The Galtres Festival is York's very own Leeds festival, only without the 40,000+ gig goers. It's the pocket version of festivals if you will, family focussed, art-project based, local band infused, all round good fun two dayer. Having never been to a festival, Galtres was the start (and end) of camping, swapping money for tokens and facing down the nightmare of port-a-loos. In short, it was two days of bloody good fun.
In its favour, Galtres has never taken itself too seriously. The line up alone spanned heady heights of Dodgy, Wonder Stuff, Lightning Seeds and somewhat surprisingly, the Beat. Mixing one part hope with three parts eclectic, the line up was enough to hook us.
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| The draw, namely the 100+ real ales... |
York itself has a decent local circuit of bands and Galtres seems to be the annual showcase, with a few good yester-year bands for good measure. Featuring resident hero Chris Helme (forever ex-Seahorse), singer songwriter Holly Taymer, singer songwriter blues man Ryan Spendlove, all round folk-awesome-live-act Blackbeard's Tea Party and many more, the festival really came to life when people gathered with their pint glass of real ale to join in. With only a couple of stages, and lots of beer tents, Galtres 2010 really nailed the local festival atmosphere.
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| Miles channeling Milton Jones |
Turning to the headliners, it was a mixed bag. First up on Saturday was Miles and Erica from the Wonderstuff. A band with few hits, Miles seemed determined to make it up with 'comedy' onstage banter and ancedotes from their illustrious past. At first, it was a good mix, a couple of songs, some banter, back to the music. Then the gaps got bigger, the banter took over and in the end almost became spoken word. Truthfully, the music in comparison began to look awesome as the stand up fell silent - an insight into what was fast becoming an ordeal.
Wonderstuff were duly followed by the Lightning Seeds. In all the years of 'Three Lions' re-releases I never thought I would ever be in a field singing along to Sugar Coated Iceberg with Broudie, but hey stranger things will happen. It was within the 90 minute set they played where I found a new found respect for good pop music. Don't get me wrong, I've always loved sixties era pop from the Crystals to Darlene Love and the Ronnettes, Walker Brothers and more, but recent pop can be easily overlooked. Standing in a field where almost euphoria breaks out at the return of 'The Life Of Riley' shows just how powerful and transcendent pop music can be when done well (although there is something about a live atmosphere, the hastily purchasd Best Of remains unplayed years on).
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| Dodgy. Still. |
Following camping on the coldest night in August for many a year, the headliners for Sunday evening opened with the resurgent Dodgy. Indeed. Starting their comeback at Galtres, Dodgy continued the theme of Nineties lesser-Brit Pop bands playing all the hits including 'Staying Out For The Summer', 'Good Enough' and 'In A Room'. Harnessing the energy from their blast from the past, they were surprisingly decent live - pre-gig I thought it might be too nostalgic for words but it turned out to be bloody good fun, which is the theme of the festival.
The headliners of the weekend, The Beat, wrapped up the festival as the twilight of the festival approached. Food had ran out, the last kegs were being drank dry and transport to pick up weary campers were descending from across North Yorkshire. From the outset, I only remembered one song and one song only by the band - 'Mirror In The Bathroom'. I feared a two hour rambling set before the iconic hit was unleashed to half empty field but was proved wrong. The Beat, complete with Ranking Roger and his son (Ranking Roger Junior - check it) in the line up, played a brilliant set with gems including 'Save It For Later' and 'Rotating Head' also aired. Running entirely on the spot for non-stop the Beat ended a brilliant weekend of music, booze and all round fun - just what you need on a Bank Holiday Weekend.
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