With the first, largely disappointing, half of Firefest gone anticipation grew as the next three performances had been classed as ‘special events’, two farewells and a reunion.

First up were Harem Scarem a Canadian act that had made a significant impression on the melodic rock world over the past decade or so with many proclaiming them as the best band on the scene.  I’d never really bought into the hype and the only CD I own by them is a Jap import odds and sods compilation of b-sides and live tracks that I’d picked up somewhere for a couple of quid.  I wasn’t too sure what to expect but judging by the number of punters wearing their T-shirts a lot of people were really looking forward to this, their final gig.

Boy was I under whelmed, what a waste of space.  Not only did the music largely leave me cold but the band themselves didn’t seem to give a stuff.  Listless banter between songs played with all the willingness of Margaret Thatcher signing a petition supporting the miners strike gave no life to what was supposed to be a rousing final send off.  Perhaps the reason lay behind the fact that the band had just grown bored with the Harem Scarem persona evidenced by the revelation that they weren’t splitting up at all but rather undergoing a name/style change.  Coming from a band that did the exact same thing about 5 years ago the news was greeted with groans from most of the audience.  So long guys, please close the door behind you.

Next up was the final ever show from Tyketto and the thing Gill had been looking forward to all day, frontman Danny Vaughn.  In truth Tyketto only ever came out of the woodwork for the occasional short tour of festival and hadn’t recorded anything together in years so it was no real surprise that they were calling it a day.  Danny Vaughn continues to tour and record with his own band, Vaughn, and recently also secured in spot in the Eagles cover band Illegal Eagles so has little, if any, time for anything else.  As for the other guys, well no one seems to know what they have planned. 

As soon as the band hit the stage it was obvious that they were about to show Harem Scarem exactly how to go about putting on a celebratory, farewell show.  Mixing the set between songs chosen by posters on their website, set regulars and songs chosen by the band themselves Tyketto pretty much covered their whole career evenly.  Everything was played with a verve sadly lacking from Harem Scarem and the audience responded, singing along with gusto.  My personal highlight was a stirring rendition of ‘Standing Alone’ but the whole set was top notch.  Well done chaps, thanks for all the good times and I hope the future holds much creative joy for you all.

So there we go, two starkly different ends to a bands musical journey and this to be followed by the rebirth of one of Britain’s finest proponents of blues based melodic pop rock (couldn’t think how else to describe them, AOR doesn’t do them justice although I guess many would label them as such).  I was feeling a little concerned at this point.  FM were the reason I let Gill talk me into coming tonight but how would they be received after 12 years away and having to follow a great crowd pleaser like Tyketto’s set?

All will be revealed in part3.