MAID OF STONE FESTIVAL 21ST-23RD JULY 2023

FRIDAY 21ST JULY

There was mention early on of an opening night party on the Friday, initially just for campers but the organisers decided to throw open the gates to all weekend ticket holders. A good idea but there were some problems with the execution. Arriving at the festival site, it became apparent that we were confined to a small section of the park, comprising the Maiden stage, a drinks tent, some toilets and very little else. Given that the event started at 5pm and went on for more than 5 hours, I had expected that food vendors would be up and running but this wasn’t the case. There was a lone chip van operating in the camping area which became overwhelmed by demand despite the fairly mediocre offerings. Stranger still was the drinks tent which was offering a very limited selection of beverages comprising one lager, maybe a couple of ciders and some bottled water! 

But thankfully, any gripes were offset by an evening of solid entertainment. After DJs the T’N’T Degenerates blasted some rock anthems at suitably ear-splitting volume, we were treated to an hour of rockaoke; a live band providing the backdrop for amateur singers of variable quality (though generally pretty good!) to get up and give it their all. Even those of us not brave enough to grace the stage had fun singing along to the likes of Tenacious D’s ‘Tribute’ and Free’s ‘All Right Now’.

Midlands five-piece Fury got the party started properly with a high energy set that never let up. A difficult band to describe who, by their own admission, play songs about “everything 10-year-old boys live for”, their heavy riffs are augmented with surprisingly smooth vocals courtesy of Julian Jenkins and Nyah Ifill. The stomp of ‘Hell of a Night’ with its ‘Monster Movies’ chorus is particularly memorable. We’re told the drummer only plays at two speeds, “fast and f**k you fast” but ‘Upon the Lonesome Tide’ slows the pace, just briefly, a soaring ballad that sounds like it should be the soundtrack to an epic film. 

The Hot Damn! bounced onto the stage, a riot of colour in shades of pink, blue, orange and green. These ladies make a sound as bright as their stage attire, rock music at its most pop, the shout out loud choruses of ‘Live Laugh Love’ and ‘I Didn’t Like You Anyway’ clearly hitting a chord with the audience. Admittedly, it’s not for me, the harmonies so sweet they border on saccharine, but there’s some nice twin guitar and the shameless merchandise plug worked into a song managed to put a smile on my otherwise slightly perplexed face. 

Frontman Tom Rampton puts it best when he describes The Treatment as “no frills, no bullshit, no shiny underwear rock and roll”. With their big, AC/DC style riffs and irresistible choruses, it’s hard to imagine a better way to conclude this party. Rampton almost goads the audience into submission, the kind of frontman who makes you feel a bit guilty if you’re not clapping your hands or doing what he tells you. From ‘Let’s Get Dirty’, via ‘Running with the Dogs’ and ‘Shake the Mountain’, it’s one absolute banger after another. The band are so tight they make this sort of thing sound very easy; no flash, just the joyous sound of guitars and drums cranked loud. 

Perhaps the organisers didn't anticipate quite such a big turnout for this scaled back event, but the lure of three additional bands at no extra cost was always going to be a strong pull. A great night of music but I wouldn't mind a can of coke to accompany it next year!