FORT ROX FESTIVAL, NEWHAVEN FORT - 12/8/06

A music festival - at a fort? Headlined and curated by British Sea Power? Well?why the hell not?! With the UK being well known for its music scene - and not its coastal defence systems - it seems a pretty radical idea to stick on a handful of bands, on a custom built stage, on the parade ground of an old wartime fort bang on the cliff edge in Sussex. But hey, it could work! Infact, festival goers can entertain themselves between bands by participating in such far out activities as recreating an air raid in the ?Blitz Experience?, or by going on a guided tour of the forts clifftop ramparts - all capped off with refreshments from the Searchlight Café. Although naturally, we headed for the bar - rather quaintly situated in an old aircraft hanger. Welcome comrades, to Newhaven Fort.

Now, as much as I?d like to tell you all how good the first band The Honeycuts are, I?m afraid it cannot be done - due to underestimating quite how much of a treck it is up the coastal path to the fort. Good job we weren?t marching. Scenesters beware - this seaside wind will have your straw hat off in a flash.

First band of the day then is male / female duo Jacobs Stories, who?s avante garde blend of folk and electronica bring to mind Kid A era Radiohead. Imaginative and interesting, although their music isn?t really suited to an outdoor festival and seems to leave people looking a wee bit baffled - which is something that local fourpiece Charlottefield soon put right. If it was a lunchtime wakeup call you?re after then they certainly deliver, with a set packed full of riff heavy, melodic hardcore - like a distinctly English version of DC hardcore bands such as Fugazi and Sick of it All. Powerful stuff!

In comparison, Wakefield popsters The Research are all colour and bundles of energy - rounded off with lots of slightly twee, casio keyboard led pop songs. Judging by the random outbreaks of dancing amongst the assembled crowd, the verdict seems to be a positive one too. All nicely catchy, and for a while actually surprisingly entertaining - although like eating too many sweets, too much can soon become sickly.

As if knowing that too much dancing could cause you to peak too early - its over to My Latest Novel to slow the pace down slightly, and take everyone on a journey through their dark, mysterious, and strangely theatrical songs. Clearly a talented and creative six piece - violins soar, xylophones shimmer and all sorts of things go on besides - morphing from moody Arab Strap like strums, to Idlewild like mini anthems in the space of a song.

Finally, in preparation for our hosts British Sea Power, duties are handed over to The Duke Spirit to give us all a good kick up the arse. They storm their way through an excellent set consisting of mainly new songs - the feisty attitude of frontwoman Leila Moss shining through the dark, scuzzy guitar grooves. Very loud and quite distinctly labelled ?rock? - the new album should be worth the wait. The only downside being partial deafness due to standing inline with one of the mainstage speaker stacks. I knew it was a bad idea.

Now then, seeing as we?re all standing in a fort on the Sussex coast - and knowing how British Sea Power like to do things their own way - I was half expecting the band to suddenly be lowered into the fort by helicopter, or arrive on the beach by speedboat. Sadly, neither is the case, as they amble onstage to be greeted with the mass waving of freshly picked foliage by small portions of the crowd. Nothing like a friendly welcome eh - and the band respond in the best possible way with their now customary opening song ?The Scottish Wildlife Experience?. Despite the odd technical hitch, the hour-long set is packed full of epic tunes - this band are clearly made to play outdoor festivals. Anthems the size of the sweeping ?Remember Me? and a quite wondrous version of crowd favourite ?Please Stand Up? are dealt with early on - allowing for a new atmospheric masterpiece titled ?Mary? to take centre stage, that quite frankly, has the words ?future single? written all over it. "I opened my eyes / I did not make a sound / I could not cut you down". Beautiful. The sprawling ?True Adventures? is given its glorious full airing of seven plus minutes, complete with violin courtesy of Abi from Jacobs Stories - before the band are joined onstage by a rather large dancing bear (or is it a man in a bear costume?) for the crazy finale of ?Stretch and Flex With Ursine Ultra?. During the closing moments we witness Noble snap the neck of his favourite guitar, and Hamilton fighting with the onstage dancing bear - before said bear nearly catching alight from the heat of the lights - all whilst the stage becomes slowly shrouded in smoke and guitar feedback. And then they were gone - airlifted away into the clouds. Possibly.

To sum things up then, the obscure day can best be described as "about as much fun as you can have whilst spending six hours in a fort". Couldn?t have put it better myself.

British Sea Power setlist: ?The Scottish Wildlife Experience?, ?Remember Me?, ?Please Stand Up?, ?Apologies To Insect Life?, ?Spirit Of St Louis?, ?Mary?, ?How Will I Ever Find My Way Home?, ?Fear Of Drowning?, ?Atom?, ?True Adventures?, ?Carrion?, ?Stretch And Flex With Ursine Ultra?.