The ever-popular Cambridge Rock Festival did not disappoint. The crowds enjoyed a line-up that spanned classic, rock, progressive, blues and a wide variety of new and mature talent.
The line up on Saturday was well worth the visit and I trust was a good representative of the whole weekend.
The bands I heard were 4th Labrinth, One Iota, and Spriggan Mist.
4th Labrinth, a local band based near Cambridge gave us a variety of songs that were well worth listening to. The lead singer, Marcel Kunkel, with his charismatic personality, keen sense of humour, great voice and talent as a composer, gave life to this energetic group. He was backed by other great musicians including Claudia McKenzie on bass guitar, Andy Cross and Lachlan Golder on guitar and Tom Winch on drums.
The opening nostalgic and moving ‘Shining Star above’ included some great improvisation by guitarist Andy Cross. The contrast in ‘This Rock and Roll’ had members of the audience spontaneously dancing to its infectious rhythm – Rock and Roll it was! Within their line-up was the well-known Purple Rain – providing something for everyone and the audience happily joined in. This band’s version contained some fantastic improvisations by guitar and voice. The final glory that of theirs was their rendition of ‘Live and Let Die’ – All wonderful stuff.
One Iota came down from York to perform on a very appropriate date: the 2nd of August which was one of the days York celebrates its greatness. The core line-up of the band consists of four members, though they featured a special guest musician for this particular performance. The line-up that performed at the festival included: Adam Dawson – Vocals, keyboards, and guitar, Andrew “Andy” Bowen – Lead guitar and vocals, James Brown – Acoustic guitar and vocals, Phil Everard – Drums and vocals, and Andy Smith – Bass guitar and guest bass player Andy Smith.
This band showed particularly impressive initiative. The versatility of the performers and the fascinating sounds they produced brought their music alive. They even stretched to using falsetto voice – very effectively, I might say. They were also not afraid to take on songs sung by the Rolling Stones including ‘It’s all over now’. The variety of different types of mood and meaning they conveyed was phenomenal. One particularly vibrant performance was ‘Radio on’ with a great beat and splendid episodes. The Festival Anthem they produced contained interesting harmony and sentiments. It is no wonder the crowd grew and grew as this group performed.
Then there came Spriggan Mist a pagan/progressive rock band which also drew a lovely crowd. The joy of this band was in the mystery and the darkness they conveyed, enticing the listeners in. The major draw was the lead singer, Fay Brotherhood, in a fantastic, unforgettable costume sporting huge antlers, which reminded us of ancient symbols of power, and mystery. Old myths and folklore provided the meat of their performance. . Much of the music they performed explored the hidden depths of unknown bringing forward echoes of a fairyland past, with fairies, spells and the like. We were well reminded to avoid treading on bluebells.
The lineup for Spriggan Mist at the Cambridge Rock Festival featured Fay Brotherhood – Lead vocals, acoustic guitar, Baz Cilia – Bass guitar, vocals, Maxine Cilia – Guitar, keytar, alto saxophone, woodwind, backing vocals, Neil Wighton – Guitar, and new boy Chris Friday – Drums.
Photo credit Rosemary Westwell
Their performance was fantastic. The sounds they produced were often out of this world drawing on our imaginations as though we had reached outer space. The full group of instruments sometimes all played together and yet, also improvised within the texture produced – amazing. In addition, ancient sounds from a flute or recorder added to the historical authenticity.
The lead singer, Fay Brotherhood, sounded very like Kate Bush with her high pitched dramatic call. What was particularly impressive was that there was no sign of strain in Fay’s voice, as we can often hear in other rock artists. This group were so good that the attending crowd roared for an encore which they were duly given.
From this small taste, this event must have been amazing and well worth attending if the remaining bands were anything like those I heard.
