International Pop Overthrow Festival 2015

New Nerve contributor Lynda-Louise Tomlinson extensively reviews the International Pop Overthrow Festival, now in its 13th year, staged at the Cavern Club and Pub.

This year, the Cavern Club and Pub welcomes the International Pop Overthrow Festival for the 13th year running. Founder, host and festival manager David Bash, who was very almost not in attendance this year due to a heart attack, carries us through an entire week of non stop music with infectious enthusiasm. With the help of his girlfriend Rina Bardfield, the festival boasts bands and singer / songwriters from Liverpool, the UK and across the world with back to back gigs at the Cavern Pub, Club and Live Lounge, with the majority of bands playing twice over two stages.

The Cavern Club is most famously known for being the place where it all began for The Beatles. Originally a Jazz club inspired by those of Paris, France, The Cavern Club on Mathew Street opened in 1957. Slowly evolving into a jazz and skiffle club the venue was then sold to Ray McFall in 1959 and blues and beat groups began to appear on a regular basis. The Beatles first performance at the club was in February 1961. Today, the Club is a main tourist attraction and a must see for music fans from all around the world. With Beatles tribute bands and festivals happening at the club throughout the year, the IPO festival, despite many of the bands being heavily influenced by bands of Cavern Club fame, is a refreshing (temporary) change.

The week long festival begins with Neweva who greet the small but supportive crowd by thanking them for supporting their first ever gig under their new name, appearing last year as Random Sound. Neweva perform with passion and confidence, despite the lead singer forgetting the titles to their own songs. With a sound suitable to outdoor, summertime gigs, their indie pop/rock style and casual appearance has been compared to artists such as Coldplay and Maroon 5.

The first day of the festival was stolen for me by the soulful, smooth and diverse Pacific Soul Ltd. Consisting of a female bassist (something you dont see every day..) a keyboardist (also vocals/guitar/percussion who one can only assume has been involved in the music business for many years with his powerful soulful vocals) and who is obviously the leader of the pack. However it is the lead singer who introduce Pacific Soul Sound, their opening number, sliding into a set of soul, rythum and blues.

Later on in the evening, the Cavern Pub presents us with a cry of "Where's the donkey?" from the crowd as Hot Donkey Pink return to IPO for the second year running. Two thirds Spanish, Ashley being the English front man of the group, they appear casually smart in waistcoats and jeans with a mix of indie punk and a very enthusiastic, curly haired bass player. The band take a break from singing to play an impressive twist of Gioachino Rossini's Overture of The Theiving Magpie.

The International Pop Overthrow Festival has also been held in Chicago, New York, Boston, San Francisco, Phoenix, Detroit, Atlanta, Portland, Nashville, Austin, Vancouver, and Toronto, London (UK) and for the last 16 years, Los Angeles. With each festival featuring between 25 - 180 bands, this years festival in Liverpool boasts an impressive and diverse 140. David Bash of the festival believes "every artist who plays the festival feels as if they’re part of something fulfilling, being on bills with likeminded artists with whom they can bond, and playing in front of an audience who will "get" their music."

Tuesday begins with The Housekeeping Society. Light and poppy, which could sometimes be mistaken for soppy, a slightly camp Brian Wilson dedicates his songs to his dog and his lonely suitcase, accompanied by the sounds of an ice cream van and ear splitting microphone feedback. As a pleasant contrast we are then introduced to Harvest Moon, the band name being inspired, or stolen from Neil Young. Hailing from the Netherlands they take over the stage with their torn jeans, trilby hats and long hair. With a front man fashioned on Kurt Cobain they manage to have the Cavern Pub dancing and cheering for more.

Moving over to the club we are greeted by the sounds of George Harrison but not as we would expect to hear him at the Cavern. Micah Gilbert show obvious signs of inspiration drawn from Paul Simon and, according to the IPO programme, James Taylor but this failed to be heard. With a catchy, sometimes Kinks-esque tunes that you cant help but tap your feet and nod your head to, they are certainly a band to be looking out for - including their long haired bassist in his jazzy shirt!

And from the sublime, to the ridiculous, we are introduced to the quirky, Manchester based Raggamuffins. With their Japanese following, and kooky (dare I say over confident..) lead singer they present you with Ska, Rockabilly, Rock n Roll songs dedicated to his cat. Impressive three piece harmonies, clever lyrics and a little song appropriate costume change, the Raggamuffins perform with frantic enthusiasm and quirkiness gaining an encore and a successful attempt at call and response before launching into a song that could easily be mistaken for The Zuton's Remember Me.

On a sunny Thursday afternoon, I again find myself walking down the smaller staircase of the two venues, into the Cavern Pub where I am greeted by the straining vocals of the camp and black clad, hairy One Two DIE For. The name intrigues me but the performance disappoints. As a cross between the Scissor Sisters and Queen we are told through the lyrics of their song Tramp that "they are calling us the Rolling Stones" so the camp performance is obviously more Mick than Mercury.

A personal highlight of mine were The Recalls with their psychadelic shirts and John Lennon replica glasses, they begin their set by purposely causing guitar feedback in the style of The Beatles "I Feel Fine". With bouncy beats, high energy and songs similar to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones (especially the lead singers tamborine technique!) they should definitely be invited back to the Cavern Club.

Female bassists were out in force at this years IPO Festival, with at least three performing throughout the week. The Amazing Kappa also embrace the female musician with an all female band except Kappa himself. In this modern age we shouldnt have to feel the need to comment or find it unique to see female musicians but sadly, bands and festivals such as this tend to be male dominated (with the exception of the Mona Lisa Twins at the Cavern Club) therefore it was refreshing to find two female solo artists playing the Back Stage on Friday afternoon. Allison Green performs acoustic folk, clearing her throat after nearly every song whilst sarcastically assuring the audience she's "classy", I felt we were watching a sound check rather than a gig at the most famous club in the world but she presented good material and a performed her songs with casual confidence. Following Allison was another female artist, keyboard playing, sparkly shorts wearing Malane Markussen. Hearing an audience member state "I'd rather listen to Cilla Black than this girl and thats saying something" I cant help but agree. The outstanding highlight of the event where female artists are concerned would most definitely be local girl, SheBeat. Sometimes a part of a band but for this festival going solo in her 1960's gogo dancer style get up and her acoustic guitar, this sweet young girl takes you on a journey through heartache and happiness. Singing about that friend we all have that isn't really a friend, therefore a "Frenemy" (a term all her fans will now be using to describe their so called friends) SheBeat then leads us through a sing a long of Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots are made for Walking" and finishing her original material with Rainproof "about staying cheerful when the world is being shi..." we then end on her version of The Beatles "She Loves You" as a celebration of being at the Cavern Club, this also encourages the crowd to sing a long. Liverpool should certainly look out for this adorable, talented young lady.

Speaking of Liverpool, local boys Watchtower had the Cavern Pub cheering and hand bopping their way through half an hour of Thursday night. With a crowd quite obviously full of friends and girlfriends, the band with their unlikely looking frontman forget what they are doing twn minutes into the set and decide to volunteer each other so sing songs, some of which they hadn't rehearsed but this didn't seem to matter to the enthusiastic, late night audience.

Other Liverpool artists playing this years IPO Festival include the casual and mature 20lbs, opening with a guitar riff somewhat uncannily like The Kinks' All day and All of the Night, Rob Clarke with the Brown Bears who sway us through their honkey tonk country, Steve Thompson & The Incidents ending his set with a guitar solo played by his teeth a la Jimi Hendrix (a trick also played by The Amazing Kappa) and Sue Hedges, a lady very well known at the Cavern Club having played with their resident artists throughout the years. Blind almost since birth, Sue with her "rock diva persona" takes you through a set of country, pop and heartfelt ballads. Sadly, Liverpool's Marc Kenny had to cancel his gigs this year. Well known throughout the city for being much more than a solo act, this lead singer of both original and Beatles tribute bands is a firm favourite amongst locals as is Thomas McConnell who is one of the youngest musicians ever to be sponsored by Hofner Guitars and who closed this years festival at the Cavern Club with his set of Paul McCartney inspired magical melodies and beautiful lyrics. You get many festival goers recommending bands and this year, viseMenn were recommended twice. An added bonus to the festival is that the Cavern Club's resident John Lennon and Paul McCartney tributes still play between 2pm - 6pm on the weekend, therefore having to leave Jimmy Coburn's superb John Lennon set to catch the viseMenn I expected a lot more than I recieved. Quoted by David Bash as "dreamy and heavy at the same time" I unfortunately couldn't see their appeal and didn't pass on the recommendation to other festival goers. Another recommendation, from a reliable source, was The Dreamboats, playing the Cavern Club Front Stage early on Saturday morning. Sleep deprived and with a review to write I certainly wanted this band to be worth it. The Cavern Club, as expected on a weekend afternoon was packed with tourists and festival goers so the atmosphere was full of anticipation and excitement. I am introduced to the band at the bar, a young set of lads all in white suits, 1950's quiffs and Buddy Holly style glasses. They take to the stage and blow the early morning audience away with their high energy, superb musicianship and professionalism and cleverly written, clearly 1950's influenced rock and roll. With their Shadows-esque choreography, they certainly steal not only the show for the day, but the festival as a whole. Keeping with the 1950's theme, their single is even released on Vinyl and I have no hesitation in running to the mechandise stall to purchase one, along with a couple of button badges that I attach to my blazer with pride.

Sunday begins in the Club with The Fast Camels from Glasgow who cause an air of anticipation as they promise an experimental set compared to their rehearsed set from the night before. Opening with "At It Again" we are told my the Dave Davies wannabe of the group "We usually close with that one, im fucked already!" lowering the tone of a Sunday afternoon. The band however, with their Kinksesque performance, 1960's harmonies and the jingle jangle of their Epiphone guitars give the crowd a great psychadelic start to their Sunday at IPO. Glasgow were out in force with The Supernaturals, Colin's Godson and Button Up also being a part of the festival.

We move onto the Pub where the white Spanish supremes, La Annette's are dancing their way through their set in matching black and white dresses, to the delight of the sound engineer and the many fans who, at the end of their set, purchased the La Annette's EP with the offer of an autograph and photograph.

Monday night in the Back Room of the Cavern presented the young and the talented of the North West. Last Breath from Blackpool are first to play. Looking like a metal band, with the exception of Amy Winehouse on keys, I was pleasantly surprised by their high energy melodic rock. Despite their late start and therefore short set (due to breaking down on the motorway) they still manage to win over the crowd and Rina Bardfield (the boss' girlfriend) is harrassed by fans to let them play on.

The talent continues as Bite The Shark take to the stage. Back with a new name, this powerful trio played IPO back in 2013 with their band, Boomin'. Manchester based, this band certainly know how to please the crowd. With the cool, casual gum chewing lead singer to the showman himself, Rory on bass who proceeds to take his microphone into the audience and finish the set standing on tables and chairs until eventually collapsing on the floor before running back onto stage to finish the set to the whoops and cheers of the Cavern Club's Live Lounge.

A local band that does deserve a special mention is The Amazing Kappa. Now when a band has Amazing in their name, you expect something special and with Kappa, you get it. Infamous at the Cavern for his super hot covers set on a Saturday night, his original material is just as explosive. With an all female band, Kappa rocks you through his set including plenty of guitar solos and a song from his drummer, who sings Suzie Quatro style whilst playing (not easy!) A hard act to follow but that doesn't stop Blackpool band Jekyll approaching the stage with anticipation. Being from Blackpool myself, the boys give me a little shout out "Come on the 'Pool" as they launch into their set of indie rock with great enthusiasm and rock star poses.

Dave Rave of Canada is the last to play the Back Stage of the Cavern Club on Tuesday night. Dave is no stranger to IPO having played 50 festivals in a row from April 2010 to June 2014 and theres no stopping him as he will join David Bash and the IPO festival again in Stockholm next week.

So how did it all begin? David Bash tells us "I got started doing IPO in the mid '90s, in my home base of Los Angeles. I was writing CD reviews for several magazines, and got to know many bands from around the world, who would express their desire to play in Los Angeles. I started the festival in 1998 in LA, in large part to give them a place to play."

By the time David had met his girlfriend Rina, in 2001, IPO had began to branch out to other parts of America and Rina was more than happy to get involved. "I had started taking IPO on the road, adding New York and Chicago to the roster of cities, so I began to need a bit of help. Now we're up to 15 cities, and there's no way I could do it without her help."

So from America to England, how did IPO reach Liverpool? "In 2003 I was contacted by a woman called Jean Catharell, who had close association with The Cavern. She had heard of IPO through a US band she knew, and asked if I had ever thought about bringing the festival to Liverpool. Of course I was well aware of The Cavern, but it was beyond my wildest dreams to host IPO there. I told her all of this, and she said "give me a few days, and I'll be back with you".

Sure enough, a few days later she came back with "they want to do it". You could have knocked me over with a feather! Anyway, in October 2003 we did our first IPO in Liverpool; by 2005 we'd moved the dates to May as they are now, and as you know we're now in our 13th year. IPO Liverpool is still the best, and truest to my original vision, which was to bring a worldwide pop scene together under one roof. I can't think of a better roof than the Cavern!"

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