It Is Festival Time Again
Friday was the opening day of the 3-day festival known as Call Of The Wild (or COTW). I was lucky enough to be able to travel down with friends in a campervan on Thursday night. We stopped just outside after midnight so we got a quick start in getting the awning up and having some breakfast to set us all up for the day.
With the first band on at 11am and the headliners playing to near 11pm we needed that. By the time I did that, picked up my wristband and said “hello” to various folks I arrived after the first band had taken the stage. That band was called Mercia.
Mercia Get The Show Started
When I arrived the first thing I noticed was that the singer (Ash) looked tattooed as fuck and that the bassist (Vernon?) had some sort of paint over one side of his face and looked quite a scary dude! They were playing a song called “The Light” which I noted right away as a mix of hard rock and AOR. “Pick Your Poison” had a piano opening which had me expecting a ballad, but they fooled me as it became quite a heavy track whilst still being tasteful hard rock.
It was good to hear some good clean and clear vocals and the chorus was strong. My favourite guitar solo was on a song that I have down as perhaps being called “Fire In The Sky“. “Forever” (definitely the right title) was a power ballad but with a bit of bite. The lyrics and the melodies at times seemed darker than most for a hard rock/AOR band which made them a bit different to listen to. I enjoyed what they did and before the end of the festival got to interview one of the guitarists Tyler where he explains more about the band. That will be coming soon here at CGCM.
Official Bandcamp // Official Facebook
The Reinforcements: What Is THAT?
I was chuffed to see this Edinburgh band on the bill having seen them locally a few times. Frontman Richy Neill is an amiable chatty guy who communicates well but as they only had a short time he kept that down to a minimum allowing the music itself to speak to new folks.
Before they even played a note bassist Christian Kimmet could be heard shouting as he walked onstage “fucking come on“, a statement of intent in itself. First song “Tear It All Down” has a very infectious chorus whilst being itself a hard rocking track. During the song Richy introduced the band and told the crowd where they were from, following that up by pointing at the sky (the sun) and asking “what the fuck is THAT?. It didn’t come with us so it must belong to you” garnering some laughs and cheers.
The band did suffer a little from a tech issue (possibly one bloody cable it seems) during “Opportunist” but that didn’t stop them from battling on regardless. “Empty Promises” a song written by the drummer Tom Parker has a slightly Billy Idol vibe, especially on the vocals. At the end of the song, Richy fell backwards on stage onto his back. It was meant but still looked painful to me! During the last song he thanked stand-in guitarist Stevie Pearce from The Hooligans who came in late in day due to the normal rhythm guitarist having to work his regular job. Nothing stops these guys. There will be an interview with the band coming soon at CGCM.
Official Website // Official Facebook
Mikey Ball & The Company: Thin Lizzy Vibes
A band I knew very little about other than a couple of tracks I checked out. They opened with “Burning All Night” which is definitely in The Gaslight Anthem territory. Slightly punky, anthemic, pounding with a big chorus. “Unbroken” I noted as having a southern rock vibe about it. Definitely more mellow.
“This Morning” was another in the Springsteen mould, slightly alternative rock. My favourite song was “Runnin’” which had an “Emerald” by Thin Lizzy influence at the start with a nod to AC/DC at one riff that repeated a few times. A real groover of a song. Mikey encouraged us to dance and he tried to lead the way. As we were in Lincolnshire he compared his area with here and then took the time to tell anyone local at the festival that their sausages were rather good. Why not? A good way to make friends and influence people.
Official Facebook
Ashen Reach: Everybody Wave
Well, these guys pulled a crowd and a half. One of the NWOCR favourites it seems. It is interesting to me that they are pretty darned heavy for the scene being almost more a metal band rather than a rock one. They fair-packed a punch. The crowd response to “Epiphany” was incredible. The cried response of “holding out for” was heard right across the field!
“Heir To The Throne” was (and is) a very modern-sounding metal song. Singer Kyle tells the crowd that “when I say “Jump” JUMP… unless you are physically unable in which case wave your arms in a way that it looks like you are“. I watched laughing as many folks (some with beers in hand) moved their hands and arms up and down so it looked like half the crowd were waving at the band. Nice to see the band being very inclusive of all including those of us old or infirm!
Highlight for me was “Homecoming“, an epic-sounding song with 2 lengthy guitar solos with both guitarists taking turns to impress the crowd. The solos were the sort that have melody and emotion rather than all-out shredding. I was captivated by the piece and if they can write more songs like that I will be impressed. A NWOCR classic track already. Great work folks!
Official Website // Official Facebook
Hunch Power: Hope Is The Way
A band that was more alternative and punk than hard rock, but variety is the spice of life. My first thought was “how young is the bassist?” as he looked like he was skipping school😀, well there were quite a few school kids on the site already (seems a local school took some of their young ones on a day trip to the festival, I only got taken to museums, lucky shits). Of course I am quite old so my fault!
“Stop The World” had me thinking of Springsteen, Petty, Gaslight Anthem and 70s punk. Stomping angry and catchy. “Eye For An Eye” was announced as a song about “nonsense of war“. Definitely punky, songs that had something to say. Protest or social conscience in reality. The intro to one song which I think was called “This Is The End” had singer Harvey looking around at the band like he wasn’t sure what song it was they were about to do and suddenly they kicked in together on the first line. Nice opening.
During “The Hunters” Harvey took the guitar off and pogoed around the place whilst singing. They finished with a song for Extinction Rebellion folk (for all the work they do) called (if I am correct) rather suitably “Hope Is The Way“. Great attitude, songs that say something and all singalongable. Keep your eyes peeled for the interview that I had with the singer, coming soon at CGCM.
Official Website // Official Facebook
Alunah: Doomy Metal At A Glance
Due to an interview, I only caught the very end of the set. I did like the doom metal sound of the band that of course owed much to early Black Sabbath. This was a band that showed how even all those involved from this site see things differently, I liked the band’s music but wasn’t keen on the singer as I felt her voice didn’t fit in, Rich (“The Meister” Dillon) loved the singer but not the music and Ian (Owen) liked it all.
Official Website // Official Facebook
Square Wild: Stops, Starts, Twists, Turns
I heard half a song online before the festival and I decided I wanted to see this band. I had very high hopes. What can I say is they smashed them. They were introduced with a comment about them being “gender fluid metal” which I saw the band laughing at. It wasn’t far wrong. They are a bit of everything. Strangely despite the 101 influences it all gels beautifully and grooves like a bastard. There are moments in odd times and it is still danceable.
I once said about the band Freak Kitchen in a review that they were a “prog band for folks that don’t like prog rock”. This was the case too. They hide it so well. Not knowing much of the material (and as I think all of it was new and not on their one EP that means none of it really) I wasn’t always sure what was going on at times. Was it 1 track with lots of time changes or 3 strung together? I was having so much fun I can say I didn’t care.
One song I noted could be what would happen if Zappa had still been alive and took control of The Red Hot Chilli Peppers… or maybe not. It was great. There was a song with a classical guitar solo in it. It fitted. I loved how singer Lucy never seemed to stop dancing and prancing, even getting off stage and going wandering all around the tent in her bare feet. The way she made out it was a struggle to get back onstage (like this reviewer she is diminutive) so it looked like a crawl and I believe the song playing was called “Crawl” added to the fun. All the stops, starts, twists and turns were so skillfully done. My mind was blown. Amazing music and a huge dose of fun. What a show! Oh and coming soon an interview like none other with singer Lucy here at CGCM.
Official Website // Official Facebook
Troy Redfern: Sounded Good
Due to an interview, I only caught the tail end of Troy‘s set. He was on his last song “Sanctify” which was a dirty gritty blues stomper. This was a show with his band rather than solo. Both are normally darned good. It sounded like this was also rather tasty!
Official Website // Official Facebook
Ginger Wildheart And The Sinners: A Country Wildhearts
The set was based around his debut album so is quite laid back compared to other bands he has been a part of. There are moments of hard rock but this is more a country rock gig. They have some good songs but I admit I prefer it a bit heavier. It didn’t help that for me (I am on blood thinners… no need to go “aaahhh”) that the temperature dropped like a stone so I felt frozen. I did end up going back to the campsite for a jacket and wooly hat so missed a bit of it as well.
What I did see was OK with both covers “Dirty Water” (from Status Quo‘s Rockin’ All Over The World album) and “Six Years Gone” (from the Georgia Satellites‘ In Land Of Salvation And Sin) being played. The former allowed for a crowd sing-song. The guys Ginger and fellow guitarist and singer Neil Ivison apologised that they had stinking colds and so suggested they would avoid the early harmonies of the opening, well unless we did them. One thing about the COTWcrowd is that they follow instructions like this. They made it like a competition and I say the crowd won.
Funniest line of the night from them was as they (especially Ginger) kept gesturing to the sound engineer at the side to raise the mike in the monitor, then lower it, then raise it again he said “this is our show by the way, complaining about monitors” which got folks laughing. They finished (I think) with “Footprints In The Sand” which pleased one of my friends Donna as that is her fave song by them.
Official Facebook
Kris Barras Band: A Mix Of Rock And Blues
This was my first time seeing Kris and his band. I knew he was more a bluesman early doors and he has changed style in the last couple of albums into what I would call from the songs I heard commercial hard rock.
The solos even on newer songs still have a blues vibe but the songs are very radio-friendly. I enjoyed listening to them but I admit I think I prefer the earlier songs. I would however say that one of the songs of the set was a new one from the latest album called “Wake Me When It’s Over” written during the pandemic. He said that most of the stuff he wrote during that were “angry songs” and he wrote this as a “chill moment” for the album. The way it built to a crescendo was excellent with the ending being for me the pinnacle of his show. The way he let go what could be called a despairing scream which he use an effects pedal to keep going whilst he quietly sang the song’s title was superb.
It really caught the emotion of the time without a doubt. Some of the songs I marked as being in the area of bands like Shinedown or Alter Bridge. There was even one that was quite funky. I did think that the bassist looked like he would fit into a prog band very nicely due to not only his playing (tapping etc) but the way his bass was on his body. He went down very well with the crowd and finished the first day very well even if I would have preferred his bluesier stuff (sorry but I love the blues… it tells my story as a certain Mr Coverdale once sang).
Official Website // Official Facebook
Hot Days, Cold Nights
So day 1 was a success with several new finds and a couple of (well almost a couple… more on that later) interviews as well. I boiled through the day (bloody hell it was hot) but froze at night; both before putting a coat on and later when I got in my sleeping bag. Everyone seemed to agree the next morning that it was rather parky (bloody feezing), including our Canadian friend (who lives in Canada!).
All pictures by the lovely Ian Owen for CGCM.
Check out my other interviews/reviews here. Tom.
