Louder Than The Music

Louder Than The Music album reviewer J Alexander went to Ultimate Event 2009 last weekend, a gig which is hosted at Alton Towers, UK. Mr Alexander has kindly written a great blog for you all to read:

One of the best one-day Christian music festivals in England has attracted fantastic line-ups for the past couple of years. The legendary Delirious? headlined both the 2007 and 2008 shows, supported last year by Sanctus Real, This Beautiful Republic, RPM and thebandwithnoname. On paper, this years line up looks slightly disappointing: Kutless, who have never played in the UK before, were headliners, supported by Superchick, YFriday, Bluetree and thebandwithnoname again. The three British bands are very good, but not really big enough to carry such a large concert. However, this years Ultimate Event was an incredible experience, and possibly the best ever.

My day didn't start especially well. I overslept, upset several drivers in Stoke by sticking to the speed limit (which is apparently rude in that part of the world), and crashed my car. After a feeble attempt to dig it out of the ground myself, I waited for the friendly AA bloke, who eventually turned up to pull me out of the large mound of earth that had stopped my car from skittering into either a tree, or the large quarry to my right. This basically made me very late, meaning that I only had the chance to go on a few rides, and had to sacrifice seeing Bluetree for a go on the Runaway Mine Train.

However, we did get the chance to appreciate some of the excellent new material from YFriday while queuing for Air. Usually, when a rock band announces that they are releasing a worship focussed album, I find myself slightly disappointed by a bland collection of uninspiring Matt Redman covers, but YFriday have really pulled it out of the bag with Great and Glorious. Their enjoyable set means that the album has gone straight to the top of my wish list.

We arrived on site in time to see Superchick open their set. They seemed very energetic, but the music didn't really grab me, so I eventually opted to see my beloved Quench on the smaller 'Top Dog' stage. They gave their usual excellent performance, even debuting a new song, but they seemed a bit miffed by the overbearing Superchick performance that had soaked up the crowds. At one point, lead singer Jamie Hill asked if anyone had got their fantastic new record, Reality Radio. I raised my hand. Someone behind me shouted that they hadn't. 'Who said that?!' exclaimed Hill, who promptly looked up to see me, with my hand stuck in the air and a smug look on my face. 'What do you mean NO?!' he shouted, looking slightly irritated. Suddenly realising what had happened, I blushed and lowered my hand, worrying that one of the defining bands of my life might now hate me. I promptly bought a cool Quench t-shirt at their stall to make up for it.

Whilst trying on the different sizes, a friendly bloke at another stall called me over to see if I would like to buy a Lifecolour t-shirt too. 'Hmm Lifecolour' I mused, pretending that I'd heard of them. 'Well sound a bit more enthusiastic!' he said, looking concerned. He pointed to the slightly bemused looking Lifecolour member who was standing beside me. Not wanting to upset any more bands, I ended up buying their new EP.

Shortly afterwards, Kutless appeared on stage for their full length set. The performance that they gave was nothing short of stunning. The crowd went completely crazy for them, and I instantly became a fan. To be honest, I'd never heard their stuff before, but I can assure you that their inspired blend of hard-edged post grunge and modern worship is well worth a closer look. By the time thebandwithnoname returned to the stage to bring the event to a close, the crowds were ecstatic. It was an amazing evening of live music, and one that will ensure that the Ultimate Event stays true to its name for another full year.

Article by J Alexander.