At the (G)Edge of the
Peaks
Sunday 26th August 2012
Sunday saw the latest northern instalment of David Gedge’s
boutique festival, which has found a home in the quaint surroundings of
Holmfirth’s Picturedrome. The old cinema retains many of its original features
but has had seats stripped out, new bar areas built and a bit of a cosmetic
makeover; meaning that it makes the perfect location for the first band on the
main stage, David Gedge’s ‘other’ band, Cinerama.
Now I’m not a massive fan of this band and their chamber pop
output, but I absolutely love The Wedding Present - more on them later - yet I
enjoyed today’s opening spot far more than when I have seen them previously. I
don’t know if it is that the current lineup just seems to work so well together
or that the material has grown on me, but they impressed me and I found myself
humming some of their tunes between acts, not that I had very long to wait.
Now this is the best bit about At the Edge of the Peaks:
there are two stages, the main stage and a second stage up on the balcony, so
that while one is in use the other is cleared and set up for the next act,
meaning very little time spent watching sound checks! The openers upstairs,
Cornelius Crane from Manchester, kicked the afternoon off with a fine
repertoire of songs about life on the other side of the Pennines; they worked
hard and put on a good show, despite the fact that their front man had to
perform around a number of strategically placed buckets that were steadily
filling up as the biblical deluge outside made its way through the ancient
roof!
Queenie & The Pawns followed these lads, performing
after Cinerama vacated the main stage and they couldn’t have been more
different, soulful folk rock with a sense of humour and some truly skilful
playing captured and held the balcony area’s attention throughout a set which
could only be criticised for being too short.
As David Gedge curates the festival, this is also an
interesting insight into what he enjoys. There are bands with links to his own
bands like Yaz Bebek and The Evil Son, bands he enjoys himself like Nightmare
Air and, in booking Cud, bands he grew up with!
He also invited Catriona Child along to read from her novel
Trackman, which explores the ways that music can link into our emotions and
create a soundtrack to the ups and downs of our lives; the chapter she chose to
share with us featured The Wedding present’s song My Favourite Dress, obviously!
She was followed onto the main stage by Nightmare Air, a California noise trio
but by now we were preparing for the first of the main events. By the time Cud
hit the stage the audience had focused its energy on the main stage. Opening
track Purple Love Balloon started the
crowd bouncing in delirious unison and they didn’t stop until the band left the
stage a sweaty, steamy 45 minutes later. It now appears customary for somebody
to cover Kennedy to save TWP the
bother of playing it. Last year it was the all-girl J Rock outfit Pinky Piglets
(now known as Toquiwa)
but this time Cud integrated it brilliantly into their final song, Only A Prawn In Whitby. A glorious return
of the original line up in front of a more than happy crowd set the stage for
the headliners perfectly.
Unbelievably, it’s 21 years since the release of Seamonsters, the Steve Albini produced
follow up to Bizarro and tonight, as
with every night on the current tour, it was performed in full. Now, that’s not
the easiest listen you could come across and David himself acknowledged that,
ending with the classic You Should Always
Keep in Touch With Your Friends to both lighten the mood and reinforce the
message of an afternoon of exactly what it says on the tin, Mr Gedge and
friends having some bank holiday fun.
The verdict: while maybe it lacks the festival feel in terms
of size, it’s a great day out because of the venue, the quality of the acts and
the opportunity to see something different; where else can you get yourself
added into a Lee Thacker limited edition cartoon strip! Another reason
it’s a raging success is the relaxed atmosphere with the bands hanging around
to see the other bands and chat with their fans. See you there next year?
Matt Rhodie
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