09/05/11……More Music In the Park please
THAT’S the cry going out across Thame this morning, following the biggest gathering of local people in one place in the town’s living memory – Thame’s first Music In The Park event in Elms Park.
An estimated 3,500 people, many of them local but hundreds of friends and visitors from wider a field, sat, picniced, slept, played, danced, met up with old and new friends, enjoyed the sun and revelled in some of the best musicianship and entertainment you could ever hope to find this side of a TV screen.
Headlining in the Dome Stage was the truly awsome Ska and 2-Tone seven-piece, Skasouls UK, which, in a Jesus-like transformation of mind over matter, inspired arthritic, middle-aged men and women to actually leap up from the grass and, with clenched fists, pump their arms and legs in energetic rhythm to covers of such legends as Madness, The Specials and Bad Manners.
Paul Bacon, aka Ultimate Elton, set the standard when he launched the afternoon’s programme, actually becoming Sir Elton John in dress, demeanour and voice to the huge delight of a very appreciative audience singing along to every note and lyric.
Throughout the rest of the afternoon, local artists like Thame’s Got Talent winners, Rowan Carter, Yvette Judge, the very ‘tasty’, Milk, and other Thame and Oxfordshire performers like Ellie Ruddock, Hell’s Gazelles, We’re Not Mexicon, The Nerve, The Unchosen, Bootlegger and too many to list (Visit the website for the full line-up) proved that Thame really does punch above its weight when it comes to musical talent across the spectrum.
But it wasn’t all Rock, metal, pop and Blues. Music in the Park aimed to have something for everyone and the youngsters from John Hampden School and the ladies of the Greatest Hits Choir proved that the great English tradition of choral group singing is alive and flourishing in this corner of Oxfordshire.
Other great acts deserving of a big, big ‘shout out’ were Empty Vessels, The Peppermints, Nuttz Knuttz, one of my personal shining gems, Michael Lee and the Jiggawatts, Transit and the amazing street and break dance line-up of dancers from Talent Oxford.
A smaller, third stage, handily positioned by the mega beer tent, featured a more intimate musical experience though not necessarily quiet! The mixture of bands and solo acts featured here were: Huge Carrott (formerly known as Banned), Gemma Aguilar, Cassette Clinic, Lydia Pritchard, Vaultdwellers, 12 year-old Lewis Branch, The Bravados, Ben Cooper, 2AM Blue, Mike Carroll, 14Ten, HyndyJ8 MC Master, Samantha Hoare, Young at Heart and The Three Horseshoes.
Just like at a ‘real’ music festival, there were queues for the toilets but that was a minor inconvenience which will no doubt be rectified should the event be repeated next year! Such was the unexpected popularity of the event that the beer tent ran out of beer but a quick trot back to the Cross Keys by Landlord Pete and his staff, soon saw the bar replenished, albeit with canned lager and cider, which by that stage of the afternoon, most punters were mellow enough to tolerate – or moved to make a trip to the local garage in Park Street!(Don’t tell securty)
After their sterling efforts, Michele Pether, Steve Gunn, Cassie Purnell and the organising team were, understandably too knackered to talk to the likes of the press about how it went for them, but no doubt when all the litter bins have been emptied, the stages dismantled and Elms Park returned to its peaceful, green and pristine self, more local people will be aware of this wonderful but under-used oasis in their town, and Thame will never be the same again. Bring it on!
PHOTOS: For a flavour of the day,visit LINK
All pictures copyright of https://www.thame.net
