Eight years ago the Isle of Wight was a musical wasteland, apart from local bands playing in pubs there wasn't much happening at all, then in 2002 it all changed, the Isle of Wight Festival was resurrected after an absence of 32 years and since then we have seen several major annual events spring up. The latest of these was billed as Summer Madness 2009, although unless they have the same headliner next year I doubt that name will stick too long.
Set in a natural amphitheatre with the imposing walls of Carisbrooke Castle looking over us, Summer Madness 2009 was a one-day event featuring five acts, chosen with one eye on the annual scooter rally that takes place over the August bank holiday weekend, culminating in the band that have lent their name to the event.
On arrival we were presented with a well laid out site boasting the usual selection of burger vans and bars, but also a few slightly hopeful hippy-clothing stalls. Most notable was that many of the food stalls were run by local vendors selling produce from local farms, as opposed to the usual clone collection of food stalls you usually get at these events. A quick trip to the bar for, what was surprisingly, properly cold cans of cider and we were ready for the bands.
Because of a delay in opening the site there was only five minutes before the first band took to the stage, but the Sawdust Ceasers weren't deterred by the lack of people that had made their way through the gates and launched into a set which mixed their own original songs with plenty of crowd-pleasing anthems. Although sounding like they should be a hoe-down country act, the Ceasers were actually a mod band, who wear their credentials on their sleeves and sound like Paul Weller had taken over as lead singer of the Small Faces. Given that the audience was made up of a sizeable number of mods from the scooter rally this meant that they very quickly drew a large crowd who sang and cheered their way through the performance, undeterred by the drizzle that had descended on the site (well, it is summer after all).
After they had left the stage it was left to Jerry Dammers to entertain the crowd as DJ between the bands. Jerry used to be keyboard player with the Specials before the split in the 80s and he played a good mix of Ska, Reggae, Northern Soul and Mod music to general appreciation of the crowd.
Next up was the Gentleman's Dub Club, a Ska band who were let down by their lead singers increasing irritation at the crowd for not singing along. Unfortunately as none of their songs were known to the audience or had catchy enough choruses to draw the crowd in, this level of participation was never going to happen and most people took the opportunity to go and get another beer instead.
Gentleman's Dub Club should have taken time to watch Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band's performance if they want to know how to get a crowd going. Before Sunday my only knowledge of Geno was as the man who inspired Dexy’s Midnight Runner's 80s anthem of the same name. However you don’t need an extensive knowledge of the man's career to enjoy his performance. Geno is an old school soul singer who's live show brings to mind the Blues Brothers, obviously at home on the stage he works the crowd effortlessly, and quickly has them hanging on his every word, whether it's singing classics such as 'Land of a Thousand Dances' and 'Knock on Wood', or merely talking to the crowd like an old-time gospel preacher.
Stepping back from the stage to get something to eat we became aware that a fashion trend was starting to permeate the site – The Fez, they were everywhere and looking from the back of the arena the crowd was a sea of red. After a fairly mediocre burger we returned to the front for the penultimate act of the evening, Kid Creole and the Coconuts. Now, in the 80s Kid Creole had a few hits, and no doubt was the act to see after picking up your girlfriend from the wine bar in your Escort XR3i, however 25 years on his act hasn't changed and seeing him leer and perve over the three 'Coconuts', dressed in leopard print bikinis, just didn't cut it for me. In his defence musically he was still on form but the stage show was just a little too tacky for my tastes.
After the early bout of rain at the start of the show the weather had held out for us, however as Madness took to the stage the drizzle returned with a vengeance. But this failed to dampen the spirits of the crowd who weren't going to let it get in the way of having a good sing and dance. Even the slight technical hitch that delayed them for 10 minutes didn't stop the enthusiasm from the band and crowd alike.
When Suggs asked "Does anyone know any jokes?" I'd have fully believed the crowd would have still enjoyed them if they did do a stand-up act instead, such is the love and affection that seem to follow this band around. I'd challenge anyone to stand still during one of their sets, from their opening with 'One Step Beyond' through to the closing track 'Night Boat to Cairo' all the hits were present, with Jerry Dammers joined them on stage for the encore - playing keyboards for the eponymous 'Madness'. The evening ended at a civilised half past ten, but you got the impression that Madness would have happily played for another couple of hours if given the chance.
Organiser John Curd has said that he is hoping to make this an annual event, and we left the venue looking forward to seeing what he has in store for next year.
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