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Amy Winehouse Pretty Photos
Although it's been running for several years now, this Bank Holiday weekend I attended the Mathew Street Music Festival in Liverpool for the first time. The event was actually cancelled last year due to some political issues between the local authority and the organisers but it was claimed that this year it was back "Bigger and better than ever".
Amy Winehouse Pretty Photos
Although it started life as a celebration of The Beatles and their music and was almost exclusively located in Mathew Street, the event has now spread to the extent that it covers many different music styles and the number of venues for the events is now around 40! In addition to the large number of bands focussing on the Fab Four, there are tribute bands to many old and new artists, one or two originals and a significant selection of bands performing under the heading "new music".
Amy Winehouse Pretty Photos
Whilst many of these are indoor venues, pubs and clubs, etc., there are now six large outdoor stages in various locations around the city centre, which is almost completely closed to traffic. The largest of the stages is the "Tunnel" stage, situated close to the entrance to the Queensway Tunnel. With a huge arena in front of the stage, this venue attracted several thousand fans to its larger events and is where my visit began on at 1.00 p.m. on Sunday when I went to see "The Police Force", not surprisingly a "Police" tribute band.
Amy Winehouse Pretty Photos
As you might expect, they simply worked through a selection of the Police's biggest hits and attracted quite a large crowd, many of whom joined in even though it was quite early in the day. The crowd was a mix of old and young and many had clearly come for a picnic, with tables and chairs dotted around, mostly on the edges of the venue.
Amy Winehouse Pretty Photos
After The Police Force, there was an interval of 15 minutes and I realised that this was standard across all venues, as this was probably the amount of time needed to go from one venue to another if you needed to do so. But I was staying firmly put because the Tunnel stage was about to play host to none other than Chas and Dave; not a tribute band but pure Cockney Gold, the original themselves, complete with Mick on the drums!
Amy Winehouse Pretty Photos
Running through "Rabbit", "London Girls", "No Pleasing You", etc., they quickly won over the audience and had a huge "singalong" atmosphere on the go. Who'd have thought it, on the banks of the Mersey? I was reminded of when Bjorn and Benny of Abba appeared at a U2 concert some years ago as this was widely acknowledged as the start of the Abba revival. Are we about so see Chas and Dave storm up the charts again?
Amy Winehouse Pretty Photos
After all the singing it was time for a drink at one of the many outlets dotted around the place, all of which seemed to charge £3 for a pint of lager or cider, or a glass of wine. But it was a decent pint and very cold, so was greatly appreciated. Incidentally, the seasoned festival goers were clearly noticeable as they all seemed to be carrying 24-can packs of Carlsberg, Becks, etc.
Amy Winehouse Pretty Photos
Overcoming the urge to go back to the Tunnel to see "Rocks Off", a Rolling Stones tribute, I decided that it was time for a touch of "what it's all about" and so strolled down the normally heavily congested Dale Street and Castle Street to reach the "Beatlemania" stage at Derby Square.
Amy Winehouse Pretty Photos
Playing host to non-stop Fab Four bands, I arrived there in time to watch the curiously named "American English". Playing the usual repertoire, though more heavily focussed on the later stages of the Beatles music, they had a good look and a good sound. But in the breaks between songs, it was quite disconcerting to find that not only do they work on looking and singing like the Beatles, they actually try to talk like them (well, at least "Paul" and "John" did - the other two never spoke).
