Stone Valley Competition North
Durham
5-Seventh August 2022
It’s by no means going to be simple competing in opposition to the return of Rebel Competition over the identical weekend, however Stone Valley, which has been establishing itself amongst UK festivals over the previous couple of years, raised the bar after which some. Sunny climate, first rate priced drinks, pretty employees and safety and folks having a ball. What’s to not like?
This was my first expertise of Stone Valley; it’s a pleasant, enjoyable and laid-back occasion which very a lot put me in thoughts of the much-missed Wickerman, with a really comparable chilled really feel, a scooter-friendly line-up from the ska, soul and punk scene and a family-welcoming vibe. If tenting isn’t your factor, it gained’t be for you however that was all a part of the enjoyable – a lot of the after-hours shenanigans again on the campsite had been definitely worth the value of admission alone.
With lots of the bands out within the North of England for his or her dates at Rebel, there was a good bit of crossover; personally, I wasn’t complaining as the prospect to see a few of these legends up shut and private and on an outside stage was fairly one thing. Most of the bands had been out wandering the principle enviornment and the sight of members of Unhealthy Manners and Massive Nation attempting on daft hats and digging by means of crates of vinyl was positively an indicator of the relaxed environment of the entire weekend.
The pageant began just a few years again (and pre-covid) as a gathering of minds and machines from the scooter scene and advanced from there. There’s nonetheless a good outdated smattering of chrome and brilliantly detailed paint jobs puttering across the website, and the Saturday morning ride-out of the scooters was apparently good; I’ve to confess I missed it as I used to be affected by the earlier night time’s gin extravaganza however the missus loved it massively, regardless of being an old-school woman on a motorbike herself.
Anyway, to the music. Friday night time’s highlights for me had been an oddly ebullient Hugh Cornwell who was out with a band reasonably than solo acoustic; giving the mislead his repute as a curmudgeon, he joked with the massive crowd and performed the well-known materials which was one thing of a shock. A juddering Stroll On By and a soulful Unusual Little Lady had the group swaying, and a singalong All the time The Solar despatched the folks again to the tents completely satisfied.
The Primitives had an unenviable opening slot on the principle stage however raised their recreation, ahem, gamely. The sound was fairly suspect early on of their set because the crew appeared to be fighting the out of doors setting, with Paul Courtroom’s guitar taking a short time to settle into its chiming self leaving the rhythm part a tad murky. Joking about “You’ll know who we at the moment are” previous to chart-smasher Crash was promoting themselves just a little brief; the wonderful Spin-a-rama and Sick Of It noticed the group lap them up.
The Bootleg Beatles are fairly one thing to behold; taking the tribute band notion to absolutely the max (the drummer is carrying a “Ringo” nostril, the best handed bassist is enjoying left-handed a la Macca and somebody tells me that “John Lennon” has had surgical procedure to look extra like the actual John. That could be apocryphal, nevertheless….), they did all the songs, between-song patter and stage strikes precisely as-was all through the Fabs profession. Good enjoyable and faultless.
The Rezillos – what are you able to say? I’ve seen them extra occasions than anybody (aside from The Fall, perhaps) and so they by no means disappoint; vitality, élan, surrealist pop artwork and songs about aliens. Good.
Craig Charles closed out the opening night time with a DJ set drawn from his glorious Saturday night time funk and soul present on 6Music. I personally love all of these things, the uncommon groove, disco and funky stuff and even supposing I’d have personally had the out-front quantity up A WHOLE LOT MORE, this was a celebration from begin to end. Chatting backstage (I do know, I do know) about his “trunk of punk” part on his daytime present was good enjoyable (he’s a beautiful fella) and he had me grinning along with his tales of Aaron Neville whose Hercules is a mainstay of his set.
Saturday noticed the day open, albeit just a little bleary-eyed with native lads The White Line, whose tackle the modernist scene drew a very good crowd. With complete confidence oozing and eyeballing the entrance row, they shook the place awake. Nice little wah solo within the final track, too.
Sleeper took a short time to get into their groove however their goodtime Britpop tunes went down properly in the principle enviornment. Once more, an unenviable early slot which they managed to make use of to their benefit given the sunny climate. Demise Of Guitar Pop ought to be enormous, fairly frankly. I don’t know why these guys aren’t a lot greater profile than they’re. Merely excellent.
From The Jam did what they do and the folks liked it; smashing the principle stage with a set of Jam requirements (and some of the much less possible tracks – However I’m Totally different Now was unbelievable), the love for Bruce Foxton et al was palpable. Each he and frontman Russell Hastings have had fairly critical well being points lately and it was nice to listen to them and see them joking about their experiences.
Ash, whom I’ve seen and liked many, many occasions through the years had been considerably moribund as we speak; I’m not solely certain why or what was the problem, however they appeared to be phoning it in. Hopefully a one-off aberration.
Not so, the mighty Stranglers. pal of mine who’s seen them extra occasions than he cares to confess at all times says that stay, The Stranglers are a complete machine; he’s not improper. From the opening Toiler on the Sea by means of the quirky Nuclear Gadget to the closing No Extra Heroes, this was a lesson in energy and sheer muscular musicality. They had been the primary “actual” band I ever noticed as a teeny punk again in Glasgow in ‘77 and so they by no means disappoint. Unimaginable.
Sunday noticed just a few call-offs because of covid (Division S being one in all them) and a very good few folks from the campsite had headed again dwelling, presumably working the Monday. Nonetheless, Geno Washington took the prize for efficiency of the weekend. Shuffling onstage, bow-backed and frail-looking (he’s 78 I believe), he seemed as if a very good breeze would knock him off his ft. That, nevertheless, was till he opened his mouth and sang – good lord, what a voice this man nonetheless possesses. Sheer energy and soul personified – he held the group in his hand along with his massively entertaining tales and as I say, when he opens his throat, angels and devils collide. His band had been a easy three-piece however they gave the impression of an orchestra at occasions. See him in case you can, he’s the very best.
Toyah had already wowed the Rebel crowd the day earlier than and did so once more in Durham; she’s a performer, I’ll say that for her and her pint-sized however enormous persona gained the day. Nice hair, too, in response to the spouse….
Peter Hook And The Gentle struggled initially with each technical issues and a stage bathed in brilliant daylight, which isn’t significantly conducive to the songs of Pleasure Division. Manfully powering on, the mighty Shadowplay and Monaco track What Do You Need From Me”gained them some new followers. Beloved the camo shorts and t-shirt combo, Hooky….
The Neville Staples Band blew the roof off; he’s one other frontman that’s had well being points and he seemed fairly frail strolling onstage; no worries, his super-skanking band and companion Sugary Staples bounced across the stage as Impolite Boy Quantity One took command. The group love this man; the decision and response stuff was a pleasure to observe.
Closing out the pageant had been The Boomtown Rats which was a little bit of a coup for Stone Valley; Geldof and co had been on glowing kind and the opening Trash Glam Child from the latest album set the tone properly. They don’t merely play the hits (though they’re all current and proper) and the newer songs sit properly among the many chart-botherers. Geldof doesn’t give a fuck, anyway; he’s embroiled within the music from minute one and is a lanky pile of sweaty hair by the tip. As Bob would put it, “Mega…”
In essence, Stone Valley is terrific – I’ll actually be again subsequent time. Should you miss The Wickerman and different smaller boutique festivals, you’ll love this. Give it a go.
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All phrases by Joe Whyte, you will discover his LTW archive right here
Images by Paul Buxton
