Fire Dance – the festival!
In words and pics from Alan Dearling
It takes bucketloads of energy and commitment to put on a brand new three-day festival from a standing start. Marnie, Andy and Ian have just proved that it can happen successfully and still be fun to organise, promote, manage and participate in themselves. Here’s a kind of personal scrapbook of the event. I tried to get at least one photo of each performer and band. I’m not going to even attempt to review every set from the three days in a community hall in a farmer’s field. This is a taster, a snifter of some of what went down!
The journey there from Todmorden in the Pennines involved a train to Leeds with my 35 kilos of camera gear, computer for editing, tent and ‘stuff’ – lugging two bags up and down the stairs at the station because the lift was out of action. Then it was another train to Darlington and Ash from Fire Dance team came and picked me and a couple of other performers up and transported us to…..
Fire Dance, which is definitely in Erehwon land in Co Durham… the tent is up and I’m creating a wasp factory with my cider! Music kicks out the jams in just under two hours.
There are four bands scheduled to play live on the hall stage on the first night. Here’s organiser, Andy, setting up the gear in readiness for lift-off!
Fire Dance festi kicked off. Technically it’s a private party for punky people. There’s been a wedding and I think there are three birthday-people celebrating at the event too. Friday night was very eclectic ranging from punk hardcore, some political rage, (Covid 21 and The System), vocal dexterity (Moss) and almost musical circus from Tetchi. Very entertaining!
Being a new event, Fire Dance was a test-bed for potential future festivals. Here’s the on-line message that the organisers have posted afterwards:
“Still processing how good of a weekend that was! Thank you so much you beautiful, beautiful people! Fire Dance surpassed by a country mile all our expectations and we’re already working on making it happen again next year, it was a learning curve for us, but everyone pulled together and helped create an amazing atmosphere. Massive thanks to everyone who helped out, you went above and beyond especially the stewards & crew, Ged Chatfield, Nick Bliss, Mel Hardy, Mel Cameron, Olivia, Emma, Joel Robson the sound engineers Bill Radford & Aoife, Angi Pheonix & Mark for the amazing decorations inside and out, the photographers and reviewers Alan Dearling, Dave Gee, Neil Crud, Ashley Quinn & Amass for the backline & transport, all the bands who absolutely smashed it, Geoff the farmer for renting us his field, Sue from the village hall committee for trusting us, Shirley & Derek from The Plant Based Chippy for feeding us all weekend! and every single one of you who mucked in and helped make it just the perfect weekend. We’ve had nothing but positive feedback and we are overwhelmed by the love! From the bottom of our hearts – Thank you! Marnie Andy & Hanratty, same weekend next year?”
The field was first used for a rave that was permitted by the local farmer, and that was the positive seed-bed for the idea that became Fire Dance.
The music on Saturday was a tad more focussed on punk hardcore with sets from Amass, Cress and Emissaries of Syn. B-Type are very hard to categorise or explain being an almost-rap act fronting tunes and songs linked to video games! Chump Wrecker is Hanratty’s Prodigy-style rave-up, and the Sporadics are old festival favourites with a fast but tuneful array of punked-up folk. Great for dancing. A dj-set from OuNo SoGo, and Horace Zontal shared tracks from across the musical spectrum. Petrol Hoers defies any description but features a near-naked bald geezer in a horse’s head…but it led to an early morning bit of conga dancing, I have been informed!
Sunday was another mixed affair, but with fewer punters around to enjoy it. But lots of birthday celebrations! More dj-sets, and more of Hanratty, who finished the day with his Analogue Blood duo with a punky dance set. There was even poetry and folksy-political punk from Rusty Strings, some alt-rock from the Half Breed Bastards, and a storming set of gay banshee wailing, and some strong songs and theatrics from the young and really rather impressive, Mother Man.
Worth watching out for as they delve into the darker worlds of vampires and filmic visions!
A very varied little festi. Respect to all involved! Look out for info about next year on social media. Lots of Fire Dance videos on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mrmrshxc2burden486
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