Saturday at Kendal Calling sees the skies crackle with lightning

Kendal Calling 2013

Friday 26th to Sunday 28th July 2013
Lowther Deer Park, Hackthorpe, Cumbria, CA10 2HN, England MAP
£115 for weekend with camping

Daily capacity: 8,000

After a well needed morning spent sleeping of the excesses of the previous day, and restarting the whole process, the no alcohol into the arena rule meant the campsite was a very busy place till later in the day. The bulk of the people opted to stay out there and eat and drink with friends, whilst still being able to hear the main stage as back ground music.

We headed into the arena in time to catch The Twang, a band I had pretty much dismissed as yet another bunch of indie one song wonders. I was totally surprised by the amount of passion they brought to the delivery of their tracks, and they actually really impressed me. The dual vocalists were obviously loving the unique atmosphere Kendal Calling seems to supply, and they left to a huge ovation. It was obviously brummie Saturday as hot on the heels of the Twang was Mike Skinner's new incarnation The D.O.T., I was surprised at the lack of a huge crowd, but on speaking to many people round the site later on it turns out hardly anybody knew this was Mike's new project after retiring The Streets. For the few thousand that were watching, they were really treated. The sublime voice of Rob Harvey from The Music fame on guitar duties supplementing Skinner's mastery of all things electronic The D.O.T. provide another treat for the ears. I'm starting to think the Kendal Calling bookers have a mystic crystal ball into the depths of my musical taste buds.

Serving to prove the point even more along came one of my favorite bands of my formative years Ash. After weeks of sunshine there was something almost poetic about the sky opening whilst Ash played 'Start Of The Summer' and it turned out it was there to stay until roughly 10 am the next morning! Not letting the rain interrupt proceedings the continue with a relentless set full of smash singles, and a real triumphant set. I decided as it was raining to go and investigate for some nice hot food, and found solace in some fresh fish and chips whilst sitting under a tree watching lightning crackle over the surrounding hills for almost an hour in the driving rain. It was so breath taking I sat there for almost an hour.

I made my way back to the main stage to watch The Charlatans, one of the bands I grew up listening to at a very young age, blaring out of my elder brothers bedroom. The set really took me down memory lane, 'The Only One I Know' proving to be one of the biggest sing-alongs I'm sure Kendal has ever witnessed! Tim Burgess was in imperial form, with his vocals flooding into the night sky transporting the mainly late 30's and 40's crowd back to magical memories.

With the rain hammering down and not showing any signs of letting up, we decided to call it a night and batten down the hatches after another great day at Kendal Calling.

review by: Jamie Licence

photos by: Jamie Licence