By Desh Kapur, Rock At Night Manchester

FESTIVAL NUMBER 6–9^TH SEPTEMBER 2018

As I made my way to the Welsh left of centre Festival Number 6, I couldn’t contain my excitement, I was about to review and photograph a band I absolutely love, “The Charlatans” Their 5^th album: Telling Stories is still spun on my record player on a very regular basis and today I got to see them twice and in two very different ways.

First up was an acoustic set with a difference, just Tim and Mark with the addition of the Joe Duddell and the No 6 ensemble playing in the heart of the Portmerion village. Taking charlatans songs and playing them in a very different way and it was beautiful, tender, gentle and engaging hearing my favourite Charlatans songs, with a chamber orchestra!!. If I could have changed one thing it would have been the performance time, A bit later with the sun setting and it could have turned beautiful into magical.

Then it was to the main stage for the classic Charlatans, indie, baggy bangers and it was all there. Tim dressed in denim dungarees his striking blonde mop top blowing in the wind and the next hour or so flew by in an instant,

“The Only One I Know”, the brilliant “North Country Boy” and 2015’s “Come Home Baby” all shone brightly, sitting next to each other in brilliant unison.

Some people believe The Charlatans lived in the shadow of bands like The Stone Roses, but their body of work Charlatans shows that’s definitely not the case, they never walked in anyone’s shadow, they cast their own and they walk side by side, shoulder to shoulder with any band of the last 30 years, a truly great band…