The 7th Annual Newcastle Community Green Festival

Newcastle Community Green Festival 2001

Sunday 6th May 2001
Leazes Park, Newcastle upon Tyne., England MAP
FREE!

Not expecting much of a local festival you don't expect to be hit by the fact that more than 3 quarters of the bands are fantastic, talented, sweet people.
Although not highly polished acts as you get from the major league festivals, the green festival's organisers (Ruth, Jona and Garry) had obviously done their homework to get a well-rounded line up of choonsters.

Saturday
Saturday, although not really advertised, featured some of the supposed local greats (though never heard of ANY of them!), the best being Ted. A kind of mix of Beth Orton/Alanis Morisette that was so captivating despite the 5 minute starting clash of screaming kids running about at a close by sack race. With the weather hot and clear, you just couldn't help but have a bit of a lie down and just feel the acoustic guitar, and mellow tone that is Ted as she happily played to a well deserving audience. The only downside to her set being it was only 40 minutes, and to be introduced to such a fantastic singer and then to have her ripped away after such a small time is quite a pain.

Others such as Mike Freeman and his mandolin (DONT LAUGH!) and Yachi, a flute and a guitar never sounded so good, were right up there in my respect. Okay, so the mandolin normally sounds like a duff guitar, but he somehow Mike gets around that and makes it more than just a single instrument, the audience becoming so enthralled in the beat that they couldn't help tapping their foot or nodding their head in beat, then suddenly remembering that they're getting into a mandolin beat and pretend they were swatting flies or kicking the grass whilst shiftily looking about themselves to check no one saw them enjoying it.

Sunday
The festival completely changed its focus. Saturday had been aimed at the local children and families (hence the sack race and the coconut shy (that I couldn't win at) I expect), but Sunday was more devoted to the music, with 2 stages fully operational from 11am right up till 10:30, the main stage, and the dub dome.

The dub dome, the smaller of the two, was in fact the better of the two in my own opinion and also half the audience that had wondered over from the main stage to our own happy corner of the site had to agree. Although not as mellow as Saturday, and having some pretty dire rapping weirdoes on, there were some funky bands going on, one of these being, Rubberneck!

Interesting name I thought as they rolled up in their little car, and then the boot popped open... out it all came, full drum set, bass, lead, 2 keyboards, and as many HEAVY amps as they could find I'm sure. After a short change over period where a few tech problems came up, they were off to a flying start. A sort of Asian dub foundation stage presence to them, so much energy, but playing the sort of music that ADF would probably look at and attempt to jump to, but instead fall about laughing at, Jazz mixed with rock. Interesting combination that, unfortunately for me after slagging the thought, worked blooming well, and obviously worked for the audience as well, seeing as they packed the area to capacity. With a little mood lighting going on above them, they sold the whole jazz and rock thing straight to me, and if they had an album I'd probably have bought 10 on the spot.