Thimbleberry Music Festival June 2005

a big thanx to all the bands, road and party crews that  came and made this weekend happen
cheers:-)We had roughly  600 people over the weekend so we met our costs
:-)) thanx for all who  bought a ticket and for supporting us in  keeping
music LIVE:-)) Diablo 66 opened the Festival with their own unique set of
songs followed by Dadu  a tight, smooth running band with bags of energy and
stage presence, warmed the crowed up and then Prognosis (band) with their
prog rock classics and a couple of crazy costumes finished the Fri night
all played well and sounded great through the 15 k DAF sound system and
engineered by Steve Morley and Mick on lights...

Saturday we opened up with the Bishop Auckland College Music Class of 2005.
This was the first time the college has run the course and these were the
first students to perform at a live venue, however they performed
brilliantly and clearly the College should be proud of their achievements.
They played an unusual mix of songs from Metallica through to the Stones.
The Burning Hells, Submerse and Redwood got us through the afternoon with a
wide variety of acoustic and original material alongside some well known
covers.

Leading us into the early evening was Arockolypse Now. And if you haven’t
seen this band, then for entertainment value alone I can strongly recommend
you check this band out. Their stage costumes were a mix of gothic and pvc
suits  complete with gorilla style masks which gave the show quite a
futuristic look. Sounding like a cross between Metallica and Slipknot and
playing a varied mix of covers from Dave Bowie Ziggy Stardust to Led Zepp.
All played with raw power and energy. It simply is a must to see this band!
Next up came the Distractions. It was their first time playing at a festival
and the band gave it their all with such classics from the Pistols to Thin
Lizzy. These were the surprise for the weekend as a bit unknown but they
proved they would still be around for some time to come. Anybody wanting to
books bands should give this band a go and they will not be disappointed.

Next up came Kwis Ned, York’s strangest and daftest band who have been going
for the past year.  Compared to a cross between Frank Zappa and Steptoe n
Son these lads are tipped to win this year’s York Battle of the Bands. Next
up from Newcastle was Herpnurp. This band has just been signed with a major
management deal and are tipped to be massive. Currently they are in the
studio recording their album and a tour is set for September/October of this
year. Its almost impossible to describe who this band sounds like, but they
have their own unique style which is new and fresh with the vocals of John
Doe resonating around the tent. What a band all original material clearly
this band is going to be massive. Although at this point I had a problem
with the other stage as I was let down by a pa company and this led to other
bands not being able perform. But Herpnurp kindly cut their set short to
allow for another band to do half an hour. Then followed another local
popular band The Shining, Indie Rock with the well-known front man Ronnie,
doing what he does best blasting out their set Oasis style . also they cut
the set short so another band could go on The  headliners the Bulbs are a
band that have been called 'One of the North East's most intelligent punk
bands' and a 'load of country shite' – The band themselves think that the
truth lies somewhere in between. This band took to the stage with Ross the
drummer (Kookernauts) laying down the firm and solid beat, the band joined
in with guitards, sax, vocals and loads more zanyness. A cross between punk
and blues and before long you were in the world of the Bulbs.
Throughout the set the band were all over the stage. Highly entertaining
with good stage presence it makes this band stand out from the rest as a
professional, but crazy entertainment band. The crowd loved this band and
refused to let them go off without a couple of encores and a rapteous
applause to which the band did not disappoint. Alas our time had come that
we had to finish up. Everyone agreed that despite the earlier hitches of the
evening and let downs of the pa the bands and crowds made up for that with a
great nights entertainment and a very appreciative audience. No doubt we
will be seeing some of these bands at the next event in September so watch
this space!
Afterwards the dance tent  kept us going throughout the night with
Prognosis, (psy-trance_ Psybernetix, Alpha-Rhythm, and Brand X playing
progressive trance, along with the other tents of Freaky Dancing, (Pete
Wallis), and the Reggae tent. Everyone did a fine job and everyone enjoyed
the varied sounds.
Big thanks to Steve Morley, for engineering and sound, Mick on lights and
Keith stage management. Thanks guys see you all in September.
Craig :-))