Square Festival
Borth 24th - 26th July '09
Words & photos: Mike Roberts
Fairy wings and Fez’s’, fashionistas and free thinkers, embraced the festival vibe and gathered on an impressive vista beneath the big skies of the Borth floodplain. The corner of a sizeable Welsh field was transformed into a bohemian enclave of Glastonbury to celebrate two and half days of eclectic music, culture, and love.
Organisation of military proportions was sustained by an army of volunteers, specialists and tiers of tasks and communications. The result was a seamless and reassuring level of planning, security and accessibility.
Complimenting the efforts of organisers and staff was a line up guaranteed to satisfy the musical appetite of a spectrum of hungry audiences. Friday 24th July saw Oxford indie band Supergrass take to the main stage amongst a considerable cast of local and national musicians awaiting their turn to rock the Square Festival.
Distributed across five dedicated stages festival goers had the opportunity to sample from thrash metal, house, rap, indie, ska, and world music. Stirred into the rich festival recipe were children’s play areas, a cinema, festival radio station, and a bustling Café Seren.
Saturday was a day for divas. The Swn stage hosted a set by neo punk 3 piece Glass Diamond. Formed through brief meetings on musician websites, Glass Diamond are Keyboard guitarist Vinchenso D, Chris Roberts of CDR, and Taiwan born female vocalist Hsin Yi Chang. Ms Chang's jagged, pouting, pirouetting screams echoed last summers darlings of glasto The ting tings catchy girl pop. Driven by Roberts's drum line, Vinchenso D's loops of delay, distortion patches and guitar hero poses, Hsin Yi upped the anti by leaving the stage to return with a team, or flock of 'sheep' - the type of which are only found in festivals... delighting the crowd with a pyrotechnic performance.
Mid afternoon on the main stage as the crowds were settling down to enjoy lunch and a nap under the intense Borth sunshine, demure French vocalist Marina Celeste put plans of a festival siesta on hold as she went on to capture the attention of both men and women enchanted by her Gallic beauty. Throughout Celeste crooned effortlessly, occasionally coquettish, sensuous and disarmingly seductive, winding into an explosive conclusion as a shameless and empowered unforgettable force of nature.
Take a break from the music for refreshment and the Square Festival offered stalls as diverse as face painting, wood cutting, fast food, tattoos, Tibetan angel card readings, and charities. Those preferring a hot cooked meal in friendly surrounds were welcomed by the Bedouin tent chique of Café Seren and the comedy line up of the backbeat stage. Taking over entertainment duties on the backbeat stage, Royal Gala front woman increased the heat in the already temperate Café Seren kitchen with her kitsch, hard core ska. Gold lame cat suited Louise captivated the backbeat crowd with her fast talking cockney chatter. Connecting with the audience, expending vast amounts of energy in her wild, high kicking, grinding, and taunting, all accompanied by a grin of undiluted mischief.
Fresh from the Workhouse festival, Anglesey Dub Reggae band Redstripe worked through level issues to deliver their signature good time sound. Fielding a set list of tracks from their recently released album the twelve piece outfit gave a confident account of themselves. Bass heavy melodies, synced tightly in with percussion and brass, all focused by iconic reggae harmonies. Close friends of the Redstripe reggae machine, Drymbagos’ soulful lament drove the backbeat stage audience late into the Saturday evening.
Over on the main stage reggae was subverted with a punk theme by Welsh band Skindred. Full on thrash, met the bouncing Jamaican beat under searing stage lighting and a pa rig barely able to cope with the volume. Skindred's visceral punk set gave the main stage audience precisely the music high they craved, and left them needing more from the fast approaching Sunday lineup of bands and performers at Square Festival 2009.
Mike Roberts is a freelance photojournalist based in Bangor.
posted 4th August 2009
Comments
I attended Square and enjoyed the cosiness of it all. But ''seamless organisation'' ??? A 3 hour wait in queue to obtain wristband and be searched was far too ridiculous - especially for someone with arthritis and for those who had small children. Needed a separate line for disabled and children/families. Having been to festivals who had between 2000 and 20,000 attendees, I have never had to wait so long before...and some people had their hard earned beer taken off them. I am a festival regular - of course beer cannot usually be taken into the arenas or bars, but not allowed to take it to your own tent?? The police and security guard presence was rather overwhelming too. If this was ''fluffy'' as advertised, what would spiky be like?! And the guy who arranged the bands and times had things completely messed up, so the programme made no sense whatsoever as bands were put on an hour or two late or even on different days! I enjoyed what I saw, had great time with friends old and new, missed seeing some bands.
fessiechik: 6th August 2009
I love the square fest ! I know it was not a perfect,organised ,well developed festival, but somehow the vibe was just so cool.Enjoyed the line up on main satge:Fight like apes / Supergrass / The Joy Formidable/ 65 Days of Static…so cool don't have to travel long way to see these big bands. On new stage I saw a most creative,weird band Glass Diamond ,and few others can't remember the name,coz the time was so messed up! On reggae tent had most relax music and amazing food ! In the evening , I was just so enjoy the electronic dance music in lots of different tent (hoped they could put the DJ's name on the door,I have no idea who was playing!)…till the morning me and new with old friends went to beach see the sun rise…You don't get this in other festival , Borth is a such good place to have music festival.Enjoyed every minute!
Soso Jay: 12th August 2009
It definitely wasn't seamless or I would have been at home wit a mug of tea for most of it. I wasn't a punter, and ended up doing several 17 hour days. A good gig should be like a swan, the bits you see are serene and composed but we are all paddlin like billy'o beneath. Well a lot of people saw the paddlin. If It goes ahead next year, And I do hope it will, I'm sure lessonswill have been learned. As to the music my high points were Fidgital and the amazing, entertaining and all things being equal very attractive GLASS DIAMOND! Finally after 29 years another reason to visit London. Or I can just wait till they turn up here again. I'd just like to say thanks are owed to 24 Carrot, Taliesin Terry and cowboy hat steward for helping to keep our end of the festy going.
SPANDEX: 12th August 2009
