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Flora, Fauna And Fractals: Green Man Review And Gallery
Charles Ubaghs , September 7th, 2009 04:03

Le Homme Du Belgium/America Charles Ubaghs descends on idyllic Welsh festival Le Homme Vert and likes what he sees. All pictures courtesy of Shot2bits.net

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John Robb

It’s early Saturday afternoon and after forcing down a few strong coffees in order to clear our fuzzy noggins, we head over to the comedy and literature tent to observe occasional Quietus scribe John Robb give a talk about Manchester and The North Will Rise Again, the book he’s recently written about his adopted city. Admittedly, this Quietus writer has never been fully swayed by Robb’s love affair with the constantly rehashed tale of punk rock and Manchester. And yet, when confronted with the muscular man in the flesh (whose black clothes and spiky tufts of hair are a welcome antidote to the estate agent weekend wear that plagues the audience), something becomes clear: Robb’s belief in the power of D.I.Y. has somehow never faded away to jaded cynicism, at a time when even brand-aware tweens suffer from scene exhaustion the minute anything hits MySpace. So instead of some bloated hack reminiscing on the glory days, we watch a figure who still hungers for more, happily giving his views on every topic as he looks forward to what’s in store around the next bend. Inspiring stuff for the young hacks watching.

The Doran verdict: Looking pleased upon leaving the tent, Doran’s mood quickly sours and he lets off a string of expletives at the sight of grown men wearing striped trousers and juggling. He’s last seen running for the taxis parked at the festival gates: "It's truly great to see a well-dressed and righteous member of the punk rock fraternity holding forth in impassioned style. What am I supposed to do after this? Go and watch a human resources manager called Blaise singing about the plight of Victorain tin miners in Penzance? My fucking hoop. BSG it is."