If you want to be a music photographer he best place to learn the trade and gain experience is at smaller local gigs.

I started by smuggling a camera into the Riverside in Newcastle and other north east venues and mostly they were quite cool with me being there – I only really got stopped after a few frames when Debbie Harry played South Shields but looking back I was not exactly being subtle.

Speak to the venues to see if you can get access and see if the local papers are interested in your stuff to get published. Gradually you should get access to bigger gigs. The usual rule is first three songs and no flash. However that final rule can be broken – in the 1990s NME regularly used blurred motion flash shots which always looked quite effective.

The Falcon Festival was a good case in point. Set at a pub outside Scarborough over the bank holiday weekend it featured a line up of local bands and Martin Stephenson, who was from the north east and the singer with The Daintees in the 1980s, as the headliner.

The first day went well however on the Sunday the weather turned bad with the rain going horizontal. The festival moved inside The Falcon Inn and it became a pub gig. In the face of adversity all the performers did an outstanding job.

The promoter lost money after the event and there was talk of a dubious legal challenge over a bouncy castle which sort of put a damper on things and my optimism of a second festival was ultimately short lived.

WITH an idyllic location and a musical selection right across the spectrum, what could spoil the festival? Perhaps only the bank holiday weather. I have never felt so cold in the merry month of May.

I arrived on the Saturday afternoon as the Surf Sluts took to the stage with their own peculiar brand of mutant surf music.

From the laconic delivery of frontman Fez to the bizarre grunts and gurning of guitarist Kev it was like watching the Cramps after the band had consumed an enormous cocktail of acid and speed. And the end result was fantastic.

They managed to put their own dark stamp on a style of music which normally has a sunny outlook and tracks like Zombie Girl and Creature Stole My Surfboard are sure to become live classics.

Some people may have thought they were offensive – but with a name like Surf Sluts what do you expect?

The last time I saw Assembly Point 3 was in February when they were supporting Gallows. At the time they gave a professional, if a little subdued, performance because some band members were suffering from chest infections.

Now fully recovered and in equally Arctic conditions, they unleashed a frenzied sonic attack. They thrashed around both on and off stage and performed a selection of guitar acrobatics.

They rounded off their set nicely with an attempt at a Metallica medley but cold conditions and frozen fingers might have hampered them a little.

The Variants had an ace up their sleeve when, in the middle of their set, the drummer and keyboard player swapped places with no noticeable drop in quality.

Sheffield-based Van rounded off the first day perfectly and demonstrated a broad range of influences from unapologetic 1970s rock to mellower 1990s indie Britpop.

Take my word for it, when Van return to Scarborough, go and see them; it will be worth it.

The weather omens on Sunday were not good and, after a brief performance of afternoon jazz, rain stopped play.

But in the face of adversity, the event was transferred inside The Falcon Inn for an impromptu performance featuring Craig Blair, Anna Shannon, Sir Tom Watton, Carl Woodford and players from the theatre in the forest.

But Martin Stephenson stole the show in front of a few remaining die-hard supporters of the festival.

The one question I want to ask is how can a musician forget his guitar? He caused the organisers some concern as to whether he would make it back to the pub in time after having to travel back to his hotel to collect the prized instrument.

Dressed in dungarees and a denim cap, he performed a wide range of music from the blues to calypso with a hyperactive enthusiasm and knowing smile.

It was a totally surreal performance and I got the feeling I was witnessing a stream of consciousness.

There was a bizarre rendition of the theme tune from the Muppet Show that ended with him reading the pub’s menu.

It was good to see someone who is a true master of the guitar – there was even a nod to Django Reinhardt – and who genuinely had a good time performing.

Despite the second day being washed out by the weather conditions, promoter Jason Wardman said the event had been a success and there was already a waiting list of bands which wanted to play next year.

The organisers coped admirably and I am already looking forward to the second Falcon Festival. I will be keeping my fingers crossed for better weather and, you never know, it could build up to rival Beached.

From the Scarborough Evening News on Wednesday, May 30, 2007.