Wickerman Festival 2007
East Kirkcarswell, Galloway, 20th-21st July 2007
Whoever decided to dub the Wickerman weekend 'Scotland's hottest festival' clearly forgot to check the weather forecast. At 11am on the Friday morning it's freezing cold in rural East Kirkcarswell, and my tent looks worryingly as if it may blow away at any minute. My task this weekend? To sign up supporters to a Shelter campaign – and hopefully see some bands along the way. Preferably without freezing to death in the meantime.
My first break sends me heading straight for the red and white stripy Scooter tent. My aim is to catch a glitzy sounding local combo called Crystal Kicks – but if the rowdy bunch of tattooed Henry Rollins types I actually see have really saddled themselves with such a ludicrously glam moniker, they've made a serious mistake. But whoever they are, they put on a good show, ending up with a cover of the Backyard Babies 'Making Enemies is Good' so I'm not exactly complaining.
As I return to my tent to pile on yet more clothing, I detect the distant strains of bluegrass rockers Hayseed Dixie – I've seen them several times before and, although it would have been good to catch their excellent new cover of 'Holiday in the Sun' at slightly closer quarters, I've mostly heard their set before, so getting some cider down my neck takes top priority.
The highlight of Friday night has to be those super cool, funky groovsters the Fun Lovin' Criminals. Lounge lizard frontman Huey may have piled on the pounds a bit recently (too many Scooby snacks, perhaps?) but he exudes a lazy, debonair charm that wins over the enthusiastic crowd immediately. Okay, all their songs do sound pretty much the same, but their laid back beats are perfect as the sun sets in a blaze of pink and purple glory. Bliss.
Saturday offers more chilly weather, alongside the chance to sneak a peak at ebullient goths Uniting the Elements. Surely the most German band in the world ever, glamorous lead singer Dawn belts out, in a gloriously guttural Valkyrie growl, a string of guitar-heavy anthems that combine the vocal range of Evanescence (sans rapping, thank God) with a dark twist of Marilyn Manson and vintage Alice.
Speaking of Alice, I mostly miss his favourite band, the Yardbirds, when they take to the stage, although I do get to hear the belting opening track, 'Train Kept A Rollin', and the closing rendition of 'Dazed and Confused'. Like Deep Purple, the Yardbirds may now look like dads at a disco but they still know how to rock.
Five minutes of Jah Wobble is enough to discover that their eclectic blend of folksy whimsy world music is really not my bag, which just leaves… the Proclaimers. Now, surely, I can almost count as properly Scottish, having finally seen Auchtermuchty's finest in the flesh, on their native soil. Opening confidently with their first hit single 'Letter From America', they march out a glorious and golden selection of tracks old and new, from the rousing new release 'Life With You' to the classic singalong 'Sunshine on Leith' and the moment we've all been waiting for, the final, triumphant rendition of '500 Miles'. Laced with country melodies that soar high on the spine-tingling muscular harmonies of the Reid twins, the music of the Proclaimers is as Scottish as Irn Bru, as fiery as whisky and as warming as porridge. My tent may not have been blown away, but just for a moment, I think I was.
Wickerman Festival 2006, 22nd July 2006
