Memories of a free festival

Greenfest 2008 was a jolly event in a pleasant location, Furnivall Gardens by the river in Hammersmith. There was a wide range of stalls on environmentally friendly living, including cycling, yoga, recycling, vegetarian and vegan food, public transport and improvements along the Thames.

I had a good time looking at the various stalls and came away with a cloth shopping bag, shoelaces, a CD and several leaflets. Sadly I did not win the raffle for the folding bike.

But the real reason that I went to Greenfest was to see Instant Flight play.

I saw Instant Flight play with Arthur Brown a couple of years ago and liked their late sixties psychedelic vibe. At times they sounded a bit like early Pink Floyd (e.g. Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun), which is no bad thing. The prominent keyboard also suggested Keith Emerson in her playing style; another positive.

The layout of the temporary stage meant that you could get very close to the band as they played and could also walk behind them. I took the opportunity to get up close several times and it was fascinating to watch, for example, the keyboards being played from a distance of about 1m.

A good crowd, more than you get at pub gigs, sat around on the grass to enjoy them play for about an hour. A few brave souls even danced but the less said about that the better! Instant Flight were a little troubled by feedback but that did little to spoil what was an excellent set played with obvious enthusiasm, despite having flown back from Paris that morning.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating and I shall be eating more Instant Flight from now on, starting with their CD which I have just ordered.