Having heard some many people gush so openly about last year’s Bournemouth Ink Tattoo Convention, many calling it the event of the year, I went to this year’s Ink Feast expecting big things. Did I have a great time? Yes. Was the event as good as I’d hoped? Nope. Being more a fan of music than ink, it was a surprise that it was the tattooists that impressed me the most – indeed my skin may be feeling more needle work in the near future – inspired as I was by the stunning quality of much of the work being done.

The intimacy of the main tattooing arena gave the hall a sense of comraderie, and the constant visual stimulation with the audio backing coming from the FairPlay stage made it a wonderful place to have your senses pleasured. Realistically, it was always going to be the artists with needles more than those with musical instruments who would be the most impressive, but the lack of atmosphere around the main stage was the most surprising and disappointing part of the weekend. The quality of music on the main stage was undoubtedly high, with mostly artists reaching the final stages of this year’s Dorset Music Awards on show. Whether a splattering of bands more tailored to the heavily tattooed audience (punk, rock ‘n’ roll, rockabilly) would’ve livened up the sombre crowd is debateable. Maybe turning off the bright lights above the audience seating would’ve helped create an atmosphere, but only occasionally did I sense any real buzz in and around the main stage. Indeed, the lovely burlesque performers drew the biggest crowds to the stage, given rapturous vocal support from fellow performers and largely female admirers.

Okay, so the bar/café area is purely for drinking and eating, but it’s a social area and maybe a little music would’ve made it a better place to relax. Not being a regular at tattoo conventions myself, a few people who I spoke to at the bar (who were convention regulars) were clearly lacklustre in their praise of the event, not so much in the entertainment or organisation, more so regarding the venue. The O2 Academy oozes character; it’s a visually stunning building. By comparison the BIC looks like a conference hall, which by comparison, it is. A compere may have helped too; it seemed odd not having one at such a large event, adding to the lack of atmosphere. This all reads quite negatively and there’s certainly a couple of things to consider: firstly I’m no expert when it come to what makes a good tattoo convention, and like I said from what I saw the work on display was stunning. Secondly I may have missed a fantastic Saturday evening, leaving as I did at about 7pm to host a bh one gig (absolutely loving the new Zac Harris sound) at Champions.

Of the bands I saw, there were no performances from any that would compare with their best, but in particular Achilles and Lady Winwoods Maggot were both hugely impressive, and predictably The Longest Day nailed it. Si Genaro (apparently after an ineffective Friday night’s sleep) showed his skills on both stages over the weekend, and would’ve been the ideal person to keep things ticking along on the main stage. Clearly, a huge amount of work was involved in putting this event together, and apart from some last minute line-up changes the weekend seemed to run extremely smoothly. For those purely at the event for the ink, there may be little to be negative about. But the overriding thought I had throughout the weekend was – right event, wrong venue.

More photos here.

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