#rusty gray

[animationdesk]

Your Network is more important than your Demo Reel.

Rusty Gray, Animator (5 Reasons You Won’t Be An Animator)

[citricidiot-blog]

THE HIP VILLAGE

A music festival In October, in England, is always going to be a gamble.

One week we're basking in record breaking temperatures (almost) hotter than the sun itself. The next, we're having to dig out the wellies and raincoats, reminiscing back to the days of burnt skin, cold showers and after-sun.

Well, cold showers weren't to be a problem. Saturday 8th October was a misty, wet, foggy, windy and reasonably cold day. What better way to wave goodbye to the summer - or in this case, see in the winter - than to be in a field, in the middle of nowhere getting wet. All in the name of fun. Luckily for me, I'd forgotten my wellies.

The Hip Village was the destination, situated on a farm just outside of Falmouth. The line-up a mix of bands and DJ's from all over. The majority of bands were Falmouth based and I'm told (not having a clue about DJ's) that the DJ's were very well renowned. Having got lost on the way, my pre-digital brain could not work the AA Road Map sufficiently, so it was a waiting game until Harry Fricker's iPhone got connected back to the Internet...

Ten minutes before Harry Fricker was scheduled to play, we'd found it. No sound-check, no warm-ups, just straight in with it, apologising to the audience (all seven of them) for being late and blaming it on a lack of road sign directions. Harry's set was of a good standard but understandably it was far from his best. After all, he was basically playing to a handful of friends. (See above video for Harry playing at the Barefoot Sessions).

'Flying Dog Walking' was next up and this man is literally a one-man-band. With a bass drum pedal on his right foot, a snare drum contraption on his left and a grungy over-driven guitar in his hands. I distinctly remember thinking "this guy (in the nicest way possible) is like a spasticated Carl Barat."

(photo courtesy of Rusty Gray)

His whimsical vocals walking the fine line between genius and terrible. I was and still am, unsure whether I liked it or not. I think I did, but I also think it was terribly linear and repetitive. If I were listening to a recording of the performance I'm sure I would've hated it, it just sounded like a bad band with a half decent singer. But watching this performance with my own eyes and seeing the co-ordination in action, you couldn't help but feel impressed regardless of the sound quality. I really enjoyed it in parts and despised it at others. I found it entertaining for the eyes but unfortunately not for my ears...

Tittering on the edge of absurd and out-right ignorant was 'Stereo Space Cat Overload'. What at first glance looked like a guest appearance from Fatboy Slim and a few of his cronies. These middle aged musicians were here to send a message! They started with a recorded introduction. Not only was it a spoken word introduction on the benefits of drug use, it was also the cue for the band to simultaneously light up their pre-rolled joints for all of us to see just how bad-ass they really were! But it didn’t stop there. The introduction continued and developed into a speech about how God had given us drugs to open our eyes to the world. And that one of the best things kids can do these days is to smoke crack-cocaine... I wasn’t convinced myself, but as the poppers were snorted and the wine necked from the bottle, you couldn't help but think that this band was a joke. Surely this was dripping in irony I hear you cry?!... Well, I wish it was, but the only thing dripping was my clothes. The saddest thing is that this band had some really nice beats and grooves if you could ignore the piercingly harsh electronic hi-hat blaring out from the speakers.

What could have been a really fun, exciting and interesting performance was unfortunately marred by the continuing use of drug references. I was actually quite disgusted to see a group of musicians condoning and inciting the use of such illicit drugs in this way. In previous blog entries I have joked about how it’s a musicians coming of age to consume such illegal substances, however, that was said tongue in cheek of course, and the only tongue in cheek happening on stage with 'Stereo Space Cat Overload' would be them gurning their own faces off.

The evening was just getting started and the bands still to play were Mantis Opera, Choy Dragon, George Club, Black Tambourines and Tiger Years, respectively. Not to mention the DJ's that kept the party going 'till 4am. Harry was my lift and his work time-table was far from 'festival friendly'. As the rain came down harder and the numbness in my toes became surprisingly bearable, we decided it was time to leave - missing a number of good bands as we did so. (most of whom have been previously mentioned on this blog, which was my reasoning behind it, by the way!)

(Photo courtesy of Rusy Gray)

My overall thoughts on the festival as a whole were that it was a highly professional looking and sounding event. I'm convinced that given the right weather and promotion, this festival would have been absolutely incredible. And at £10 a ticket, one of the cheapest too! Some really talented bands, good professional set-up and a intimate yet manageable size. It ticked all of the boxes for a small festival apart from one thing... the weather. It was a shame that I couldn't stay for the whole event but (hopefully) it'll be back next year. If possible though, please bring a bit of sunshine with you next time yeah?!