The Rittz and Friends Festival - The Club - Congleton 4th August 2012
The Rittz / Kill The Young / Hoodie Ledbetter / Relay D'verb / Dirty Green Vinyl / Faux Feet / Amy Condrey /John Ainsworth / Luke Gray & Danny Wilde / Phil Maddocks and Nick Bayes / Thomas Twemlow (plus Jim McShee and Sweet Winn Dixie, not reviewed)
Congleton, to most people, is a sleepy market town in deepest, darkest, rural Cheshire or, merely a traffic jam on the A34 as you head south from Manchester, some 30 miles to the north. Indeed, unless you are visiting somewhere fairly local, you would use the M6 to bypass this part of the world, so you need a reason to come.
Once you get here, on the surface, Congleton has little to offer. Most of the town centre, through years of neglect and bad decisions by successive councils, has little to offer, unless you have a hankering for a pie and a cake from one of four bakeries on the main shopping street or, maybe you fancy a trawl around one of the multitude of charity shops. Businesses are closed, retail units are empty, and the few tubs of flowers and the ludicrous fibreglass bears do little to spruce up a town that has seen better days. Even pubs are closing, which gives you an idea of how bad things are. The town council has a lot to answer for but, I am sure, they will blame anyone but themselves.
However, once you look beneath the surface, it isn't all doom and gloom. In spite of its small market-townness, Congleton boasts a wealth of very talented individuals. During the week you can find live music at venues throughout the town and the local area. It's not all Drum 'n' Bass, Hip Hop, and drug-fuelled raves in abandoned mills either. There is Blues, Rock, Prog, Indie, Folk, all manner of DJs; in fact, you name it, there's a great live gig, somewhere. The problem is not that Congleton is dead, the problem is that times are tough and everyone is struggling to make ends meet. Congleton needs an infusion of common sense and the council needs to stop relying on the town's past and focus on the future.
There are some good things, The Congleton Jazz and Blues Festival, for example, and a few privately-arranged events over recent years have made a mark. It isn't about what Congleton was, it is about what Congleton could become, something the council needs to seriously get behind and make Congleton a place worth living in and visiting.
So, over to the young people. Last Saturday, 4th August, a young, local band, The Rittz, hosted a music festival in Congleton. The objective of the event was to try and make people aware of the talent in the area, not just musically, but also, to showcase some local business, artists, writers, a chef, and give them the opportunity to show the locals what is right under their very noses.
I have to say that when the idea was first mentioned to me, as impressed and excited as I was by the ambitious project, I was sceptical of the chances of success. For me, I was looking forward to seeing The Rittz, Kill The Young, and Hoodie Ledbetter, for the first time, as well as seeing some of the other local acts like Phil Maddocks and Nick Bayes, Robin Pierce, and Luke Gray, who I had seen before. I know most of these people personally and they are good musicians and nice people who deserve to be recognised. Of the other acts, I am always ready to be impressed.
Question is, would I be?
The weather was fine and I was seriously impressed with what was going on. Chef Matty Novo (recently seen supplying comestibles to the Noel Gallagher and Plan B tour entourages) was cooking up some sumptuous culinary delights. Cuckoo Folk (a local Vintage and Retro clothing store and beauty salon), and Evie Knight (a local internet vintage clothing brand) had some of their wares on sale, and a handful of local artists had their stalls set out. Later on, local Tattoo Artist, Next Level Tattoo would be inking people. I had been concerned that, with two stages, I would miss acts because of overlapping performances but, credit where it is due, the organisation was excellent and acts flip-flopped quite nicely.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
8th August 2012
Congleton, to most people, is a sleepy market town in deepest, darkest, rural Cheshire or, merely a traffic jam on the A34 as you head south from Manchester, some 30 miles to the north. Indeed, unless you are visiting somewhere fairly local, you would use the M6 to bypass this part of the world, so you need a reason to come.
Once you get here, on the surface, Congleton has little to offer. Most of the town centre, through years of neglect and bad decisions by successive councils, has little to offer, unless you have a hankering for a pie and a cake from one of four bakeries on the main shopping street or, maybe you fancy a trawl around one of the multitude of charity shops. Businesses are closed, retail units are empty, and the few tubs of flowers and the ludicrous fibreglass bears do little to spruce up a town that has seen better days. Even pubs are closing, which gives you an idea of how bad things are. The town council has a lot to answer for but, I am sure, they will blame anyone but themselves.
However, once you look beneath the surface, it isn't all doom and gloom. In spite of its small market-townness, Congleton boasts a wealth of very talented individuals. During the week you can find live music at venues throughout the town and the local area. It's not all Drum 'n' Bass, Hip Hop, and drug-fuelled raves in abandoned mills either. There is Blues, Rock, Prog, Indie, Folk, all manner of DJs; in fact, you name it, there's a great live gig, somewhere. The problem is not that Congleton is dead, the problem is that times are tough and everyone is struggling to make ends meet. Congleton needs an infusion of common sense and the council needs to stop relying on the town's past and focus on the future.
There are some good things, The Congleton Jazz and Blues Festival, for example, and a few privately-arranged events over recent years have made a mark. It isn't about what Congleton was, it is about what Congleton could become, something the council needs to seriously get behind and make Congleton a place worth living in and visiting.
So, over to the young people. Last Saturday, 4th August, a young, local band, The Rittz, hosted a music festival in Congleton. The objective of the event was to try and make people aware of the talent in the area, not just musically, but also, to showcase some local business, artists, writers, a chef, and give them the opportunity to show the locals what is right under their very noses.
I have to say that when the idea was first mentioned to me, as impressed and excited as I was by the ambitious project, I was sceptical of the chances of success. For me, I was looking forward to seeing The Rittz, Kill The Young, and Hoodie Ledbetter, for the first time, as well as seeing some of the other local acts like Phil Maddocks and Nick Bayes, Robin Pierce, and Luke Gray, who I had seen before. I know most of these people personally and they are good musicians and nice people who deserve to be recognised. Of the other acts, I am always ready to be impressed.
Question is, would I be?
The weather was fine and I was seriously impressed with what was going on. Chef Matty Novo (recently seen supplying comestibles to the Noel Gallagher and Plan B tour entourages) was cooking up some sumptuous culinary delights. Cuckoo Folk (a local Vintage and Retro clothing store and beauty salon), and Evie Knight (a local internet vintage clothing brand) had some of their wares on sale, and a handful of local artists had their stalls set out. Later on, local Tattoo Artist, Next Level Tattoo would be inking people. I had been concerned that, with two stages, I would miss acts because of overlapping performances but, credit where it is due, the organisation was excellent and acts flip-flopped quite nicely.
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
8th August 2012
Apologies to...
Jim McShee, and Sweet Winn Dixie.
There were a couple of acts I didn't see and who aren't mentioned in this review. So, to Jim McShee and Sweet Winn Dixie, I heartily apologise but, I am just one ageing God of Thunder and my omnipotence is not what it once was.
Robin Pierce is a bit of a local institution. At The Rittz and Friends Festival, he was playing a solo acoustic set and he did it very well, as you would have expected. It was a relatively short and sweet set but, it was great fun, especially his rendition of Fleetwood Mac's The Chain (Pts 1 and 2). I was particularly impressed with this as it required some loopage but, it worked really well and was great fun. Due to a camera malfunction I didn't get photos (and missed part of the set. Let's just leave it at that). Then again, there will be other opportunities, I'm sure. If you haven't seen The Robin Pierce Band, why the hell not? You need to get out more...
There were a couple of acts I didn't see and who aren't mentioned in this review. So, to Jim McShee and Sweet Winn Dixie, I heartily apologise but, I am just one ageing God of Thunder and my omnipotence is not what it once was.
Robin Pierce is a bit of a local institution. At The Rittz and Friends Festival, he was playing a solo acoustic set and he did it very well, as you would have expected. It was a relatively short and sweet set but, it was great fun, especially his rendition of Fleetwood Mac's The Chain (Pts 1 and 2). I was particularly impressed with this as it required some loopage but, it worked really well and was great fun. Due to a camera malfunction I didn't get photos (and missed part of the set. Let's just leave it at that). Then again, there will be other opportunities, I'm sure. If you haven't seen The Robin Pierce Band, why the hell not? You need to get out more...