part of the song “Anxiety Society“. The song has the lyrics saying “I do not fit in with society, the world gives me anxiety, I am tired of being told what I should be, I am just going to keep on being me“. I always think they are a bit of Motorhead meets Clutch in their sound and attitude. Charlie regularly heads into the crowd, running around having fun and pulling people into the show. “Crazy Ones” is slower but grinds and grooves whilst rocking like a monster. Charlie announces they have “two songs left but they are good ones“, before pausing and concluding “or they could be shit“. The good news is they weren’t! The final song if you are looking for it online is called “D.I.L.L.I.G.A.F” which translates as “Do I Look Like I Give A Fuck“. Nope, it doesn’t. Deadfire are a force of nature, the intensity is something else. Dirty filthy hard hitting rock and roll with a singer built like a brick shithouse who scares the bejeezus out of me (in a good way I might add) and who on this occasion I thought was likely to bring the tent down on me by accident when standing on the front rail holding the roof of the beams.
Official Website // Official Facebook
BIG IRON:
Another Scottish band (showing the scene here is thriving with good bands thankfully) who although I missed sections of, I wanted to report on due to them being terrific fun! I admit I wasn’t sure about the names of all the songs they played at the time but it almost doesn’t matter when you are having so much fun. I came in during “The Mask” which was hard rocking with plenty of groove. The band themselves were active, running around, headbanging, really going for it. They played a “spanking new track about dragons and stuff” and it sounded excellent. According to my notes, I mention the opening riff being a bit of a killer. Lead singer Ollie is a bloody hoot, he said that the band “like to have fun” and it showed. Lots of smiles and positive energy going on. They did throw a cover in, and I have to say it was my favourite of the whole weekend (a few bands threw in the odd cover) due to how they had altered it. The song was “Hot For Teacher” the old Van Halen number. Now I put in my notes that they had made it less seemingly sexist but it seems that it was more to do with Ollie not wanting to cover someone else’s rapping (and let’s be honest UK school life is nothing like in the bloody VH video). With lines like “Who likes geography? I mean no-one likes geography” he ripped the pish out of the school curriculum. I can tell you the whole thing was getting loads of laughs from the crowd. A great example of taking a cover and doing something with it. They finished the set with “Denizens” which had a slight Alice In Chains vibe in tone yet still managed a riff that had a Led Zep feel. I enjoyed it that is for sure.
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DOBERMANN:
This is a band that had certainly passed me by. The band are a three-piece from Italy and from the set they did all I can say is that I wish I had caught them earlier. I did miss the start due to still being in the tent for the previous band. When I arrived they were playing a song called “Summer Devil” which was rocking away nicely. I noticed immediately how strong the vocals were and that the guitar work was rather tasty. In this, the band encouraged a singalong, and I did laugh when Paul Del Bello (bass & vocals), did a Scottish accent on the word “shite” when he wasn’t happy with the crowd’s first attempt at joining in. The crowd did a fab job at singing on the last line of the song “To the sweetest hell“. The band said that as they were on the stage dedicated to Lemmy they wanted to pay tribute. Pleasingly they played something bloody different than normal by covering the single Motorhead did with Girlschool way back in 1980(?) under the guise of Headgirl. That in itself was a cover of the track by Johnny Kidd & The Pirates called “Please Don’t Touch“. Dobermann did a suitable raucous version on the day. “You Talk It, You Walk It” was just a great blues rocker with a sweet breakdown. “Pure Breed” I noted as “pure AC/DC“, heads down no nonsense boogie. Before “Rock Steady” Paul did a pitch for the merch saying that if we came down he would buy us “a beer“, I think he meant one between all of us though! It started with a nice steady groove on the bass and the chorus was one of those easy to join in with as it is just the two-word title. They put on a bit of a show, holding guitar/bass-like guns firing into the crowd and making full use of the stage. Definitely a band I want to see again if possible.
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ABSOLVA:
I confess I hadn’t seen these guys in a long time and I remember they were pretty good. That changed from “pretty good” to being blown the fuck away at COTW. I said to anyone and everyone that would listen that they were the band of the day for me. Every song was simply a banger delivered with great aplomb by a band that just owned the platform. Their movement, stagecraft and personalities really stood out on what was proving to be an excellent day of bands. If you like old-school metal with melodic songs, twin guitar harmonies and choruses more infectious than the common cold and so easy to join in with then this band is a must for you. I think I sang along to every chorus. I punched the air regularly and I felt like I was 18 again (that was a mighty long time ago). Plenty of Maiden, Saxon and other NWOBHM outfits but also with added power metal at times. You could tell the respect the audience had when they were asked to move “one step forward” that the vast majority did. When they asked for another step the crowd did as they were told. My colleague Rich Dillon remarked how surprised he was at the crowd following instructions. The band who have been going now for 12 years did a set which had a song from each studio album (I think) so covering their entire history and certainly very crowd-pleasing. “Never A Good Day To Die” was a total earworm and the crowd belted it out with them. The bass on “Fistful Of Hate” thudded my chest and caused instant punching of the air from the fans. “Stand Your Ground” riffed away slowly and intensely. “Refuse To Die” had a very Maiden-esque melody coming in and out (they dedicated it to still being around after all this time) and “From Beyond The Light” had a thrash edge at points and some great soloing going on. They did slow things down a little with “Side By Side” which started very gently but even when built up and heavier still had a ton of melody and emotion. There was a trade of vocals on this as well as guitar licks. Seriously this was brilliant. They tour the UK in September I believe so if you are in the UK and are anywhere near where they are playing I highly recommend getting along.
Official Website // Official Facebook
SHE BURNS RED:
This was obviously a difficult and emotional show for the band having just recently fired bassist/singer James McCulloch for reasons not fully disclosed. Whatever all the ins and outs, it was obviously a hard thing to do and left the band in a bit of a limbo. They had to pull out of dates with These Wicked Rivers but luckily for COTW, they were able to call on assistance from a friend in Jack Sandilands from the band Big Iron to fill in. They came onto the stage to the sound of the lyrics from Chumbawamba‘s”Tubthumping“, those being “I get knocked down, but I get up again, you’re never gonna keep me down” which showed a sign of intent from the square go. Kicking in hard and heavy with “Touch“, I noticed that drummer Scott Hanlon was picking up much of the slack vocally (pretty sure he has always joined in vocally but here it was definitely more prominent). The crowd was without a doubt with them, wanting them to succeed in adversity, such is the love and esteem that the band are held in here. The band also had to deal with some technical issues (never rains eh?) but the way they managed to have a wee jam melodically as well as some banter was superb, keeping the crowd entertained. Nothing was going to stop them from doing the show. The emotion was pouring off the stage and to be fair was being sent straight back up from the crowd. With songs as great as “Rise & Fall“, “Crosshairs” and “Crack The Sky” (which featured extra vocals from Big Iron‘s singer Ollie who leapt about the place also adding to the spectacle), the band has the material to go far. They gave us a lovely extra surprise before they departed and that was a guest appearance from Beth Blade for a boisterous version of “Boys Of Summer“. Although for me the most powerful moment musically was “Out Of Darkness” which just bled emotion. Vocalist/guitarist Andy Moore thanked the crowd saying how much they appreciated being there and sharing the moment with the crowd, and with his voice kind of cracking as he said it, we knew he meant it. Whatever happens going forward they left everything on the day onstage at COTW.
Official Website // Official Facebook
SCARLET REBELS:
These Welsh rockers seem to be going from strength to strength with the crowd ready to singalong at the drop of a hat. No wonder as they have plenty of chanting singalong choruses. The band (at least for me) has a real kind of Springsteen meets Gaslight Anthem about them at times. “These Days” made me think of the former (Springsteen) if mixed with latter-day Manics. There is something impassioned about it all, heartfelt, wanting a better world, and it certainly resonated with the crowd. “I’m Alive” rocks things up a bit, a bit of AC/DC with a funky groove. Talking of AC/DC the band even threw in a bit of “Long Way To The Top” during “Save Me“. Definitely fans then! Wayne Doyle singer/guitarist works the crowd through this with a singalong and general banter. The latest single “Grace” I really enjoyed due to the stop-start sections and the superb melody running through it. I admit I was sitting chilling further back for the set (I was knackered and this was day one) so I didn’t see the band so much but rather just listened to the music and words with a beer in my hands which worked nicely on a very pleasant evening.
Official Website // Official Facebook
So those were the bands I watched the most of on day one of COTW. I did catch bits of others but I tried harder to focus on bands I saw most or all of. There were plenty of other fine acts on which hopefully other members of CGCM might cover, as we all have varying tastes in rock music. It was so nice to be back in the field with friends listening to music once again. I did interview some of the bands as well and those interviews will be coming soon here at CGCM.
Call Of The Wild: OFFICIAL WEBSITE / FACEBOOK
CGCM‘s Coverage of the previous Call Of The Wild‘s can be found here: CALL OF THE WILD FESTIVAL
