Great things I have seen in June.

Great things I have seen in June.
The month of June was made all the better by two major events in my life.

(1) June is the month that The North Devon Festival comes to our sleepy and often culturally weak corner of the UK.
I got to see live, Polar Bear, a very modern five piece jazz band that includes some of the member of Acoustic Lady Land. They played an amazingly musically diverse set at The Broomhill Art Hotel.
At The Factory, Barnstaple, I got to see Peter Bruntnell perform with his band The Murder of Crows, playing a selection of tunes from their forthcoming album. I also caught Peter playing a solo set at The Cellar Sessions, Lillicos, Barnstaple. He was playing songs from his extensive back catalogue with a free psychedelic light show. Joining Peter on the bill were The Caves, playing as a two-piece with snare drum and brushes, acoustic guitar and harmonized vocals. The Caves really had that power pop close harmony thing wired. Very reminiscent of XTC, The Beach Boys and to a curtain degree Stock & Powell.

The month long festival ended with The Wild West Festival at Pilton Village Hall. On the bill, The Left Outsides, Fur Lined, Indigo Moss and John Power. Two standouts for me on this diverse bill were Indigo Moss. A husband and wife duo from London. He had a more than a passing resemblance to a young Billy Childish and his wife wore a rather fetching 50's polka dot dress. Sweet vocal harmonies straight from the set of O Brother, Where Art Thou and harmonica from Free Wheelin’, Bob Dylan. A great find. Secondly, John Power, ex The La's and Cast. Now playing a not too dissimilar sounding set to when I saw them play in the early 90's as The La's, but this time around they have managed to capture that 50's, 60's feel of the white boys play the blues sound of The Yardbirds. I look forward to a hunt around the web for some recordings of him.

(2) On a trip to my local Blockbuster, with a severe hangover. On the look out for a celluloid cure for my ills. My girlfriend, who was on the hunt for a Rom-Com picked out Into the Wild, based only on the merits of its front cover, which is a good way as any to pick a movie. Especially when you are severely hung over.
I didn’t realize until the opening credits rolled that the sound track was by Eddie Veder. At that point I remembered a conversation with a work colleague about "one of the best films he had ever seen". This was the very same film.
After having to watch the film again from the start, because my girlfriend and fallen asleep 20 minute in, we both sat back under the granny blanket and watched.
Into the Wild has (had) everything. A soundtrack direct from my own record collection including songs that have inspired my own writing. A stand-alone story line, which is believable, plausible, and, I did not realize until the final credits ran, absolutely true.
Without giving too much of the story line away, it’s basically a road movie with all the twists and the turns that you come to expect from this genre of film. It’s narrated by the sister of the main character Chris McCandless, the time lines are blurred, jumping from day to day and year to year. But not in any disjointed way.
Chris attempts to cast off the life he once lived. Opting for a life of discovery, travel, experience and the ultimate goal of living alone and surviving off the land and the natural environment of the Yukon, Alaska.
Come the final credits I found my self in floods of tears. I was left feeling that although the final outcome was not what I wanted, or what I expected, I was left with a great sense of achievement and happiness. Which nowadays is a very rare thing for a film to do!

For those of you who have not yet had the pleasure of seeing this film. I urge you to do so.
I don't usually get this exited about films or write about them, but this one moved me.