GuilFest 2007 Review
Day Two: Saturday 14th July
Saturday begins with sunshine, a few well-needed bacon sandwiches and Blimus on the Ents24 Stage, whose comical alt-country and impressive stage show (think dancing bears and big, fake beards) gets the day off to a great start.
While Blimus are busy bemusing the Ents24 crowd, the Guildford Philharmonic Orchestra are giving a rousing performance on the BBC Radio 2 Main Stage, playing a mixture of classical pieces and more popular film and television scores. The sun is out, families are picnicking on the grass in front of the stage and, as the orchestra break into a stirring rendition of Rule, Britannia, the atmosphere is less 'festival' and more 'last night of the proms'.
Blimus, GuilFest 2007
Back at the Ents24 Stage, Brighton-based band Kovak have already drawn an impressive crowd as they swagger their way through a sleazy set of dirty rock'n'roll, punctuated with electro rhythms and funk sensibilities. Next up, Canadian group the Tom Fun Orchestra take to the stage, whose quirky brand of country-tinged alt-folk and irrepressible energy both warms the assembled audience and brings passers by to stand still.
Back down at the BBC Radio 2 Main Stage, the gathered families are still lounging in the sun as reggae legend Jimmy Cliff prepares to begin his set. Resplendent in a luminous orange silk outfit, he seats himself centre stage before coolly breaking into a laid back version of Rivers Of Babylon. His biggest hit, You Can Get It If You Really Want, follows, as does his famous cover of Cat Steven's Wild World.
Kovak, GuilFest 2007
The atmosphere is just right - blue skies, a slight breeze, and Jimmy's soft, soulful voice floating along it - but time waits for no man, and we've got more music to see!
Damien Dempsey is currently due to be playing up at the Ents24 Stage so we head up to catch his set, but he's been swapped with Manchester singer-songwriter Stephen Fretwell, so we take a seat on the grass and listen to the first half of his down-tempo set of sweetly sung soulful acoustica.
Then it's back down to the BBC Radio 2 Main Stage for London soft-rockers Ghosts, whose Keane-esque tunage and well-rounded sound gets the chilled-out audience up on their feet and singing
Tom Fun Orchestra, GuilFest 2007
along, preparing them for the next performance - a thrilling set from Scottish songstress Sandi Thom.
Up at the Ents24 Stage, British folkster Rory McLeod is busy delivering an upbeat set of original bluesy folk, followed by a soulful performance from Virgina's Ross Copperman, whose set-ending cover of Hey Jude sees an excitable audience joining him in the chorus and applauding his performance generously.
There's an impressive line-up going on down at the Rock Sound Stage - Pull Tiger Tail followed by Hell Is For Heroes and Reuben, but, while faint strains of Morcheeba's summery trip-hop can be heard floating across the festival site from the Main Stage, we're back at the Ents24 Stage as the legendary Richard Thompson woos us with a technically impressive and politically charged set of classic folk
Jimmy Cliff, GuilFest 2007
inspired singer-songwriting. As much as we'd like to stay, it's quickly back down to the Main Stage for headliners Squeeze, as the crowds gather in the setting sun to witness a rare set from the newly reformed Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook.
The excitement in the air is undeniable, as older fans and younger converts fervently await those classic songs that were a soundtrack to so many during the eighties and nineties.
Kicking off with a moving performance of Take Me I'm Yours, the pair appear to be back on form, enjoying being back on a big stage and playing in a full-band, electric guitars and all.
Ross Copperman, GuilFest 2007
Continuing with 1981 hit Tempted and 1979's Up The Junction, the crowd's enthusiasm is unfaltering, but, for all the enjoyment that Difford and Tilbrook appear to be having on stage, there's a distinct lack of chemistry between them and an overwhelming feeling that Glenn, being the main singer of the pair, could probably do the gig alone. Nevertheless, the audience are either unaware or indifferent and, as they throw out classic after classic, including 1981's Labelled With Love and set-ender Cool For Cats, Squeeze are, ultimately, triumphant in their return.
So, as the second day of GuilFest draws to a close and the music begins to fade, it's back to the campsite to happily and eagerly await what tomorrow will bring.
Click here to read Day Three of our GuilFest 2007 Review.
Words & Photos: Meg Rowell
