After last week’s Petts Woodstock, this Saturday we followed up last year’s visit with a return to Priory Live.

After lunch in the nearby Bel’s Diner we arrived early to a sunny Priory Gardens just in time for the end of the sound checks. The usual little funfair was in place (with a hook a duck for Heather) and there seemed to be a couple more food outlets this year. Sadly though there was no sign of the craft beer bus, only a disappointing “bar” selling a small range of cans.

Unlike Petts Woodstock, which seems to be becoming more and more dominated by cover bands, Priory Live is nothing but original music (perhaps with the odd cover thrown in as part of a set). That makes it more to my liking. So it was that the by now familiar Dirty Perks kicked things off. Their drummer seemed to have gotten lost so they played a couple of songs with a random from the crowd before continuing without percussion. They were still up to their usual standards though, it was just a pity the crowds hadn’t really began to build that early. Here is Lighters, which they sang during the song check.

They were followed by a singer called James Marshall (not the actor!) who put in a decent enough, though apparently forgettable, performance. Next up came Weekend Recovery, who seemed to be trying to break some sort of record for most people on the stage (I don’t think they’re normally all in the band, but it was a bit chaotic). They did manage to sell me a CD for a couple of quid after their set which was at least proactive. Anyway, here is Sore Loser

Following on was a young kid singer-songwriter, Georgie Kellar, who was pretty instantly forgettable (he actually did a second stint a bit later, so my lack of interest shows how little he stood out). Much better were Tiffany Twisted (even if they did seem to spend a lot of the set fighting the sound levels), who brought an energetic folkish twist to proceedings. One of their best numbers was Gallows:

Also energetic but much more annoying were The Aim. Fronted by some sort of South London cockney geezer of the worst sort who acted as if the ageing star of a stadium filling rock band rather than the front man of an unknown band. Their songs deserved better. Showing how attitude, and music, should be done were The Boy Jones. With a lead singer prepared to go sit by the drums drinking beer while the guitars do their thing, and a classic indie sound, they were one of my highlights, as demonstrated by their Never Coming Down

We finished off with three artists who were also at last year’s festival. I think Natalie Shay was more impressive last year without her band but she does have a good voice. Starts Hill were as good as last time with an impressive sound. Closing things out were Feral Ghost who did a fine job of rocking through the closing firework display.

Starts Hill—Grace

And Feral Ghost’s latest single:

Some Pics