Last Sunday was time for one of London's quirkier free festivals over at Spa Fields for the Clerkenwell Festival, we arrived this year just as the dog show was finishing, sorry I don't know who won the prizes but dogs and owners could be see walking around all afternoon with rosettes on, we did have a look at the jumble sale and missed out on the bouncy castle choosing a spot of lunch and to get some real ale in time for the first band of the afternoon.
Quick Romance are a super young four-piece band who were another of the bands we missed seeing at this year's Rebellion Festival where they were part of the Loud Women takeover of the Introducing stage and caused enough of a buzz that I needed to see them. I'll be guessing song titles as they only have one single out that they closed the set with. They opened with a song about someone who has Eyes Like Spiders that has a low-fi garage punk sound with vocals very much in the Pauline Murray meets Poly-Styrene school of punk, they got a bit bouncier on Romance Bodies as Matilda Scotland threw all sorts of shapes and poses she's a very engaging young frontwoman.
Born Too Pretty For Punk was a perfect anthem with a good garage rock guitar solo in it, Matilda then told us the next two songs are part of the same story and they were playing Part 2 first, they were searching for someone hiding in the shadows shouting Come Out Wherever you are, the two parts worked well together, they sounded a lot like Stinky Toys on Zero the song they sung in French that was very catchy. Seen On The Scene was a perfect short snotty tune about those faces you see around all the time, just as they were questioning what the bloke in the tie-Dyed outfit at the front was doing playing drums on two empty water bottles like he was at a rave, and just as guitarist Hayden James started playing his guitar with a drumstick towards the end of the song.
Like It That Way seemed to imply they like short sharp garage punk and lots of bouncy movements. I do hope the next song was called If You Wanna Talk Punk Lets Go In The Kitchen that sounded like an instant party classic, that was followed by what I guessed was Punk Of The Mud that had a great solo from Hayden it sounded great before they closed with the bands single Brian Jones Hair that hopes his blonde locks have been preserved for posterity, a cool way to end a great opening set.
Next on were Miraculous Mule who opened with the low-slung gospel rumble of Boogie Man that slowly mutated into When You Came Out Of The Wilderness with Michael Sheehy preaching those blues at us. The rumbling low end of I've Got A Feeling In My Body might have been to do with the sound man's mixing skills, but it worked for Miraculous Mule as the song shifted into How Can I Lose? A question you could have asked of everyone who showed up for this free day out, But Michael used to make clear just how many drugs of all sorts he used to fill his body with, a never ending hunger, the song then got darker with Patrick McCarthy's bass sounding imperious throughout Fire & Brimstone which may have been where all the addictions took Michael.
I've always loved what Miraculous Mule does to Wayfaring Stranger and this version was no exception with some great tambourine and backing vocals from Alex Petty before they closed with a monster take on Satisfied that again asked the question could you ever get enough drink and drugs to be truly Satisfied, or will you just keep imbibing till you can imbibe no more, or do you find salvation elsewhere, something else to fill that void, that came to a great dark conclusion for a very cool set.
Next on were The Rockingbirds whose set was sadly marred throughout by very poor sound, the start of the set sounded very languid like they were looking at the rearview of there career, Alan Tyler did his best to lift things, while claiming he was Standing At The Doorstep Of Love once more, while never sounding totally happy about the country roads he's been driving down, they looked like they were playing together, but the murky mix didn't help them from seeing people Drifting away to the jumble sale while they played.
Till Something Better Comes Along was the first song that sounded almost decent, even if they still hadn't got out of second gear while being ready to say Goodbye To You that was marred by the bass feeding back making squealing noises. Gradually Learning had a good few people singing along, they seemed to be getting a bit livelier in time for the bands best known song the brilliant Johnathan that at least sounded close to how it ought to sound, before they closed with Time Drives A Truck that felt like a comedown from the two previous songs.
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Throughout the afternoon we got to say hello and catch up with loads of friends and the audience was stuffed with all sorts of musicians, label owners, pr gurus and gig going legends, many of whom had shown up for the chance to see PP Arnold headlining this festival, it was part of her celebration of being a real Soul Survivor who is celebrating 60 years as a professional singer, since she became an Ikette in 1965 and sang on her first hit River Deep Mountain High with Ike & Tina Turner.
PP Arnold opened her set by going back to her days as an Ikette for a great version of What You Gonna Do (When I Leave You) her voice sounded incredible and this got everyone going, she then introduced the first song she ever wrote Though It Hurts Me Badly that was a full on heartbreaker, that she wrung all the emotion out of. She then thanked Steve Craddock for writing Baby Blue for her, this sounded like it was from the late 60's but is of course much later, she really seems to defy time. Then it was time to bring her deep soul sound to the Monkees much covered classic Different Drum that sounded great.
Everythings Gonna Be Alright is a good current message and PP called out Trump and all the other haters during this, she got into the spirit of it, PP then told us some of her 80's stories from her legal battle over her vocals for KLF who shafted her financially and some of her other dance music excursions, by way of an intro to I Believe a song she wrote with her son, showing her power to survive and keep on going.
It was back to the 60's and hanging out with Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, Delaney & Binney and Traffic by way of an intro to a long psychedelic soul version of Medicated Goo, PP made clear she partook in everything on offer back in the day, while loving living in London in the late 60's hanging out being part of the scene. She then told us about playing with Billy Preston before she sang her version of Eleanor Rigby that sounded brilliant, but she has been singing it since 1968 or so.
Hold Onto Your Dreams was another song written with her son Kojo, she made clear this was about celebrating the fact that her dreams really have come true, surviving 60 years in the music business as an independent black woman. We then got stories of hanging with the Small Faces by way of an intro to Afterglow that was the most sensitive song of the set. If You Think I'm Groovy really put her young band through there paces, especially as two of the members were late replacements due to her regular musicians being elsewhere.
The highlight of the set for me was hearing her super cool version of Angel In The Morning that had a vastly different emphasis to how many male singers tackle this classic.
PP then told us the next song was the title of her Autobiography and also told her story in song on Soul Survivor a great northern soul floor filler with loads of her life woven within it, before she thanked Cat Stevens for writing her last song of the set The First Cut Is The Deepest, I wish he'd joined her onstage for it, he was in attendance, but this was a brilliant version and a great way to close a very impressive set from the irrepressible PP Arnold.
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