Ciaran's Threshold 2013 Diary//Saturday at the Festival.

Having been otherwise occupied on Friday my first experience of Threshold Festival came early on Saturday afternoon. With Camp and Furnace already getting busy early on, the festival quickly kicked into life as plenty of artists took to their various stages.

My day started with being the solitary audience member for Make Your Mark, a combination of art and dance. The level of grace and creativity shown be the five artists was very impressive and it was easy to relax and enjoy the individualist styles of the participants.

Following this I made a trip to Elevator, via the Unit 51 cafe, to catch up with some of the acoustic acts. I arrived just in time to catch some of Ronan Boyle’s set, his dulcet tones echoing around the room of smiling faces. He was swiftly followed by the immensely talented Caroline England who’s charming personality endeared her immediately to the crowd. A relaxing acoustic sound combined with a powerful voice could only be bettered with the addition of a mouth trumpet solo in a song proclaiming Caroline’s pride in being ginger. After Caroline, Gary Edward Jones took to the stage and also managed to impress the crowd with his mouth trumpet. A talented singer and guitarist, Gary had a strong presence surrounding him on stage and his upbeat demeanour made it very easy for everyone to get into the atmosphere.

To go and get a sense of the other acts offered by the festival I got down to The Picket for a couple of hours to experience a very different side of the festival compared to that on show at Elevator. I walked in to hear the passionate, local poetry of Gerry Potter. The raw emotion dripped from Gerry’s lips as he talked about the city that he loved, contemplating stereotypes and all aspects of Liverpool culture. Following Gerry was the brilliantly entertaining and off-the-wall T.E.Yates. After laying out his army of worker hamsters, Yates took to the stage accompanied by a trumpet and accordion to tell poetic stories with his very unique brand of humour and art thrown in between. The smile was a permanent fixture across his face as he presented various drawings to the crowd, including a series of dog faces followed by the punchline drawing of a catfish. I didn’t get it either but the attitude of Yates still made me laugh out loud.

Now I wasn’t sure what to expect when I heard that the next act would be a burlesque dancer but Mimi Amore had a wonderful rapport with the crowd as she slowly revealed more of herself. Certainly not one for the younger audience but the humorous way in which Mimi presented herself was very entertaining for all those present. To come across as sexy and hilarious at the same time is a real challenge, one that seemed much easier for Mimi than it would for most. She was followed on the stage by one of the appearances of Impropriety, the improv pairing that would present many of the acts throughout the day. With their abstract humour, as well as the odd groan-able pun, the guys came across really well and made the very most of their environment, utilising audience member’s heads during a fight between one of T.E.Yates’ worker hamsters and a 'pegfish’ (a peg...).

By the time this bit of improv came to an end, Felix Hagan and The Family were ready to take to the stage. Felix is a natural performer and his stage presence and glowing grin made it easy for all who were in the increasingly busy Picket to get into the lively music provided. With a solid band, including two members who had stepped in a handful of days earlier, there was almost a storytelling element to the performance as Felix’s style came across like that of a true musical theatre veteran. Cameos from Louis Barabbas and Mimi Amore helped show the friendly and enjoyable nature of the set, Louis really making himself at home on the stage.

I took a brief trip back through the Camp and Furnace to see what was going on, and to get some sustenance, before heading over to Siren to catch a bit of the Fringe Festival. The act I got to see was Sally Pepper, a University of Liverpool student who performs with a gritty punk attitude on an acoustic guitar. Sally had a good amount of patter with the minimal yet attentive crowd and her powerful voice flooded the room and captured the imagination of all involved. 

My final trip of the day took me to see Mashemon (above) in the Gold Room at Camp and Furnace for their audio-visual spectacular. As the music started so too did the screen behind them that accompanied the music, a live four piece band with an additional soundtrack. Lead singer Ronny had some playful banter with a particular individual who seemed very ‘merry’ and was really getting into the music. The sheer volume and power of the band was enough to impress the crowd and the intricacies of the sound added to the aura of the group.

Not a bad way to get my first taste of the festival, already very much looking forward to everything Sunday has to offer! The atmosphere surrounding the festival is so positive and the friendly and helpful nature of everyone involved made the whole day so much more enjoyable. Here’s hoping for more of the same!

Words by Ciaran Steward. Image by Scattershot Photography. 

Day One: The circus comes to town!

Following the wonderful yarnbombing that adorns Jamaica Street, I arrived at Camp & Furnace on Friday night for the launch of the Threshold Festival 2013 to a scene reminiscent of a mad movie.

The scene was one of volunteers getting everyone to where they needed to be, photographers capturing the venue from every angle, bands lugging instruments and setting up equipment, and festival-goers taking it all in while supping on the Festival's own beer, specially commissioned from Liverpool Craft Brewery.

Amid all the hustle and bustle  Festival Director Kaya Carney showed not a single sign of launch night nerves as she serenely directed the scene to make sure everyone had what they needed and got to where they needed to be.

Bring The Fire Project get the party started

I wandered down to Camp for the big launch amid an increasingly excited crowd. Kaya along with fellow Festival Director Chris Carney opened the proceedings in style and that's when the fun really began.

Hoisted aloft by a gaggle of exotically garbed, bejewelled women from Mr Wolf Collective, a giant papier mache elephant made its way through the crowd followed by a gobsmacking display from the Bring The Fire Project. It was as if Oller and Zidler's Moulin Rouge of 1890 had been kicked around and landed in Liverpool of 2013 as the Day 1 theme of Escapism was brought extravagantly to life.

Spread across venues all over the Baltic Triangle, the Festival has the feel of a village that's home to musicians and artists and it's a testament to everyone involved that it radiates a feeling of optimism that no rainy Friday evening or dire economic climate can diminish.

Heading to the first floor, I was treated to some of the most interesting and exciting art I've seen for a while. I'll shine a spotlight on the exhibits by Pamela Sullivan and Janet Wilkinson, Jazamin Sinclair, Matt Seamless and Liverpool Art Prize 2012 Winner Robyn Woolston in future posts.

Pamela Sullivan and Janet Wilkison's trees bring a touch of magic to Camp & Furnace

I pootled over to the Elevator Bar and witnessed The Ragamuffins tearing up the place with some pounding Northern Soul-style, Dexy's inspired tunes. Original numbers, like the possibly inaccurate "It Never Rains In Mossley Hill" were played loud and raw against a background of pugilistic brass that punched metaphorical holes right through the gorgeously decorated walls of the Elevator.

The Ragamuffins were followed by Fidel Afro who played a solid set of banging rock with excellent, crowd pleasing guitars and drums. 

As I headed home in drizzling rain, I was so so so impressed that these bands and artists are all true to the Threshold Festival's grass roots agenda of showcasing high quality talent from emerging artists. Can't wait to see what Day 2 brings with it. 

Words by Andrea McGuire, photographs by Michael Kirkham

Time Slips: Threshold 2012 Day One

Just to get you excited for the marathon of fun that is coming we though we'd show you just how much we enjoyed the first day of last years Threshold Festival. Seriously, it was funky! It was also cool, inspiring, thrilling and any other positive adjective you could choose to use as well...

The festival experience is one that can vary immensely from person to person, site to site or venue to venue but whereas last years festival was the biggest indoor one in Europe - No mean feat - this years is seeking to be an experience like no other for quite a while. (At least until the next one!)

Indeed the unmarked but very identifiable Camp and Furnace served as the buzzing hub. From the decorated lamp posts outside draped with knit ware to the brilliantly hand scrawled ‘Threshold Launch this way’ sign by the easily missed but easily opened door it was a hive of activity that typifies the Threshold values of pushing yourself to the very edge of your abilities. 

If you were looking for something it was probably there and very attainable. You wanted art? It was on the first floor with another thought provoking installation from Liverpool Art Prize nominee Robyn Woolston and HeadSpace’s visual art gallery. You wanted music? It was in every corner, down every corridor and probably in the food and drink too. And if you know the old saying about music food and love then let them play on I say! 

There was much more on offer too with the much recommended Threshold beverage wetting many lips as they passed through crowds illuminated by strobe lights, dancing men on the walls, stilt walkers, some punning porta-loos, impromptu dancing and if you were feeling down for any reason at all you could always visit the cuddle corner for the gift that is said to be ‘like a boomerang’ because you get it back right away. Look out for a short interview with these Happy Hugger’s later as well as reports from the rest of the festival. 

But getting down to the nitty gritty, here are my highlights of the evening. First up the atmosphere in both Camp and Furnace and Elevator Bar was captivating, with the same familiar buzz from last years event present and correct. Music wise there was much to sample from and in between diving down the A to Z corridor (as I have christened it) to meet people or check out the artists I was impressed by a lot of artists but the best were Rumjig, with their reggae and funk inspired acoustic pop and if you didn’t get a copy of the CD they offered during the set you really should kick yourself!

Another impressive prospect on the Under The Influence stage was Science of the Lamps with their almost chamber music sound drawing you under a magic vail of  true class. With a new single out you need to check out the band immediately, but finish reading this first though as there’s more to come…

Moving up the stairs to the first floor we have Robyn Woolston’s impressive installation of plastic forks in a delicately balanced wave-like formation themed around wastage in the world and it is truly an epic installation with all components of the plastic forks packaging from the box to the plastic wrapping finding their way into the display. A truly wonderful piece of art and there will be more to come on all things Threshold very soon…

Sebastian Gahan, Editor. 

Originally published at Seba Rashii Culture Zine and Threshold 2012 Blog.