Written By: MARTY MOFFATT
Photos By: MARTY MOFFATT
Call of the Wild has for some years now been one of the highlights of my festival calendar. This was my fifth Call of the Wild Festival. It’s well run by a friendly and efficient team, on a site that is perfect for a small outdoor festival and featuring a wide range of rock bands who all visibly enjoy playing here. Indeed, many of them stay all weekend at the festival, mixing with the crowds in the arena and supporting and enjoying the other bands.
Coming to this festival I look forward to meeting old friends and renewing acquaintances. I also look forward to discovering great new bands I wasn’t previously aware of, and this year did not disappoint.
Apart from a couple of short spells of rain, the three days I was there were warm and sunny, a treat for any outdoor festival in the UK. The festival arena is small enough to walk entirely around in 10 minutes, has ample food and festival accessories available and is very family friendly.
There were 52 bands on the bill, over two open air stages and one tented stage. I did see and photograph every band, although schedule times meant I sometimes only got to see 2 or 3 songs before having to move on. It would be rude not to, considering the effort each one of them put in to get here and play their hearts out. However, a full review of every band would be impossibly lengthy. Instead, here, in no particular order, are just a few of my personal highlights.
Sisters Doll, fresh from a tour of the UK, showed that Aussie rock is alive and well. A tight and well crafted performance of hard rock, and smiles all round showed how much they enjoyed rocking these shores.
Greyfox Conspiracy, southern rockers from…er…South Wales, defied the spell of rain on Friday to deliver an excellent set.
Black Lakes have improved immeasurably over the past year or so. Their haunting lyrics and multilayered metal sounds are complimented by matching stagecraft to provide a dark but very entertaining experience.
Headliners on the Friday night were The Commoners. Hailing from Toronto, Canada (so many great Canadian bands around at the moment), they are described as having a southern roots/rock sound. However, it is delivered with consummate perfection, a sound that surrounds you like a warm blanket. Very enjoyable.
I mentioned that one of the things I love about festivals like Call of the Wild is discovering new (to me at least) bands and sounds. One such was Marisa and the Moths. I’d heard good things about them but hadn’t yet seen or heard them directly. Therefore, I wasn’t quite prepared for that ‘what a voice!’ moment until it hit me. An excellent sound and bags of charisma, I definitely need to check them out further.
I’m certainly more of a classic rock/blues rock fan than out and out metal, but German metallers Lucifer Star Machine definitely won me over. Loud and brash, but with catchy tunes, they gave us 45 minutes of pure entertainment.
Headliners on the Saturday night were Royal Republic. This Swedish band are not entirely to my taste musically, but boy did they put on a show. They turned the Saturday night into the biggest party Lincoln has seen in years – neon lit guitars, disco stage lighting and a relentless rocky beat leaving everybody grinning ear to ear afterwards.
In the tented stage, lesser-known bands, young bands just starting out, part time bands and probably one or two checking out the festival for a future spot in the main stage, all gave performances worthy of any stage. For example, RetsecroW(s) (Worcester, where they come from, spelled backwards – get it?) are a metal band made up of 13, 14 and 15 year olds – yes you read that right. Playing a mix of covers and original material they displayed an energy and proficiency well beyond their age. One to keep an eye on.
One act not scheduled for the festival, turned up to play a secret gig in the tent on Saturday. Word began to circulate through the crowd for about an hour before they came on stage, and as a result the tent was packed to the rafters – er tent poles – by the time they appeared. The band was Spike from The Quireboys, Willie Dowling and an ensemble band. Spike is a hugely entertaining but very chaotic singer. I saw them by the press area a few minutes before their stage time and asked how many songs were in their setlist. Willie’s response was ‘four songs we can play competently!’. In the end, Spike and co carried on for about an hour and a half, playing anything the crowd wanted to hear. An impromptu performance where audience, crew and even the band had no idea what was coming next, and the audience lapped it up.
Closing the festival on the Sunday night was Michael Monroe, an artist I’ve seen several times and who never fails to impress me with his energy and desire to put on a superb show. Back in the ‘80s he was in a Finnish glam metal band called Hanoi Rocks, who had some chart success back then and influenced many other bands of the genre. Later, Michael went solo with his own band, and now, at the age of 62 his energy on stage is still putting to shame artists a third of his age. Launching himself onto the stage, running from side to side, jumping into the photo pit to shake hands and sing with the front few rows, and then climbing onto the big speakers to sing another song, all within the first few minutes. We photographers get three songs in the pit to get our photos before having to leave the pit, and as we exited we were exhausted at the intensity of his performance. Whether you like his music or not, you cannot fail to appreciate his ability to entertain – rock n roll at its finest.
Call of the Wild – put it on your calendar for next year. If Carling did festivals……
