Compass Point
Festival, Coopers Field,
Reviewed by Guy Salvador
The rain held of
again, which was pretty cool as it pissed down all the night before & I had
the wellies dusted off as trench foot is not a big favourite of mine. Was pretty lazy getting there so missed a few
of the opener bands although word on the street when I got there that was that
“Deface” or “David Earth Freak Altamont Christ
Experience” (What the fuck is that all about?) who have an EP out at the moment
called “The Pighead EP” decided it was a good idea to throw a pigs head into
the crowd……. Now, considering that the
majority of the good people who had paid to get into Compass Point tonight were
not much older than 17 & were wearing their expensive clothes &
trainers etc The last thing they wanted
was to be splattered in Pigs blood! So
guess what? They all fucked off to the
other stage! Don’t blame them either, sounds like a total load of bollocks to
me. Heard their CD later in the evening & thought the same of that. Singer “Christian Sargent” used to be in post
“Victimise” Barry rockers “The Missing” who were a damn side better than
this…… Anyway, the first band I saw
tonight, (suppose I’d better point out here that we didn’t bother with the main
stage very much), were Aberystwyth 3 piece power poppers “The Poppies” who, were tight, energetic & pretty
good to be honest. They have a single
out called, “Dau Bys” available from “sebon.co.uk”
which I shall endeavour to get hold of & have a listen to. Next up for us were “Melys” who, I haven’t seen
for quite a few years. Don’t really know
why this is as I enjoyed them last time I saw them live & actually bought
their “Kamikaze” CD. Have also always
been interested in them as they have an interesting set up at their home for
recording etc; remember seeing it on an S4C show a few years ago. This was an odd place for “Melys” to play, alongside
mainly rock bands of the more “new rock” & “emo” genre, so not really too
much interest in them. Which was a shame
as “Melys”
performed an entertaining set. I much
prefer their more experimental music, especially when they use all the band members’
vocals as it works really well when they do this. Their more ordinary pop style tracks are not
my type of thing & go straight over my head. They finished off with a cracking song which sounded
like their slant on the Super Furries “Man doesn’t give a Fuck”, think it was
called “what the fuck did she say”? Good
fucking stuff all the same! Oh yes, the
band look great as well! Both these
bands had been in the tent so we ventured out to have a look at what was going
on the main stage. “Hondo MacLean” were half way
through their set. Good, new rock band,
bunch of headers who had a good laugh with the crowd & made us laugh, sometimes
when they didn’t intend to, but enjoyable all the same. Don’t know what type of music it is, new rock
(?) I suppose, it’s loud……. Back to the
tent for “Adequate Seven” who were great! Like a mixture between Madness, UK Subs,
Dexys Midnight Runners & Capdown. As their name implies a seven piece, all
trombones, trumpets, Ska riffs mixed with metal & punk all dressed in white
as well, which was brave as it was a black night for most other bands. They have an album out called “Songs of
innocence & of Experience”, which I am sure is interesting; they sure are
pretty good live! Headlining the tent
were “Queenadreena” didn’t know much at all
about this lot before the gig but glad I chose to see them. Avant garde, art punk of the highest
standard, I was absolutely glued to their sound & vision of this band. Visually they could belong in CBGB’s or the
100 club in the seventies, which is not a criticism coming from me! Loved the way the bass player just stared
& chewed, the guitarist looked great, almost plastic, & the lady
singer, showing of her “big pants” at every opportunity….. Bloody marvellous, already booked to see them
again in a few months! Sound wise it was
just blisteringly loud, too loud to be honest as it distorted the music, but
still sounded great. So overall, another
successful “Compass Point” festival. I
have been coming to these for the last few years, they serve a great purpose
for new bands & also for kids that can’t get to or can’t afford to get to
the bigger, commercial festivals. You
are guaranteed to see a few good bands 7 a few real gems every year, for a
tenner you can’t fault it!
Guy Salvador 2005
E mail: GuySalvador@southerndownrecords.co.uk
www.southerndownrecords.co.uk