So yesterday was the annual descent on Castlefield by 8000 Mancunians of all shapes, sizes and in varying states of inhebriation for the last ever D-percussion festival. This state of impending closure seemed to encourage a LOT of extra people to turn up and despite Castlefield being an excellent, atmospheric location for the festival to take place, especially under the railway arches and in the roman gardens, some of the walkways were so narrow it made walking between stages a bit of a pain so trying to grab a spot of green for a sit down rather than fight your way through the crowds seemed a more attractive option a lot of the time. This meant that my festival was experienced in a kind of Waiting For Godot way, trying to make it to different stages chasing different acts but never really catching any of them.
Despite this, I managed to catch and thoroughly enjoy The Answering Machine on the main stage, playing their first gig with new addition Ben on drums. I reckon it was probably their biggest ever audience but their Strokes-y guitar pop sounded just as good in the open air as it has done in little Manchester clubs over the last year or so. The live drums really suited the festival atmosphere, adding a soaring, anthemic element to the songs.
The next couple of hours were spent wandering aimlessly and drinking outrageously priced lager before a large and intruiged crowd gathered at the high voltage stage to see tipped manc duo The Ting Tings, only to be told they had cancelled at the 11th hour. I had been looking forward to seeing them since the piece on them during the BBC Glastonbury coverage so that was a bit annoying really but there you go. Our original aim was then to go and catch Twisted Charm and maybe The Whip but instead we settled in Dukes 92 for a welcome sit down and some even more welcome pints of cider. Rested and refreshed we strode out across the site, deciding to check out the more interesting fare on display at the roman gardens stage, anything but The Courteeners! This turned out to be the best idea of the day with a whole range of weird and wonderful things on display, ranging from burlesque dancers, showgirls and best of all (well, maybe not better, but equally good) Dr Butlers Hatstand Medicine Band, playing some good old fashioned 50s swing complete with Ukelele. It made such a nice change to the macho posturing of the more typically 'Manc' groups on some of the other stages and fit the mood perfectly for a warm summers evening.
Some chips and a quick jig to the end headliners' The Sunshine Underground and that was it, the end of D-percussion perhaps for good. Despite my complaints about the overcrowding it was really nice to see so many music-loving Mancunians of all ages having a good time. I've always thought that Manchester has lacked a decent music festival and with this gone you can't help but worry for the state of music in the city. On the other hand this day showed that Manchester certainly does have a great deal to offer. Polytechinic and Cherry Ghost are just two shining examples (despite the fact I missed them both) playing later on in the day, D-percussion allowed them to play to big crowds, convert more people to their music and to mix with fellow mancunian artists. More than this though, D-percussion was just about getting together with your mates and having fun and hopefully it can return in some way or another next year.
1 comment:
It's a shame it's ending. Sounded like a fantastic little festival.
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