the magnificent The Beat bring OTT Spring to a close

Off The Tracks Spring Festival 2010 review

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Off The Tracks Spring Festival 2010

Friday 28th to Sunday 30th May 2010
Donington Park Farmhouse Hotel, Isley Walton, Donington, Leicestershire, England MAP
£60 for w/e inc camping; children (12-16) £30

Sunday's main stage kicked off with Biggles Wartime Band. What can I say? Silliness of the highest order... Fishy? There are no ifs or Halibuts about it... Cod knows how they manage to do it. It must take eel talent to hake such a noise. I promise not to carp on about it; I'll just direct you to the festival notes. "They take every kind of music and slaughter it. None of it stands a chance." Even the tiger suited sousaphone player was upstaged by a talking shark! Not something you see every day...

Next on were Dragonsfly who too had some interesting instruments. (Was that a hurdy-gurdy?). Beautiful, Celtic-Eastern-folk- fusion that was harmonious and uplifting.

After a nap I caught the Bleeding Hearts. Powerful, punchy and direct, they were full of energy. Inside I caught The Blind Hearts who played a set of 2 halves. The 1st half with a singer and the second a more acoustic set with the vocals being taken over by the guitarist.

Flipron, outside on the main stage, I thought, were great, helping to liven up the crowd.

Headliners tonight were The Beat who were magnificent. Bright, lively Ska and Dub step, Rankin Jnr. (the singer's son) added another dimension with his excellent toasting/rapping. With pulsating bass-lines and a true sense of fun there was wall to wall dancing. The crowd showing their appreciation time and time again, we did not want the evening to end.

So, it was inside yet again to witness the end of a fabulous set from Tarantism, another part of the Cabbage crew, they impressed me mightily. According to one fine fellow, this is only their dance/trance stuff... you should hear what else they do! Fantastic stuff indeed. As was the session in the bar. A special evening indeed, with guitar and vocals, a mandolin, a fiddle, a recorder, a whistle and a little percussion. Magic.

And so, with a lighter heart, I wish to thank the organizers, crew, bar staff, caterers and all those that enable this wonderful event to work as well as it does. Thank you and see you all in the autumn.

review by: Phil 'The Van' Lenthall

photos by: Phil Bull