Uriah Heep

There's this really cool festival in a village not far from where I live (about 20 minutes away). It stared as a tiny thing between friends. Twenty years ago it was just a bunch of local bands playing on trucks.  I went to the second or third edition, can't remember which. Entrance was free, there were probably a couple of hotdogs and some beer to buy, and it all looked very "woodstockish"
But nowadays, it's really a big thing. Thousands of cars are parked all through the village to accomodate all the festival goers, local volunteers helping to direct all the cars so there is not too much chaos.

And two years ago they managed to get Deep Purple on the bill! It was really fab to simply drive out and get there in no time. No need to drive for two hours as usual or sleep in hotels. Really neat. Last year I went to see Johnny Clegg, it had been ages since the last time.

This year my favourite act on the bill was Uriah Heep. The first and, until now, only time I had seen them was at my first festival ever in 1993. They had replaced Saga who had cancelled, and we had learned about it in the morning. It was a "surprise" act until the end. I'll never forget the look I exchanged with my mate when the name was announced, we just looked at each other in disbelief that we were going to see such a big act. It was the sort of music we'd heard on the radio as kids never imagining one second that we'd see them live. There have been tons of personel changes in this band, but still, this was almost the same line-up as it was 18 years ago.

I hadn't seen them since, and I was really happy about this opportunity. It was a blast, what a band! Such energy and enthusiasm. There were a few funny technical problems, the bass went out a few times, but it was all taken lightly.
I am grateful for Planet Rock radio, because through listening to them all the time I actually knew two of the three songs they played from their new album : Into The Wild . All in all I had such fun that I nearly didn't use my camera. I got a few nice shots still.

     

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