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 While the majority of music lovers descended on Pilton’s Farm for a weekend of peace & love, a little celebration of music was taking place in the haven of Basingstoke, with funk, dub, ragga, hip hop, soul, electro & drum n bass being cooked up and served to the hungry masses (well almost.)
The grand entrance that would have been crazy people juggling fire sticks outside the venue were sadly not present tonight, apparently too preoccupied at Glastonbury so the organisers informed me, but luckily the stunning visuals and camera trickery inside the bar on the big screen offered a somewhat distorted view of the events that would soon unfold onstage.
Full marks must also go to the Drakes DJ Tucker, for his bizarre hip-hop mixes including the Ghostbusters theme mixed with
Eminem…(!)
The night kicked off with what sounded like a stampede of buffalos in the shape of the
Drum Runners, equipped with drums in all shapes and sizes, and also a penny whistle.
The crowd was whipped into a frenzy with primitive Native American & Samba workouts.
With these guys in tow, Basingstoke could yet be a rival for Rio in the carnival stakes.  The attention then turned to Reading band
Guerrilla, first onstage with their unique brand of dub, ragga and Arabian percussion.
They announced their arrival with a burst of droning synth sounds before getting the crowd moving with funk-based rock.
However it didn’t take long for their ethnic influences to kick in, the third song in resulting in the most astounding Arabian-style guitar riff heard this side of the Mediterranean, put to a slower, reggae-influenced beat.
Yet by the next song, the synth had returned to beam down the dark forces from above over acid-tinged guitar, which soon gave way to a hypnotic dub rhythm that had heads around the bar nodding in unison.
Rock and funk returned to the fore for the remainder of the set, ably assisted by an African hand drum.
It really is hard to believe the huge musical diversities conjured by this band despite their young age.
Their songs really grab your attention and don’t let you go, yet still they leave you crying out for more.
Guerrilla are making music that is years ahead of their time and if the singer can polish up his vocals a bit then they really do have an exciting future.
Next up was 4-piece band Red Antennae with their funky soul sound and beautiful vocals provided by sassy diva Natalie O’Neill, and light relief to the ears after Guerrilla.
Red Antennae mixed lo-fi mellow funk with guitar, samples, FX and low basslines.
O’Neill, from Reading and who also writes and performs her own material, sang clearly and with passion, and it was just a shame that the Drakes crowd seemed to have other things on their minds during the performance, which prompted her to jokingly ask if it was always this quiet in Basingstoke.
But the night undoubtedly belonged to the headline act Mr
Anchovy, intent on creating anarchy with their live drum n bass sound, a mouth-watering mix of funk-driven guitar, percussion, keys and electric violin(!) which as a whole worked amazingly well together.
Thinking along the same lines as a stripped-down Asian Dub Foundation, the 4-piece band were full of adrenaline, the pace never once slowing throughout the set and this provoked mad dance moves from the onlookers already in the party spirit.
Even me, a traditional non-dancer found it difficult not to be moved by the music, propelling you like a rocket as the intense beats reverberated in your head.
Mr Anchovy were worth the admission price alone, it’s definitely worth getting hold of a copy of their CD if you fancy a break from the norm.
Let’s hope they play in Reading sooner rather than later!!
The organisers of Digital Fingers obviously knew they were taking a risk putting on a show like this on a festival weekend, yet those that were here tonight can testify that they witnessed a truly spectacular feast of music with bands that would easily grace the One World stage at Glastonbury.
I for one am glad to have spent my Sunday evening at Drakes Bar, I certainly wouldn’t have swapped this experience for any of the three nights of Glastonbury 2003.
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