Kendal Calling
Lowther Deer Park, Cumbria
30/07/2010 – 01/08/2010

The Gods were kind to the 8,000-strong crowd at Kendal Calling, and despite awful forecasts and grey skies hardly a drop of rain fell all weekend. The calm weather is matched by a laidback and relaxed atmosphere. It might not be able to compete with the spectacle and excitement of the big hitters like Glastonbury, but the scaled-down size of the festival on the beautiful Lowther Deer Park in Cumbria is part of its charm. The compact site means no manic marathon walks between stages and, more importantly, a trip to the tent to fill up on your hip flask is never more than a few minutes away. Although, this presents problems of its own with some overzealous security staff thoroughly frisking random revellers as if they’ve just arrived back at Manchester Airport from the heroin fields of Afghanistan.

On the main stage OK GO play an energetic but distinctly average set. Perhaps they should stick to making videos. Local lads Wild Beasts arrive just in time for the first shower of the day. The gloomy sky adds to the brooding performance. It’s easily the highlight so far, with ‘Hooting & Howling’ ending the set in spectacular fashion. Salford punk-poet John Cooper Clarke delivers a spitfire stream of hilarious lyrics and anecdotes on The Soapbox stage. Saturday is headlined by a so-so Doves who don’t really come to life until an encore of ‘There Goes The Fear’.

Sunday starts with a predictably evil hangover, but a lovely set from Badly Drawn Boy soothes the aches and pains. When he brings his young daughter onstage to sing a duet the audience turns to putty, cooing and grinning helplessly. The stage is festooned with branches and leaves which can only mean British Sea Power are next up. The Cumbrian natives are slightly lacklustre, though. Over on the Calling Out stage These New Puritans are a revelation. Dramatic, cinematic, apocalyptic and loud, but strangely for the best set of the weekend the tent starts to empty as quickly as it filled. Heathens. The Coral close the festival on the main stage with a hugely enjoyable show, which is only partially ruined by a small band of cretins forming an aggressive circle pit during even the slowest numbers from their new album ‘Butterfly House’. Overall Kendal Calling proves that small can be beautiful. Let’s hope the organisers keep it that way.

Eddie Devlin