The Eden Festival - The Bucket List

With the countdown to Eden 2015 well and truly started it is time to give you the itsaxxxxthing/NHC Music top ten of acts to catch.

So in time honoured tradition it gives me great pleasure to announce in no particular order.

1- Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5.

With a new material on the cards, and a groundswell of support growing rapidly, it seems very obvious that the band is on the cusp of greater things.

With a recent successful outing at Liverpool Sound City festival - and then the headlining of an event to support the reopening of the Clutha in Glasgow - the band has deservedly secured a place on the lips of everyone from garden variety music loving punters to the industry movers and shakers.

And with all the plaudits flying in their direction fuelling their desires it seems safe to say that right now is going to be the optimum moment to catch them.

Sometimes some of us can be lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time and in hindsight say ‘I was there’.

This is your opportunity to be that bar room bore lording it over lesser mortals whose only claim to fame was serving a failed x-factor wannabe star a burger as they went through the drive-through on their way to the bar mitzvah they are booked to play.

Don’t miss it.

I've said it time and time again, but if a mad scientist stitched together the perfect festival band then the end result would be Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5.

2 - Grandmaster Flash

Terms like pioneer, legend, and icon don’t sit comfortably on the shoulders of many, but some people seem to have no problem at all in carrying the weight of them around.

Joseph Saddler aka Grandmaster Flash is one such person.

Just think about this for a moment.

When you wake up in the morning you’re not Grandmaster Flash and never will be, but he is and always will be.

A pretty depressing thought for everyone except him.

I'm not going to hold it against him though.

3 - Son of Dave

With a stomping foot and a harmonica he will change your life.

Or at the very least make you wonder why music channels on the television prefer to play wall to wall equivalents of acts modelled on the Stepford Wives rather than explore the fringes where genius wrestles with madness.

4 - The Skints

There was a period of time when I don’t think a month went past that I didn't see The Skints.

They could have been on tour with The King Blues, or belting out their skanking tunes in a basement club, but looking back I don’t recall ever losing the buzz through familiarity.

With every set the blasted through I left exhilarated and looking to spread the love.

It’s been a while, but their participation in the Eden line up is still something that sends a thrill running down my spine to my feet and lordy there go my feet to tapping.

5 - Mickey 9s

Along with Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5 they are another of the many Yellow Movement bands who promote worshiping at the alter of the gods of Good Times.

You want the funk then they are bringing the funk.

Best bit is that they aren't looking to rip off the bands of yesteryear, but instead are striking forth to bring the funk into uncharted territories.

Once seen, never forgotten.

6 - Papa Shandy and the Drams.

My one and only introduction to Papa Shandy was when I ventured out on my own to a rally in George Square and found myself feeling a tad discombobulated as they ran through a celtic tinged homage to Creedence Clearwater Revival.

I was the proverbial porker in the excrement.

Lost on the moment I swore that I would make it my mission in life to dance drunkenly with rum in hand at a festival they were appearing at.

My time has come.

7 - Anton & The Colts

Friends raved and I didn't listen.

They raved again and I partially listened.

When they raved for a third time I bought their ep and listened.

Then I raved about them and no one listened.

Then I raved about them again and some people listened.

Now I am raving about them and you better listen.

Even better was when I caught them playing two sets in the one day.

The first was an acoustic session, and then the second a full on electric experience.

Since then their CD has never been far from my stereo tray.

8 - Black Cat Bone

Scottish bands have never been reticent about getting down and dirty with the blues, and strangely enough can very often give their US counterparts a solid run for their money.

It must be something in the whisky.

Or maybe that’s just what Black Cat Bone would say.

None the less you couldn't argue that they aren't doing it in fine style.

Expect to hear more about them as the year progresses.

9 - Trongate Rum Riots

Say the name slowly.

Think about what it conjures up in your mind.

You got it.

The name encapsulates exactly what they are all about.

Drunken sea shanties, drunken dancing, drunken singalongs, drunken……..okay, you get the picture.

10 – Feet ‘O’ Clay

Rising phoenix like from the ashes of the manc brit pop sound Feet of Clay make you feel unashamed at owning an Oasis album as you grudgingly have to accept if it wasn't for the mono-browed plagiarists of the mop top four this magnificent band wouldn't have had a springboard to jump off from.

The lazy buggers don't have a video, but like the rest click on the name and check out their facebook page. 

The above ten acts are on 'my' Eden bucket list for this year, but they are not the only ones.

While going through the line up I was like a magpie snatching at the glittering diamonds of talent that are littered throughout.

It was hard enough whittling the list down to ten and if I was to start afresh I am sure that some would be dropped only to be replaced by other equally talented buggers that deserve a mention.

Alas my self imposed ten will have to stay as it is, but do feel free to drop in recommendations in the comments of what your top ten list currently is.

Eden festival 2014

Glastonbury festival was my first love.

It opened a door to a world that I had previously only dreamed had existed and I gladly stepped through it and embraced all that was on offer.

In hindsight I can understand that my time spent in the shadow of the Tor provided me with some much needed respite from my own existence.

I needed it to survive.

Every year I would look forward to immersing myself in a world where all our differences were celebrated rather than our similarities.

I felt at home in the flow of counter culture ideas, alternatives lifestyles, live music and unfettered freedom.

Then, as first loves usually do, Glastonbury broke my heart.

It didn't do it overnight, but slowly, incrementally, it loosened its embrace of me until one year I simply didn't recognize it anymore.

My Glastonbury was gone.

Chart toppers were being idolised and the festival had been assimilated into the mainstream.

I never went back.

Instead I began a subconscious quest to recapture the festivals spirit.

For a number of years it was elusive.

Until that is, I stumbled across The Wickerman Festival.

I took my son to the inaugural year and felt emotionally replenished.

This was the vibe, this was exactly the feeling, rather than experience, that I had been searching for.

The festival managed to hang onto that for a number of years, but similar to Glastonbury its popularity shifted the demographic and one year I found myself attending through habit rather than any sort of attraction.

The ladies who would dance around handbags in nightclubs and the TITP overspill had taken over, the Buckfast and Lambrini flowed and I signed off from it all.

It was with a heavy heart that I did it as striking lucky a third time seemed to be so much wishful thinking, yet I did.

I struck lucky last year the moment I pitched camp at the Eden festival.

It was everything that I needed, and maybe even a bit more than that.

The music was an eclectic mix of magnificence, the stalls offered a melting pot of the strange and practical, and the food and drink were plentiful and provided something to whet the most adventurous palette.

Best of all was the people.

Everywhere I looked there was the outsider attitude being accepted, and that is the key for me.

There was a very obvious celebration of stepping away from the grind and an acceptance of humanity as a large and wonderful mess of individuality.

As the weekend ended I had already decided I would be back in 2014 and crossed my fingers that the same experience would be on offer.

Thankfully to a degree it was.

The weather played silly buggers of course as the mud lent itself to the stereotypical view of UK festivals; the running orders and stage times were a tad more anarchic than the previous year leading to music lovers wandering the site like the lost children of the desert looking for the promised land, and by the final day the midges had gathered and attacked with homicidal glee, but all of that was pretty much irrelevant as the atmosphere and the people attending carried the weekend.

Highlights of the weekend were discovering Casa Caliente, a tent that was by far my favourite place to be.

Throughout the day it provides a relaxed atmosphere to just while away the hours, or play some board games, or listen to music, or simply sleep.

It’s all good.

Friendly, welcoming and providing the antidote to the hurly burly of life

At night it then focuses purely on the music as everyone squeezes in to secure a place on the deep piled rugs and enjoy what is on offer.

It was here that I found Beth McLeish taking some tentative steps as a performer, and I found myself being impressed at the support that Casa Caliente, and those within it, offered a fledgling artist.

As an added bonus The Junkmans Choir, or any number of offshoots, played across the weekend and reminded me of why I love them so much.

The set as The Bastard Sons of Rabbie Burns was particularly entertaining, although it was given a run for its money on the first night when Davie of the Junkmans teamed up with Jane of The Amphetameanies/Pink Kross (ooft I’m going back a bit now) to play some country inspired tunes.

Meanwhile the main stage was taken over by Colonel Mustard and the Dijon 5 who are right at this very moment the best live band in Scotland.

With a liberal dose of humour, talent and madness being added to the mix they are covering every angle that you could imagine, and with their live set getting increasingly tighter they are delivering high quality entertainment song after song.

With a few more festival appearances to go, and their debut album already released, it would be a good idea for Eden to secure them right now for a headlining slot next year.

As the festival isn't reliant on attracting a name to ensure an audience turning up I say why not?

In fact give the yellow movement a tent of their own.

Now there's an idea. 

Talking about headline acts it's fair to say that King Charles took the De La Soul slot in their stride, and in hindsight I wish I had seen their full set.

The next time they are in Glasgow I reckon I will pop along.

A quality replacement that I doubt anyone was disappointed in. 

The Furry Chillum managed to squeeze everyone in for the Esperanza - although I don't know how they did as it was like pouring two pints into a pint glass - but it has to be said that seeing that amount of people skanking up a frenzy is truly a sight to behold.

Apart from that though it did seem that every time I went into the tent that a band jamming, the same band, all day, and apparently every day.

They may well have been very good, but sometimes less is more and you can get too much of a good thing where fighting it out in my head every time groundhog day rolled around.

From last year when I was regularly bouncing between The Furry Chillum and Rabbies Tavern I found that this time around with a few exceptions there wasn't much that was an attraction.

Although it is also entirely possible that I was just out of sync with all the goodness as that can happen at festivals.

Rabbies similarly didn’t manage to hit the heights of last year with the acts that I seen.

Maybe they were all hiding from me.

Most that I did see managed to hold my attention for minutes rather than for a full set with the notable exceptions of Feet of Clay who I expect will be far higher on the bill next year, or gracing the main stage for an early evening slot. Have Mercy Las Vegas who were mesmerizingly good supporting The Holy Ghosts recently, but were better again on this outing, and The Ballachulish Hellhounds who had me jigging about and maybe even dragged a twerk or two out of me.

The main draw of the weekend was always going to be the people you meet though.

Old friends, new friends, and characters you will never meet again but who are fondly remembered.

So big thanks go out to Will and the Wild Horses, who were accompanied by their better halves, and mates.

It was a pleasure. A very real pleasure.

The Yellow Movement.

Tony Gaughan.

Callum and Barney

Cutty and the Casa Caliente crew.

Trusty and the Foe.

Little Fire.

Alan Frew

And if I missed you out blame it on the award winning rum.

Once again I can only say that I hold nothing but contempt for the damned midges, and yes. I will be back.

Maybe in 2015 a wee programme would be nice with the acts roughly managing to stick loosely to it though.

I love the free and easy attitude and personally don’t want it to be too regimented, but a wee clue as to who is playing where is always nice.