crowds flock to Saturday at GuilFest

Saturday proposes to be a better day on the weather front. Sitting drinking tea listening to Rock Choir practising is a taste of what to expect on the main stage. Arriving at the main entrance it is clear that the people missing from Friday have arrived in their droves early on day tickets.

The place is buzzing with a mixture of families and teenagers alike. Moving to the main stage area we set up about a third of the way in and set about the days entertainment. Right on queue Rock Choir appear and belt out songs as diverse as Robby Williams to Ike and Tina Turner, the place is packed. Guildford based band Two Fingers of Firewater are an eclectic mix of rock, infused with steel guitar for a sort of hard edged country feel. They warm the crowd up nicely before Naree pull onto stage all the way from the USA. Tip for budding bands. If you want to get a crowd to stand and watch you, throw hundreds of stress balls into the crowd. Kids and dads alike scramble to the front whilst the band play their indie/Asian soft rock set with gusto and its not half bad.

Thomas White from Brighton can only be described as bonkers. All the members of the band are dressed in bright robes and headdresses, it can only be described as Polyphonic Spree meets the Mighty Boosh's Bongo brothers. Its a psychedelic mix that unless you are into that sort of thing might be hard to understand, and just failed to set the crowd alight.

It has to be said I was never a UB40 lover and after waiting for 40 minuets for Ali Campbell to arrive on stage, my desire to listen him had further diminished. The members of my group bop up and down to the standard UB40 tunes, however the band seemed a little loose and Ali, desperately trying to work the crowd, finally hits home just as they walk off stage. Whilst I did not enjoy the set, the show pulled the biggest crowd of the day by a mile.

Kid Creole and the Coconuts on the other hand are just class. From the moment Bongo Eddie started the long introduction, their Latin/Caribbean music hits the spot on this now sunny afternoon. The three costume changes by the glamorous Coconuts and the crowd favourites, Annie I'm Not Your Daddy and Stool Pigeon has the people dancing and "cha cha cha" charring.

I did not know what to make of Just Jack before he came on. I was aware of a few of his songs but was thinking it was going to be a shouting rap set. However I must say I was pleasantly surprised. Whilst the lyrics did seem a tad predictable it was more than made up by the band that has been assembled to support him as they were as tight as a drum. It just left me wondering what he could achieve if the verses were sung as songs, instead of rapping, Mike Skinner style, about things as mundane as getting up and making coffee as the choruses are really very catchy.

At this point I am off to the other stage via the other tents. As I leave a million teenagers pour in for N-Dubz. At the Good Time Stage the 80's post punk new wave goddess that is Hazel O'Connor is about to play with her assembled band The Bluja Project. Sitting listening to them run though their set I was a little bored. I expected much more than was delivered and it was only when she pronounced on stage "Okay we are at this bit in the set" that she began to sing the classic songs that most people had turned up to hear. Eighth Day, Will You and surprisingly a cover of Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars were all a little too late as many of the people at the stage at the beginning had already gone.

Hawkwind are having a great year. They were in receipt of a MOJO award in June and billed to headline GuilFest's Good Time Stage as well as their own festival in late August. Seeing that the curfews on Saturday are quite early 23:00 hrs I was intrigued to see whether they would manage this. Dave Brock and the guys as usual did it their own way. Starting with Angels of Death they fired through a number of tracks from the new album. The dancers on stage in ever more elaborate costumes. Finishing with an extended Hassan I Sahba. Okay, so it was 11:20 but hey this is Hawkwind and nobody wanted to pull the plug in the mixing tower.

The day has been a vast contrast to Friday. I would say the day tickets are how the majority choose to enjoy GuilFest as there was an immediate thinning of people. The 70's disco is full, well it is actually now an 80's disco and the Surrey Advertiser stage is full with more line dancing. I choose to close my evening with a cider and an ostrich burger before heading back to the tent for some much needed camp side chat.

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