Strummercamp kicks off with the sounds of old punk and rock & roll

Another bank holiday, another Strummercamp in the welcoming venue of the Manchester Rugby Club. Situated just off the M60 Manchester ring road this charming festival just seems to get better and better. Started by Joe Strummer's friends to put together an event run not-for-profit showcasing great new bands and plenty of known faces, this year looks to be another belter. Having been to all five of these family friendly weekends I can see how well the festival has progressed through bad times and good times, and has grown stronger for it.

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Of course there are a few problems, funding has regrettably forced the Godfathers out of the bill, and I know the organisers are gutted over this. Rebel Yell have split up just before the festival, although replacements Drunken Bolardi do a great job in their place. The Rugby Club are treating the old campervan field with pesticides after receiving a grant to do so, but even with this area closed off the numbers are still here. With so many festivals going under this year, such as Glade, which held well over 16,000 people, it is great to see a festival held in this spirit and of such a size still going against all odds.

There is always a great line up to discover too. Some people (who don't even give the festival a chance) may be saying the line up doesn't have that many big bands on it. So what? This place has an atmosphere that sucks you in and makes you feel like one of the Strumm-ily (or Strummercampers, I'm working on a name for us all!). I have been to the past 11 Glastonburys and I don't read the line-up until a service station stop on the way home! It’s much better to discover music then get annoyed because you have missed something or you haven't heard of them beforehand.

The only things I can see that are limited this year are the amount of bins, some near the stages would have been nice like last year, although bin bags do appear on the last day in their place. Also there is not as much choice on the food front (we were spoilt for choice last year) though it is extremely tasty and well priced food (the chicken fillet burgers are really, really nice!). The choice for vegetarians is actually larger than the choice for non-veggies... though the addition of chips or jacket potatoes would have made my day! These are just niggles though, the food is much better than at any other festival I have been to and costs half the price, and as for beer prices well, a fiver for four cans can't be beat, and a real ale tent sells pints of tasty real ale and spirits for under £3... bargain. Again the festival makes it's money from these sales (as well as ticket sales) so these prices encourage people to keep the festivals funded for another year.

Time to stop blabbing and get to the event itself then. This is the first time in five years I have made it to the site on the Friday (in the past my vehicle has broken down, I have broken something etc) and the atmosphere is already here at 7pm! The Rugby Club building is the venue for this first night, hosting Verbal Warning, Babylon Dub Punks, Cheapskates, and The Yalla Yallas, plus DJ Gadge. Unfortunately I miss the first two bands putting my tent up, but the Cheapskates I remember from past Strummercamps. This band play many punk covers but focus on the Clash for us, playing a few of their own tracks like 'Crawling' but belting out 'London Calling', 'White Riot'. 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go' and 'I Fought The Law', plus a fast cover of 'What a Wonderful World'. A great way for many of us to start the weekend.

The Yalla Yallas feature Rob Galloway on vocals, another guy who has performed (but solo) at the festival before. Their sounds of old punk and rock and roll just fuel the crowd, with tracks 'Love, Anger And The Credit Crunch' and 'Under Attack' showing they feel the way that Joe did, their name is based on the call for unity. I also like the snippet of Rancid's 'Roots Radical', though I'm not sure about the cover of Electric Six's 'Gay Bar'… They are joined on stage at one point by a Strummercamp worker who plays the spoons; fantastic!

After these rousing set of shows it's onto DJ Gadge to play us many a punk tune until the early hours begin, then it's off to bed for one of the best sleeps you will get at a festival, the camp is so quiet (well unless you're an insomniac like me, the planes at 7.30am from nearby Manchester airport are annoying, but everyone else is asleep, so it only seems to affect me! No good for a festival junkie like myself really...)

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