Guilfest 2003 - Review

United Kingdom | by Sara Wright, Roy Mussell06 July 2003

Guilfest - Friday

Friday

After the bustling vastness that is Glasto, Guilfest seems tiny & (dare we say) cute by comparison. With it's pointy, purple main stage it is however definitely subscribing to the same hippy ethic, and its eclectic line-up, varied global menu, plenty of tie-dye shopping and the now ubiquitous seed-pod hats (with the 2003 addition of the little yellow flowers) had everyone was set for a really quite marvellous three days.

Sadly we only made it down in time to catch the last few songs of The Wildhearts - but at least our late arrival meant that we managed to avoid The Darkness! We don't want to sound like the kid in the crowd when the Emporer walked past...but really, are they just taking the piss or what?!

Easy targets aside, despite Ginger's recent relapse, The Wildhearts seemed to be in fine form - racing through powerful renditions of 'Miles Away Girl' and 'Caprice', they ended with a raucous version of recent singalong single, 'Vanilla Radio'.

Love with Arthur Lee, although chilled and polished, failed to maintain the days promised Rock momentum - and it was patently obvious that the majority of the audience were waiting for the headline act - so Arthur and Baby Lemonade (for it is they that currently masqurade as Love) merely provided an interlude for ice cream and mead wine.

Fifteen minutes late, Alice Cooper finally took to a stage that was patently too small for the theatrics for which he is (in)famous. Waving a random assortmennt of props (including a cane, a whip, a sword and - bizarrely - a crutch), Cooper - originally a 17th century witch, apparently - was the consumate showman. Full of energy he managed to reappear after the mammoth drum solo draped in a huge python which didn't slow him down one jot.

The next song was spent whirling a dummy dressed in a nurse's uniform around the stage... a precursor to the illusion pulled off during the following track, when she came to life and appeared to beat Alice up and put him in a straitjacket. Just as we were musing whether the songs could stand on their own without the visuals, Alice launched into a vintage 'School's Out' and it all coalesced into sharp focus. Sadly, on the stroke of 11pm, the plug was pulled by "Guildford City Ordinance" (allegedly), and as Alice declared he'd love to carry on, many of the crowd were clearly left wanting more.