Kendal Calling revels in the sunshine as Day 1 sees Kasabian play a hit laden set to top a stunning day of live music.
Words and Photos – John Hayhurst
Kendal Calling, you did it again, my favourite Northern Festival in a setting unparalleled for scenic views, it rained – yes it always does, it’s the Lake District don’t you know. So there was copious amounts of mud, but that didn’t dampen the spirits as we rocked to Nile Rodgers on the Thursday early entry night.
Having had a nightmare getting in with 3 hour tailbacks on the A66 and local roads, the drinks (£6.50 a pint) we supped in the bar hit the spot very quickly and Chic were exactly the tonic needed for blowing away the cobwebs of a problematic first day.
Friday started much better on the Main Stage with Dublin’s The Murder Capital, although they were clearly subdued with the news of Sinead O’Connor’s death this week, they dedicated their show to her and opened with several low key album tracks, superb in their delivery with buckets of pathos and feeling, but in the bright festival sunshine they fell short for those that were hearing them for the first time. Only ‘Ethel’ and ‘Don’t Cling To Life’ picked up the tempo at the end and showed what a fine band they really are.
The 2 main tents at Kendal Calling are dressed like no other festival I’ve been to, the theme this year is ‘Summer of Love’ so the ‘Calling Out’ Stage (3rd Stage) is festooned with flower power imagery to match some of the outfits worn by the punters.
‘Parklands’ (2nd Stage) has a jungle theme with animals and birds nestled in the grasses and flowers stuck to the ceiling. Sometimes you are drawn to look up rather than watching what is on the stage.
Lime Garden were next on my list, fourth time seeing this all girl Brighton 4-piece as they have more than enough great tunes to hit the spot, ‘Bitter’ my personal favourite has guitarist Leila Deeley somewhere in another zone, she is mesmerizing to watch, picking out little riffs and solos whilst throwing her long blonde hair around and then staring into the distance – the perfect artist to be playing in the flower power tent.
Haven’t seen We Are Scientists since around 2005 when ‘Nobody Move Nobody Get Hurt’ was played everywhere, ‘With Love and Squalor’ was such a great album and their performance today has made me add a few tunes from it to my Spotify Liked Songs. Still tons of energy coming from this New York 3- piece, Keith Murray now with much greyer hair still kicking his heels up and trotting around the stage whilst playing some blistering riffs.
Mel C played a stunning set which showed off both her vocal prowess and gym toned bod, wasting no time she takes off the jacket after ‘Never be the same again’ to show her abs to the packed punters on the main stage. Spice Girls songs were played and went down extremely well, the sun is still shining and we have yet to visit ‘The Woodlands’ but as hotly anticipated band Swim School are playing that’s where we head next.
The ‘Woodlands’ stage (4th Stage) is set in a cooler area of the festival where it really comes alive at night with illuminations galore popping up from the forest trail that starts at the stage. The area itself has lots of greenery, 2 statuesque faces guarding each side of the stage, and coloured sail sheets stretching across to the back of the arena, making it a cosy place to see some of the up and coming artists.
Swim School are just that, watch out because this Edinburgh based band are about to burst on to the scene in a big way. Guitarist and Singer Alice Johnson is pretty much in the mold of Ellie Rowsell from Wolf Alice and with tracks like ‘Delirious’ in their set, they can rock out with the best of them. They were the best band I saw on that stage all weekend, and definitely in the top 5 performances at Kendal Calling. Check them out !!
Having watched Rianne Downey take on the female vocals of The Beautiful South alongside Paul Heaton last weekend at Tramlines in Sheffield, I knew exactly what we were in for with her. This sweet Scottish lass produced some of the most soulful folky vocals you will hear this side of KT Tunstall. Plenty of folks here to watch her and I’m sure her popularity and ticket sales for her own solo tour will have shot up massively since being Paul Heaton’s special guest on his tour.
We scoot over to the Calling Out stage to catch more folky stuff with Matilda Mann who appeared a little nervous to start with but recovered by the end, ‘You Look Like You Can’t Swim’ is a great title of a song and with a live band behind her they breathe fresh life into these introspective tunes, shame there weren’t more people to witness it but I’m guessing the majority of them are heading to the Main Stage for tonights headliner Kasabian.
Before them though, I wanted to see a bit of Courting and it was no real suprise, but a little dissappointing, to see that this lads indie band from Liverpool are still starting their set with ‘Football’ and ‘Tennis’ – other ball sports are available on request.
Kasabian are clearly the main draw though as the arena is packed for Sergio Pizzorno and Co to blast through their hits laden set. I still find it very weird that Tom Meighan isn’t there, and having witnessed his solo band show last year, there is definitely something lacking in the vocals department with this Tomless version of Kasabian.
Can’t fault Serge’s energy though, he is everywhere bounding around the stage from one side to the other, taking a break and playing guitar, it is really the Serge show now. Opening with ‘Club Foot’ and having ‘Underdog’ in your first three, ensures the crowd is bouncing from the off. ‘Fire’ closes a great set and a fantastic 1st proper day here in the fields.
More coming with the review of Saturday and Sunday.
