a sensational Newton Faulkner tops Saturday at Summer Sundae
Summer Sundae Weekender 2011 review
Thursday 18th August 2011
After a pretty rubbish night's sleep, I needed some music and a sausage sandwich to start my day off well - both of which I got, happily. First up was I Am In Love. Now, mmmm where do I start. This band had been 'bigged' up all day Friday with people walking around carrying banners to remind people of when and what time the band would be playing. I was interested in the fuss and so had to see for myself. Maybe it was because of this hype, but they did not meet my expectations. I did not like them one bit. While there appeared to be people clearly enjoying them, they were not exciting or particularly special but a band which could get lost in the weekend and they did. The lead singer appeared to be a little egotistical and acted as though they had already made it with the way he stomped around the stage. The music wasn't special or different or unique. They just sounded and felt like another band, trying to jump on the bandwagon to make it.
Flashguns are a relatively young band who sounded like they have a lot of potential. Taking on the in Indoor stage, the band sounded as though they had everything pulled together and Summer Sundae was a great place for them to perform.
Beth Jeans Houghton has a fantastic voice. That cannot be argued. She looked great on the stage and enchanted her audience on the Main Stage easily. Houghton has also recently been Greg James on Radio 1's Song of The Week which shows that she is being taken seriously as an artist. My issue is, one of her songs (like later with the Cuban Brothers) has possibly the most disgusting swear word included in the title (think See You Next…) and as she was on stage at a prime time of 3.25pm you would have thought she would have dropped the song or muted the title of the name but no. While I agree with artistic license and freedom of speech, there is no way that the use of this while there were young children listening at the front can be justified. Families looked shocked beyond belief and for them I guess the set felt tarnished, even to go as far as leaving the set. It was a bad choice to have included the word even though the song was so good I downloaded it. Beth Jeans Houghton was a highlight of the Saturday, minus the few hiccups which occurred and she delighted at Summer Sundae.
The LAST FM Rising Stage allowed up and coming musicians the chance to shine and perform in front of people who may not have experience their music before. I headed towards the stage to see Dionne Bromfield, someone who I had particularly wanted to see since I saw the artists performing over the weekend. She could possibly have the most soulful and powerful voice I have ever heard in a long time and she is only 15 years old. She performs as though she has years of experience behind her and the way that she just graces the stage is remarkable.
Benjamin Francis Leftwich took to the Indoor Stage on Saturday to a surprisingly large audience. Acoustic gloriousness I shall describe it as. If ever you could be in love with a voice, Benjamin Francis Leftwich has that voice. Accompanied by an acoustic guitar, this singer-songwriter, he was a serious contender for my best discovery of the entire weekend. Everything he says and plays is elegant and graceful. His music conjures up images and pictures which take you to places, situations and stirs emotions. Everything about Leftwich's music is stunning and his contribution to Summer Sundae took the whole weekend up to another level.
Headlining the Saturday night was Newton Faulkner. I have to be honest and admit, yes I think he is good but I wasn't expecting a great deal from him. I need to eat my own hat/jumper/laptop/camera/car . He was sensational. His voice, skills on the guitar and insane. Faulkner not only played the guitar but he rhythmically tapped and hit the guitars body and also finger picked which made me stand there, listening and watching in awe.
Faulkner interacted with his audience with such ease and charm that he could sing about a "..Professional dog food taster, but no-one would believe him. He worked for all the major companies.." and the cheers and screams were relentless. Faulkner played a sublime set including 'Dream Catch Me' and 'I Need Something' and a crazy cover of Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' which set the Summer Sundae audience crazy. To sum up the effect that Faulkner has on the Summer Sundae audience would be by overhearing a lad walking away from the set, "I am going to go and buy EVERYTHING he has ever done" - sheer brilliance!
review by Hayley Edwards photos by Hayley Edwards / Phil Bull
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