I am an Indie Pirate

Scott Jones on IndieTracks 2009

I am an indie pirate, I've fought sharks on the open seas, I've lost an eye and a leg from the knee,
I Am an Indie Pirate and you're no match for me

Indietracks Festival

Midland Steam Railway, Derbyshire, July 24th – 26th, 2009

A surprisingly nice drive from the mountains of Wales into the Derbyshire countryside armed with a mix CD containing Ballboy, Ivor Cutler and Let’s Wrestle wet the appetite, and we roll into the Midland Railway Centre in good time to watch the stunning Au Revoir Simone, who headline a small Friday night line-up to start this year’s Indietracks. Keyboards are flying from the start with melodies and subtle lyrics as beautiful as the three girls. Heather D’Angelo has the magic in her eyes, she lives and breathes the songs, the new songs shine bright in the evening sky coming over me like a veil of warmth and provoking a deep sadness. At the end I’m left wondering if indeed I had seen the best thing at the festival already, one thing is for sure it would take something special to top it.

So after Au Revoir Simone there’s some good tunes floating around in both discos, in the locomotive shed and a new marquee, from Lipstick On Your Collar and P!O!P Kombinat Berlin, but we settle for a real ale on the old train carriage before indulging in some pop nuggets and then heading off into the night.

Saturday

Saturday brings some welcome sunshine taking off where last year left off. I wake to some Spanish karaoke guy singing his heart out at what must be 10:30 am after an eventful night that involved a cold walk at 4am.

The first band I catch was Amelia Fletcher’s Tender Trap. Their set floats along with some nice pop songs before Amelia shows a little of the Tallulah Gosh spark, really coming alive with the last two songs.  After that we just wander around for a bit relaxing in the afternoon sunshine.

Butcher Boy who I hadn’t heard but have heard of sound good in the locomotive shed -robust and romantic, but I leave after the second song to get my place in the church for the Lovely Eggs. We're there early as it turns out but manage to stumble on the last few tracks from The Specific Heats, guitars and keyboards bursting into melodies - a pure adrenaline rush with the stunning Julie Kowalchick plucking the bass.

The Lovely Eggs bring something a little crazy to the church and sound great as they tear into ‘I Like Birds’ with guitar and drums flying. Holly and her self-proclaimed different mind whipping up quite a show, twisted and inspired, Alice in Wonderland stuff, but sadly there's no ‘Tyrannosaurus Rex for Christmas’ on show.

Camera Obscura take to the outdoor stage as the sun sets on the Derbyshire countryside with a nice crowd gathering. It takes them a while to get into it but after the stunning ‘Books Written for Girls’ they come alive and sound terrific. ‘If Looks Could Kill’ and ‘French Navy’ exploded like giant disco balls filled with glitter, swamping the crowd with Pop magic, the trumpet sounding fantastic. Then the stunning ‘Razzle Dazzle Rose’ fills peoples hearts before they say goodbye. It's a shame it's only a relatively small set, they could have weaved the Pop magic a considerable amount of time more with all the stunning tracks they have.  But it isn’t to be, it was that fucking Spanish karaoke king who woke me in the morning’s turn to take centre stage.

So after the rush of Camera Obscura we enter the pulpit of the church ready for Wake The President. I had previously only heard one track by them but now I’m really looking forward to hearing more after this. Guitar melodies and provocative lyrics rain down on the church crowd and all of them must have left feeling as I did, definitely one of the highlights of the festival.

Both discos are rolling out the Pop nuggets with the legendary How Does It Feel To Be Loved? spinning some obscure ‘60s tracks leaving people with no choice but to dance, and Bonnie and Clyde spinning some up-to-date Pop gems setting people spinning in the old locomotive shed.  After both discos have finished everyone heads back to the camp site where a stand off is taking place between the indiepop crowd and the camp site folk, they want to charge £5 to go into a marquee but no one is having it and after about ten minutes the camp site give in and wave everyone into the marquee for another hour or two of dancing to tunes selected by Liz from The School, includiong a bit of Jens Lekman.

Sunday

With no Spanish karaoke singing to wake me I arise at around 12:30, so the first band I catch is The School. I really enjoy The School this time around, with Simon from The Loves spicing things up on stage in a Hitler moustache. The keyboard, guitars and trumpet sound great, bursting with pure Pop wonder. Liz seems to have grown into the songs, at first when I saw them she looked a little shy but today with Simon at her side she looks like she’s really enjoying it and her songs keep away the rain at least for a little while.

After missing MJ Hibbett for what must be the third year running we end up in the old locomotive shed for the start of Northern Portrait. Singer Stefan Larsen has that Morrissey voice that would lead many people into taking them for an imitation but Northern Portrait have their own songs. The guitar shimmers through their set and there’s no messing around, all the band are really into it as they rip into ‘I Give you two seconds to entertain me’ setting the old shed ablaze with starry-eyed romance.

Despite the rain quite a big crowd find their way to the outdoor stage where BMX Bandits are keeping the Pop flame alight with a great performance. BMX Bandits are completely different from what I expected - I don’t know what I expected but it's great. Lead man Douglas T. Stewart is a real character, resembling a circus master in his purple suit with his ‘Big Bird’ t-shirt underneath, he's really into it and some of the songs are magic. If I had done my research and checked their myspace before the festival I would have seen that Ivor Cutler is in the top friends list so how could they not be good?

Whilst sheltering from the rain in one of the tents we have a tip off that Amelia Fletcher is going to be playing some Tallulah Gosh tracks and before you know it ‘Beatnik Boy’ and Tallulah Gosh’ whisper out of the corner of the tent, another one of those great spontaneous moments from Indietracks, Last year it was Hayman now Tallulah Gosh, great stuff.

“Tonight the church is filled with shining lights
And a thousand people stand and sing inside
At the front in letters ten feet high
It says there is no fear, but fear of God tonight

But there is no God and there is no light
And the church won't keep you safe at night
There is only love there is only hope
There is only hope and love tonight “

So after waiting in the queue for around 20 minutes in the rain I finally enter the church and find myself a perfect place at the back just behind the seats, so there's nothing obscuring my view as Gordon Mcintyre takes to the stage armed with his acoustic guitar. He starts with one of my favourite tracks ‘A Day In Space’ - it glows with a magic aura. Right from the start Gordon creates this mystical atmosphere where there’s not a sound, everyone is tuned in and hanging on his every word. Gordon’s songs have an honesty about them that unearths deep feelings, a subtleness that reaches the core and draws a tear and a reality that can chill you to the bone.  ‘I Gave Up My Eyes To A Man Who Was Blind’, ‘I Need Two Hearts’, and ‘Disney’s Ice Parade’ all hit like Troy Polamalu coming up on a stretching wide receiver on his blind side as he reaches for an overthrown ball. The lyrics “so strap your arm around your chest, buckle up your chain mail vest, what better than to walk this land with the boy who knows you best” ring around the church filling hearts with joy like Santa filling stockings.

Ballboy/Gordon Mcintyre have this thing, they reach deep where even the most unlikeliest of person can be brought to tears, a big Scottish guy at the front shouts “Fuck God and Fuck the old firm!” in between songs before settling straight back in and punching the air as Gordon sings the subtlest of love stories, it’s incredible.

“She ran out of the house at night, around the corner and out of sight, and she called I am a captured maiden, come and rescue me” and I instantly had a new favourite song in ‘I’m An Indie Pirate And I Will Scuttle Ye’. I managed to find a video on youtube of Gordon performing the song a few weeks ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X7CAkoJtRw. Its just amazing.

Gordon really is an indie pirate, a real outsider with the songs and stories to prove it. Just incredible, if I don’t see anything better in my lifetime I wouldn’t be surprised.

So after that I just wanted to follow Gordon around and buy his drink for him all night but instead I headed to the old locomotive shed where I catch the last song by a fiery Art Brut. Art Brut are another of those bands that I’ve heard loads about but have only ever heard one song by them and as it happens the song I know is the one I catch.  ‘Formed a Band’ echoes around the locomotive shed, guitars shooting off in all directions really whipping up the crowd. It’s a shame they had to be on the same time as Gordon Mcintyre but I guess you can’t see them all.  

Teenage Fan Club are playing on the outdoor stage but the rain isn’t too appetising and the Songs For Children DJs are playing some stunning tracks in the marquee - The Lodger’s ’Good Old Days’ making it impossible to leave. Before you know it The Indelicates ‘We Hate The Kids’ signals the end of proceedings here at the Midland Railway Centre for another year but there’s still some action going on at the camp site. There’s an old-school indie disco going down, playing ‘Buddy Holly’ by Weezer and even ‘Burn Baby Burn’ by Ash even though I requested ‘Kung Fu’. As the night goes on the music gets better and the Hobgoblin gets the better of me and the last tune of IndieTracks 2009 rang out at about 5.30 am.

The crowd must have at least trebled from the first year, but it’s lost none of its magic. The atmosphere around the festival is something to behold, there’s zero commercialisation and when someone is playing there’s a feeling that everyone is really listening. It’s been yet another amazing Indietracks and the prospect of going home saddens my heart to the core. I can’t wait for next year already and let’s hope Let’s Wrestle, The Indelicates and Lucky Delucci can find their way to the sacred Midland Railway Centre next time around.

© 2009 Scott Jones

Thanks to DaveyMcDave, Beth Echelon, Weeseaweed,Ozmur and StringBeanJen for the terrific photos.

© Miwsig