Cerne Abbas Brewery
Day One
Last year’s pairing of music aficionado Simon Guy and Black Water County guitarist Brad proved that two men can organise a piss-up in a brewery and a bloody good one too, with a whole host of top band’s thrown in too. Last year’s Barnstomper Festival was a significant date on the 2021 Summer gig calendar, with a line-up the envy of many. This year we return to the perfect setting of the Cerne Abbas Brewery; where head brewer Vic Irvine and his team have laid on a plethora of tasty beverages to keep everyone’s thirst quenched throughout the weekend. Sound-wise we are in the very capable hands of the experienced Steve Smith from RMV Sounds on the main stage and Black Water County’s Gavin Coles on the second stage.
Everything starts on this warm Friday evening with a pillow fight, Norwich punk band Hotwired has the honour of opening the event and have laid out a load of their own branded pillows in front of the stage. As they start to play their brand of fast-paced punk, it draws people in and instead of the usual mosh pit antics the pillows are put to good use as people start a series of fun pillow fights…..this could easily catch on. The band give us their two barrels of full-on energy, kicking things off in some style.
Next up are Dorset’s undisputed Kings of Cowpunk Pronghorn (Who have stepped in to replace the billed Bluetown Rumble) who formed in 1992 and today is something of a landmark for them as they release their much anticipated 10-track new album “Welcome to Pronghorn Country” on Lunaria Records. We are treated to new live cuts including the foot-stomping “Psycho Ceilidh” with its driving fiddle and banjo. The momentum is kept high with further tracks including the infectiously danceable “Shady Grove”, along with the Gypsy Joe Mackintosh-led “Ghost Train”. The six-piece easily entertains everyone in the place, with a barn possibly the most perfect setting for these Dorset yokel stars who are adored by so many.
After a quick trip to the bar for a rather moreish Strawberry Sunshine cider, it’s time to head over to the Convoy Cabaret stage for the next act Masau’u. They are fronted by local popular musician Chris “Kipper” Roberts; featuring Cee Luna’s Jamie Parker (Guitar) and Jack Ansell (Bass) along with experienced stickman Rick Veall. Together they create a beautiful noise with some charming well-constructed songs including “Tear in his Eye” featuring some really impressive effect-laden guitar work from Jamie and “Peacock” a song about a hangover. The acoustic and electric guitars combo; along with some solid rhythmic patterns all work together, impressing all onlookers.
Next, it’s really time to get the party started with a bit of brass-laden Ska from Dorset Combo Guns Of Navarone, featuring no less than four members of Pronghorn who are willingly pulling a double shift today. Frontman Dynamic Dave easily whips up the crowd with a impressive vocal delivery, ably backed by the ultra-tight rhythm section of Aussie Mike on bass, Adam on Keys and Tim on drums along with Tony’s spot-on guitar work. We are treated to a host of classics including “Gangsters”, “Woolly Bully”, Bad Manners “Inner London Violence” and a barn stomping version of the Madness classic “Night Boat To Cairo”. They leave the stage with the crowd wanting more; sadly however with a tight time schedule it’s not to be, anyway founder member Lamma has an appointment with a cold pint of cider at the bar. All that blowing on his Sax is thirsty work apparently…….
It’s no secret that the majority of the audience is clearly impressed with some of this year’s acts, who’d have thought we would see some of these bands turn up in an old barn in Cerne Abbas. Each band turn up with much enthusiasm and one band who made the trip down from London was Imperial Leisure who bound onto this high stage and immediately create their own party atmosphere. If you could only bottle their eagerness to perform, it’s so infectious. Before we can get settled into their set frontman Denis Smith leaps off the stage, handing out cheap champagne to members of the audience and flings a host of beach balls over the crowd.
The nine-piece features a four-piece brass section, keyboards, bass and electric guitar mix ska/punk and hip hip; calling it Alt/Ska, creating a very danceable and fresh energetic sound. With songs like the positively bouncing “Rolling”, “Mexico” and the French earworm of “Ques Que Sais” they deliver in all areas. A drunken reveller called Dave who is apparently getting married is invited up on stage to add some vocals to “Beast”, however due to his considerable consumption he is capable of very little! Denis leaps off the stage again (with no ill effects) and continues to party with the crowd with a sing-a-long to the Eurythmics classic “Sweet Dreams” with more champagne bottles opened and sprayed around the barn. I’m certainly happy to give them the accolade of being one of the best bands of the weekend; due to the efforts put into their performance, along with the sheer quality of the faultless music.
Tonight’s headliners Folk/Rockers Holy Moly And The Crackers have travelled over six hours along motorways and country roads to be with us tonight, all the way from Newcastle. Lead singers Conrad Bird and Ruth Patterson have surrounded themselves with a unique set of musicians to give the perfect backdrop to their musical creations. The band are really hard to pigeonhole as there are a host of subtle influences coming from a variety of locations.
The largely unfamiliar band to this area easily draw the audience in with a host of great songs including “Cry Wolf”, “Naked In Budapest” and a brand new song from their forthcoming album ‘Bad Habits’. We are treated to delectable harmonies along with some creative brilliance with accordion, violin, trumpet and guitar along with toe-tapping rhythmic goodness. The band are clearly humbled by the warm welcome given to them; especially being so far away from home, good music obviously travels well. After a beautiful duet from Conrad and Ruth on tear-jerker “I Will See You Again” the whole band return for a storming version of Rob Heron’s “Whiskey Ain’t No Good” ending the evening on an absolute high.
Videos
Links
https://barnstomper.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/barnstomperfestival
Words & Media David Chinery (Chinners).
