The Diary Of An Ageing Gig Goer. The First Of An Occasional Series.

VENUE – The Station, Cannock

DATE – 18th January 2025

BANDS – Shape of Water, Second Cities, For The Forsaken, Atlas, Pryma, The Black Hounds, Circus 66, SKAM, Black Lakes

Words and Photographs-Graeme Wright

The Diary Of An Ageing Gig Goer. The First Of An Occasional Series.

Dave Evans is an amazing Aston Villa fan who arranges the Dementia Aware Festival on an annual basis with all proceeds going to charity. Nine bands have given up their time to perform for free today and for me this year is the strongest lineup yet and I’d have paid the entry fee to see any one of these outfits, never mind all nine in a single day. Jace Media already has a proper journalist/photographer here today and you can read Linda’s brilliant review elsewhere on the site. I had no intention of reviewing todays show as it’s a “jolly boys outing” for me and a few of the lads to get out for the day, book a cheap hotel and have a few beers while watching some great bands. Because the day was so incident packed it gave me the idea of doing a “warts and all” piece on what it’s like to do an all day festival when your approaching sixty, have just had a total knee replacement and you suffer from diverticulitis. So here goes……

My trials and tribulations started early Saturday morning. The toilet at home was blocked and when I got the plunger out I suffered from what could only be described as being reminiscent of that scene from Backdraft where the door bends before imploding back in the firefighters face. Covered in raw sewage I had no choice but to take my second shower of the day, all the while trying not to throw up because I have an incredibly weak stomach. We arrived at our hotel at 1pm, which would give us plenty of time to travel the two miles to the venue. Unfortunately the staff on reception had locked themselves out of the computer and couldn’t register us, so after two free coffees and a forty minute wait, three of the four of us got our keys and went to our rooms for a quick shower and change and we were ready to rock. Unfortunately for our fourth member Dave, they had lost his keys, had forgotten to put towels and toilet paper in his room and to cap it all off he had no hot water, which meant we would have to meet him at the venue.

Uber is booked, and three of us are on our way. Unfortunately our driver wasn’t a local man and he followed his Sat-Nav which took him down a tiny country road, where a raised speed bump scraped across the bottom of his car which made a horrendous racket and we had to stop to check for damage. Couldn’t see any, so off we go again, travelling down a road so dark and rural I felt like we were travelling to the house in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Finally we arrive at the venue and we can hear the opening bars from the first bands set.

SHAPE OF WATER

GUINNESS COUNT – ONE

Shape Of Water are totally new to me but a couple of the lads have seen them before. Singer Rox is under the weather but you’d never know, and the band are an energetic three piece outfit who are high powered and this is a great start to the proceedings. They are difficult to pigeonhole but for me they play modern Alternative Metal with a touch of Prog occasionally added into the mix, all delivered at a fast pace, pretty much everything you could want from a modern Metal outfit.

Highlight of the set is ‘Silence Of The Lambs’ which is the heaviest thing they play today and it’s powered along by a thunderous drum beat and thrashing guitar work. A great start to the day.

SECOND CITIES

GUINNESS COUNT – TWO

Second Cities inform us that they’ve travelled a long way today (actually two miles down the road) and they are another band with a touch of Emo about them but conveying a totally unique sound that I liked a lot. Singer Jamie bounces around the stage like a Duracell bunny, at the start of the show he enters the stage looking like a posh Vegas magician but by the end he has the appearance of a major bad guy from a Steampunk film. We’ve had a message from Dave. “Finally got things sorted in Fawlty Fucking Towers, see you in a few minutes.” Before you know it the four of us are finally in place, looking like a cast reunion from Last Of The Summer Wine (standing room only, will be interesting to see how my dodgy back and knee hold out.)

FOR THE FORSAKEN

GUINNESS COUNT – FOUR

I’ve heard all the current releases from this band and to say I was looking forward to their set was an understatement. Singer Dan has spoken in the past about addiction and mental health and a lot of the songs are infused with the pain that situation can bring, but this is never to the detriment of the music. The band give us a killer set, and at the end of the evening Ian from our crew states that this was easily his performance of the day.

Pete Mally is todays compare, always brilliant and he is crowing about the fact that his beloved Arsenal are 2-0 up. Ten minutes later I take great delight in the fact it is now 2-2, and Dave Evans is a happy chap with this score line. Our group are all Liverpool fans so we are over the moon.

ATLAS

GUINNESS COUNT – FIVE

I’ve seen Atlas twice before and they are one of the best AOR bands out there. They’ve released records on a Japanese label and they are the epitome of a professional band at the highest end of the spectrum. Singer Craig is on fire, the best I’ve ever seen him and James on the keyboards adds a “big” sound to the proceedings. The setlist is full of classic rock anthems and the band receive probably the best reception of the day.

There is a moment of concern as a guy at the next table falls down, but his friends take it in their stride and inform us “Don’t worry, it’s Drunken Duncan he always does this….”

PRYMA

GUINNESS COUNT – SEVEN

Not sure I can continue with the Guinness, let’s see how it goes.

I’ve seen Pryma before at the Waterloo in Blackpool and they were one of the highlights of the year for me, both musically and to photograph. They are on fire tonight, with singer Gabby and the rest of the band being absolutely at the top of their game. As great as they were in Blackpool, the relentless gigging schedule has paid off and they were incredibly tight tonight, and for me were one of the highlights of the day.

I suffer from diverticulitis, an occasional illness that affects the digestion and more importantly impacts on your ability to drink too much or to eat anything spicy. My gut is screaming no more Guinness to me, so I’ll need to switch to the Madri before I end up like John Hurt in Alien.

THE BLACK HOUNDS

GUINNESS COUNT – SEVEN, MADRI COUNT – ONE

New to me, The Black Hounds are probably the closest band out of all of todays artists that I would listen to at home. The heaviest band of the day (although the vocal is noticeably less harsh than on the music they’ve recorded so far), I loved their entire set with final song ‘All Kingdoms Fall’ being a highlight for me. High energy right out of the starting gate, the crowd are actively head banging to these songs and I look forward to seeing these guys again in the near future. Great stuff.

I’m feeling the need for food but my stomach is threatening to go all Mount Vesuvius on me so best to hang on.

CIRCUS 66

GUINNESS COUNT – SEVEN, MADRI COUNT – TWO

I’ve seen Circus 66 twice before and while musically they’ve always impressed me I wasn’t certain that all of their songs were as strong as their undoubted musical talent. Well how wrong was I. They absolutely smashed it tonight, with all of their songs both new and old sounding great. Singer Annabelle has always been a brilliant front woman but tonight she was absolutely pitch perfect. Confident, melodic and aggressive when required, these guys have clearly learnt their stage craft and this was probably my favourite set of the day amongst a plethora of great music. To be honest the only food I should be eating tonight is humble pie. Bravo guys.

Can’t put off the food any longer, so me and Ian depart for Pepe’s spiced chicken establishment. Of course, because I am a fucking idiot, even though my stomach is kicking off big time I’ll have the spicy paprika chicken wrap with hot chilli sauce, paprika chips, and a Diet Coke ( got to watch those calories….) This may prove to be a bad decision.

SKAM

GUINNESS COUNT – SEVEN, MADRI COUNT – TWO, JACK DANIELS COUNT – ONE

Due to waiting for my food to arrive we missed the first two SKAM songs, much to my regret. They were awesome on the night with an infectious collection of songs that had the whole place jumping, leaving me highly impressed with both the songs and the overall aura that emanates from the band. Two of our crew Dave and Simon declared this to be their favourite band of the day and I’ll definitely be out to see them again this year. Highly recommended.

I’m done for the evening with regards to alcohol, my back is killing me, my new knee has swollen up due to standing all day and I feel like I’ve eaten and drunk twice as much as I should have done because I’m stuffed to the gills.

There is a raffle tonight and Ian wins two prizes, including two tickets for Stonedead. I’m a bit drunk now but I’m fairly certain Ian thinks Stonedead are a band rather than the name of a festival.

BLACK LAKES

GUINNESS COUNT – SEVEN, MADRI COUNT – TWO, JACK DANIELS COUNT – TWO, LEMONADE COUNT – ONE.

Black Lakes won my album of the year award for 2024 and live they are awesome. New and old songs went down a storm, the band have an image to die for and they are all musicians of the highest order. I’ve said that these guys wouldn’t be out of place playing arenas and they absolutely smashed it tonight with front man Will Preston and all of the crew being on fire this evening.

I’m done. Toast. Need my bed and ten hours sleep as well as some ibuprofen. I end up watching Match of the Day on repeat then falling asleep even though I feel desperately Ill and tired. Full English mega breakfast sorts me out next morning, see you all next year. Great festival, great compère , great bands and a friendly crowd who will all hug anyone. Over two grand raised for Dementia Awareness take a bow Dave Evans you deserve it.