Located within Chester’s city walls, Chester racecourse plays host to the first ever Chester Rocks Festival. A two day event held over the first weekend of July. Though smaller in scale than many of it’s bigger name peers, the sites impressive range of facilities combined with it’s diverse range of acts more than compensates for it’s relative infancy.
Saturday’s line up on the main stage consisted primarily of television and radio friendly pop acts for the teen’s with a light smattering of more traditional acts for their parental chaperones. This gave the day a sunny, joyful family day out kind of a feel.
First on up and coming singer songwriter Steven Langstaff who delivered a subtle but passionate performance. Opening for any festival, let alone a brand new one is no mean feat, Langstaff however showed no signs of unease and even though the weather overcast at this juncture it was unable to cast a shadow over an impressive set that eased the crowed into the day.
Next up and hailing from just down the road in liverpool The Christians who, after lead singer Gary Christian had cheekily announced themselves as McFly proceeded to provide the crowed with a soulful tour through their back catalogue. With the seasoned pro’s classic ideal world receiving a particularly emotional response from the crowd.
The sun came out and on to the stage came Eliza Doolittle who lit up the stage and the festival with a lively set that included the tracks Skinny Jeans, Pack up and Mr medicine which helped to generate a real party atmosphere amongst the crowd.
after a short beak The Sugababes strode confidently on to the main stage and began their set by launching into a double whammy of their hit’s freak like me and Round Round. With the crowd now firmly on their side Heidi, Amelle and Jade went on to produce an effortlessly polished show, with crowd pleasers Hole in the Head and Push the Button thrown into the mix. As an added bonus for their fans, the girls performed a sneak peak acapella version of their soon to be released new single Freedom. This coupled with their classy performance illustrates why they remain one of the countries most successful female acts.
Not to be outdone however, next on to the stage in a riot of colour The Saturdays who were a real hit with the younger members of the audience and proceeded to do what they do best giving their teen faithful a well performed dazzlingly choreographed performance.
The Wanted were next to provide the days entertainment arriving on stage to a sea of arms and banners with their introduction being almost drowned out by cheers and screams from the female members of the crowd. They went on to make the day of a handful of their young fans by inviting them on to the stage to be serenaded by the group, the boys then went on to deliver a memorable performance for the remainder of their set.
Following next McFly who came rocking onto the stage with their guitars outstreached before them, delivering a blistering performance that really got the crowd jumping. At one point firing t shirts over the heads of their fans emphasized the good natured vibe the band were putting out. The raising of a flaming McFly sign and a powerful high energy cover of Tiny Tempa’s pass out to a great audience reaction proving there is nothing wrong with offering up teenage rebellion of a bouncy, fun, clean inoffensive variety.
Finally headlining act Taio Cruz walked out on to the stage and greeted the audience with a huge smile. Cruz’s set and the ecstatic crowd reaction illustrated why he is currently one of the UK’s most sought after solo artists, giving an astounding performance for his fans and ending the first day of the festival on a well deserved high.
If Saturdays show had been essentially for the kids, then Sundays bill was defiantly tailored for the more mature festival goer. there were still plenty of families to be seen, but this was counterbalanced by a much larger contingent of older revelers than the previous day. the atmosphere around the site also suggested that this was a more grown up affair.
Getting things started on the main stage were Tommy Scott and the Red Scare, the former lead singer of liverpool band Space, his new outfit possessing a more rockabilly scar punk style. with song titles such as She’s in love with a boy in a body bag, and i would make a bad witness in court, this was a set that was as colourful as the bands attire. Scott still found time for a delve into the archives with a well received rendition os hi former bands hit female of the species.
next onto the stage fellow Liverpudlians The Lightning Seeds with frontman Ian Broudie dryly asking the crowd “Are you all happy, i wish i was”. No need for panic however as the Lightning Seeds were able to gee-up the crowd in no time, with a set including ; Life of Riley and Marvelous coupled with Broudie’s sardonic banter, gathering a welcome crowd reaction. Finishing their set with Lucky You the seeds had been sown for an enjoyable day’s festivities.
ext onto the stage to the biggest crowd reaction of the day so far, Feeder. waisting no time , launching straight into Just the way i’m feeling immediately followed by guaranteed crowd pleaser Buck Rogers which did exactly as predicted and got the crowd jumping. ripping through a fantastic set their final song teasingly beginning with the first few bars of Black Sabbath’s Paranoid becoming Just a day. the perfect close to their show Newport's favorite sons left the stage with the crowds cheers ringing in their ears.
If Feeder had got the crowd excited then Shawn William Ryder managed to whip them into a complete frenzy starting with the classic Kinky Afro, before taking them on a whirlwind tour of the 80’s through to the noughties reducing everyone be they young or old into curtain haired Manc geezers. With Black Grape’s In the name of the father, The Gorillaz Dare, before finishing with ht Monday’s Step on, Ryder delivered a really memorable performance and left all and sundry with their melons throughly twisted.
In comparison I am Kloot offered a more relaxed affair with lead vocalist John Bramwell Good naturedly announcing to the crowd about the lack of rock songs in their catalogue. Nonetheless i am Kloot delivered a fine mature set that served as a calming counterpoint to what had preceded
The Australian Pink Floyd proved that not being the original is not necessarily a hindrance. Their antipodean take on Floyd classics such as Wish you were here, Another Brick in the wall and Comfortably numb were greeted by the audience as though they were the real thing. This complete with giant pink jumping kangaroo (think about it), offering an audio and visual treat.
Enough time to grab a beer, before exploding onto the stage to the classic raw Power iggy and the Stooges. Acting like a man a quarter of his age (he’s 64 you know!) Iggy and the Stooges had the entire crowd going insane from the second they began to play. Diving straight into search and destroy Iggy and the stooges cemented their credentials as the worlds original and still best punk rock gods. With a cry of “We love you because you're all we've got” iggy, much to the delight of the security invited the audience “to get their asses on stage” to come and dance with the stooges. one near riot later, with the stooges belting out I need Somebody iggy made the first of several forays into the crowd giving the fans a chance to get up close and personal with their idol. finishing their set with Your pretty face is going to hell the show had been all but stolen.
Iggy pop sang I wanna be your dog, but this one doesn’t need to learn any new tricks, but he can certainly still teach the young pups a thing or two.
Following on from Iggy and the Stooges may seem a mission impossible for many, but not so for Leftfield. Announcing their arrival to the stage with an ominous sounding foghorn. Neil Barnes and his dub/electronica producing companions began their set with a slow beat that gradually gathered momentum before exploding into a full on sonic soundscape complete with striking visuals Leftfield proceeded to carry the audience along to a celebratory close to the festival that the weekend truly deserved.
Chester Rocks was a triumph for the artists,the crowd and for Chester itself. Offering great value for money an easy to reach central location, well connected by road and rail and offering an excellent range of onsite facilities with friendly, helpful staff a real family atmosphere and one that we will DEFINITELY be visiting next year.
Published on 05 July 2011 by iamchronos
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