Ipswich Music Festival 2007

Today was the 16th Ipswich Music Festival Day at Christchurch Park Ipswich. I think we have been visiting annually for about 5 years now and for a free festival it is a great day. Apart from a car park fee of £3 there is no cost.

There were I believe 6 stages and from 12pm to about 7pm live music of all types from acoustic,punk,rock,country,folk and jazz.

This year we decided to camp out at the Suffolk Radio Stage mainly I think because the line up of bands looked good, to hear the Sgt pepper album played by a copy band and to hear Stephen Foster. ( if there can be a radio DJ as good as John Peel then Stephen Foster is doing a pretty good job).

That said we still moved around some of the other stages as well.

At 12pm we saw the Caution Horses .

The singer Andy Heasman sounds uncannily like the lead singer from the Beautiful South Paul Heaton. We were just discussing this when Andy Heasman mentioned this himself. I don't know if he always drops this in but there is no need to mention it really. They were good and we were almost tempted to buy their album Accidental Music. I don't think we did partly because they were first act on and they rushed off fairly quickly. There was only a small crowd for them and it must be a bit disappointing having to go on first knowing this.

Next on were Mohawk

who went down very well with the crowd as the numbers built up even to the point of their being a bit of a mosh at the end. A 3 piece band from Felixstowe they were a good rock band all of them entertaining. Well worth watching and loud!

I popped off for a short while just to catch Smokin Hogs on the SGR FM stage. They are a rhythm and blues band and looked good but just need a bit more stage presence to grab the crowd attention.

By this point the rest of the family had popped into Ipswich Town centre for some shopping so I was routed with the bags and chairs at the Suffolk Radio Stage. next on were The Giants not really my cup of tea but obviously a lot of talent and a good singer.

Next on were Words and Music a two piece who had been built up by Stephen Foster and Suffolk Radio as the star attraction on their stage for the day as they were playing the Beatles album St Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. I have to say I was disappointed mainly by the bands negative vibes and the patter between songs, maybe it was nerves but they gave the impression that they were just learning the tracks. There were lots of pauses while they waited for the recorded backing track with the instrumentals to kick in and it became a little unclear what they were playing and what was recorded almost like a karaoke . Probably a bit harsh as this set coincided with a heavy shower and recreating the Beatles sound is not easy.

At this point I decided on a switch of stage and down to the CSV stage which had on a band I have not seen before called Danger's Close

Really enjoyed this band one of the highlights of the day for me. Rip roaring punk music when I saw the bands name in the gig guide I had hoped they were something like Penetration and had got their name from Danger Signs but clearly not. They play there own music and and you can tune in for a listen on their site on this link. My camera is not very good for videos but I had a go here but the camera couldn't cope and pick up the sound very well at all. With apologies to the band I have included it anyway.

After this were the highlight of the day for me Red Flag 77 .

A really enjoyable band with a real spirit and interest in looking after their fans. Loved the football crazy song and the blow up footballs and the lovely big bottle of booze shared by Rikki Flag with the crowd. I have loaded the video but again sound quality is poor but gives you an idea of the crowd and the fun of the event. I am going to have a look to buy their cd's .

Another good festival, if you haven't been before then I suggest you consider going next year.