Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

Home Service last played Cambridge twenty five years ago, a recording of that gig was recently discovered and prompted a reunion. Scarily their anti Thatcher material (John Tams' shout of "Thatcher, Thatcher, Thatcher" got the inevitable response of "Out, Out, Out" and was quite joyous) sounds as relevant today as it did then. Their mix of a brass section and electric guitar may sound a little dated but it has lost none of its potency.

It was inevitable that there would be an artist who would test my resolve, one who would make me want to leave my post. I didn't think it would be Rumer who would give me these thoughts of deserting (Femi Kuti & The Positive Force was the most likely) but between ten to five and twenty to six there was no worse place to be. She has a very good voice, comparisons to Karen Carpenter and Carole King are fair, but her performance was dull, the dullest that I have seen (not just over the weekend, but ever).

Femi Kuti & The Positive Force was some one I had not expected to like. I am not keen on Afro-Beat, it has too much of a jazz leaning to appeal to me, but my opinion has now been changed. They were the antithesis of Rumer and their appearance could not have come at a better time. They were loud and bright, they danced, they sang and, when Femi Kuti had something to say, he said it. His views on politicians were made more forcefully than anyone.

Mary Chapin Carpenter has been an important musical figure in my life for many years. She bridged the generation gap between my parents and me (when you first realise that you have some musical common ground with your mum and dad it is a very strange feeling) and a group of my friends, my parents plus an aunt an uncle all went to see her at The Hammersmith Odeon. Her show was, unfortunately, a little disappointing. Her voice was great, the musicians peerless, her songs happily dark but I couldn't help but think she was going through the motions and it was all a little too precise but, maybe I'm unfairly comparing her with a performance many years ago.

I've always struggled to get why Laura Marling is a popular as she is. I've never disliked anything of hers that I have heard but I always think "why her? Why not anyone of the other countless singer songwriters I hear?" Well, now I know: not exactly, not precisely, but there is a definite something about her that sets her apart from rest (and it not just her Iron Maiden tee shirt either). When explaining that not all her lyrics are true she quotes a song that says: "When my husband left me this morning" and tells all that she has never been married. "Yes!" shouts one hopeful lad from the audience.

The Peatbog Faeries are the final act of the day. They have to leave the stage after five minutes due to a complete lack of sound. The first chants of "Turn it up, Turn it up" were to be expected and a little amusing. When it changed to "Louder, Louder" and it was obvious that things were more serious than one of the noise boys just forgetting to turn the volume knob clockwise things were slightly unpleasant. As the band left the stage to boos things were decidedly ugly. This was the first technical hitch I had seen all weekend, a remarkable feat considering how much was going on. All in all, The Peatbog Faeries properly started their set about fifteen minutes late and played their highly danceable Celtic disco for about fifteen minutes longer than advertised - so no harm done.

This was an unusual day. I have never stayed in one place for so long and I don't think that I will do it again in a hurry. I can see the attraction of setting camp for the day, of not having to continually manoeuvre your position and, even when I was enduring the tedium of Rumer, I had got out of the habit of checking the programme every five minutes to see who I was missing. And there were fine acts that I missed: Caitlin Rose, Nathaniel Rateliff, Trevor Moss & Hannah-Lou, Mozzy Green were all pencilled in to be seen before the festival started, so next year I will be back wandering.

The Jacket
Picture Credits:Neil King, Home Service:Phil Carter