Primal Scream rocks an evolved Stockton Weekender

Stockton Weekender 2013

Saturday 27th to Sunday 28th July 2013
Stockton Riverside Park, Stockton-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, TS18 1LP, England MAP
early bird £35 weekend adult, £70 with camping, under 14s free

Daily capacity: 10,000

Stockton Weekender once again evolved and made changes to its format. Gone was the three day format to be replaced by a main two day event with a free small Pre Weekender party on the Friday night.

The Friday event was very popular and the venue (The Georgian Theatre) was full to capacity within 10 minutes of opening. This might have had a lot to do with the headline act local band The Chapman Family announcing that this was the final gig of their seven-year career before they go their separate ways. The night was a huge success with three very good bands playing. It started off with Bedford four piece punk outfit The Council Tax Band who even managed to make a song about a local swimming pool angry. Well it did re-open after a refurbishment without any flumes so I suppose it was warranted! North East band By Toutatis were up next who sang folky shanties about history. They used a variety of instruments including a wooden frog that made a sound like, well a frog. To finish the night The Chapman Family played an hour and a half set ,which was both mesmerising and touching. It was bittersweet to watch a band's swan song especially when lead singer, Kingsley said, "This is a song that is…well WAS on our album." They were a fine band that will leave a massive hole in the Teesside music scene.

The main Stockton Weekender ticket prices saw large increases this year with day tickets inflated by 50% and the full weekend ticket prices rising from £30 to £40. There were still healthy crowds especially on the Saturday but it did seem to slightly impact on the attendance compared to last year.

This year the set up was very similar to last year. They again had the Vela stage which was next to the Main stage and the two stages alternated acts so there was always music on. The only problem this year was that a couple of times there was sound bleed from the sound checks on the Main stage, which could be heard over the Vela stage acts. The other main area was Wunderbar tent, which show-cased local bands and this tent was very popular even with the glorious sunshine we had most of the weekend.

Once again the festival increased its kids entertainment with popular activities such as circus skills and arts and crafts. The Kaleidoscope tent is the main hub of this area but it also spreads out in front of the tent with people playing games and even learning to ride unicycles.

We arrived in front of the Main stage Saturday just as Hartlepool indie band Shoot The Poet opened the festival at 1pm. They had won a competition to be able to play and you could see they were loving every minute of the experience, even giving away T-shirts to the crowd. As tends to happen at Stockton Weekender the crowd is small until about 3 o'clock but the late-comers missed a treat, as Shoot The Poet were great openers. The first act on the Vela stage were The Panoramic who defied their position on the bill by playing a well crafted melodic set that should have been on later in the day. Wild Smiles were up next and the Southampton based trio entertained with both with their surf style music and Hawaiian shirts.

The crowds started to build in time for one man band The Lake Poets (I say one man band, but he did invite a few mates on stage after a few songs). He was excellent and his set was a blend of acoustic indie and folk. He even managed to get a boo, and a cheer, from the crowd by using local rivalry and saying he was from Sunderland then adding, "But at least I'm not from Newcastle!" After he finished we left the arena to take the short walk into Stockton to get something to eat and got back in time to catch Dublin based Irish band Kodaline. This was well timed as they were one of the highlights of the weekend with a few ready-made pop ballads in their set list. They have been going in one form or another since 2007 but I would expect the next year or so could see their breakthrough.

Next up was quirky instrumental project B>E>A>K. Named after the bird masks all the band members wear, their high energy set seemed to polarise the crowd. A large group crowded around the small Vela stage and bounced around like lunatics, whereas further back people seemed to talk all the way through, and seemed bored by a band whose songs all seemed to blend into one.

Spiritualized were next to hit the main stage. Formed in 1990, and having seven albums to choose a set from, we expected a lot from this acclaimed band. Unfortunately they came on 15 minutes late and seemed to rush through their set. There was no connection with the crowd - and they didn't speak through the entire set. Thankfully, as soon as they finished, Temples raised the atmosphere from the Vela stage. Their psychedelic pop rock worked brilliantly to set the crowd up for Saturday’s main attraction Primal Scream.

Bobby Gillespie led Primal Scream out to a fairly large expectant crowd and they weren't left disappointed. From their great catalogue of songs and Gillespie's trippy interaction with the crowd they were went down a storm. The crowd danced through out the set and as expected lapped up songs such as Loaded and Rocks. As they left the stage people stayed around hoping they would return. Unfortunately, the lights came up and everyone had to accept they had been left wanting more. What more could a band want than that? Everyone left in good spirits hoping the Sunday would bring more of the same.

review by: Andrew Hogg

photos by: Caitlin Hogg