Myncen Farm, Blandford Forum
Day 2
We are back in the green fields of Myncen Farm once again for Day 2 of the Cursus Festival, despite some blowy gusts of wind the weather is still fine for now. Today for me is a day of discovery as three quarters of the bands I have not seen before. The day is due to start off with a secret set, I say secret as the majority of the crowd are aware that it’s Dorset’s finest Folk/Punks Black Water County billed as Richard and The Heads. They are a band who could headline this in their own right, however their banjo/mandolin player Gavin Cole (Occasional Skimmity Hitcher and stand-in member of Lady Winwoods Maggot too!!) is having his stag weekend here.
The Midday start was probably the most sober time to play before the real afternoon drinking and shenanigans start. The whole band arrive on stage wearing “Gav Valhalla” stag T-shirts and the tent is virtually packed considering the early start, clearly the cat was out of the bag now to everyone. The bleary-eyed audience soon wake up as we are gifted a few BWC classics as well as a couple of appropriate covers including Flogging Molly’s “Drunken Lullabies” and Reel Big Fish’s “Beer” mixed hilariously with The Offspring’s “Self Esteem” (Gav’ has clearly forgotten the words)! Gav’s Mum, Fiddle play Stan Stanley from The Lagan and former drummer Josh were invited to the stage to add to the party atmosphere, with a heartfelt speech from Skimmity Kev ending proceedings with him saying we had all had a special “Festival Moment” and we are only on the first band of the day!!.
Next up in keeping with the eclectic mood of this festival is South-West Dorset Hip hop MC DJ & Beatmaker Chiman101. This artist gives us the full two barrels with tracks from his album “Distracted Focus”. His lyrics deliver a raw gritty message with tracks like “Settle The Score”. His passion and sincerity spills over and the crowd certainly warms to all he has to offer.
Chiman101
Any Yorkshire accents in a field in Dorset, you bet; 7 piece Ska/Punk band Plot 32 from Leeds bring an injection of energy. The band have a great sense of fun and their slice of Yorkshire humour is wholeheartedly welcomed by the Dorset locals. They describe themselves as “just a lovable bunch of rogues having fun”. Hard-edged tracks like “Favourite Things”, “Barry The Butcher” and “C U Next Tuesday” are mixed with a joyful version of Venga Boys “Boom Boom Boom”. with sax, trumpet and two very different vocalists, they certainly get the crowd dancing with the promise of a prize of a wooden spoon for the best dancer.
A return to Folk roots next with a band all the way from Telford, Shropshire called The Endings. This five-piece all show off their fine and clearly accomplished musicianship with some melodious instrumentation, coupled with foot-stomping rhythms. Stirring tunes like “Blood Sweat & Tears” about mental health issues, along with the epically moving vocal chants in “Shoe is on the other Foot”. Stand side by side with emotive songs like “The Wake” dedicated to friends/family we have lost and a passionate Mad Dog Mcrea tribute “Coolies Reel”. Maximum kudos to the organisers for even finding these great bands from far and wide. We do have some great artists in Dorset, but sometimes it can get a bit repetitive seeing the same bands all the time.
We turn yet another musical corner next with an eleven piece Reggae/Hip Hop band from Cheltenham called Dub Catalyst. This unique sounding mini orchestra passionately live and breathe their creations. Each member actively plays their part with precise and skilful delivery. The three-piece brass mix with synths, percussion, live DJ, electric guitars, drums and oh that bass. The bass holds everything together emphasizing the instrumentation and shaking your ribs to the core. Frontman Zak’s super smooth vocals magnify the lyrics with his own enlivened style. What perfect music to hark your mind onto on a Saturday afternoon. From the intense infectious caffeine hit of “Coffee” to the beautiful rumblings of “Phoenix”, along with the creative brilliance of new single “Venom”. We were all knocked out by a set of the highest standard, something very special.
The quality continues with Anglo Italian/Australian band The Cloverhearts, another band to take us all by surprise. Imagine Sum 41 meets Flogging Molly with Bagpipes and Tin Whistle. The band hit the stage with huge amounts of energy and are on a mission to whip up the crowd, with their own unique style. Aussie frontman Sam Cooper orchestrates the audience in his straight to the point no-nonsense way, while bringing some finely elevating vocals. The band’s joyfully melodic sound reaches out with tunes like “No Time For False Friends”, drinking songs like “Beer is Good” and a tent shaking Celtic Punk Medley. The band with ease create a constant mosh pit during their set and the audience instantly react to their infectious influence.
The Great Malarkey are truly a force to be reckoned with, a 7-piece who seem to have ripped up the rule book and chosen to do their own thing. They sound like no other band out there and are clearly inviting their own genre tag. Band leader Alex Gillings has the mannerisms of Green Day’s Billie Joe, while sounding like a cross between Joe Swash and Catherine Tate’s Character Nan. Remarkably the vocals are wonderfully unique and fit right in with the onstage energy and chaos.
Their weapons of choice that create their original magic are; two guitars (one player includes occasional slide), Sax, Trumpet, Trombone, Fiddle, Bass and Drums. With Punk attitude and alluring danceable tunes, the carrot that the band dangle over the audience is followed intensely. The audience dance, sing, cheer and throw abandonment to the fine tunes. Alex breaks down barriers and joins the crowd and gets them bouncing at a feverish pace. I’ve not seen anything like this before or probably won’t again.
Right, one band to go and some food and drink is needed to keep me going until the end. I find that in the form of a mushroom, chilli and walnut pizza, along with a coffee that totally hit the spot. My weekend companion Jude suggested before taking in the next band, we check out the fire show as well as providing some welcome warmth from the hillside winds. The Ragana Fire Collective are a multi-skilled and all female group, who; using a variety of methods skilfully twisting and turning, spin while holding hops and batons that are on fire. In the darkness the effects are just mesmerising and the trio take plenty of applause from the well entertained crowd.
This evenings final band Dub Pistols I saw for the first time back in 2007 and at that gig the late Terry Hall joined the band onstage. This was fitting as Dub Pistols were most certainly influenced by the The Specials and I believe in their later albums The Specials actually took some influence themselves from the Dub Pistols. They are one of this Country’s finest live bands and particularly flourish in front of a festival crowd. As the rain starts to pour outside things hot up inside this big top with this Saturday night/Sunday morning sort of band.
This well-attired sextet bring positive vibes and vibrancy. You cannot fault their spot on, highly danceable instrumentation, along with Barry and Seanie T’s remarkable vocal chemistry. Tracks from all eras of the band’s career along with a few well selected covers keep their impulsion high right up until the end.
That’s Day Two completed and what a day it has been. It has also been a day of new relationships, with plenty of new friends made, a guy who grows his own supersized pumpkins and a guy who has a stroke and survived (he was bouncing around like someone half his age). If you were wondering about BWC’s Gav Coles, well despite drinking copious amounts of cider amongst other things and getting gaffer tapped to a pole with an apple in his mouth, he was still standing (just) at midnight, carefully looked after by two great mates. I will report on his potential hangover tomorrow…
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Article, Media and Pictures by David Chinery (Chinners)
