Thursday
It was a change of genre, from Celtic to psychefolk. Duo, Naomi Randall and Tom Gaskell are joined by an additional guitarist, whose name I managed to miss, for their set, which featured extensive use of effects pedals to complement the guitar, bass and occasional sitar of the main duo.
I have to say I struggled with the start of their set, they seemed a touch nervous and that found its way into the opening couple of numbers, but somewhere along the line, they managed to find a confidence and that really seemed to lift them and their music.
It's time for another change of directions/genres that Cambridge is rightly famous for as Aussie-Irish, husband and wife duo Hat Fitz and Cara (Robinson) take the stage and by take the stage, I mean with a full blown aural assault that switched between folk and blues, but never once swayed from 100% commitment.
The music, predominantly, percussion and guitar driven and what a guitar, it almost looks like it's been built with raw copper, with a patina to go with it, a guitar to match the personality of its owner, Hat Fitz. His electric looks like it might have a few stories to tell of its own, but pales in comparison to its acoustic cousin.
Stories are what Hat Fitz and Cara are about, life changing experiences delivered in five minute vignettes, played with emotion and passion and at one stage also delivered through the expressive medium of dance, with Cara vacating her percussion to deliver a highly enthusiastic jig. For a band that plays predominantly seated, they have a huge amount of get up and go.
The rain totally forgotten the only word that can be applied now is hot, towel required, sweat clearing hot, both on and off stage. The atmosphere is definitely charged.
Hat Fitz and Cara delivered a high octane with just the occasional small gap to allow everyone to breathe, recover a little energy and who knows perhaps avoid a heart attack or two.
Heart attack avoiding very much remains the name of the game for the next act, Skinny Lister, the band for whom, it is alleged the first ever barrier at Club Tent has been brought in for. It has to be said loud and raucous are the order of the day for what turns out to be a set for which the phrase energetic was created for.
Without any doubt, Skinny Lister are a show band, a festival band that combine good humour with punk folk sensibilities. Though I am beginning suspect that the barrier is there to protect the crowd from the band, rather than the other way around.
During the course of the set the lead singer was over the barrier and dancing her way into the crowd, something I'd never seen before at the Club Tent. That was followed by later in the set by something I'd never seen before anywhere, the double bass player going over the barrier and crowd surfing into the darkness whilst still playing his instrument. Skinny Lister certainly know how to entertain.
The bass player remerges from the crowd and getting back over the barrier almost looks like at outtake from the field gun run. The pointy end of the bass almost takes an eye out, but before long Michael Camino is sat on the side of stage once again beating the hell out of his instrument. Just when you thought bass swinging was a lost art, you are, thankfully, proven wrong.
Skinny Lister are a fantastic way to finish off the opening night at Cambridge. I think they would be a fun addition to open any festival. It was a good decision to camp out at The Club Tent. Three difficult choices followed by Skinny Lister, Pokey I'll catch later in the festival, but Phil & Hannah and Catrin & Seckou aren't playing again this year. On the plus side I missed Newton Faulkner for one of the best opening Thursdays in a while.
I keep threatening to bring a pedometer to Cambridge to see just how much distance I cover during the course of the festival, well for the 50th I actually got around to doing it. Distance count for the Thursday 7403 steps.