Dpercussion 2007

So – Dpercussion is no more and the final event was last Sat, as ever, in Castlefield, set amidst the railway arches and urban sprawl of god’s fair city.

Like every year, the organisers had created a fascinating line-up, hundreds of acts across 7 or 8 stages and venturing into dpercussion is an exhilerating and frustrating experience – There is so much packed into the 10 hours that the temptation to run madly from stage to stage is great. Who knows what you’ll see? – The next big thing? Your new favourite band?

The day begins with a long queue cos they havn’t set the gate up but it’s hard to grumble too much about something that’s been free for nearly 10 years. I felt like having words with miserable bastards in the queue whinging, not only about the wait but also about having to pay £3 – what the hell else can you do with three quid in this day and age? Probably the same tossers who will moan about the lack of big names in the line up. When you remember the event is run by volunteers a little bit of give might be nice, eh?

Anyways, we’re in and the main stage is swinging in a slinky samba style with the 15+ strong La Gran Descarga who I find a pleasant diversion in that, I don’t actually really like what they are playing, but they are playing it very well. I think it would probably be hell to be stuck in a car with someone who had only latin jazz CDs but once in a while in the sunshine (ok, grey murk, but it wasn’t raining for once) a big old samba band sound pretty damn fine.

A wander around the site and we’re drawn to the unity stage, home of all things of (for want of a better descriptor) ‘ethno fusion’ – A place where Punjabi MC’s meet dohl drumming whilst breakdancers spin on their heads and a band straight from Nathan Barley watch on. All of this enthusiasticly overseen by a ‘lively’ young female DJ who exorts the early afternoon to ‘do the lightbulb dance’ – To absolutely no response at all. Poor thing…

It was EpocLive (above) who drew us to the stage first and whilst my companion assured me they sounded like ultraviolence, I was expecting a rendition of ‘Terrorists are Gay’ at any moment. Which isn’t I suppose a bad thing. It means they were cool. The woman was very shouty and the drummer didn’t look over bothered with the whole affair. Lack of passion isn’t some thing you could level at the two chaps picture below who fused traditional devotional songs with drum and bass to great effect. I don’t know their names though, which is a shame. Because they were good. Sorry gentleman…

Mystery act! (1)

Mystery act! (2)

After this came a cracking set from Dj Asif whose blend of house, breakbeat and global sounds got the crowd moving. A little bit.

<- A little sample of DK Asif
The set was interspersed with guest spots from local artists pictured below and whilst the whirling ever changing sound spun around the gloomy railway arch that loomed up over us, I was heard to mutter ‘Why would anyone ever like indie shit when you can listen to this stuff’ Which, I think should give you the indication that I enjoyed this part of the day.

Back on the main stage – Is it Linkin Park?! No! It’s PWEI!!!, hang on NO! It’s the Happy Mondays!, No… it’s better than that it’s ‘The Real Dolls’ an impossibly fun amalgam of stuff that is bad on paper but actually they were really good. And they are from Manchester. Guitars buzzed and the frontman, a cross between Sean Ryder and the fella from Zion Train gabbled and encited fun and frolics from all arround whilst ‘Yo Yo (the Bez of this band) through her shapes. In the current climate I applaud anyone who isn’t tortured into standing quite still and making a sub cure noise about the pain, oh the pain. So well done Real Dolls. You were fun.

What happens next? We saw some stuff – George Borowski y’know the lyric from ‘Sultans of Swing’ by Dire Straits about ‘Guitar George’ who knows ‘all those fancy chords’ – apparantly, that’s him! Definately cooler is the fact Frank Black likes him, but I’m afraid M. Black Francis and I differ a bit. He was very good at singing and his face a pixieish delight to watch but I was really haunted by a very bad phrase all the way through… Which was… Christian Rock. So we left after 3 songs. I took an arty photo of the lovely acoustic stage though, which made it all worth the while as I’m sure you will agree. Hang on.. George Borowski had an…ELECTRIC GUITAR – On the ‘acoustic stage’ – I want my £3 back now…

Another wander round in search of the pulse of the youth and some thrills, past some nice graffiti, along a wall bedecked with barbed wire, accross the Roman remains that give the area it’s name and down to the canal. Where we watched a girl fall in! Hurray! She didn’t drown happily Then, despite the temptation to sit and and watch drunkards tumble into muddy water all evening we headed off to see Ink Lined Minds who were a strange mix of Rasta values and gun totin’ attitude but possesed of some fine bouncy tunes. One even made me think of that Kelis track about trickin people once or twice. Except it was about something else. But it was quite bouncy. Like that Kelis track. Oh yeah.

*er…It’s always possible I’ve got the name of these two wrong – if you know better please let me know and I’ll put it right.

By now, things were getting really crowded and it was difficult to get from stage to stage and so we had a break and sat on the grass and listened to the muddy mix of seven stages and drunk some beer and looked stuff. Like the stuff below.

With night falling, I really wanted to catch the Belle and Sebastian DJ set – I did and enjoyed the sunny mix of obscure turkish sounding stuff with a bit of cheesy french tat thrown in. That’s what it was like in my head any way. They could have played different stuff from other parts of the globe, I dunno – It sounded like lift music in the 70’s some of it, other stuff was like what would happen if you made a western with lego men and commisioned a Danish guy to do the soundtrack. Then there was some really nice soul but I think B&S had finished. IT didn’t matter, it was nice soul none the less.

B&S on the ‘Bar Ca B stage’

We were tired, not being as young and fresh as we once we – then again, you, dear reader, are not as fresh as you once were either, so don’t hold it against us. Off out, past the main stage (below)

Up past the Roman stage and out, no….. hang on….. there is the best sound of the day coming from over there…. A rush a stumble, get the camera out, what the fuck is this! It’s the best thing EVER IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!!! It’s The Urban Voodoo Machine and boy oh boy are they good. Are they? FUCK YEAH 1..2..3. RockNroll played at breakneck 180 bpm type speeds by a deranged and half zombiefied group of freaks. I thought Rocket from the Crypt but if they were reborn after some magical acident where half a ton of black magic oil got spilt all over them and they became super voodoo sex magicians. Even though the singer looked a tiny bit like Ade Edmonson. But much better and cooler with loads of mascara and a voice that must have hurt in the morning cos his soul, man, his twisted and blackened soul. Just sometimes something live picks you up and screams ‘YOU ARE ALIVE YOU PATHETIC LITTLE FUCKFACE – RIGHT HERE AND NOW, SO FUCKING FEEL THIS IN YOUR SPINE, IN YOUR FINGERs and TOES and NECK and EVERYFUCKINGWHERE AND FOR ONCE BREATHE, LIKE IT’S YOUR LAST BREATH ON EARTH’. We only saw it cos we were going to leave early. Therefore, early nights are the new Rock n Roll. The Urban Voodoo Machine are the new God.

If you don’t believe me: listen –>

So that was the last ever dpercussion. Which is a big sad shame. You can read more about the reasons for the demise below and perhaps cross your fingers for something new to take it’s place. The slightly suspicious ‘New Islington’ development (wtf – New Islington? Does that mean a sack load of wankers are moving to Ancoats then? Probably…. What’s up with ‘New Ancoats’ anyway?) has a free little festie thing going on, organised by the same people as Dpercussion (i think.) Anyways, that was that and from me, thanks for the festival. T’was good.

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