James bring a triumphant weekend to a close at Kendal Calling

After a long weekend and with a strong line up on the main stage we decided on a day camped out on the bank at the back of the main stage bowl. First on the line up was meant to be the Lightning Seeds, but they had pulled out. So first of the day for us was Twisted Wheel, from Manchester this young trio, who were once muted around musical circles as 'the next Oasis' have undergone some huge changes since first breaking through by replacing two of the founder members. They drew a very sizable crowd for the early afternoon, showing just why acts like Paul Weller and Oasis have booked them in the past as support acts.

We moved from the angsty punk rock influenced Twisted Wheel to The Lancashire Hotpots. I'd not seen them before, and from the outset they entertained thoroughly, with their parody songs such as 'I Fear IKEA' and 'Cinema Smugglers'. The strong Lancashire contingent are out in force, chanting back at what seems to be their own northern version of The Wurzels, and fair play to them I've got a lot of respect for a band that downs a can of lager in one in between every song!



Back to the real world, enter We Are Scientists, with drummer Andy Burrows, formerly of Razorlight on the rhythm section. They give a well honed tight performance, leaving the front half of the audience in a pogoing crowd surfing mess. Their set was drawing to a close, and all the 30 somethings started to pour into the bowl like main stage area. This could only mean one thing, another of the 90's bands were due on stage!

This time it was the turn of Inspiral Carpets, and yet again the seasoned veterans showed that they can still cut the mustard, emerging on stage to a crescendo of 'Booooooon' chants, they like Shed Seven the day before, show just how they did it 20 years ago. Having been there done it and come back again, the guys seem to really appreciate playing there music on stage to fans old and new.

With the night quickly drawing in the penultimate band made their way to the stage, and Feeder hit the ground running, with a stunning greatest hits set including 'Just The Way I'm Feeling' and 'Buck Rogers' with new single 'Idaho' also thrown into the mix. The boys from Wales leave Kendal Calling shaking to the mighty mosh inducing 'Just A Day' which was another of my weekend's highlights.

Leaving one last performance on the main stage, and what a set it turns out to be, with an hour and forty five minutes of some of the greatest sing-alongs the UK has ever produced. The mighty James take to the stage to bring proceedings to a close, after a triumphant weekend!

Tim Booth and the gang roll back the years, and pull out all the stops, I had heard that Tim's voice had suffered over the last few years, but this was not the case tonight, he hit all the right notes and really worked the crowd well. With worldwide sales of 25 million plus, its no surprise the bulk of the crowd knew every word to every song, providing an epic ending to a great weekend, Kendal Calling proved to live up to its great reputation.

There were a couple of areas of the site which I didn't get round to seeing, but I think that's a good excuse to make sure I go next year. If you want a family friendly festival with a very welcoming and friendly atmosphere than Kendal calling could be just your ticket.

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