Well we’ll get the bad things out of the way straight away. Hardly anyone turned up, venues closed, bands got shifted around and we missed a lot of what we came to see but, but…. that wasn’t the point of the day. The point was to raise awareness of Mental Health issues in the area and I think on that score it was a success. There were people out (about enough for 2 venues to be full) and I saw some great bands. I also spoke to the group from MIND who spent all day getting their message across. Good luck to them all and well done. Also well done to Aaron Gray who looked a bit frazzled on the day but remember that old saying; “The man who never made a mistake never did anything”. Aaron stood up and was counted. So well done to him for getting off his backside and trying to make a difference. I am sure lessons have been learnt and I expect next years to be a roaring success.

Now onto the bands that we saw; most of these performed at The Westgarth Social Club which had a decent crowd all day to see its brand new downstairs stage. The other venue was The Dickens. But  on both occassions that I ventured there  it was very sparsley populated. This was a great shame as the venue is superb and the bands on show were good. Also a big well done to the venues that supported this venture. Hopefully they will do the same next year.

VILLAIN THOMAS: Great name, great attitude, lovely female vocals, a bit Jethro Tull, a bit Bruce Springsteen, a bit Neil Young, played to 2 men and a dog but did so with smiles on their faces, hope to see them live in Llareggub in the near future.

PAINTINGS OF SHIPS: My favourite band of the day!!! C86, The Pastels, Shop Assistants, The Wolfhounds, indie-schmindie but with top tunes. Loved Stars for Satellites and their new 4 track CD is well worth a look.

ATHLETES IN PARIS: Probably not athletes, certainly not from  Paris but from the North bank of the Tyne, they are undecided about being A Certain Ratio or Level 42!!! Lets hope they choose the former. Also a bit of the Kane Gang and well done on their postive attitude to playing in front of about 10 people.

THE BROKEN BROADCAST: Lush melodies, ambient sounds, reminded me a bit of Radiohead……….. it was all going so well until Strawberry Jam!!! The music is great but the lyrics need a severe overhauling!!!

THE WOVEN PROJECT: I enjoyed their set and they had the biggest crowd of the day. Lots of instruments on show and again the music is far superior to the lyrics.

JIMMY & THE SOUNDS: I only caught the end of their set as I was watching the Woven Project. When I arrived I thought they had cancelled as the venue was empty. A big change from the last time I saw them at the SIF when they had a great crowd to see them. Those who stayed in missed a treat as they are fast becoming not a great local band but a great band. The evening was made that little bit better by the dancing grannies. (See the photos on Facebook; Link below)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=239785&id=153421781639&saved#!/album.php?aid=239785&id=153421781639

I went home without going to the big do at The Crown. By all accounts this was a great gig with Gabby Young and other Animals stealing the show. I look forward to next year and maybe a slimmed down version of this years. Well Done to all those who did something…..

Also a big thanks to Tracy Hyman whose photos are used in this article. The ones on facebook are mine!!! Now you know why I used hers!!!!

LINKS:

MIND   http://www.mind.org.uk/

VILLAIN THOMAS    http://www.myspace.com/villainthomas

PAINTINGS OF SHIPS    http://www.myspace.com/paintingsofships

ATHLETES IN PARIS    http://www.myspace.com/athletesinparis

THE BROKEN BROADCAST   http://www.myspace.com/thebrokenbroadcast

THE WOVEN PROJECT    http://www.myspace.com/thewovenproject

JIMMY & THE SOUNDS    http://www.myspace.com/jimmyandthesounds

GABBY YOUNG AND OTHER ANIMALS     http://www.myspace.com/gabbyyoung

By peter on October 16, 2010