Date: 3rd - 5th August, 2001

We arrived at Whitchurch on the Friday afternoon and, luckily, managed to pitch our tent before the heavy shower of rain that forced us to shelter inside. Later as the weather improved we had plenty of time to wander around the site meeting and greeting friends - some of whom we hadn't seen since last year's festival.

The music started on Friday evening with Primitive Instinct; a band who I had never seen performing live although their last album 'Belief' is one of my favourites.  They provided us with a great start to the weekend with their atmospheric and rich sound ... and an impressive introduction to their live act.

Next up were Landmarq fronted by Tracy Hitchings, the only female lead vocalist at the festival this year.  The guys in the band are all very talented musicians and this comes through well on stage with many of the songs having extended instrumental sections.  Landmarq performed songs from many stages of their long career including the pre-Tracy days ... a fine set from these rock stalwarts.

The Cardiacs, who headlined the first night, were a different kettle of fish.  Last year they played earlier on the Saturday night and I found their post-punk raucousness too much; this year I was determined to give them a chance.  They are certainly a band that you can't ignore - the music combines the punk elements with psychedelic and progressive influences (some songs made me think of Orville the green duck on acid!) while they create a wall of sound that knocks you dead.  Not a band I would want to listen to at home but they are definitely interesting - even if their nazi imagery is somewhat disturbing.

After a lazy morning came the entertainment on Saturday afternoon in the smaller of the two halls.  Previously this slot had had provided acoustic sets, this year the organisers had opted to have a couple of proper band sets instead, starting with World Turtle. The McMahon brothers played songs from World Turtle and Haze - both their bands. Then the three other members of Treebeard joined them to complete the set in their own inimitable manner.

A neoprog element was brought to the festival by Grey Lady Down who played a strong set including many songs from their latest album 'Star-Crossed'.  The hall was full and the audience were generous in their appreciation for the band's efforts.

The large hall opened half an hour late, at six o'clock, on Saturday evening while Sphere3 were still soundchecking. Despite this they did a sterling job opening the evening's entertainment and impressed the audience with their own brand of prog fusion.  They are a band that've been around for some years now, yet everybody I spoke to had "heard of them, but never heard their music".  Many people who were there are now looking forward to hearing their debut album (which will be released on the Cyclops label) and, as a taster, we rushed over to get a copy of the single 'Paralysis' which contains a couple of tracks from the album.

The Martin Orford Band were up next: with Martin were John Jowitt on bass, Jadis' Steve Christy on drums and Dirtbox's guitarist Mark Westwood. The set comprised some tracks from Martin's solo album and some IQ songs from the Paul Menel era and earlier. Widge is a well loved figure in prog rock and he received a appreciative response for this very different performance.

For some reason unknown me, The Flower Kings decided to move their drum kit before they played their set. Consequently, the audience had to wait while they spent some twenty minutes sound checking and trying to figure why the keyboards weren't working initially. Eventually they started the four number set which included one forty five minute number - not necessarily the best move, I would have thought, for a festival where the audience were not specifically FK fans.  Anyway, they played well - although it was the shortest Saturday night headliner set for some time (IQ's sets in the last couple of years having hit the two hour mark).

Treebeard were back to begin Sunday afternoon's session. These guys are such good entertainers: the five piece play a set of cover versions of songs, from the last twenty years or so, on a huge variety of instruments ... excellent fun.

The afternoon continued with singer/songwriter Steve Burt and a trio of girl singers called Elan who sang in both English and Welsh.

Sunday evening opened with a young local band, Gravity, who were followed by the UK Blues Project - reminding us that this last evening of the festival used to be devoted purely to R'n'B.

The hit of the evening were Jump.  John Dexter Jones was in great form: prancing and posturing around the stage and delivering his diatribes to an increasingly interested audience - he's a great raconteur who quickly develops a rapport with the crowd, making everybody feel involved.  The band played a fabulous set which was greeted with rapturous applause and strong demands for more.

The Pink Floyd tribute band Perfect Alibi were the last band on. The concept of tribute bands is a constant theme for debate - and this band do themselves no favours. They played several well known numbers and performed them adequately, but without the soulfulness that make the Floyd such stars.  The guitarist was obviously a good player, but why was the female (backing?) singer stood at the front of the stage - the Floyd had very classy singers who always took second place to the real stars: the musicians.  Anyway PA gave everybody a chance to wind down and have a good laugh, although the lack of demand for an encore was perhaps surprising.

So, all in all a terrific weekend. The sound for the majority of the bands was excellent, there was a good mix of music with something for all tastes and we had a brilliant time.  Big thanks go to Dave and Pete for organising the whole affair and to everyone who helped to make the festival go so well.

All that's left to say is .... roll on next year!

Marisa