Festival Coverage : HIPSVILLE - Saturday Night & Sunday Afternoon
- Written by Kenneth McMurtrie
Shaking off the torpor from the first night's shenanigans Saturday started off in the Tiki bar with a restful lounge set from The Archers, closely followed by a more lively one of surf. That & a Guinness was pretty much what was required to regain some equilibrium.
Speedball Jr. kept up the surfing theme amongst the cool Tiki-head sculptures and under-sea aura that had been masterfully crafted by the organising team. Indeed it seemed a shame that this was, in effect, the chill-out area for the event rather than the main arena but then you have to take into account the scale of the two rooms as the main ballroom's a fantastic size & those heads didn't look like you could make them particularly cheaply or quickly. Maybe next year though.
Tonight's festivities in that aforementioned main ballroom were given an ego fueled beginning by the North West's The Shook-Ups! Going for a Music Machine-like all black performance kit they get all hot & sweaty and in amongst the crowd as they belt out such album tracks as 'On My Feet All Day' and their excellent cover of 'The Magic Touch'. Could they have the suavest drummer of the weekend as well? It pretty much seems so. the other point of note at this time is there appears to be no such thing as a small tambourine about the place this weekend, they're all large.
Speaking of suave Laurent from Les BOF!, after whipping up the crowd and manhandling stragglers to the front of the stage, decides to join the rest of the band via the unorthodox method of climbing over the crash barriers.
Being the consummate showman though this shouldn't really come as a surprise. As ever the band's combined years of experience shine through as they put the gallic twist to a number of classics as well as their own infectious compositions. Somebody needs to put out a second album by them tout de suite.
Saturday's third act are (the rather tall) Suzi Chunk & Groovy Uncle. Something's clearly amiss from the start of their set as Mr. Bruce Brand is filling in on guitar but having to read what he's supposed to be playing. Consequently there's the odd lag in time keeping. After the rousing opening acts (& with the memory of the previous night's sets still very fresh) the style of pop rock on offer here is also sadly a bit of a let down. We're being treated to an undeniably good vocal performance but the material itself just isn't setting pulses racing.
King Salami & The Cumberland 3 redress the balance somewhat with their full-on performance which is as much cabaret as musical show (at various times members sport arrows through their heads etc.). One of the hardest working bands on the circuit their boundless energy and seemingly limitless bon homie means they're a firm favourite with the fans here tonight. Like many who've gone before they zip through their loud and trashy setlist as if their lives depended on it. A perfect set up for the crowning glory of the evening.
Which comes in the form of Austria's Wild Evel & The Trashbones. Likened at one point to a wasp there's also a bit of a resemblance to Screaming Lord Sutch in the form of Wild Evel, as he and 
the band easily show why they're top of the bill, playing song after killer song from their many singles and album Tales From The Cave as well as giving out plenty of chat and profusely thanking the crowd. Their sound knocked me on my arse at least once - when was the last time a band did that to you? For their encore the stage is invaded by many of the night's other performers and the intrepid men & women who've put the hours in to make the event the such a fantastic experience for all concerned, which is only fair.
After this much fun it's unsurprising that Sunday sees a rather more jaded crowd than the one that was hungover from Friday. Still, The Masonics pull in a good sized number of fans to the Tiki bar where we're lucky enough to see Ludella Black step up for a couple of numbers with them as well as get a good laugh at the combined wit of Mickey, Bruce & John as they go about the task of trying to instil some life in the assembled throng. Unfortunately, for me anyway, the demand of sleep is too strong so I have to slope off to bed and therefore must apologise to The Tiki Heads and Los Imbasils for being unable to pass comment on their sets.
All told then a great deal of thanks has to be offered up to Andrew, Ade & the team for creating & curating a thoroughly enjoyable weekend in a pretty uniquely laid out location. HIPSVILLE will return in 2014 by all accounts and this reviewer for one will be there for sure (along with maybe some grips on my Beatle boots this time).
For the full set of photographs taken over the two nights of bands click here.