Live
The Vintage Festival August 13 (Friday) 2010 - Day 1
Billed as 'The Festival Of Our Lives', Vintage at Goodwood promised to be one of the highlights on the festival calendar. Gently mixing fashion with music whilst encompassing the golden years of this green and pleasant land. This decade hoping extravaganza didn't disappoint one bit - in fact, I must admit with a big smile on my face, this attendee - was delightfully surprised!
You have to take your fedora off to both Wayne & Gerardine Hemingway for the attention to detail which was ever evident and key to the success of this event. From the daily 11am Spitfire fly-past which visually announced the commencement of that days proceedings, to the uncanny likeness inside the Soul Casino to the inner sanctum of the Wigan Casino (and yes, I know it wasn't based on the Casino Mr Pilliar). BUT What-a-sight! That huge sprung dance floor, authentic looking bar (and service, lol) AND where on earth did you get that carpet from? lol. Absolutely perfect!
As many of you will know, not only did we get unrivalled access to the festival itself, but we also interviewed/reviewed many of the acts which made Vintage such a special occasion. We also had an area within the festival where you could buy Blues & Soul memorabilia + purchase our brand new Vintage edition (if you know what I mean) of the Blues & Soul magazine - the first printed edition in three years.
In these eager scribblings I hope to give you a real flavour of each day of Vintage from our unique perspective, and maybe if I'm lucky, even give a little of the essence too... So fasten your seat belts and get ready for three days of B&S at the Vintage festival - and what better place to start than Day 1…
Having set up the resplendent Blues & Soul stall the evening before, we were primed and ready to meet and greet all kinds of uniquely individual individual's on the inaugural day of Vintage. From '40s - '80s the effervescent thread running through this highly polished music & fashion goliath was evident, as the eye to detail from each individual matched the vision of the Hemingway's perfectly.
Proud Gerardine Hemingway, having cut the red tape declaring Vintage well and truly open, then posed wilfully for the myriad of camera's jostling for position to her photo along with Husband Wayne, Lord March and a bevy of period beauties assembled especially for the proceedings. The expectant public then begun to flood through, musing around slowly, trying to soak up exactly what Vintage had to offer. From quintessential high street bands displaying their wears like proud peacocks, to the smaller market area/stall's that made up the four corners of the main body of the event - shoppers alike seemed delighted in what they came to behold. There was plenty of places to eat and drink, always a winner with me!? lol Although, a little more diversity on the food side would be handy next time please. To the pub, cafe and even curry establishments - well it is all about being English after all! All were beautifully equipped and catered for most fancies.
As this day started to unfurl the first place to attend for us gig-wise was the main stage to see Aswad kick off the live proceeding. As Friday was billed as a punky/reggae day, we didn't expect a huge amount to report on, but enough to break us in gently. But how wrong we were… Bounding on gazelle-like Aswad hit the stage with vigour as the hit's came rolling out. With 1988 smash hit ‘Don’t Turn Around’ proving the pick of the bunch, I stood there thinking, I can't believe it was 1976 when we first heard their distinctive tones… As the theme of the day was punk and reggae, the most obvious addition to the day's bill had to be Don Letts who was a perfect follow-on for the mighty Aswad. It was Don who was instrumental in bringing the two styles together through his DJ'ing and boy did he know how to set the crowd off. It was a Don Letts party for sure, as the crowd responded to the energy which was in abundance.
Our next stop in the proceedings was Eddie Pillar's Soul stage… At this point I would like to congratulate and thank Mr P for not only a superb line-up, but making B&S feel so welcome - cheers Eddie!;) Now, on with the show… Ska never sounded so good as the The Beat took to the stage - 'Top' Ranking Roger, Ranking Jr & Co tore into one hit after another; 'Hands Off She's Mine', 'Stand Down Margaret' and fresh tunes 'Side To Side' and 'Ruff Rider' proved they weren't there to make up the numbers! One of my personal fav's 'Tears Of A Clown' was toasted by the crowd, as it's inclusion in the set was met with a loud raw! Highlight for me has to be the inclusion of the Clash classic 'Rock The Kasbah', which sounded as fresh as the day it released. Prop's to the boys for that one - Joe Strummer would have been proud of the respect the Beat brought to their version of this iconic tune.
The Beat were now finished, but you couldn't drag us away from the Soul Stage as the Wailers were introduced - the crowd was swelling by the minute and getting more feverish. It seemed fitting the Wailers should be the band to signal the end of the live set's on this first momentous day of Vintage - like a huge seal of quality musical approval if you like. As the weather closed in, the musical heat from the stage became more apparent - Marley classic's rung out into the darkness as the crowd soaked up every single ounce of each classic. Each song was announced and was met with an even bigger raw as this greatest hits package began to take shape, and in turn uniting the attendance in song. We all joined in 'No Women No Cry', 'Three Little Birds', 'Stir It Up','Waiting In Vain','One Love','Jamming','Is This Love', 'Could You Be Love' - I think you get the gist… The sight and sound of 'I Shot The Sheriff' is still vivid in the memory banks as the sea of reggae lovers, with their fingers shaped like guns waving them in the air, while bobbing to the beat was pure magic.
As the live outside action was now finished, there was now time to pay a visit Snowboy's Torch tent. If rumours were true, this place was one of THE place's to be! And as I approached I could make out a short cue of expectant punters, while the luscious sounds could be heard flooding out. After gaining entry I found two of the Blues & Soul staff, messieurs Lewis & Tipping had also been given the same tip (damn you! lol) and were already at a table placed for action and enjoying the ambience - and a pint! Unfortunately due to the time I arrived, I didn't witness enough of James Langton and his Solid Senders to write a full review - gutted doesn't even come close. But what I did witness was nothing short of exquisite, from the sumptuous vocal of Louise Cookman to Langton's deft band leadership - the Solid Senders were tight, bright and right on the money. As a spectator all you could do was marvel in the event and immerse yourself in that big band sound. The Torch area itself was nothing short of superb, with Snowboy's introduction and anecdotal quipping capping the whole experience for all. And after meeting Mr Langton 1st hand after his titanic sized performance, this music lover was throughly satisfied with this day's events.
Roll on day 2!;)
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Words LEE TYLER
