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| Gig Reviews... Cambridge Rock Festival 2009 | ||||||
Just witnessed your best live gig?.. send us a review! Review and photos by Ian Pollard
CAMBRIDGE ROCK FESTIVAL
Friday,7 August 2009 (Day 2) The damage done to the electrics and PA would have ramifications throughout the weekend though, with scheduled timings not even being a close approximation for the most part.
Our first musical entertainment is provided by brothers Alex and Rolf Tinlin. An unplugged set featuring acoustic guitar, mandolin and percussion, along with beautiful vocal harmonies. They cite a whole range of influences, from Bach to Zeppelin, by way of Dylan, Neil Young, and various soul artists. The end result is a very distinctive sound, with the bold harmonies to the forefront. Currently recording their second album, the brothers Tinlin will hopefully have a long successful career.
The mellow start to proceedings is brought to a crashing end with the arrival of Kyrb Grinder. The alternative vehicle of Threshold's brilliant drummer, Johanne James, deliver heavy progressive metal with precision. Johanne also handles vocal duties, and with his kit set up centre stage, he has a presence second to none. The steely gaze and flashing smile are accompanied by a wicked sense of humour. Songs from the album "Defiance" are all quality offerings, until power problems bring an unfortunate premature end to the set.
With the 2nd stage now running close to 2 hours behind schedule, we only get to see part of the Lost Weekend set, which is a real shame. The Halifax outfit, now back to a 6-piece line up with the addition of Gary "Tiny" Ives (all 6ft 7" of him) on keyboards, continue to excel. Latest album "Fear and Innocence" has seen a move away from the heavily keyboard oriented AOR, and back to a classic twin-lead sound in the vein of UFO / Thin Lizzy. They recently added the former to the list of great bands they have toured with. Live performances are always highly energetic (Dave Thompson couldn't put possibly more effort in) and superb. They are on top form again tonight, with Paul Uttley proving again what a great frontman he is.
The Yorkshire connection continues on the main stage now, with Mostly Autumn. Now with a fairly settled line up again following the return of Liam Davison and Iain Jennings, and the apparent full-time recruitment of Anne Marie Helder, the band are back to their best in the live arena.
After last year's criminally short set at this same festival, they are given plenty of time this year to show what they are capable of. From the all out rock of "Answer The Question", the epic "Evergreen", the sublime "Above The Blue" (best vocal performance of the weekend), to the ever-present "Heroes Never Die"... I doubt anyone could have been disappointed. I wasn't, and the inclusion of "Carpe Diem" in the set just crowned it!
Final act for the day are one I am not particularly familiar with - John Lees' Barclay James Harvest. Featuring founding members John Lees and 'Woolly' Wolstenholme, they run through a full 2-hour set (despite the delayed start) of their classically influenced prog.
The sound
gremlins were in full mischief mode early in the set, but the
front-of-house sound improved quite quickly. Apparently, the mix sent to
Radio Caroline for their live broadcast did not improve though. Likewise,
the on stage monitors were ropey at best - but the band did a great job
with barely a bum note to be heard. Woolly's banter between songs was
particularly enlightening and entertaining.
Review
and photos by Ian Pollard
Additional reporting: Mark Taylor, Andrew Lock
Cambridge Rock Festival
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