The sound of bagpipes is always going to draw a crowd at a Scottish festival, so as the music of Celtallica filled the Voodoo Stage, a large crowd began to form. All the male members of Celtallica were sporting kilts and seemed extremely happy to be playing at the Wizard Festival. As Celtallica worked their way through the set, they managed to get some of the audience dancing in the mud at the front of the stage. Celtallica also included some strangely enjoyable Metallica covers during their set, which included Enter Sandman. They then finished up on Scotland The Brave much to the crowd’s delight.
Indian Red Lopez, Freedom Stage
Opening to My Eyes, Indian Red Lopez kicked into an engaging set for both the ears and eyes. Present behind the band was a projected video show, which matched their catchy and danceable rock music. The band worked through a set focussing on songs from their recent EP, which pleased the local audience.The Travelling Band, Voodoo Stage
Kicking off the Voodoo Stage’s “Manchester takeover”, The Travelling Band launched into a set of their own brand of folk-rock. Playing songs from their recent album Under The Pavement they managed to receive a warm response from the crowd.
Bombskare, Voodoo Stage
Even though Bombskare had been given an hour-long set, they still insisted on telling the crowd that “we don’t have much time”. Even so, their fast paced ska music pleased the crowd and managed to get some people dancing. No-one’s dancing, however, could compete with that of the members of Bombskare, as they boogied along throughout their whole set. Luckily, their music lived up to their dancing as well, and you could not help but have a smile on your face as you listened to their fun and catchy songs.Right Hand Left, Banshee Stage
The local lads, Right Hand Left, managed to gather a fairly big crowd in the Banshee Stage. Shooting through a set including songs such as Reinvent Yourself and All I Can Say, Right Hand Left barely took their foot off the gas. It was obvious that Right Hand Left had been enjoying the festival so far, as frontman Bobby informed the crowd of his drunken escapades the night before.
The Little Kicks, Banshee Stage
Local heroes The Little Kicks took to the Banshee Stage to big cheers from the crowd. Working through a set of their guitar driven indie rock, The Little Kicks put in a stellar performance. Having borrowed the drummer from Right Hand Left for the day, frontman Steven joked “we borrowed our drummer from the Ting Tings”.Hip Parade, Freedom Stage
Being runners-up in the Orange unsignedAct competition earlier in the year obviously hasn’t fazed Hip Parade, whose upbeat brand of rock n roll infected the whole crowd in the Freedom Stage tent. Despite the set being hampered by a faulty guitar and broken drum pedal, the band hit out with punchy tunes, and certainly deserved a bigger crowd than they had.
As the band kicked into Sunshine, the crowd (including members of Right Hand Left and Luva Anna) went wild and started throwing straw, which had been used to soak up the mud, in the air. Picking some up off of the stage, frontman Rob exclaimed, “It’s like a fucking farm up here!” Pulsing drums and catchy hooks were plentiful during Getting Chased, a high-octane track. And energy definitely seemed to be a major theme in the Glasgow boys’ set, which was a non-stop barrage of rock n roll. Watch out for these guys in the months to come.Twisted Wheel, Voodoo Stage
Playing rock n roll tinged with a hint of Oasis, the crowd in the Voodoo Stage tent loved Twisted Wheel! Dancing and bouncing seemed to be the name of the game as everyone went crazy; at one point a head on a stick was spotted being waved above the audience. Playing songs new and old, the band entertained the gathered masses, and slower track Strife really took the crowd by storm.
Buzzcocks, Voodoo Stage
The atmosphere in the packed Voodoo Stage tent before Buzzcocks took to the stage was electric. Playing high-energy 70s punk, the band stormed through songs spanning their extensive back catalogue. Pete Shelley’s voice has held out after all these years, and along with Steve Diggle made sure the crowd were having a great time. Although this was probably the crowd with the highest average age at the festival, they weren’t afraid to get stuck in and were seen to be dancing and bouncing throughout. After an encore which included the ever-classic Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've), Diggle proved that he still had the punk spirit as he threw his mic stand across the stage along with his guitar.
The Charlatans, Voodoo Stage 
Being the main attraction of the weekend, it was hardly a surprise that one of the loudest cheers of the day came when The Charlatans took to the Voodoo Stage. The Charlatans worked through a career spanning set, much to the delight of the crowd at Wizard. Unfortunately during the set there was a stage invasion and, at one point, sound problems however The Charlatans managed to ignore these unfortunate situations and carry on to play an outstanding set. As frontman Tim Burgess announced “this is our last song”, The Charlatans burst into This Is The End, before leaving the stage amidst the cheers of the crowd.
The loudest cheer of the day, though, actually came when The Charlatans returned to the stage for their encore. The band once again played outstandingly and left the audience still wanting more as they left the stage for the final time.
More photos are here...
No comments:
Post a Comment