The first thing that struck me as I made my way from Steventon bus stop up the cobbled path towards Hill Farm, was how quiet it was. Having been to several Reading Festivals at which I'd found it difficult to find a decent camping spot, even when arriving a full 24 hours before the music started, I'd elected to make an early start, and reached the site by about 9:30. There was virtually noone there. In fact you could quite comfortably have counted the number of tents in the camping area (I did, there were 19, although it did fill up as the start drew closer). Still, undeterred I went about setting up my tent, and settle down for the two hour wait I had before the music started.
The second thing I noticed, as local band IGLOO took to the main stage (made out of real truck trailers), was the atmosphere. Everybody seemed to know everyone else, including, it turned out, the bands, as the guy who had been sitting next to me chatting with his mates appeared as the bass player. Also, everyone was sitting down, occadionally tapping their feet or applauding politely as the songs finished, but never risking breaking a sweat in the sweltering heat. It felt like a cross between a rock festival & a village fete (and not a bottle of piss in sight!). Anyways, Igloo's set of fairly dull Radiohead/Coldplay manoevres hardly set the pulse racing, so after a few songs I headed over to The Barn Stage, which, true to its name, was a barn. And a bloody good venue it was too, with a great sound, and natural light shining through the holes in the walls backlighting the bands to spectacular effect (plus the dirty looking concrete floor and slight smell of cow dung meant that noone wanted to risk sitting down).
The first band to benefit from these more intimate environs, were local noiseniks THURSDAYS OF VEGA, who had won their place through a Truck Records sponsored competition. Their blend of dissonant feedback strewn guitars and shrieking electronics, coupled with an electrifying stage presence more than justified their inclusion, and my only regret was that I had missed half of their set whilst at the main stage.
Still, back to the main stage it was, to check out the grunge workout of CALIBER, they failed to live up to their billing as 'Truck's own L7' though, and I was soon on my way to the Trailerpark Tent to catch the dirty vested indie rock of Dutch band ZOPPO.
After that, DAUGHTERS COURAGEOUS failed to capture my imagination to the extent that I have no recollection of them whatsoever, barring the scribbled note I made that simply says 'dull rock', so it was off to the barn to catch CAYTO (not to be confused with Kaito), who played a set of intermittently pretty good, eccentric indie, while their guitarist wore a truly awful comedy wig.
Having taken a little time out to peruse the festival shop, and buy an ice cream from the local vicar (who was collecting funds for his church lighting project), it was back to the barn for the ridiculously over populated SPARTACUS, who featured two drummers, and no less than three bass players. The resulting sound was a surprisingly good take on classic/stadium rock, with a refreshing sense of humour, plus they're guaranteed a bit of audience interaction as soon as they walk on stage and declare 'We are Spartacus' (all together now, 'No! I'm Spartacus!)
Next up on the main stage, FINLAY's bog standard indie set didn't hold my attention too long, which was lucky, as it led me to to check out THE EDIBLE FIVE FOOT SMITHS in the barn. An effervescent mixture of lo-fi indie pop and more complex guitar experimentalism, delivered with an affecting charm. The highlight of what I saw of the set was a song about Christmas (played because it's festive & this is a festival), which echoed Six by Seven and Pavement at their best.
Popped into the chillout tent next to see a bit of BARRY & THE BEACHCOMBERS' set. One of them was dressed as a cow. This was the only thing that makes them worth mentioning.
Unlike YOUTH MOVIE SOUNDTRACK STRATEGIES, who made an intriguingly complex post-rock quiet bit loud bit noise that belied their tender years, and put more veteran acts to shame with the subtlety and intricacy of their songs. It's what I always hoped Mogwai would sound like (plus they managed the only set destruction of the entire weekend).
TRADEMARK came, wore labcoats, sounded a bit like the Pet Shop Boys, and left, before making way for ex-Dustball members DIVE DIVE. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Dustball, ever since my mates' band supported them at the Tunbridge Wells Forum when we were at school. The new incarnation follows a similar indie-punk formula, with few frills, and while hardly groundbreaking, had the still seated main stage crowd nodding their heads in approval.
Off to the barn again, this time seeming a wholly inappropriate venue for the lounge room chic of SALOON, who ply us with a seductive electro pop set, while I try to work out why my camera's packed in.
THE EDMUND FITZGERALD followed in their schoolmates Youth Movie Soundtrack Strategies' footsteps, with a similarly crafted, if slightly heavier sound, prompting the days first moshpit (largely comprised of the members of YMSS).
Finally, we reached the first band that I had really been looking forward to in the previous weeks, and M.A.S.S. didn't disappoint. Throwing in all the favourites at the start, with the tracks from recent double A-side single 'Live a Little/Give Me a Break' particularly shining through, the whole set is punctuated with garage riffs, Jonny's rock guitar shape throwing, and Justine pouring her heart into the gorgeous vocals, while stalking the tiny stage.
Following that up was the double whammy of BLACK NIELSON and BRITISH SEA POWER on the main stage. Black Nielson crafted a set of wonderful lilting torch songs, the guitars and keyboards interweaving beautifully to bring me back down after M.A.S.S.'s sonic assault, spoilt only a little by a slightly dodgy PA. The set's made up of songs from their recent 'Seahorse Boe' album, but caught up in the soft melodies, I hardly notice the absence of old favourites (or that some of the crowd are actually standing up!). BSP then took the tempo right back up again, throwing just a touch of disco into the indie guitar mix, impressing me far beyond the foliage draped stage, model herons and military outfits, with a quality of songwriting that I didn't know they possessed.
By now, my lack of sleep (as well as the early start, I'd been to see Special Needs and The Rocks remarkable, balloon filled gig in Hammersmith the night before) was starting to catch up with me, so I spent most of GOLDRUSH's set on my back, watching the stars, letting the gentle waves of sound lap over me. It was the perfect soundtrack for the moment.
Goldrush are back shortly afterwards, providing the backing for ex-Ride man MARK GARDENER, who proves that he's twice the songwriter Chris Martin is in a set that mixes old Ride tracks with his more recent solo work.
And so, finally (after what seemed like over an hour setting up) on to the main event THE BROTHERHOOD OF FISH, introduced by the bizarre deep throated announcer as 'the worst kept secret in showbiz', which might be pushing it, but still everyone knew they were really Electric Soft Parade. What people didn't know, however, was that they would hardly play any recognisable ESP songs (we get 'Start Again', 'Empty At The End', and after much duress from the crowd, a drawn out keyboard version of 'Silent To The Dark'). Instead, we got a clutch of new tracks, and a couple of unexpected collaborations. The songs featuring Monster Bobby on vocals and guitar pass by uneventfully, and pretty much unnoticed, which can't be said for Stuart Flint (not completely sure about the name), a ginger haired, uber-flambouyant singer, who joined them for some high-camp Queen style covers of 'Candle In The Wind', 'Help' and the theme from Moonraker, each in a different costume. It's a bit of an anti-climax all in all, not helped by a complaint from the village about the noise levels at this time in the morning, which meant the set was stopped for about ten minutes, and then the volume turned down. Still, this minor disappointment aside, it had been a fantastic day, and I looked forward to the next with great anticipation.
Visit the official
Truck Fest website at
www.truckrecords.com/festival/index
