A review from 5D Music & Theatre writer Maria Robertson.
Photography by Dod Morrison Photography: http://www.dodmorrison.com
Hopefully you saw our preview before the Tall Ships arrived in Aberdeen, it was full of anticipation of a fabulous festival which had been months in the planning. Let’s cut to the chase – it was an utterly fantastic weekend! The predicted thousands of people came to see the 49 ships participating in the race and all the planned festivities went brilliantly!
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The sense of community and the coming together of all sorts of local people for one purpose was fantastic. I saw friends I have not seen for ages, from near and far, and it was so good to have a quick catch up with them all. The people of Aberdeen were excited for this awesome happening in our city, and the tourists came flocking too.
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The quayside was crammed full of people taking selfies with the ships, queuing to get on some of the ships and enjoying all the free entertainment provided. The 10,000 Captain’s hats sold out on the first day and people were still asking to buy them on the last day. With many choices of official merchandise as well as the wide variety of stalls and food vendors available around the quayside, there really was something for everyone.
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On Wednesday we spotted a ship from our house, on Thursday we went into Aberdeen to watch for ships from the beach and have a walk through Footdee, which had bunting out in anticipation. The sense of excitement in the city built as the weekend drew near, with lots of local people getting ready to work longer hours if in retail or hospitality, or volunteer at the event. Some people were most excited about the Quayside Concerts which kicked the event off on Friday night with a stunning line up of The Little Kicks, Brooke Combe and Deacon Blue.
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Saturday was the cutting of the ribbon at 9am and then there was a full schedule until late in the evening, with another concert. This time it was the Ministry of Sound with an orchestra and DJ Paul Oakenfold. Not my kind of music but I have been assured by those who went that it was incredibly good.
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Meanwhile I managed to see four bands that day, all of whom were brilliant. In the Tall Ships Transit Stage (or The Shed as it was mostly referred to!) I enjoyed Gerry Jablonski band and The Funky Red Pandas. Both pleased the crowd, Gerry with his amazing guitar skills and the Pandas with their fun audience participation and dance off competition!
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In the evening I headed to Drummonds to see The Lorelei supported by The Killing Tide. Both are excellent examples of our talented local musicians and it was an awesome night.
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During the day I saw some of the opening ceremony on Main Stage hosted by local legends Jeff and Lauren, before rushing to catch the Media Boat which took us round the harbour so we could see all the magnificent ships from the water. Mostly I was with photographers snapping merrily, although I managed to take a good number of snaps myself. I shared photos of the first day on our Facebook.
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I also managed to get selfies with: Captain Jack Sparrow and a couple of his crew, Ariel the Little Mermaid and, with a less nautical theme Cookie Monster! The next day he had an apron on advertising a stall selling cookies which explained his attendance at a festival of ships. Goodness knows the crews need to keep their energy up to work all the rigging! For my dinner I grabbed Brisket Burger Tacos from Shipyard Street Food, which was super yummy. I also bumped into a friend just as the Uruguay ship was about to close to visitors. We had a wonderful time walking round it getting pictures of ropes, so many ropes, and the obligatory shot of pretending to steer the ship!
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On the Sunday my son joined me so we wandered round the fair ground on King Street, into the cafe and their NESCOL Photography exhibition in Aberdeen Arts Centre and then round the Discovery Zone on Castlegate. In there we spoke to Aberdeen City Archives, the RNLI and the Sea Cadets. There were many interesting stalls such as the chance to touch starfish from the MacDuff Marine Aquarium. The Cadets also had a display about Aberdeen Line 200, which is celebrating a big anniversary and has a special tea to mark the occasion.
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We then wandered round the Quayside looking at the ships before heading across to the family area with a Ferris wheel and massive inside sand pit. We were going to head to Union Terrace Gardens to see the Chinook helicopter and other Services but realised that the Crew Parade was just about to come down Marischal Street so we watched that instead. I am so glad we did not miss it as it was quite a spectacle. Many of the crews were dressed in their very smart uniforms whilst others had dressed up in fun costumes. There were some stunning sea creature outfits, people dressed as frogs, rubber ducks and we even spotted Santa! Again I posted photos of the day on our Facebook. Many were playing instruments or singing and it really was a joy to watch.
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We followed the crews to the Main Stage for the Prize Giving where there are not just prizes for the ships winning the race to Aberdeen but also for the most friendly or fun crew. This had a street party vibe with lots of fun music and happy celebrating.
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In the evening we had tickets to see Tidelines and Calum Bowie. This was the “free concert” that you made a donation of as little as £5 to the Lifeboats to secure a ticket. This was a tremendous fundraiser, bringing the essential charity over £30,000. Both acts put on a brilliant set, and some of Calum’s fans got quite emotional when they had the opportunity to meet him at the end of the night.
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By Monday my energy was waning but it was the last day of the festivities so I got into town early and managed to get onboard three different ships for a nosy. The Omar crew had won a couple of prizes so it was great to get a look around, and one of the ladies gave me a henna anchor so I am still enjoying that momento.
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There were two music acts I had planned to see, firstly the wonderful Scots singer Iona Fyfe, who did not disappoint on the Main Stage. She joked she was just going to sing The Northern Lights five times but she actually gave us a beautiful set culminating in that classic song.
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In complete contrast I then rushed to the Shed to see Chef, the rapper. He was joined by an amazing saxophonist called Nat Cartier. The lovely chaps let me get a selfie with them afterwards too.
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Unfortunately after choosing the perfect spot down at the beach in plenty of time before the Red Arrows were due to fly over, we could not see an awful lot due to the clouds. They sounded great though, and such things are always dependent on the weather. It was amazing to see the number of people lining the beach!
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Back to the Main Stage I went and caught The Capollos set before Glasvegas and the Kaiser Chiefs thrilled the crowds. Having seen The Capollos in smaller venues like The Tunnels it was great to see them rocking the big stage and I could not resist a t-shirt before heading to my bed! Again there are photos of the day on our Facebook.
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Tuesday was a sad day as it was time for the ships to leave us, starting the next leg of their race. However I woke up with a thrill as again I was being treated to a boat trip, again with the wonderful crew of Intermara Marine. This time we went out into the sea to watch the Tall Ships leaving our harbour and heading out to sea. The Parade of Sail again brought the crowds to Footdee and the Torry Battery to watch and wave as the ships left. Being out in the boat was an absolutely amazing experience watching some of them unfurl their sails, waving at the crews and beeping horns too and fro!! Again I was with several photographers but took loads of photos for my own collection, some of which you can see on Tuesday’s Facebook post. Several hours later coming back to the harbour it was a mixture of exhilaration at the experience, sadness it was over, and intense thankfulness for the opportunity.
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I have to express sincere gratitude to the wonderful team that looked after the Media attendees. We had third floor views over the harbour with a daily briefing of what was going on. Lovely clean toilets, desks with the essential power points constantly available, good WiFi for all our social media posts, and a kitchen full of yummy snacks to keep us energised. Joanna, Jordan, Scott and the volunteers would do anything they could to help with any questions or issues we had. I felt truly honoured to be part of it.
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Everyone involved in the organisation and running of Tall Ships Race in Aberdeen should be very proud of themselves. It was an amazing weekend with so much to offer which only leaves one question unanswered – when can we do it again?!
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Maria Robertson is the Chief Music & Theatre Writer for the 5D Pop Culture Website and provides reviews & coverage of local Aberdeen music & theatre gigs. She’s an experienced writer for numerous sources and is a self-confessed live gig addict ever since seeing The Counting Crows at the Barrowlands in 1994.
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