Pigstock 2005 – Denbigh

(review n pix neil crud)

Something’s not quite right. It’s the day after Pigstock, its mid-afternoon and I don’t have a hangover. And yet I drank enough to sink a small ship; kept up with Andy Fatman pint for pint and picked him off the floor on numerous occasions! Funny old thing alcohol – you can have two pints and feel quite giddy or have thirteen and feel, well, yes pissed, but in control (almost!). I think the trick was to cart along the Crudlets and Fatman’s sprog for the afternoon, therefore instilling a sense of responsibilty into the proceedings and not go hell for leather for the gutter before the evening!

Waking up at 11.20am meant there was no way we’d get there to see the opening set by Melaphobia and ‘the d word’  (Der Bomber) were obviously not on the bill and were replaced by some wedding band from Ruthin I think.

(pic left – ‘Crud and Ant make up after a message board tiff’)

Someone from the band Jacknife Juggernauts asked me this morning what my thoughts on the day as a whole were. My reply was, ‘Great day, shit music.’

If you’re gonna spend £12 to see some bang up to date and up ‘n’ coming bands from the local area then your money would be better spent elsewhere. If you’re gonna spend £12 to chill out in a friendly atmosphere and have a great day out and catch the occasional snatch of brilliance from the stage then this the place for you.

The music (if you’ve been kept in a dark shed for two months and fed bullshit) has been a bone of contention since the line up was announced, and for some great entertainment pay my Message Board a visit and start at the thread titled ‘Absolute Fucking Travesty’ – it’s an excellent read that has spawned great publicity for both Pigstock and ‘the d word’.

Someone did mention that the bongo player in a blue shirt (who is actually Chris Godfrey) had been on stage three times in 3 different bands and wouldn’t it have been better to have put on some local talent instead mates and their jazzy jams. I agreed but did point out that this wasn’t a cutting edge festival, it was a cutting hedge one!

But let’s face some facts here and make a few points. If you’re the organiser of Pigstock you have to look at the point that this is in Denbigh and if you put on a load of bands making waves on the coast then they’re going to bring crowds with them. You have to weigh up the possibility that some could get drunk and will play up a bit. Denbigh people are all for having a bit of a laugh and a joke – amongst themselves. When some upstarts turn up and start laughing at them or treading on toes then things could turn ugly. Yes, it’d be a great day for music but it would probably be the last ever Pigstock! Although it would’ve been nice to have seen at least a couple of today’s performers replaced by the likes of Khagool, Gintis, Lantern, David Wrench, The Alarm, Crave or (god forbid!) Der Bomber.

The Holloh provided the afternoon’s first foray into what readers of this website would describe as good, with some fast driving indie rock with a punk edge – or so the NME would say. They played a great version of Johnny B Goode in a Sex Pistols stylee which introduced the first casualty of the day when a sole headbanger (with no hair) got up to rub his demin and play his air guitar.

The Giro Gypsies received the loudest cheer of the afternoon with their colourful animated line up and progged out sound – great guitar solo at the end by Stewart – check out their profile on the North section of my site.

We also had MK Ultra, Y Moniars, Sarah Davies, Cosmic Charlies, Geth & The Celebrities, Zoot Serious, Mid Life Crisis, who are all good at what they do. It was there to provide a background to a glorious day, obviously not my bag at all but they served the purpose of keeping the proles happy.

Duncan Black (main pic) provided my highlight of the day with a brief but exquisite display of guitar genius, and let’s face it, there was some stiff competition in the guitar hero category provided by Mid Life Crisis, Cosmic Charlies and the Giros. But Duncan took it to a different level up there on his own with an array of pedals and coming across like a mute Nick Harper crossed with Ed Alleyn-Johnson, two artists who you should most definitely make yourselves familiar with. Coming on just after 9pm he was backed by a light show, lots of smoke and the opportunity to perform in front of a big crowd. Duncan later explained to the organisers that he was used to playing in front of strange goths and headbangers who would throw things at him for not being metal enough!

Check out his album ‘Ubiquitous Guitar Mercenary’ out now.

We missed the fireworks display and the following bands as I had to save Andy Fatman’s liver.

Here’s to next year!