FREEVOLUTION FESTIVAL
@ NEWCASTLE/GATESHEAD QUAYSIDE
MAY 2007

A free festival is always going to be a bit mad. After all, if you get kicked out you’ve not lost anything, other than your dignity of course. Free entry means you can drink lots of beer, jump around and make a fool of yourself without the wallet-stinging ticket price. Bonus! So when the Freevolution festival pitched up on the Quayside of Newcastle and Gateshead on a drizzly Bank Holiday Monday, the north east celebrated it in true Geordie style. Lashings of Strongbow and plenty of noise!

One stage stands next to the towering Baltic building in Gateshead, whilst the other is pitched towards Byker across the river Tyne, aptly named 'Innovation' and 'Invention'. The city is thriving and building on the success of last year's festival with bigger and more promising acts. As Soulwax, Simian Mobile Disco and Calvin Harris are scheduled to perform up by the famous Tyne Bridge, Newcastle's favourite sons Maximo Park head up a line up of fresh acts across the water.

It was only a year ago that some of the headline acts performed at the ill-fated HiFi North festival only a few miles away from today's site. Billed as the first of an annual event to feed the festival starved north east with a indie rave feast of Global Gathering and Homelands style portions, HiFi was set to be the start of something big. But alas, the £52.50 ticket price may have been too much for Geordie revellers as the event was poorly attended, bands were axed from the line up last minute and 53 people were involved in drug related arrests. However, the next day Freevolution took place on the Quayside and proved to be a big success. HiFi North failed, whilst Freevolution excelled.

Fast forward to this year and a crowd largely made up of teenagers and students are wandering from one site to another, stopping at the Quayside’s bars on their way. Rowdy gangs of emo kids shove each other annoyingly, lovesick teenagers awkwardly hold hands, chavs are jumping in front of people in the queues for the portaloos and beer boys nurse pints of lager and kids are sliding down the green banks on pieces of cardboard when the police aren’t looking. Over at the Byker site, guys with backpacks full of Strongbow are mobbed as they hand out free samples and kids shove their fake I.D's into their faces. Acts such as Bonde Do Role, Hot Club De Paris and The Enemy attract a good crowd, as do Datarock and To My Boy on the other stage.

We head over to Baltic Square where Calvin Harris is starting up. He may think he’s bringing back disco, but all he’s providing to the Quayside is a soundtrack for the fights that break out amid the crowd. Kids are crowd surfing regardless of the concrete floor below, resulting in brawls that the audience seem to enjoy slightly more than the performance going on. Meanwhile, Harris is skipping between a keyboard and a mic as he runs through his debut album 'I Created Disco' like a poor man's Mylo. People stand still watching, some nodding for most of the time until 'Acceptable in the 80s' kicks up and everyone has a right good sing-a-long.

Next up are Simian Mobile Disco. Although best known for James Ford's input in material from the Arctic Monkeys and Klaxons, their about-to-be-released album of clinky electro magic doesn't disappoint and warms everyone up nicely for Soulwax. 'It's The Beat' shines as a clear favourite, as the duo twiddle knobs on an important looking machine at the centre of the stage. We'd love to stay for Soulwax, but frankly, we're sick of them. They must have performed at every single event we've been to in the past year or so and although they’re awesome we make a move with the majority towards Newcastle for Maximo Park.

It looks as if the majority of festival-goers have joined us, judging by the journey we have to undertake to worm our way towards the front. Being amongst the setting for both of the band's albums is exciting. The monument they stand near is only up the road. The coast that's always changing is only a few minutes away. The Transpennine rail service Paul and his love defaced pictures of famous people on runs from the local station. There couldn't be a better setting for a free Maximo Park gig. They're not short of material either, packing almost two albums worth of songs into the show as we excitedly bounce around the sweaty crowd with beer soaked hair. 'Our Velocity' revs up and everyone goes wild. "And I'll tell you some more about ME!" A bowler hat wearing frontman Paul Smith shouts. The audience are only too willing to listen. "Is anyone on a date tonight?" Bowler hat wearing frontman Paul Smith asks before launching into 'A Fortnights Time'. It may not be the most romantic setting, but its getting a hell of a lot of people wet.

A second album that's shot them officially into one of the most 'in demand' bands in the country today means that Maximo Park may be packing up their kit and trading their Geordie twang for neutral tones. "And no… we haven't gone off to London!" Smith announces to ear-bleeding cheers. It's been a while since a band made the north east so proud, making the gig the ultimate bonding session. There's a glitch in the sound quality that lasts for half a song, but the crowd are forgiving. The five piece polish things off with the electrified 'Limassol', firmly embedding the tune in everyone’s heads for the rest of the night, despite the beats 2 Many DJs knocked out at the Digital afterparty. The Toon Army were out in force!

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