Circulus (supported by Zag & the Coloured Beads, Pamerla Wyn Shannon & High as Flames), 7th September 2008 – Tutbury Castle, Staffordshire
One month after we were married, we ventured up to Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire to a very unusual concert. I’d been a fan of Circulus for a couple of years and noticed that they had a gig booked via MySpace.
What an incredible day. Tutubury Castle is basically a ruined medieval curtain wall punctuated by towers and a big empty moat. Once inside, we were greeted by a big colourful beer pavilion and the bands were set to play in a jousting tent against the backdrop of the castle walls. There must have been thirty people there are most. We could just sit on a picnic rug, casually walk across the set to the cake shop, or to get a beer or hog roast whilst a “town crier” read old poems, ditties and generally talked a load of magnificent shite before announcing each act. First there was the graceful Pamela Wyn Shanon on acoustic guitar. Then Zag and the Coloured Beads (can’t recall much about them). Then High as Flames – an awesome psychedelic rock band...then some guy who had rigged electric guitar pickups into a lute (that’s right – a frickin LUTE), then ran it all through a Marshall stack with fuzz and wah and proceeded to play a minstrels version of Voodoo Chile. It was extraordinary.
Finally, Circulus began their set, dressed as the Spanish Inquisition and (I assume) high on some cocktail of life. Or drugs. Or both. They played stuff from their new album (including “Sumer Is Icumen In”)as well as the fantastic “Miri It Is.” If all festivals were like this, Id be a convert. Hardly any people, awesome music, cheap entertainment and complete escapism from reality – albeit for a few golden hours. Doesn’t get much better than this.
9.5 out of 10 (half a mark deduction because I had to drive there and back and was unable to simply wander off into a meadow, drinking mead and humming a medieval tune).
What an incredible day. Tutubury Castle is basically a ruined medieval curtain wall punctuated by towers and a big empty moat. Once inside, we were greeted by a big colourful beer pavilion and the bands were set to play in a jousting tent against the backdrop of the castle walls. There must have been thirty people there are most. We could just sit on a picnic rug, casually walk across the set to the cake shop, or to get a beer or hog roast whilst a “town crier” read old poems, ditties and generally talked a load of magnificent shite before announcing each act. First there was the graceful Pamela Wyn Shanon on acoustic guitar. Then Zag and the Coloured Beads (can’t recall much about them). Then High as Flames – an awesome psychedelic rock band...then some guy who had rigged electric guitar pickups into a lute (that’s right – a frickin LUTE), then ran it all through a Marshall stack with fuzz and wah and proceeded to play a minstrels version of Voodoo Chile. It was extraordinary.
Finally, Circulus began their set, dressed as the Spanish Inquisition and (I assume) high on some cocktail of life. Or drugs. Or both. They played stuff from their new album (including “Sumer Is Icumen In”)as well as the fantastic “Miri It Is.” If all festivals were like this, Id be a convert. Hardly any people, awesome music, cheap entertainment and complete escapism from reality – albeit for a few golden hours. Doesn’t get much better than this.
9.5 out of 10 (half a mark deduction because I had to drive there and back and was unable to simply wander off into a meadow, drinking mead and humming a medieval tune).
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