Friday was the first day
of the festival itself. My mother and I got up early and walked towards
the unknown (i.e. a shuttle bus) and waited. The queues of people
waiting by Hillegom station must have been quite the sight! Although I
would have liked to have camped, as planned, the atmosphere on these
shuttle buses was lovely and we were also lucky enough to have drivers
who felt like putting on music for most of the journeys... got to get
into the mood, right?
The first act I was lucky enough to see was
Lisa Cuthbert.
I first got into Lisa's music last year when I accidentally ended up
listening to a small part of her set and found it truly beautiful and
rather haunting. She has the most stunning voice with true emotional
qualities. Her subject matter, and songs, are stunning too. Her CD,
Paramour, is a concept album centred around the theme of the Magdalene
Laundries which were religious run institutions in Ireland in which
fallen women lived in awful conditions. I won't go into her music too
much at the moment but will probably review Paramour at some point and
would urge you to get it because it's a wonderful album.
Lisa's
set this year included several sections in which she played solo and
also played with a new band. Despite the fact they have only been
playing together since December, if my memory serves, they worked
together really well. It's exciting to see the project growing and
developing. That said, I'm pleased that the set still does contain some
of the stripped back sound that I really did fall in love with.
The highlight of this set for me was hearing my favourite,
Gartan Mothers Lullaby, played live. It's such a simple, bittersweet sounding piece that truly does show off Lisa's emotional and vocal range.
After
the set (which was spent mostly hiding in the shade) I went over to the
merchandise stand to see if I could get my scrapbook drawing signed.
This was the first time of meeting Lisa, and also her drummer, and it
really must be said that she was lovely. She spent a lot of time with
everyone talking about her music, life in general, and really bothered
to make everyone feel special. And she did sign my drawing so I was
pleased with that too!
After that great start, my mother and I gravitated towards the Forest Stage where
Shantalla
were playing. Indeed, my mother was supposed to go and see them and not
Lisa Cuthbert but, hearing Lisa's performance while 'dropping me off'
the mother decided she wanted to stay too. We were lucky that we
managed to catch the end of Shantalla's set and therefore got the best
of both worlds.
Shantalla are a band that I vaguely
know, and know that they're good, but don't really listen to. I did,
however, really enjoy the part of their set that I managed to catch! I
think it's really worth commenting upon the lead singer, Helen Flaherty,
who, not only has a lovely voice, but has a real joyous energy on stage
and brought a lot to the overall atmosphere.
After a brief detour to catch a few minutes of
The Moon and the Nightspirit (too many set clashes!) it was back to the Forest Stage for
Folk Noir.
Although I really do like Folk Noir, I'll be honest and say that I
didn't really manage to see all of their set as I had to go and sit down
part way through it. One year I will be healthy ;-)
The
parts that I did see brought all that I expect from that group,
beautiful music with a somewhat nostalgic tone along with a presentation
that is professional but not too stiff. There's something great about
seeing this group perform live in that it rather feels that you are
watching a group of talented individuals jamming together rather than a
polished performance. There's that kind of intimate feeling and,
perhaps, that is what makes this group stand out.
I'm
really looking forward to the prospect of a CD release from the current
Folk Noir line up as opposed to the early EP which is wonderful but
simply not enough! I don't know if there's one in the works but it was
mentioned last year so fingers crossed!
We then moved to one of the other stages to sit in the shade and listen to the next band on our itinerary,
La Horde.
Now, if you know La Horde you will know that there is no way you want
to sit down and listen to them because they are a real party band. I
honestly don't know how to describe
them as a band, or their music,
other than feel good crazy stuff. From the expected tunes, played in
unexpected ways, to tunes you wouldn't really expect at this kind of
festival (I like to move it, for example), their sets are fun and
unusual! I know there was one set that was planned to be a pyjama party,
complete with pillow fight, and also, I've heard, a 'wall of hugs'.
After a bit of a break (listening to Euzen from a distance, and also catching the very end of Rastaban's set) it was time for
Scrum.
Now, last year, I was really disappointed by Scrum's set. I really do
like their music and felt that, surely, this was because the sound tech
was messed up. That said, I wasn't expecting too much this time, just in
case. However, Scrum did live up to my original high expectations this
time (re-enforcing my idea that it was the tech not them causing
problems before).
Scrum play a mixture of traditional
celtic folk tunes, with a rocky twist, and original pieces in that
style. This results in a high energy, high impact performance. This is
another band that is really easy to connect with as an audience.
Although their musical performance is of a high and polished quality,
there is an openness about their stage presentation that makes them seem
as though they've just jumped up there for a laugh as opposed to being
serious professionals. To be honest, with this genre with all its
earthiness, you need to have that kind of attitude on stage. They were
also lovely guys and signed my scrapbook painting even though I believe
it caused some confusion as people couldn't work out quite what it was!
After Scrum, it was time for
The Dolmen
who are a band from Weymouth. Despite the fact I lived just down the
road from there until a few months back I have only managed to go to
their shows in mainland Europe. If any of my English friends are reading
this, go see them, okay?
This late night set was full
of people who really wanted to dance and have a wonderful time and with
The Dolmen's music it was an easy thing to do! Although I was alone for
this set I was approached by a fair number of people either to chat or
to dance so thank you to anyone who absorbed me into their groups for a
time. I think this was one of the most fun and friendly crowds of the
festival so, for me, it's one of my highlights for sure and a brilliant
way to round off day one!
I have a lot more photos on my facebook page, and Saturday's review can be read here!
