Whitchurch 2003

Well, August again, the Sun is out, (not Friday!) loads of happy people, so it must be Whitchurch!  After a tight squeeze in the little motor we all set off again from the Midlands to hit Hampshire once again!

Friday 1^st August

After going for the tour of the area, Friday evening soon came around.  The man with the hat, Keith Bell kicked us off with his usual style, and then Sphere took the stage. Making their third in a row appearance, they blasted into Paralysis.  Sphere's set was excellent, with their impressive playing and great numbers. Ending the set with a storming version of Lights Going Down, it set the scene for IQ to do their stuff.

Yet another Whitchurch for IQ, sell out crowd, ecstatic fans, turned out to be a great night!  The Darkest Hour got us underway, and with the lads on top form as per usual, it was soon turning out to be a great night. With a couple of gems from the Sitting album, Nostalgia and Falling Apart At The Seams got the crowd bouncing along. With Widows Peak thrown in too, a new one, Seventh House, It All Stops Here and encores including The Wake, this was a typical classic IQ performance! Olay!

Saturday 2^nd August

Saturday appeared, then it was outside in the glorious sunshine for a bit of acoustic fun featuring Keith and Jonno, and at home again, Treebeard. a long set of fine folk style rock, and a cracking version of Ace Of Spades, went down very well with the beer!  Evening arrived with John Mitchell and special surprise guest, John Beck formally of It Bites fame.  With two It Bites covers, Plastic Dreamer and Still Too Young to Remember, and the classic Bowie number, Life On Mars, this was a great highlight of the weekend.  Now, a new song, All You See, was a special treat of what's to come in the near future, with the two Johns working on a project with two other class musicians, watch this space for details!  What we heard could be could be a sampler for what may be turn out to be a rather tasty band musically!  Like I said, watch this space.

Pineapple Thief played their first Whitchurch gig tonight, and what we heard was very impressive.  If you like the sounds of Porcupine Tree and Radiohead, this is the band for you!  Plenty of ideas floating around here, and with the encore Vapour Trails, this fine lot are going a long way.  Again, watch this space! A 1st class performance, back next year we hope!

Tim Burness was next, playing a nice mix of songs, warming the crowd up for Saturday headliners, Caravan.

The tall figure of Pye Hastings took to the stage with the remainder of the band.  With some great playing, and Canterbury classics pouring out of the P.A, Caravan needed no introduction.  Nine Feet Underground and For Richard were the highlights for me, and this was to be yet another great Whitchurch!  On to Sunday!

Sunday 3^rd August

Various acts hit the stage again inside and out, first on was Keith James, playing some fine songs penned by Nick Drake.  Next up was Steve Thorne.  Now Steve was on tour with Jadis as a one-man band, but this time Martin Orford joined him with many instruments and vocals.  God Bless America was the first song, and it set the scene, which the small crowd enjoyed.  Hounded was great, but the best one was a belting version of IQ's Came Down, which set the spine tingling!  A great set - check this guy out!

Onto the evenings entertainment, and WorldHazeBeard hit the stage, three bands in one!  Highlights here was a classic version of Cinema Show, and encore Solsbury Hill, and with fine hats on show, added to the spectacle of this great night!

Next was Tony McPhee of Groundhogs fame, and he was joined by Joanna Decon.  A nice mix of folk and blues was aired here, and it got us in the mood for The Acoustic Strawbs.  Many classic tunes emanated from the P.A again including Alice and Hangman which stood out in my opinion, and with an encore of Lay Down, put the icing on the Whitchurch cake for another year!

Well, that was it for 2003, here’s to 2004.  Hope no one gets our camping spot!

Danny Mayo

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