Gig report: Eureka Stockade @ The Secret Garden Party Festival

Band: Eureka Stockade
Venue: The Secret Garden Party Festival, Cambridgeshire
Date: 24/07/11
Audience: Hungover, but plenty of them, very appreciative
Set: Through Every Darkness, Resistance, Been There Before, Caught In A Fire, Without You, All Alone, Sharks
Notes: I love the Secret Garden Party. Okay, so I lost my car for a day and got a bit flustered, okay, so it rained a bit and they don't make it easy for you to get a taxi there, okay so it feels a little overcrowded these days and I can't help but remember the good old days when it was a bit smaller, okay so Alabama 3 were a bit rubbish...but it's the Secret Garden Party, one of the most exciting things to hit Cambridgeshire in my lifetime, a big whopper of a festival with some incredible bands, incredible people and a cheery vibe that is relentlessly addictive. We were playing in the Living Room tent, which is the best tent of the festival and don't let anyone tell you otherwise - it's decor, it's choice of bands, it's quirkiness kind of sums up the whole festival in one medium-sized tent. We were the first band (on at 1pm) of the day, following a cool DJ bloke who played vinyl from the '60's. Sunday is the hangover day - the audience, whilst many of them attractive, looked drowsy and sleepy. It doesn't matter though because the band were too, as we all had a tipple or two last night watching Blondie and other such treats, so we were all pretty much in the same boat. We played well today - acoustically but with guts and passion, and it was great to have the always fantastic Anna Scott with us on cello, she fills in the gaps nicely and adds a whole new dimension to the sound. We went down very well, and gave away a massive pile of CD's, we're happy to be at the festival, it was nice to give some stuff away. Eureka Stockade works acoustically - I think I'm starting to prefer us slightly stripped down but still with a full kit, we're recording a live album in this format at High Barn in September and I can't wait for that. Today in the meantime was great - I wish I had the energy to write more about it, but it's been a long three days of watching some outstanding bands and drinking too much and I need sleep.