Guilfest 2009

I'd never been to Guilfest before, and I hadn't intended to this year. However, I won weekend tickets and found myself camped in a field going through the program and looking for bands that I recognised. Casting its net wide, Guilfest has a very, very varied line up. Being on crutches due to a ligament injury I knew I may not make it through the weekend, so I was determined to enjoy as much as I could before it all got too much.

The first band that we watched were McCavitie's Cat [7] on the main stage, who are a kind of bluegrass-skiffley sort of band. not normally my thing, but some ridiculous hats and a good sense of humour led me to enjoy them quite a bit.

Tragedy: A heavy metal tribute to the Bee Gees [8] followed, and they do exactly what their name suggests. In silver spandex costumes, with a great stage presence, they are exactly what the Bee Gees would have been if they'd been into Black Sabbath. Fantastic fun, although I can imagine it would get a bit wearing if they played for more than about 45 minutes.

The first band I ever saw live was the Wildhearts, so it's fitting that Ginger [8] was the 400th band that I've seen. It was odd seeing him play, but not hearing any Wildhearts tracks. His solo material isn't a million times removed though, and is thoroughly enjoyable in its own right. Despite an apathetic crowd, Ginger put in a good set, but it did leave me wanting to watch the Wildhearts.

Next, The Stranglers [10]. I've always liked them, but it had never occurred to me to see them live before. To my surprise, they put in what was probably the best performance that I saw all weekend, playing all of their hits. The most amazing thing was how fresh they sounded, almost as if they were a band just starting out. Truly remarkable.

It was a hard act to follow, but Motorhead [9] have decades of experience doing just that. It would be easy for them to just turn out a workman-like performance at this stage of their career, playing the classics and collecting the paycheck. Thankfully, after opening with Iron Fist they played a lot of more obscure songs, before rounding out the set and encore with the likes of Overkill, Bomber and, of course, Ace Of Spades. A large part of the audience seemed to be there just for them, and they didn't disappoint.

After the bands there were various tents filled with such delights as a barn dance and a 70's disco. It was back to the tent for me though, so that I might stand a chance of making it through the next day.

After a trip into Guilford itself to have breakfast and get more beer, we returned to catch the end of the Dolly Rockers [6] on the main stage. Billed as a girl band with attitude, they lacked any kind of edge. We then made our way over to the Rock Sound cave and caught the end of Pint Shot Riot [6], who were perfectly inoffensive, although it would appear that they would like to be Feeder when they grow up.

After a trip back to the tent for beer, we returned to the main stage and caught the start of Toploader [2]. Truly abysmal, I had forgotten just how bad a band they are. For one terrible moment it looked as if we would be trapped for the whole set, but we managed to escape, making our way to the Rock Sound cave where Eureka Machines [7] were playing an enjoyable set, which culminated in a cover of 'Wonderful World', quite daring for a pop punk band given that Joey Ramone made it his. They did it well, and could well be a band to watch.

We stayed in the tent for Laika Dog [8], best known for having Tony Wright from Terrorvision in the band. They wouldn't have been out of place in the 90's, and would probably have been quite bug had they been around at the time. As it is, they sounded quite dated. They did it well though.

Eddie Reader [7] was next up on the second stage. Her voice is incredible, and I would have liked to have stayed, but I was back off to the Rock Sound cave to catch last minute additions Fei Comodo [9]. In theory, I shouldn't like them. They're a poppy metalcore band with far too much energy, but they know how to work a crowd and got the best reaction that I saw all weekend, even managing a wall of death, much to the bemusement of the security. A few songs were flabby, but they have huge potential.

We stayed in the tent for Devil Sold His Soul [8], who are a very competent post-hardcore band. They seemed to lack something, although it could just have been having to follow Fei Comodo that did it. Unfortunately, they turned out to be the last band that I saw. I had intended to stick around for Kylesa, but the pain in my knee coupled with the horrific weather that was making it impossible to manoeuvre my crutches meant that I went home early.

It was a good weekend, and it was a shame I had to leave. Fortunately it's not the last festival that I have planned for this summer.