Feeder close Sunday, with smaller acts helping to make Play Fest enjoyable

Play Fest 2012 review

Sunday for me, was all about one band, iconic indie rockers Feeder. The welsh band were set to headline the main stage, to bring a close to this quaint little festival in the Norfolk countryside. In preparation, I headed to the main stage to check out competition winners Port Isla. I thought that this band were very good, and one of the highlights of the festival. Playing a folk inspired indie, I couldn't help but think of Mumford And Sons.

As well as the live music stages, Play Fest also boasts a couple of small tents featuring DJs, as well as the much larger POW! Dance Arena. Over the weekend the Dance Arena featured sets from the likes of Zinc, Shy FX, Toddla T, and Sub Focus. The Arena was tucked away in a separate area of the site, in amongst some woodland. Dance music, not really being my thing however, I ended up sticking to the main arena.

Next on the main stage was local singer-songwriter Lee Vann and his band of talented musicians. Vann, who clearly had a large number of friends in the crowd, impressed me, not even letting a broken string get in his way, running from the stage to retrieve another guitar from backstage. To this his bassist quipped "If you were famous, someone else would have got that for you."

I then decided to check out the Big Top for the first time that day. I ended up regretting this however, as The Soft turned out to be devastatingly dull. Dumbfoundus on the main stage however, more than made up for this, with one of the most entertaining sets of the weekend.

By this time the heavens were open, but despite the rain, Dumbfoundus attracted a big crowd and kept them moving throughout. Accompanied onstage by someone in a Chewbacca costume, the acoustic/folk/reggae band included covers of Tears For Fears classic 'Mad World', and Calvin Harris' 'I Get All The Girls'.

Over in the Big Top, Model Staggs were nothing special, before Ria Ritchie took to the main stage. Due to the abysmal weather conditions, Ritchie took to the stage in front of just a handful of people. Thankfully for her though, she was actually quite good and by the time she finished her set, which included her take on Gloria Gaynor's 'I Will Survive', quite a big crowd had gathered.

Looking for shelter from the continuous rain, I headed back over to the Big Top. Here I discovered another highlight, in a five-piece rock group called Deers. They played to a decent sized crowd, which may have been due to the rain. Deers certainly didn't disappoint the crowd, in fact they quite impressed them, with songs such as 'Plans'.

Spector have had a promising start to their career and have been tipped by a number of people for success. They were next up on the main stage and were decent enough with singles 'Chevy Thunder' and 'Never Fade Away' keeping the crowd happy. I then attempted to check out the Asylum stage, however the crowd was spilling out the sides, possibly because of the rain, or maybe because Slightly Offensive Steve, who was playing inside, had planted posters around the site, hyping his performance.


Not being able to get in, I headed back to the main stage and waited for the next performance. The man giving this performance was Natty, who impressed me with his entertaining mix of classic and modern reggae sounds. Natty was really fun, and the fun continued in the Big Top with Juan Zelada and his band.

I wasn't too sure if I'd watch Scroobius Pip or not, but late on, I decided why not? I was actually pleasantly surprised, because he was much better than I expected. For the first, and I think, in fact only time this weekend, the main stage was the scene of mosh pits! One song was even backed by Black Sabbath's 'Iron Man' riff, which was really good. To end his set Pip, jumped in the crowd and crowd surfed his way from the stage.

I then caught modern funk group Federation of The Disco Pimp, who kept the Big Top crowd entertained. Sub-headlining the main stage today was Delilah, a singer from London, who failed to warm the crowd up. Given her slot on the bill, I had hoped she would surprise me, but I found her really boring, causing me to head back to the Big Top for the tents headliner The Correspondents.

Unlike Delilah, The Correspondents really got the crowd moving. I had been expecting a band, but The Correspondents turned out to be a duo comprising a DJ and MC/Singer. They aren't my normal cup of tea, but I thought that they were very entertaining and the crowd loved them. The singers dance moves were a highlight of the festival and his ridiculous costume made sure he won't soon be forgotten.

Just five weeks ago, welsh rockers Feeder were playing an intimate show at a sold out Waterfront venue in Norwich, to preview their new album 'Generation Freakshow'. Since that show, the album has hit number 13 in the UK Albums Chart. Not bad for an ageing rock band, consistently written off by the media. An achievement put into focus by the dire lack of guitar music in the charts today.

With this being a festival show, the hits were back in the set, but being privileged enough to have been at their Waterfront show, I can say that leading up to their set, I was just as excited for new songs like 'Idaho', as I was the obvious hits, such as 'Buck Rogers'. The biggest crowd of the festival were clearly excited about the prospect of the Feeder set, a set that brought a fitting end to the festival.

Feeder have a proven track record as a festival band and have played huge festivals across the globe, and having headlined the likes of Download Festival in the past, Grant Nicholas and Taka Hirose were well prepared for their set. They took to the stage and as the rain continued to pour, they burst into 'Feeling A Moment'. 'Renegades' and 'Pushing The Senses' quickly followed as Feeder set the pace early. New songs 'Tiny Minds' and the brilliant 'Borders' followed, as Feeder continued to delight the crowd.

As the set continued, we were given a mix of old and new with 'Just The Way I'm Feeling' and 'High' in with 'Idaho' and 'Generation Freakshow'. Nicholas was in playful mood, teasing 'Buck Rogers', before finally delivering their classic track. Feeder ended the festival in style with an encore of fan favourite ‘Just A Day'.

As the crowd started to filter away back to their tents for one last time, or straight home, I was left to look back on what a lovely little festival this had been. It was interesting to see the location of a summer camp, some ten years ago, turned into a festival site, catering for around 4,000 music lovers. I must praise the organisers for the amazing transformation into such a well run little festival.

As for the musical highlights, obviously headliners Ash and Feeder drew and wowed the biggest crowds. As predicted, The Pigeon Detectives will have surprised a number of people with their top notch set. But it's the smaller acts that helped make this festival, and I feel I should draw attention to the likes of Port Isla, Deers, Dumbfoundus, Solko, and Kamilla Lovett for their impressive sets. I leave you with Feeder front man Grant Nicholas's last words at their festival closing set "keep supporting small festivals!"

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