What a fantastic day Saturday was!
The "Rumble Down South Festival" at WAMA was the home of an awesome array of talent, I know I usually keep my blogs pretty short and sweet, but I'm going to have to ramble on a little bit to make sure I can tell you all about the fabulous bands that were there.
So settle yourself into the comfy chair, put some music on in the background and fetch a nice cup of tea...
Are you sitting comfortably?
Then I'll begin...
Its very rare these days to see a group who have such mastery of the stage craft, these guys were not only kicking out some amazing tunes, but they were creating a show on stage.
With a strong look, funky clothes & make up and a real fluid movement on the stage, they were truly one of the highlights of the festival.
Sound wise, they were pretty hard to pin down, I heard many comparisons to "The Cult", which I could understand, but I felt there was also a tinge of the sound and stage craft of "Crazy World Of Arthur Brown" and this was no bad thing.
They had a real impact on the show, and after been on stage for a few minutes, the venue was jumping and even all the wallfowers were out and about having a wee boogie. These guys are a must see, and I suspect, 1 to watch for the future.
With a great voice that had an amazing amount of power behind it, she kept the crowd entranced with both her music, and her friendly little asides to the audience.
Despite her professional and polished performance, it had the feel of sitting and listening to an old friend play for you, as I sat there and listened I could feel the weight of the day just drifting away from me.
And it just got even better when she began to play an Etta James number... Had it not been for work, I could of pulled up a seat, ordered a cold one and quite happily spent the rest of the day listening to her... Charley plays the High Wycombe scene quite a lot, so be sure to check her out and go have a listen.
So thats two fantastic acts under our belts...
Shall we have more...
Well, since you asked so nicely...
We introduce to you "Six Hour Sundown"...
They were good, they were really good...
They were seriously, go out and but the CD kinda good!
They were slick, smooth and tight both on stage & with there music. There instrumentation was perfect and the vocals were to die for, I've always had a soft spot for female led rock / metal, but it is hard to get right and pretty few and far between these days. But all been well, we may be seeing the rebirth of the art with "Six Hour Sundown".
When I was chatting to the guys after the show I couldn't believe that this was only there fourth gig!!! If someone had asked I would of sworn that they had been playing together for years to get so tight. All I can say, is that if they are this good, this early on... Watch this space...
They will be playing Sonisphere this weekend so if you can, go and check them out.
Now for something a little softer...
You know that moment, we've all done it,you hear a sound, you turn round and see a blur of colour in the corner of your eye... your curiosity is roused... you must know more...
So it was with myself and "Cascades". I had just returned from the open air, to the main stage and heard this great sound, had a quick glance at the stage and saw a grin scampering around on stage...
As it turns out, the grin was attached to Rashid (it would of been most weir otherwise) lead singer of the cascades, I was immediately captivated by him and the bands sound, so much so I had to remind myself to take pictures!
Playing a heavy edged alternative metal sound they stormed through there set and I for one was a bit upset when they finished, they were a real live wire and Rashid's movements on stage brought me straight back to Ales Harvey, and we are way over due to have another artist with that kind of presence on stage...
I'm going to let you listen and decide on this one, simply because as I sit here, I cant imagine what I can say that will really do them justice...
So I have a plan...
Use the link above and check them out for yourselves!
Needless to say, there were many many more acts there, but much as I would like to, I cant talk about all of them, you will though, find links and info with there photos in the WAMA gallery, so check it out.
There is however one more thing to be done, and that is to say a HUGE thank you to Marco, Maria, George and all the team at WAMA. Without them, their passion, dedication and hardwork, none of this would happen... so huge thanks to all...
And I hope to see you down there soon.
Matt