Mike Park at the Stockton Fringe
Meandering along the quaint riverside in an effort to find the stage, we finally stumble onto the "meat" of the music festival. The porta-loos, the stalls, the beer, and of course, the biggest stage at Stockon. As we arrived, we were greeted by the Korean-American musician, Mike Park.
As with most of the bands so far, the stage is far from packed with a mediocre response from the crowd. Everyone seemed to paying attention, just not moving at all. This is perhaps unsurprising as Mike Park's style is most definitely subdued, chilled and on occasion, amusing. The Ska-punk sound from his acoustic guitar certainly added a bit of life to the proceedings. I was unsure what the deal was with the projector. It seemed that Mike was trying to tell a story but since the stage somewhat dwarfed the miniscule screen, it seemed like wasted effort.
Mike Park has been involved with several side projects and bands including the music label, Asian Man Records and the "Plea for Peace Foundation". This foundation's purpose is "to promote the ideas of peace through the power of music." This certainly came across in his performance, with lyrics and guitar stylings reflecting his thoughts on racism, war and ethnicity. Although, talented, I felt the performance was somewhat flat and monotonous. Since he was largely on his own, the set seemed more like a message rather than an invitation to down your beers and move your feet. Not the most rousing performance of the festival but relatively entertaining when sitting down for a nice evening with a beer.