Itinerant Igor Rasputin and his band of merry pranksters, freaks and performing peculiarities, pitched in at Britain’s most popular heavy rock festival to play up to their reputation as Europe’s leading spaced-oddities!
Area 51’s aberrant master of ceremonies, sensation and strangeness, Rasputin rocked up at Download 2017 to delight metalheads with a quirky and quixotic “X-po” of eccentricity that delighted and shocked in equal amounts.
The Caravan Of Lost Souls has firmly established itself as a go-to group by organisers of Europe’s leading festivals after a series of stunning appearances around the continent and the Download ’17 experience at Castle Donington in Leicestershire didn’t disappoint. And – for a change – neither did the Great British weather as scorching temperatures and a lack of the usual monsoon rains made for a high-spirited vibe throughout the site.
Big Grey was one of the star performers with the Caravan as it entertained the masses on each of the festival/s three days while other performers included a wide range of fakirs, circus oddballs and cavorting chimps bolstered by the sonic weirdness of musical accompanist Bill Brookman.
As well as the Caravan, Area 51 provided a strong contingent of walkabout performers who interacted with festival goers over the weekend and the event became the debut for a new 51 costume design: the ‘Spherettes’ combined steampunk sensibilities with the usual glam and attitude that follows Area 51 acts.
In total more than 50 performers appeared at Download on behalf of Area 51 and the event was viewed as hugely successful for the Warwickshire company.
The festival – the 14th in the series – featured the final UK show by rock legends Aerosmith plus a huge bill of other bands that included, among others, Biffy Clyro, the likes of System of A Down, who headlined Friday, Sum 41, Sleeping With Sirens, Prophets Of Rage, Slayer, Rob Zombie, Good Charlotte and many more…
Video was shot by Joseph Patrick Blake of Eyes Open Media.
Photos are courtesy of Morgana Elbereth Photography.
