Wickerman Festival 2012: Review
An exciting and diverse festival with a wide range of acts to suit all tastes and ages
Friday 20th to Saturday 21st July 2012 – Wickerman Festival, East Kirkcarswell Farm, Dundrennan, Scotland Words: Natasha Johansson
The sun gods must really appreciate the ritual effigy burnings at the Wickerman festival, as not a drop of rain is to be seen all weekend. With an eclectic and often bizarre line-up, an army of local teens and aging rockers flock to the medium-sized festival in Dundrennan, set against a stunning backdrop of the rugged Scottish peaks. As a nod to the 1973 film which inspired the event, towering over the fields stands the ill-fated wooden giant, the Wicker Man. The influences of the Scottish horror flick are everywhere here – with the Summerisle stage (named after Christopher Lee’s frankly disturbing Lord Summerisle) hosting the headline acts, animal-mask wearing revellers dancing around maypoles and a late-night cinema showing the original film in it’s entirety. Thankfully though there are no human sacrifices here (as far as I am aware), and with the sun shining and an array of top acts, the Wickerman festival certainly turns up the heat without any need for pyromaniacs.
! FRIDAY The sun is out, and even at under 19 degrees, I can see third degree burns already (we are in Scotland, remember...). There are a number of different stages catering for all tastes, with separate tents for reggae and dance, the Scooter tent for punk/ska, and a whole village for acoustic music lovers.
The festival is keen to promote local talent, and kicking off the festival main stage is summery pop-indie outfit BWANI JUNCTION. Having played at a number of top festivals already, the boys are definitely ones to watch. New single “Two Bridges” and an afro-beat mash up of the Pogues’ ‘Dirty Old Town’ are particularly well received, particularly by a hoard of screaming Scottish teen girls in the pit.
Another exciting new discovery is RACHEL SERMANNI, performing in the Acoustic tent with a lavish mini-orchestra of three violinists and a pianist. With Laura Marling’s popularity still soaring, comparisons are unavoidable for Sermanni. But her voice speaks for itself - heartfelt and tender, melting the audience like the chocolate bars she sings of. And she’s not the only talented Scot round here - melodic four piece CAMPFIRES IN WINTER send chills down audience spines in the GoNorth tent with ‘See Us There Both,’ – a poignant arrangement of driving guitars and three-part harmonies.
There is little by the way of hidden artwork, but the site itself has other, sportier offerings besides bands. Kids (and big kids alike) seem to be enjoying the off-road Segway classes, and with mountain biking, Laser Quest and a whole funfair of white knuckle, vertigo-inducing rides on hand there is no shortage of attractions for adrenaline junkies.
Back at the Summerisle main stage, it’s a return to the 90s, with a performance from Scottish rockers BIS, and Britpop collective CAST who rock through a selection of new material and classic hits, including anthem ‘Guiding Star’ and ‘Walkaway.’ The (mostly middle-age) crowd really gathers however for folk-punk legends THE LEVELLERS. Opening with their biggest hit, ‘Beautiful Day,’ the previously composed concert becomes a full-blown hoedown. The band perform a mixture of new material and back catalogue, but the real show-stopper is the anarchic anthem ‘One Way.’ The madcap digeridoo player’s dancing/gurning does enough to entertain the youngsters, whilst the “grown up punks” belt out every word with fiery passion.
The day is coming to a close, and the SCISSOR SISTERS grace their stage in all their glam rock glory – Ana Matronic wears cheeky low cut green dress, and Jake Shears arrives in a jungle print tracksuit. Ana claims “Wherever we go, we pretend we’re playing in Scotland!” and invites the (now mostly teenage) crowd to join them for a “Kiki”. For those unaware, a “Kiki” means to have a “really great time” by New York drag queens – apparently. It makes sense, as the wonderfully camp, extravagant show features some massive hits and, quite frankly, incredible dance moves from Jake, Ana and the backing singers. The band perform a number of tracks from the new album ‘Magic Hour,’ as well as chart toppers ‘Take Your Mama,’ ‘Comfortably Numb,’ ‘Fight Fire with Fire’ (suitably apt for the Wickerman) and ‘Mary,’ the latter which was wonderfully atmospheric. The party is almost over, and the crowd are hungry for some more hits. At this point, Jake shouts, “Are you ready to hear a new song?” to an enthusiastic but slightly disappointed applause. I Don’t Feel Like Dancing’ then bursts out of the speakers and is an instant success, stirring up a dancing frenzy (slightly ironic, really). The Sisters leave the crowd with their crazily named, new single ‘Only the Horses,’ but fail to reappear for an encore. It’s been an incredible show, but I would have liked to have seen a bit more - namely ‘Laura’ and ‘Filthy Gorgeous,’ – the omission of which many clearly felt.
After a tirade of “Is it over?” “Aren’t they coming back?” everyone disperses back to the campsite or numerous after-party tents. The heavy, bass driven beats of the dance tents and headphone disco are well attended but dub-tastic soundsystem of the Axis Reggae tent proves to be a top way to end the day, and the revellers carry on dancing until the early hours.
! SATURDAY For those waking up on Saturday with a slightly sorer head than Friday, there is no respite, as the noise begins again with FINDING ALBERT on the main stage. The Scottish rockers play a solid, enthusiastic set to a respectably sized crowd, but for me the Saturday afternoon highlight is dreadlocked, eyeliner clad DUKE SPECIAL. Performing as a duo with a collection of weird and wonderful instruments, including an Indian Shruti Box (a squeeze box emitting a constant drone) and the beautifully bizarre Stumpf fiddle – made up of rubber ducks, tins containing unpopped popcorn, as well as other strange household items – the crowd dances away with a simultaneous expression of delight and utter confusion. Joining Duke Special onstage is the equally dreadlocked NEWTON FAULKNER, who lends his vocals and guitar skills to a cover of The Clash’s ‘I fought the Law.’ However what really makes this performance special is a piano-led, heartfelt rendition of ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart.’ I know I’m not just speaking for myself when I say that the hairs on the back of my neck truly stood up – Joy Division’s overly played hit has never been covered in such a haunting fashion.
The Scottish promotion continues with Glaswegian alt-rockers KASSIDY, and a gaggle of teenage girls, clad in impossibly tiny shorts run screaming to the front. With four guitarist taking centre stage, they produce a huge sound and deliver a strong repertoire before thrusting custom band Frisbees out into the crowd. With so many members, it’s an act that would be seemingly difficult for soloist NEWTON FAULKNER to follow. But with his trademark guitar tapping trick and anthology of sing-along songs, the album chart-topper creates the illusion of having a whole backing band supporting him. He invites the audience to participate in his latest single ‘Write it on Your Skin’, by dividing them into three parts – a clever tactic winning over new fans and old. Previous hits ‘Dream Catch Me’ and ‘To the Light’ are also well received, before Faulkner halts the performance to help a lost toddler at the front find his parents. It’s all very sweet, and you can almost hear the thoughts of the mums watching - “What a lovely man, if only he could get a haircut!”
Unaware to festival goers, upon the hillside is a wedding village of yurt-dwelling “glampers,” (glamorous campers), taking part in TV show Don’t Tell the Bride. This is only made apparent moments before The View, where the nervous husband takes his blushing, welly-wearing bride onstage to make a gushing (and rather overlong) wedding speech. It’s all very sweet, until he announces he’s taking her on the catapult ride to celebrate. Who says romance is dead?!
The neighbouring Scooter Tent, hosts an equally popular party for those wanting alternative headliners, with a wide variety of inventive dad-dancing to be witnessed. Folk-rockers PRONGHORN entertain with a fiddle-driven cover of ‘Ace of Spades’ and masters of ska BAD MANNERS unite the crowd in skanking style, so much so that the venue fills out in minutes.
But for the local teens priced out by T in the Park, the climax of Wickerman is watching THE VIEW, Dundee’s answer to the Arctic Monkeys, who enthral them with their selection of four-chord hits. Although no records for originality will be broken here, the performance is fun-filled, punk-infused and pacy, with ‘Same Jeans’ taking on a completely new meaning (the festival goers most certainly have been wearing the same dirty clothes for a few days now).
As the festival draws to a close, TEXAS grace the Summerisle stage, fronted by Scottish pop heroine Sharleen Spiteri. With little new material to debut, and a far less intricate dance-routine, it’s a far cry from the Scissor Sisters. But performing to 15,000 music fans, Texas perfectly closed the weekend, belting out top hits including ‘Say What You Want’, ‘Inner Smile’ and ‘I Don’t Want A Lover’ to a happily chorusing audience.
Shortly afterwards we are redirected to the edge of the field, where The View are invited to set the Wickerman statue alight. Within seconds the wooden effigy is engulfed in flames, and fireworks burst across the sky. It’s an explosive end to an exciting and diverse festival, with a wide range of acts to suit all tastes and ages, and a proud array of Scottish talent. Although less artsy and more music-focused than similarly sized music festivals, I have no doubt the Wickerman will continue to grow and grow in popularity, whilst remaining a beacon for promoting home-grown highland musicians at heart.