Gig report: Ickworth Park Relay For Life Festival, Ickworth

Bands: Eureka Stockade, Flaming June, Dowsing For Sound
Venue: Ickworth Park, Horringer
Date: 23/06/12
Audience: Changed throughout the day thanks to the unpredictable weather, those who did stick with it though were very enthusiastic
Sets: Eureka Stockade - Caught In A Fire, Been There Before, Without You, Violence, Goodbye You've Gone, Heroes Fall, The Drinking Song, Through Every Darkness, All Alone. Flaming June - Rejoice, Under My Skin, You Do Moody So Well, The Devil's Daughter, Nerves Of Steel, I Know What It's Like, I Feel Love (Louise solo), The Insane Ex-Girlfriend Parade, Rumplestiltskin, Stop The Ride, Wednesdays And Weekends. Dowsing For Sound - Keep The Car Running, What You Know, Safe From Harm, Take Your Mama Out, Illuminated, Noches/Whirl/Puirt, Tonight We Fly, Sweet Disposition, Take Me Home, Beautiful Child, Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall. 
Notes: As predicted, that was a long day. The second year running I've had the pleasure of playing in multiple bands at the beautiful grounds of Ickworth Park as part of the Relay For Life day in aid of Cancer Research. It's a big-scale, often moving event - organised by an inspiring team including the wonderful Lorraine Cockerton. The grounds of Ickworth are just stunning - I don't normally feel anything towards architecture or just buildings in general, but our little stage was set to an amazing backdrop, it seemed even nicer than last year, if that were at all possible. The stewards were also particularly helpful when it came to getting me as close to the stage as possible to unload and just seemed to really appreciate the artists involved, this kind of thing is virtually unheard of at festivals these days at this level. 

Alongside playing in three bands I took part in the relay with a team made up of fellow Dowsing For Sound people. I did it dressed as Santa Claus, it's a long story (typically which involves trying to impress somebody, I am not going to try and impress anybody ever again), and although my red trousers kept falling down (I was wearing another pair underneath, obviously) and my beard snapped off half way through my third gig of the day, it kept me warm as the chill kicked in and kept people smiling, because at the end of the day everybody loves Christmas, even in mid-June. Eureka Stockade were my first band of the day, back with our original bassist, the legendary and frighteningly funky Nathan Jones - our first show with him for about 9 months I think.  I thought we were worryingly lacking a sense of togetherness in the rehearsal on Friday, but the gig itself was really lovely - perhaps the bad rehearsal woke us up a bit, and we were pretty tight. It was the first time my parents had seen Eureka and my dad called this morning to sing our praises, which is nice because he does talk an awful lot of sense. Flaming June were next up - I had to sit down for this one (normally I like to play congas stood up) as my Santa trousers kept falling down, so on a personal level my own performance was a little on the relaxed/lazy side of things but Louise, Steve and Clare were on good form - and the songs are so punchy too. Flaming June are a lot of things, and as I pointed out after the Pidley event a few months back, perhaps the strongest quality to the group is that they're a really good festival band - it always seems to work. 


After a quick rest, in which I sat in the rain and watched a little theatre, and then my old chum Ade's band, the consistently entertaining Wreck Scene, Dowsing For Sound were due on stage. There was an obvious problem though - the plan was to be the same as last year and have the choir on stage and band off it. But with the weather conditions becoming more difficult (and apparently rain and amps don't go together), we tried to have the band under separate cover - before realising we couldn't see the choir and they couldn't see us. So we attempted what looked like the impossible - to cram the whole choir and band on the tiny stage, and hope the sound somehow works out. It shouldn't have done, but it did. I was basically behind the choir, which was a bit strange (following Andrea's direction through a tiny gap of singers) but when you're surrounded by such lovely people it's always good fun. Musically we were without Sammy and Richard, both of whom were away, so slightly scaled down with just Andrea, Nicky, Gav and myself as the band, and due to the size restraints I had to play a scaled-down kit. With everything against us, the rain getting heavier, slightly cramped performance space, the pressure suddenly seemed to be off. As a result, it was a truly enjoyable experience - the choir seemed void of any nerves and just sang their hearts out, the band played with smiles, fluency and freedom. Perhaps these things were missing from the Corn Exchange gig last week. Great fun - the songs have completely sunk in now, it was a confident performance and you could just feel everyone on stage really getting a buzz out of it. Lovely, lovely gig. 


After packing away, grabbing a drink and a little banter, we watched the Candle Of Hope ceremony, a touching reminder of what the whole event was in aid of. The rain continued, but the spirits were never dampened. A nice day, on top of the three bands I did the relay - my first hour was earlier in the day (joined by various people - including my Eureka Stockade bandmates at one point), and then some more in the late evening (some unscheduled laps with Jemma - really nice to just catch up and rant a bit, and then my final hour was at midnight with Nina - the conversation flowed and the time just flew by). Decided not to camp, it was the right decision I think - I still had enough energy to drive safely, and was home by 2am, so not too bad. 


A busy day, and a worthwhile one. I feel lucky to be playing events like these, and there's a few more coming up in the next couple of weeks with various bands, it's bloody lovely being a drummer sometimes. And the people you meet - people are just great, you know. But moving on...the previews for our fringe shows open in less than two weeks time and I need to get my head around this acting thing, sharpish, and the next couple of rehearsals are so important. I need to focus, get a haircut (I'm on the verge of becoming a long-haired hippy, must nip that in the bud straight away) and achieve what I know can be achieved. After the England v Italy game tonight, of course.