Saturday Overview

Due to a prior engagement we weren’t due to arrive at the small campsite until the Saturday and a friend on site had asked us to get him a Guardian and so we went to the town of Castle Donington for the first time. A small town with a few newsagents mostly sold out of The Guardian. I only mention because the only people wandering the quiet streets apart from locals were those in Hawkwind T-shirts.

The fact that this year’s OTT festival would be popular was given more emphasis when we arrived at the Farmhouse Hotel, to get our weekend wristbands and queued with a lot of day ticket entrants all also wearing Hawkwind shirts. Both the car park and the campsite seemed busier than ever before.

Despite the slight cloud cover, it was already hot as we quickly parked and hauled our stuff to camp with friends once again. Putting the tent up was hard work as the sun and temperatures soared even more. All reports were positive of the previous night’s merrymaking and that Kamel Nitrate had been superb as had Cassava.

Better news still was that we hadn’t missed our favourite ska DJ Andy Skank who would instead be playing that night. Excellent news although we still wished we’d been there at the Chill Out stage as Vagabond Boogaloo had gone down a storm.

Wandering down into the prayer flag regaled courtyard to enter the festival proper we noticed the site had been compacted outside, presumably so vendors like Mezzanine Dream were no longer likely to be caught in dust clouds like last year, as the re-design created a natural wind break - not that there was much breeze this year. Inside there appeared to be more stalls than before too and the wares on offer were far too tempting.

It was already well after 1pm so we went in search of food, I have to say I’m always a little disappointed in the choice within the farm building especially since they’ve stopped doing jacket potatoes for the kids and ‘proper food’ at the breakfast kitchen later in the day. But the crepe stall was still there and we were able to get the usual hog roast rolls.

We’d missed Bannister and Barlow the first act on the main stage but were there in time for Hotel Brown, pleasant light harmonies that sounded little like the billed in the programme ‘Fifth Dimension’ and more like the ‘Mamas and the Papas’ or ‘The Magic Numbers’ and very enjoyable acoustic driven music it was too as we caught up with old festival friends and sampled the, already running out fast, real ales. All the usual faces were around and it’s always nice to come back to OTT and see familiar characters.

Over on the Chill Out stage the Taal Tabla Ensemble were playing some wonderful tabla rhythms and it was nice to sit in the darkened room and cool off from the baking heat, even the main stage marquee was too hot this year. But I braved the heat for a while to watch some of Steve Forbert’s solo set. His country tinged music and deep lyrics combined with his rasping vocals have stood the test of time and the American is a treat to listen to.

Next up was an unexpected highlight the wonderful Losco State Opera – sounding like a Jethro Tull folk hybrid, with two flutes going full pelt at one point. The music gets the front of the crowd up and dancing. A crowd which is looking quite full already in the steaming conditions. Great Stuff!

Another refill of the tankard and its outside for the interactive drum workshop with festival favourites, they’ve been at many festivals this summer, Inter Africa and Beatrific. The rhythms sound excellent this year and I wonder if the collection of practising drummers has also been following them around. It sounds much more flowing than the Spring workshop here earlier in the year.

While we find a position in the courtyard out of the sun, which happens to be beside the Chill Out Stage I venture in to listen to Pete Oakley, a very nice bloke, who chats to the unfortunately limited crowd about guitar styles between delivering fantastically worked blues guitar. Fantastic stuff, if only more people had seen him!

Luda Mix are new and different, with Algerian Rai music and a belly dancer who gets the crowd joining in to the dancy sufi rhythms. A great way to warm up the leg muscles before the popular Oojami take to the stage and a good size crowd now join in the dancing and I have to say I do really enjoy Oojami every time I see them, they are terrific to dance to and the belly dancing continues on stage and when they finish the calls of more result in an impromptu encore.

Then the moment I’ve been waiting weeks for, the mighty Hawkwind take to the stage, Dave Brock in familiar lab coat twiddles a few knobs on his synths, Alan Davy leers at the crowd happily from behind his big black bass and Richard Chadwick perches on his drum stool with a large bifta between his lips. The crowd goes wild, the lights and visuals kick in and spaceship Hawkwind lifts off.

And it’s terrific I’ve not seen Hawkwind since 1992, instead often seeing Space Ritual on the festival circuit, but the real Hawkwind are so much tighter musicians. This is the real deal, their musicianship faultless and terrific and a joy to watch as we bounce through new songs like ‘Angela Android’ and howl along tunes like ‘Hassan I Sabha (Assassins Of Allah)’, ‘Assault and Battery’, ‘Spirit of The Age’, ‘The Psychedelic Warlords (Disappear In Smoke)’ and ‘Brainstorm’. Plus the fantastic ‘Seven By Seven’ and they are joined by ex-Rusty Nuts guitarist Dumpy at some point to add some real power to the riffage. When we thought it could get no better they unleash ‘Silver Machine’ and we blast off into space, the crowd going wild in the amazing light show and ear splitting sound.

Leaving the marquee I’m drenched in sweat but deliriously happy at the Psychedelic Warlords mighty performance. On this form they should be playing packed out stadiums! Steam rises off us as we cool in the sultry air of the courtyard before heading into the Chill Out barn for some skankin’ with Andy Skank but his set ends far too early it seems to me, and we filter out to the campsite to chat until dawn.

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