Out There.... Bracknell Festival 2002

There's loads of big well known festivals, but there's also the smaller events. The "Out There" Bracknell Festival, held both inside and out at an arts centre, has a mix of local, national and international bands, and is great value at £45 for a weekend (3 day) ticket, including camping. It's all very civilised with the indoor loos in the mansion house removing the worst festival experience (though there were portaloos outside for those wanting the authentic experience).

Outside (on what is almost a lawn) is the Main Stage, hemmed in with around 10 stalls selling festival clothing and the like, and four or five food stalls with limited and pricey offerings. There's a large Kids tent sited next to a (permanent) playground, offering the chance to learn juggling and other circus skills.

The curfew on the Main Stage is at 11:30pm, but with quieter things going on outside, and acts performing in the Cellar Bar and elsewhere until the 1:30am close. Between the main acts, bands play in the beer tent and on the terrace, and street theatre entertainment moves amongst the crowd.

It's late on Friday when I arrive, and it's raining, so I hide inside the beer tent as Cinematic Orchestra finish off their final song, just as the rain ends. Thirty minutes later headliners Lamb take to the stage, with a smallish but enthusiastic crowd (probably lessened by the weather), and play a slightly more downbeat set than they gave at Glastonbury last weekend, but very enjoyable never the less. Inside, Osibisa give the night an African groove.

Saturday sees the site fill right up, with a mixture of families with kids, 30-somethings as well as the more normal festival age group, the atmosphere is nicely relaxed, with most people spending the day sprawling on the grass and just soaking it all up.

Early on Gilad Atmon's Orient House Orchestra impress my companion, while The Handsome Family deliver a sort of Texan country rock, and Alex Wilson's RnB Latino are very enjoyable. The main act - David Byrne - opens with "Flowers" from Talking Heads' final album, the crowd immediately warming to him.

The band of bassist, drummer, and percussionist, with Byrne on guitar (and a computer hidden somewhere for extra bits for a few songs) are joined six songs in by a string section which adds a different dimension to the songs. The set consisted of a mixture of Heads classics (including "Once In A Lifetime", "Life During Wartime", "This Must be the Place (Naive Melody)"), older solo stuff (including a fabulous version of "What A Day That Was" from Byrne's '81 classic album "The Catherine Wheel"), an aria from an opera, a couple of covers, as well as a selection from last years "Look into the Eyeball" (X-Press 2 are to remix a track for a single release in a few weeks).

The main set was finished with Byrne's own great arrangement of "Lazy", the live instruments bringing something extra above the X-Press 2 version. At the start, Byrne introduces Lucas (aged about 12, one of the Kids Tent crew I think) onto the stage to display his excellent juggling skills through the whole of the song to the crowds appreciation, and adding to the festival feel. After a too long interval, they return to the stage for an encore of "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" - the Whitney Houston song, a strange choice, but delivered better than I've heard Byrne do before - the crowd enjoy it, a few even waltz while it plays. The band want to play one more, but they're out of time, and they have to leave the stage. Damn! And I'm not the only one that thinks so - I don't think I've ever seen a crowd so rooted to the spot after the last act has finished - they went down a storm!!!

The crowds for Sunday are not quite as much as Saturday, but it's still busy, and still a lovely atmosphere. Again, the majority sit on the grass, enjoying the entertainment.

Zohar are enjoyable with a Turkish-type sound, and The Herbaliser put on a good show, having attracted a few die-hard fans who can be spotted heading for the exit the moment they finish. Stereo MC's receive a surprisingly cool reception at the start, and I have visions of it all going downhill. Between the first few songs Rob (the singer) doesn't look or sound impressed by the crowd they've drawn (and I've read how he hates playing festivals), but he obviously decides to give it his best shot, and that brings reward. They ran through their classic songs both old and new with energy, looking and sounding good - a great finish!

Photograph galleries
  Lamb
  David Byrne
  Stereo MC's