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Whitebottom Farm – Etherow Park
Greater Manchester
Thursday Pre-Party review HERE
Friday review HERE
Review and Photos – Rob and Danni Wilkins
A lazy morning after the night before, with no van wrangling or Rockfit for either of us before it is time to enjoy another Firevolt institution, “Jam with Jack”. The formula is simple but has grown from a few people dragging themselves out of bed to watch Jack J Hutchinson and his band play a few numbers, with occasional nervous cameos from a couple of festival attendees, to a well-attended session with a parade of jammers spanning a huge range of ages and a smaller range of genuine talent.
Jack is a genuinely amusing host as well as skillful musician, and with the help of the Flint Guitar School providing instruments and support, both established and very young and new musicians get to strut their stuff with him.
Kicking off the main stages are Newcastle-based Crowley. Speaking to them briefly, they were gutted after technical issues affected the early part of their set, meaning they had to cut their setlist short, but my memory is of a quite stunning vocal performance by Lidya Balaban, with echoes of Lzzy Hale in her delivery, matching range and rawness in equal measure. “Queen of the May” and the dark and brooding “Silver Star” stood out in the set along with “Pyre” (about burning men to death and featuring a searing guitar solo). For a young band playing first to an audience still waking up, they showed a high amount of promise.
A change of pace followed over on the Trooper stage with the curiously named McHale’s Permanent Brew for a bluesy and retro set. From the off, the guitar skills of Frank McHale are showcased as the set started with an extended guitar solo! Brother Paul McHale’s vocals are silky and soulful, and songs like “Third Lane Baby Blues” and “Cafe Bar a GoGo” are delicious as they waft out over the country park setting towards the City. The set even featured a mashup with a rap section that worked oddly well, and the comment of the day was that the bass player Steve was “a matron model in the 80s!”
The contrast with the preceding band shows the breadth of music that Firevolt blends together, and as the set flowed effortlessly between extended jams and smoky bar lyrics I enjoyed the privilege of the day’s first pint to wash it down!
A returnee followed as Thieves of Liberty made their third appearance at the festival, and it is easy to see why!
Their set included dragging compère Paul Cash, who had introduced them as his festival pick, on stage for a quick jig, and the crowning moment when, after “In Utero” spotting a bizarre circle pit of bishops and demons, the two guitarists Kieran and Liam appeared on walkabout and joined them. They jammed for a while, then headed back to the stage, but only one appeared. Suddenly, lots of pointing to the hill and heads turning, and there was Kieran at the top of the hill, making this possibly the biggest festival stage in the UK! When you play a festival, you need to be memorable or become part of the general background music, and in that demonstration of showmanship, as well as songs such as “Shangri La” and “Calypso”, Thieves of Liberty excelled.
Now, remember those bishops and demons, etc? Well, they were here for the next band back on Trooper, LN.
I had heard good things, and listening on Spotify certainly led to a degree of anticipation, but this was one of the standout experiences of a new band I have EVER had!
From the first note, this is a band who come to impress, grab an audience by whatever cheeky bits their gender possesses, and leave them utterly exhausted. The musicianship is tight and heavy, the costumes detailed, and the army of assembled “peasants” went nuts from the start. The key is the diminutive figure of Ellen Hirst, one moment skipping like a lithe fairy across the stage as if butter wouldn’t melt and the next staring the audience down when asking them to raise their horns and declaring “I am not in the habit of asking twice”. Another challenge, “If you don’t feel safe as LGBTQ, just come and get me!” got a huge response.
The appearance of “Donny”, a head on a stick, led to the most theatrical images of a blood-decorated Ellen ordering the crowd at this most genteel festival to separate to form a wall of death for the song that defines them, “Shield Wall”. I find myself actually holding back a little in this review. In truth, I could write in far more detail and have seldom seen a band with such immense potential, in terms of musical ability, presentation, image and material, and I can foresee a rapid rise up the bill over the next two years or so. The impact LN made can best be shown by the fact that after the next set, when we returned to the barn, there was STILL a queue for merch and photos over an hour later! I already knew that the band of the day award was unlikely to go elsewhere!
Back in the sunshine next for Muddibrooke and a big sound for a trio (complete with late stand-in on drums). It is sometimes hard for a trio with harmonising vocals to control a big stage as they are tied to the microphone for much of the set, but Brooke and Anna manage perfectly. The sound is on the heavier, grunge end of the spectrum, which prevents a drop after the previous band, and songs such as “ADHD” help to swell the crowd as the set progresses. “Fake It” is followed by a song I didn’t get the name of, but it featured the most delicious intro that was almost Melissa Etheridge in tone and a wonderful addition to the sound. Closing with “You Don’t Own Me”, the set ended in style. New song “Get Away” and having Luke Morley produce their new release suggest that there is a future worth watching.
Whilst in the field, the Firevolt elves had been busy decorating the Trooper stage crowd area with lampshades on sticks and rugs, which meant only one thing – time for These Wicked Rivers and their unique stage set of standard lamps, old telephones, clocks and other antiques along with the weekend’s beard budget.
I have to say I love this band and their sound and so was looking forward to their set immensely – and was not disappointed! The combination of John Hartwell’s low and soulful vocals and Arran Day’s high-kicking and blues-licking guitar draws the audience in, and as the set progresses, the volume rises as the crowd’s energy pulls from the band, urging them higher. Arran’s solo on new song “Rise’ is sublime, showing just how talented he is. “Sing Another Song” shows a more acoustic, introspective side to the repertoire.
The highlight of the set? “Don’t Pray For Me”. The way the song builds, the soulful vocals, the breadth the double-neck guitar brings to the sound, and the utterly stunning solo from Arran that brings tears to the eyes make it a heck of a way to end a set, and finishes with the band throwing roses to the crowd.
A familiar face over on Bludsucker next as Darren Wharton makes his second appearance of the weekend, this time with his Dare vehicle. The sound is very similar to the Renegade sound of the previous day, and whilst Darren is engaging and the music easily likeable with a delicious Celtic vibe, but in a program where there are literally minutes between sets, time needs to be found for food and to explore other aspects of the festival and so we decided to enjoy the set as ambience to those activities rather than fully immerse ourselves. Apologies to Dare, as the set sounded great and had the band not played the day before, we would certainly have been more focused. The size of the crowd generally suggests we weren’t the only people to think the same way, and maybe two sets from the same band in two days didn’t work quite as hoped.
Talking of those “other aspects”, how about a festival with on-site wine tasting? In a cellar, hidden inside a shipping container? Or spritz from a yacht, in a field, in Manchester? Or taking part in a trading card game that is designed to make you get to know other festival goers as you need to approach them to trade cards? Or, this year’s innovation, the “Listening Lounge” where various band members/crew allow a small number of people into a room, play them a track that means something to them, and then discuss in this intimate setting why it it means so much to them – a really neat idea and far more than just a “meet/ greet and here’s a selfie” type session that you find at most festivals.
Another reason for the smaller crowd for Dare became obvious when we returned to the Trooper stage for Wednesday 13 and found it utterly rammed already!
Showing just how varied the line-up was this year, Wednesday 13 introduced himself by saying that they would be singing “Songs about death, dying….and the dead” and took the festival to its darkest and most theatrical level yet (quick shout out to Ward XVI who had been posting about how much they were looking forward to the set and how aspirational it was!).
The sheer polish, image, and musical ability of the band certainly made this a set for the memories. Opening with “When the Devil Commands” and “Too Fast For Blood”, Wednesday cuts a menacing figure as he prowls the stage riser, looming over the front row as if to take any soul that appeals to him.
We got the very first recording, “Look What the Bats Dragged In”, in a set that covered Wednesday’s whole career, and it is towards the end that I realised just how much of the material I had already heard with “I Walked With a Zombie” and “Bad Things”. Throwing spiders from a pumpkin into the crowd was as far as any stage effects or dressing went, which kept the focus on the music and the Duke of Spook himself.
Previously, Aussie band The Lazys held the record for profanity, but in one encore, Wednesday 13 laid waste to that and set a bar few will ever reach with final song, “I Love to Say Fuck” which even included an umbrella proudly decorated with the word and a raised finger. The contrast with the echoes of so many f-bombs dying away over the hills and Stret and Bev stopping Wednesday 13 leaving the stage to present him with a birthday cake, balloons, and even a box of Jaffa cakes, is exactly why we love this festival so much, and I would love to know what was going through his head as he swapped collecting souls for collecting souvenirs of Manchester!
Finally, to our headliners for the day, the always enjoyable, bring-the-party, and leave you smiling, Massive Wagons.
It’s a return visit for Wagons after topping the bill three years previously in a show that I remember because they were due to headline a show at Chepstow Castle the same weekend and so bought the full stage show. Unfortunately, the marquee stage environment and their lighting/smoke effects didn’t play well together, and for most of the set they were backlit shadows, so this time I was hoping to get some great pics – and totally failed, as I inadvertently changed a setting on the camera and only realised the stage wasn’t incredibly dimly lit when we left the pit!
Having seen Wagons on the last tour, I was looking forward to a similar setlist, with maybe even a few more of the favourites added, as festivals are always a chance to attract new fans, and songs such as “China Plates” and “Back to the Stack” are Wagons classics and “Billy Balloonhead” etc real ear worms but for this performance they mixed things up. “The Curry Song” got a huge cheer and raised the energy of the crowd for the second half of the set, and from then on it was the party we had all hoped for.
“In It Together” closes the set and defines for me what Massive Wagons are about: a band that understands the challenges of all of our lives and indeed shares them, with a focus on men’s mental health and sharp social commentary on the things we all face.
Did I enjoy it as much as the last tour with the different setlist, inflatable boat crowd surfing and Baz joining the audience for the last number? Possibly not. Did I still head to bed with a smile and ears ringing as the band came down to the crowd to pass out mementos, shake hands, and pose for a photo? Of course!
