Keeping Rock n' Roll Alive…
Posts tagged Indie
Glastonbury 40th Birthday
Jul 15th
It does get pretty busy!
Wednesday
The festival experience started on the delayed 20:15 train service towards Glastonbury on the Wednesday evening due to pikeys nicking the signalling cable near Iver. Despite the ensuing problems at Paddington this worked out well as I happened to sit next to a member of a Glastonbury band, Nu from The Yearner Babies. It was great to hear about an up and coming band who were due to play two sets over the weekend and at a number of other festivals over the summer whilst she was enthusiastically filing her nails, which I was told essential for all violinists.
Thursday
Rather than head down with every man and his dog (animals no longer allowed on-site) on the Wednesday we headed down early Thursday morning, arriving at the festival site at 6:30. With no traffic or queues to park this was definitely a good plan and it didn’t take too long to find a place to pitch our tents and pop ours up, whilst our neighbours were still fast asleep. With the music on Thursday’s limited to the smaller tents and predominantly in the evening we had an opportunity to get the rest of our supplies from the car, relax in the sun with a few ciders getting to know our Scottish neighbours who took the coach down from Edinburgh and meet up with some other friends. The stages which were open were packed so it was nigh on impossible to get in anywhere or near to the stage. However, we did manage to see Beardyman on the WOW! stage who is without doubt the best (and only) beatboxer I have ever seen. Singing/making noise to classic tunes such as Golddigger and Stevie Wonder’s Superstition (the first of many for the weekend) clearly demonstrated the talent this guy has (check out Kitchen Diaries on Youtube for further evidence) and a number of people who initially thought it was a rather strange DJ set were amazed . It was a fantastic way to start the festival and a real highlight so early on in the proceedings. The huge crowds in the dance village soon inspired us to move elsewhere and we passed the next few hours smoking shisha in the Glade bar, a real bargain at £7.50, and drinking Chai in Green Futures.
Friday
After freezing during the night and starting to cook as soon as the sun came up (the downside to pop-up tents) we managed to get ourselves up and ready for the first real day of music. There was only one act who we and seemingly the rest of Glaso wanted to see – the Aussie legend, star presenter of Animal Hospital, artist to the queen and inventor of the wobble board, the man him-self – Rolf Harris. On route to what would have surely been the best act of the weekend a call from a friend changed our plan. Mumford & Sons were playing a secret gig at the BBC Introducing stage, as advertised on a small sheet of paper outside the tent. We joined the small crowd and waited patiently for Jo Whiley and the band. Although they only played three tracks (including one song twice) the catchy folk songs which are so characteristic of the smaller tents throughout the site were very well received.
Mumford & Sons Secret Performance
After some tasty jerk chicken and rice and peas (the food at Glasto is consistenly good) we moved to the Green Future field, past the unremarkable Stranglers who were playing on The Other Stage. We caught the end of Rodney Branigan in the Small World tent, who wowed the crowd and wouldn’t come back for an encore because he couldn’t beat playing two guitars at once! After that were Mazaj, a two-member band who specialised in Arabic music. The female member did not exude enthusiasm and was perhaps focussing on playing, bored or jealous of the belly dancer who came on stage.
They start young at Glasto!
Next up were Bombay Bicycle Club in the John Peel tent, who we watched from afar whilst soaking up the sun and played a fantastic samba version of Always Like This. We headed back to the tent for a bit of rest, but could still hear Kele who played some of his new up-beat songs and then some classic Bloc Party tracks. After re-charging our batteries we headed to the Pyramid Stage and saw the New Yorkers Vampire Weekend who entertained the crowd with their sing-along tunes such as Holiday and Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa.
Vampire Weekend on the Pyramid Stage
Soon after finishing their set we joined the rest of the crowd moving to see Florence and the Machine on the Other Stage. To get a good view we watched from the Railway Track, a long distance from the stage but a fantastic view of the crowd. Florence really worked the crowd and seemed to be having the time of her life. Her covers of Candi Staton’s You Got the Love We and Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain were superb and she will almost certainly be back for years to come. As the evening approached we moved on to the dance areas, starting with a sunset performance by Hybrid in the fantastic tree lined Glade tent, and then the Dance East tent where Zane Lowe played a DJ set to warm up the audience for Chase and Status. The tent packed out in anticipation of this band who are emerging as one of the biggest dance acts in the UK. Joined by other artists such as London rapper Tinnie Tempah the base shook the crowd into action and by time Plan B arrived and ended their set with perfect renditions of End Credits and Pieces the crowd were ecstatic.
Saturday
In recent years there has been a large influx of rappers in to the Glastonbury festival and on Saturday morning it was turn for East London boy Tinchy Stryder, albeit more of a pop act than hardened rapper. His catchy songs were a pleasant start to the morning, but it wasn’t soon long until we left in search of some proper rock at the Other Stage, starting with Reef. It’s a shame to be well known for one particular song, but at least it’s a great one – Place Your Hands went down a treat. Things got heavier next with Coheed and Cambria and the disappointingly small crowd welcomed something different. The band must have been baking in the afternoon sun but the lead singer, a Hurley lookalike from Lost, still managed to blast out a number of familiar and not so familiar songs that metal heads appreciated as much as those who weren’t.
Coheed and Cambria - a bit of metal!
Unable to move due to the extreme heat we stayed for Imogen Heap, who surprised me at least by being English. She was clearly an enthusiastic and talented musician and was actively engaged with all of the other musicians on stage. She also got the crowd involved particularly for Hide and Seek, familiar to fans of The OC. After a walk around the impressive Arcadia, Shangri-La and the Unfair Ground areas we returned once again to the shaded and spacious Small World Tent in Green Futures. We dozed away to Tina Brackman, a British guitarist living in New Zeeland who said her songs always send people to sleep but didn’t seem too offended. She had tragically lost a hand in an accident, but soon returned to music which has been a massive part of her life. Her confident performance and chirpy persona was made it a very worthwhile performance.
The coolest stage at Glasto
After waking up we moved to the Leftfield stage for Frank Turner, along with hundreds of other fans, many of which had already seen him twice elsewhere during the weekend. His popularity was soon understandable as he managed to strike a perfect balance between playing music and interacting with the crowd. Credit must also be given to a young guy called Olly who was picked out from the crowd to play the harmonica and did a fantastic job and a friend of Frank called Barbs who joined Frank for the entertaining Hot Chicks and Bacon Sandwiches.
Frank Turner in the Leftfield tent
The final act of the night was Muse on the Pyramid Stage and the massive crowd were not disappointed with both the music and show offered by this headliner, despite a lack of acrobats, hot air balloons and UFOs (having seen them at Wembley Stadium before)! We were waiting for the inevitable guest appearance at some stage during the set and when The Edge came on and joined them in playing Where The Streets Have No Name the crowd went wild – a fantastic evening which was extended in Cocktails and Dreams, where a guest appearance by Limhal (80s popstar) kept everyone entertained, even if most of us didn’t know who he was!
Muse
Sunday
It was the final day and we were sad to be packing up but glad to not be spending another night in our nightmare pop-up tent. Thank god it didn’t rain – these tents are surely not waterproof! Having practiced putting the tent back in the bag (N.B. it took us almost an hour on our first attempt) we managed to pack it away in a record time of about 2 minutes, much to the disappointment of our friends and neighbours. On route to the car we took a break and watched Paloma Faith on the Pyramid Stage, whilst enjoying some refreshing ice creams from the ideally situated ice cream van. She certainly can’t be knocked for enthusiasm or entertainment value and her soulful and poptastic tunes such as New York and a cover of Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime went down really well with the early morning crowd. After the stress of carrying everything back to the car we joined 30,000 other fans to the football field near the cinema. There were 50,000 fans in another field near the dance area so it must have been brilliant for non-fans who could enjoy a crowdless festival, at least for a couple of hours. If we won the atmosphere would have been brilliant, but the abysmal result and missing acts such as Slash, Temper Trap and Holy F*** meant that it really was an afternoon wasted. Never again….The rest of the afternoon was spent at the Pyramid Stage. First up was Jack Johnson who was background music to chatting with a friend from Switzerland (apologies to any fans near-by). Faithless then took centre stage and Maxi Jazz seemed overwhelmed with the fantastic reception from the growing crowd who waited in anticipation for classic tunes such as Insomnia and We Come One. We were not disappointed, but a later night time set would have been much more appropriate. The final act of the night and of Glastonbury 2010 was Stevie Wonder, but rather than watch the legend of motown we made our way home to avoid the mass exodus of people at the end. We got home in good time and watched the footage the next day – not the coolest way to end the weekend, but perhaps a rather sensible plan.
The 40th Birthday Glastonbury will certainly go down in festival history as one of the best in history, but then again it is fantastic every year whether you are watching on TV or there in person. It really does have everything to offer – ecelectic mix of music, headliners who are unlikely to play anywhere else, a variety of events going on all day and night and fantastic food. Like any other festival you will always have some fantastic memories and some regrets. Here are a few of mine:
Top acts of the weekend: Frank Turner, Chase and Status, Beardyman, Mumford & Sons and Muse
We shouldn’t have missed: Slash, Mumford & Sons in the John Peel tent, The Temper Trap, Dizzee Rascal, Rodrigo y Gabriela, The Yearner Babies (I really should have gone to see them after meeting a band member) and Toy Story 3 3D Advance Preview (a field full of hippies wearing 3D glasses must have been fantastic)
Next time we’ll give it a miss: England football matches, pop-up tents, the heat (although it’s better than rain) and Radio 1 coverage of the festival on the way home (no live Stevie Wonder!)
Future Of The Left @ The Lexington, Angel
Jul 6th
5th June 2010
Arriving for the first time at The Lexington, it feels like a very homely and unassuming venue. The downstairs bar is welcoming and not overly trying to be hip which makes a it the perfect place for a pre-show drink. Being joined by Mr. Flowers & The Doktor we ascended the stairs to the gig venue to find a delightfully small but well designed room. Its back bar had ample room and the back tier was good for those not wanted to be in amongst the action.
Right down here is where we set ourselves for the first band up tonight, Hold Your Horse Is. Loud would be an apt word to describe these guys, but a loud well worth sticking around for. Their aggressive alt-punk was as riff packed as it was frenetic as lead guitarist/singer thrashed about in his converses and short jeans (it was last year’s school trousers look, aka “jhorts”). Brash guitars and snappy drumming hallmarked the set of agro-rock which was packed with promise. With a few more solid tunes under their belt they could do quite well in years to come.
Hold Your Horse Is
Ice, Sea, Dead People‘s play on words band name was probably the only thing which raised a smile during their performance. Again loud noise seemed to be the sound of the hour as the amps pushed to the limits of their capacity. Only this time the output was not particularly welcome. No real songs of note, just a lot of guitar spanking to little or no purpose. They seemed somewhat aloof and pretentious in their arty antics as they concentrated on their instruments rather appreciate the crowd. Plus drummer was the least likely drummer ever with his preppy, floppy haired looks and ultimate tongue out concentration face. So focused was he, that it looked as if he was attempting to blow up his drum kit with the power of the mind!
Ice, Sea, Dead People
By the time Future Of The Left arrived, the Lex was heaving and the eager crowd were ready to rumble. The Welsh heros stepped out onto the small stage and set about their business of playing rock and roll with a DIY punk twist, I was surprised to see that guitarist and front man, Andy “Falco” Falkous had only strung 3 strings of his guitar. As it turned out he clearly didn’t need them as he pumped out scuzz riffs and poppy melodic interludes with a sharp aggressive energy.
Future of The Left
It was this energy and songcraft which was the lasting feelings from this show (alongside the deafnesss!). It was no surprise that their deceptively heavy pop numbers were the best of the evening such as the punk riot inducing Arming Eritrea, Synthesizer heavy Throwing Bricks At Trains and Wrigley Scott. To re-inforce the pop-centre of the show the crowd were fantastic, with huge choruses of voices singing along, especially lines like “Roll On, Roll On, Roll On” on adeadenemyalwayssmellsgood. Hearing the whole venue sing, “Colin is a pussy, A very pretty pussy,” along to Manchasm is a great Rock moment that would please anyone, except perhaps if you were happened to be called Colin.
Falco
Already a set full of great songs, they surprised the whole crowd by blasting into the classic Mclusky tune, Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues. Not happy with just the one Mclusky classic though, they breathlessly followed it up with Collagen Rock and when the crowd started to feel lucky to see FotL play some rare covers, the thumping bass notes of To Hell With Good Intentions ensured the crowd would go mental.
As Falco explained after the mini-Mclusky interlude (all drawn from the Mclusky Do Dallas LP, fact fans), this surprise treat was shrewdly planted to placate fans before the string of new songs that would follow. Joined with a new guitarist to beef up their sound even more, these tunes were pretty decent and maintained that FoTL signature sound, but probably need some fine tuning, plus they were definitely darker more visceral than their last album output as evident on the slow and brooding new song, Destroy Whitchurch.
FotL were a very entertaining band in-between songs also. Despite being pushed for time by the militant venue scheduler they produced some hilarious inter-band slanging matches, Falco’s highly voiced comical opinions on life, the universe and “The Feeling” plus loads of stupid crowd banter including the interactive game “Fact, fiction or Razorlight lyric?”.
It was a gig no one really wanted to end, even (also ex-Mclusky) Jack Egglestone on drums didn’t want it to stop, requiring the bassist to dismantle his kit while he was still playing the end of adeadenemyalwayssmellsgood long after the guitarists had left the stage!
The amazing songcraft, punk-pop oddities, stonking riffing, cracking crowd, bubbling atmosphere and not forgetting McLUSKY!! All made for one for the best show’s I’ve been to in along time!
ROAR!
Metric @ KoKo
Jul 2nd
24th May 2010
A night of electronic pop awaited as we settled into the crowd for the sole warm up act tonight, Baby Monster. Having never heard of this apparent rising electro-duo, it was no great shock to hear a disctintly average set of indie influenced dancy beats. Vastly underwhelming, their laid back disco was uninteresting and their performance was one of the most lamely generic I’ve heard.
Baby Monster
With high woops of approval in the air, Metric and their frail disco chick front woman Emily Haines entered the fray only to seriously kick out the jams and pack a mighty punch. Jump starting the crowd into life, Metric went straight about their business producing soaring atmospheric sythns, club friendly bass lines and majestically swirling vocals.
Metric
They played through quite a lot of older tunes in the first half of the set, before reverting to material from their superb. highly acclaimed latest album Fantasies. The most rapturous receptions were held for these tunes such as Help I’m Alive (complete with hammering fist actions) and Satellite Mind.
Emily Haines
Their set worked best when they cranked up the guitars and played frantically while the wafer thin Emily was busy winning over the crowd with her jubilant vocals, funky dance moves and blazing keyboard bashing. Their best songs were the big pop-rock numbers which would not be out of place in a huge amphethetre, such is their colossal sound, with Stadium Love, Monster Hospital & Gold Guns Girls all soared and excited in equal measures.
Metric are steadily rising through the musical royalty. Given tonights feelgood show, anyone would be a fool to not to make Emily their Disco Queen!
ATP Pavement Festival: Day 3
Jun 24th
After a dip in the swimming pool complex with its incredible cool water slides, (with rather long queues and dramatic names like The Black Hole & The Master Blaster) then having watched the Monaco GP we were ready for day 3.
It started quite slow really with Pierced Arrows, who were devoid of life and energy. They played basic bluesy riffs with weak vocals that failed on most levels to captivate the audience.
Arriving at the ‘normal’ Wax Fang I was slightly disappointed that they didn’t always wear afros and 70′s style glam wear. Their set was a mix of tight riffs melded together with huge sound that really worked here on the Main Stage. They played with a lively spring in their steps and had the backing of the crowd, most I expect were here (like me) on the back of their stunning Prince show. The only down side was their material wasn’t particularly memorable post-performance, but this did not dampen their spirited performance.
Boris
After yesterdays gargantuan effort, we thought we’d check out the weekends second performance from Boris, this time performing their so called ‘classic’ album, Feedbacker. Given an album title like that and Boris’s sound you can imagine what it sounded like.
In fact I have to imagine also, as I fell fast asleep during the first song after sitting down for a rest (As it turns out 3 out of the 4 recharged our batteries during this show). 45 Minutes later I awoke to find a desolate and empty arena. I promptly headed out to find the rest of the DiR team who were busy putting a huge hole in the Pizza Hut buffet selection, much to the annoyance of other customers.
We didn’t really see anything for a while after this, brief sweeps past The Clean weren’t attractive enough to warrant our full attention, neither was the uber-northern song smith Terry Reid (Who looked like a cross between Pat Butcher and Jack Duckworth ). We returned to the fold to see the outspoken legend that is Mark E. Smith and his iconic band The Fall.
The Fall
Never one to shy away from controversy, Mark decided to pull the majority of his set from his latest album which despite its decent standard was somewhat of a disappointment. Very few popular songs were played as even Mr. Flowers (a self confessed Fall freak) didn’t recognise a single tune!Still the set they did perform was typical Fall. Musically tight and vocally shocking with Mark’s grumbles coming across as clearly as radio Belgium in a electrical storm. Nothing he did made much sense. From wandering around aimlessly on stage, twiddling dials he should never be let near, pulling out his band member’s amps or erratically attacking their instruments. Still it made for good comedy value at least.
We all wondered if we would hear a song we knew in the encore. Not surprisingly the answer was no! The crowd shuffled away in dismay while we stood and pondered what to do next, which turned out to be a master stroke as The Fall unexpectedly returned for a 2nd encore! This time they got it spot on, playing a song we knew…We Are Spata F.C.. From being quite a way back, we were suddenly right down the front for this cool tune. But as quickly as they returned they buggered off again. This wasn’t a bad show, I’d just expected more…a lot more.
After flitting back and forwards between Enablers and The Raincoats, chilling outside in the cool air enjoying relative peace was the most engaging option. After all I was waiting for the old school punk attitude of The Authorities.
The Authorities
These guys looked every one of their aging years but don’t let that fool you into thinking they are past it. They invoke the sound of punks early days of three chord wonders, crunching melodies, male dominated thinking and tracks of no more than 3 minutes long. They were on top form and blasted their way through some top punk numbers. Showing no signs of nostalgia, they clearly felt it was still 1972 and we were all willing to peek inside the time warp which had opened up onstage. A 30 second guitar rattle brought about the end to a high octane set as they powered down the final amp of ATP Pavement 2010.
ATP have the right idea when it comes to festivals! Civilised, laid back and comfortable, things not normally associated with festivals. I guess that’s why it this weekend was such a success despite a lineup which was barely got us excited before arrival. A long drive awaited us in the morning, but we all knew we’d be back soon for another installment of ATP genius!
ATP Pavement Festival: Day 2
Jun 23rd
Not being woken up by a blazing dawn sun, a drunk girl falling on your tent over, or a drunk bloke relieving himself in the remnants of your bonfire was by far the least interesting but most pleasant way to start day 2 at a music festival. Rolling out of bed and beginning the almighty fry up was The Docktor who rustled us up a feast (Note: 4 blokes sharing 3 cans of baked beans with their for breakfast is not advised for those with sensitive noses or a strong gag reflex). To work it off we hit the sandy coastline for some beach football! After all it was a rather unusual glorious sunny day! A few bruises and an abundance of sand in all manner of bodily crevices later, we caught wind of a secret gig going on.
Not being able resist the urge of the secret gig we were treated to an extra special show from Wax Fang @ Reds who were set to perform the entirety of Prince’s timeless album Purple Rain.
Wax Fang as Prince
Complete with comedy wigs, 70′s flares and more than required bodily hair on show Wax Fang both looked and sounded simply amazing. Their Prince routine was perfect, from the shrieking vocals right down to the note perfect solo’s and ambient keyboards. This was tongue in cheek delight and as they played hit after hit such as When Doves Cry, & I Would Die For You. Despite playing covers this was a guaranteed highlight for the festival as they faded slowly out with the fully extended version of the epic Purple Rain, the entire crowd swaying hands aloft to cheer this inspired performance.
Later that afternoon we had the biggest clash of the weekend, music or the FA Cup Final. I was the only one who made it away from the TV as I headed out to catch Blitzen Trapper. I was so glad I did! Their Americana influenced folk was at times beautiful and bold, while always being catchy and melodic. Lead singer sounded very close to a less nasally Bob Dylan but more or less managed to steer clear of the obvious comparisons. Their instrumentation was excellent and they did not get overpowered by the size of the arena, their music suited this perfectly. On the whole a very impressive performance that I really enjoyed.
Blitzen Trapper
It was at this point I found myself pondered over the weekend’s stage schedule structure. Most bands played for at least 45 minutes each with most being granted 1 hour. Now this is a good thing if you happen to like the bands that are on, but with a limited number of bands over the 3 days, 37, this leans itself to being quite restrictive.
On the plus side though if you missed the start of a set It didn’t matter so much as they would be playing for ages anyways. Looks like this was one debate I was not going to solve in a hurry so I decided to stick my head into Centre Stage for Saccarine Trust, before promptly removing it again realising the last 30 mins for the Cup Final & lunch was a more profitable use of time.
Fiery Furnaces
Disappointed after a Pompy defeat our next band of the day were up on the Main Stage. I have to admit that I went into this show with rampaging negative bias against Fiery Furnaces. Their brand of twisted indie is not the most approachable, unless you have an arty streak or a connoisseur complex. But I can say they’re live shows are a blast. Kicking into their tunes with wistful breeziness and rampaging a noisy fed back amp the combo of pop and rock was ideal. Melody wise they had big enough progressions to keep everyone nodding their heads (Apparently dancing at ATP is un cool), and enough catchy guitar licks to make me happy. This was a huge surprise, as they dropped their sweetness and blasted their way through a very entertaining set!
Boris
We quickly shuffled our way through the crowds, we had a date with Boris. The gargantuan Japanese noise rock behemoths had some technical problems in setting up and were late in getting started, but it was well worth the wait. If Spinal Tap turn it to ’11′ then Boris have their amps set to 111 as this was the most epically loud show the earth has ever seen. A drum kick sounded like a firework exploding, a bass thump was making my clothes move and the power chords where like a head gremlin playing the migraine march on your frontal lobe!
When this audio wall hit’s you square in the face, it sends you flying into a dizzying sonic spiral of intense rock energy which is astoundingly great. The songs themselves were very lucidly progressive, with heavy sections counterbalanced with some inventive and beautiful melodies. The greatest compliment to Boris was evident in the crowd. Despite near deafening volumes which could knock planets out orbit…nobody was going anywhere! Instead they were putting fingers in their ears and remaining down the front sharing the epic sounds.
Now for the reason we were all here, it was time for Pavement on a Main Stage filled to capacity (you can almost feel the desolation on the rest of the site). In one form we’d seen all the Pavement members bar front man Steven Malkmus himself over the weekend already, (Spiral Stairs, Marble Valley) so when they finally got down to their actual set it felt like we were pretty acquainted with them already.
The biggest cheers of the weekend greeted them as they made their way onstage and began playing a solid all round set of their greatest hits. Their pop sound was rougher live, but this made for a far better performance. With so much joy in the room there was a lot to love and little to fault in this show. Throwing in classic tracks like their biggest hit Cut Your Hair, Stereo and Gold Soundz, Pavement were lapping up energy from the crowd and flinging it right back.
This felt like a great return for the American indie heroes, but with a room full of people who signed up to their ATP curated festival and sold out the event before announcing any bands except themselves, I ask “was it going to be any different?” Nonetheless a superb showing for the weekends main headliner!
Monotonix
After chilling out for a while on the sofa with a few of our beers, we arrived at Reds and looked on is disbelief! The queue to get in was snaking around the smokers hangout with no indication of movement. Of course everyone was here to see the fiery DIY garage rock of those crazy Israelis’, Monotonix. After asking the door security informed us that the venue was full! 5 minutes later as we walked past him into the venue I wondered what on earth is going on?
Sit Quietly
This bewilderment was to continue once inside. Monotonix were sitting on their own stage, in only a their shorts and full chests of hair in the middle of the floor with the crowd all sitting down around them. They sounded immense! None of it made the slight bit of sense, but their three piece rock captured the spirit of beer soaked garage rock and roll ethics which is so lacking in the modern era. After about 15 minutes this spirit was too hard to ignore as the seated crowd stood up, overcome with the desire to rock out!
Sadly this was quickly brought to a halt as Butlins security stepped in and dragged Monotonix off stage, citing capacity problems and accusing the band of inciting violence. A lot of unhappy faces booed them which was unfair as they did nothing wrong, the hatred was rife and if the crowd was to kick off against the security team they would have had serious trouble on their hands. Thankfully we were at ATP not Reading festival so everyone trotted off mumbling and grumbling about the appalling security operation and health & safety gone mad.
Atlas Sound
Saddened we headed upstairs to an extremely packed Centre stage where a lone American was onstage. Atlas Sound was an incredibly annoying, whiny, overly American youth who did little or nothing to impress any of the DiR.net posse. The atmosphere was weak and uninspiring almost as much as his in between song nonsense. A lacklustre showing which was one of the most dull of the weekend.
Still Flyin’
It’s 1am and the final band took to the stage. Still Flyin’ in more of a collective than a band. With 12 members on stage you get the jist why. They had 2 trumpeters, 2 percussion, 4 singers, a keyboardist, a guitarist, a bas player and a random guy whose job it was to shake a ball shaped maraca and bound about stage. It comes as no surprise then that they play pop. This was an extremely joyous set with a carnival atmosphere that had people bopping along into the wee hours. Their reggae influenced, almost ska-indie pop was great fun way to round off day 2.#
ATP Pavement Festival: Day 1
Jun 15th
After the long drive down from London to the somerset coastal town of Minehead, we pulled up in the place we’d be calling home for the next 3 nights… Butlins!!! As the DiR team arrived at the check-in desk we couldn’t help but get excited at the prospect of reviving our childhood spirits and living a festival in luxury style.
Nestling down in our deluxe 3rd floor chalet in Palm Tree Place complete with shower, fully fitted kitchen, comfy beds and most importantly TOWELS!!! We were perfectly placed about 2 minutes from the main arena and 2 minutes from the swimming pool complex.
Wrenching ourselves away from watching TV and having a few beers (newly chilled in our fridge/freezer) and a couple of burgers (freshly cooked on our cooker) we headed to check out the stages and start our festival music consumption.
Shuffling into the vast pavilion complex we were greeted by an all-in one entertainment complex complete with 3 indoor stages, innumerable bars, arcade games, a bowling alley, pool hall, plenty of fast food eateries. Ignoring the multitude of distractions we headed to see our first band of the weekend, Surfer Blood on the Main Stage.
If you have ever heard a Surfer Blood song, you probably know what they look like before seeing them! Clean cut Californian yacht club types who ooze pretentiousness! Their music wasn’t bad, surf happy melodies served of a bed of fuzzy guitars and reverb soaked vocals. Music was pretty decent, yet I found them generally irritating lacking in energy and spirit. Having liked them on record, this was a disappointing set which dosed down their pop and upped their noise…something which didn’t work for me.
Surfer Blood
Heading away from the vast space of the Main Stage we headed to the Centre Stage venue (weird?) to see one of the multitudes of Pavement sideline projects playing this weekend! Once our eyes had adjusted to the darkness of the massive club venue, Spiral Stairs appeared. These guys were founded by Pavement guitarist Scott Kannberg and play blues rooted riff rock with catchy pop sensibilities. This was a great little set which was upbeat and shared good time feelings.
Spiral Stairs
Their energy was incessant and you clearly felt they were enjoying playing for the smallish crowd that had gathered. A well received surprise and an early highlight of the weekend.
Taking a break we nestled down at a table to enjoy the next band up on Centre Stage, The Walkmen. Their American indie laced with some noisy rock was just the ticket! They had just the right amount of feedback and noise to balance the poppier side of their sound. They were however plagued by technical issues and had to depart stage after playing a few teaser chords of their biggest hit, the barnstorming rocker The Rat. This aside this was a good set from a band that have haven’t quite reached the heights they are capable of.
The Walkmen
Broken Social Scene was next on our radar back at the Main Stage. This huge ensemble of people play very agreeable and booming indie pop which is very much at ease in this large arena sized venue. A bright set paced with happy pop music which was some of the most polished of the weekend. However they lose marks for being rather unmemorable. I can only remember a couple of real standout tracks including Texico Bitches, with the rest fading into a lull of endless melody. Still I enjoyed my time with these guys, drifting into their pot of blissful optimistic tunes.
Broken Social Scene
While waiting for our next band we got involved in a short chat with some ‘I’m ATP born and bred, hence cooler than you’ types in which they, not only proved themselves to be righteous idiots in saying “oh I guess this is your 1st ATP then” using the most weedy of condescending tones, but also pedantic prats in correcting a total stranger on the pronunciation of Matt Groening. Still once DiR.net man Crumbs the ‘King of Camberwell’ returned with the beers, they cowered slyly off into the encroaching darkness. Note to self, avoid talking to ATP folks in skinny jeans bearing pubescent facial hair and a mop top haircut.
Mission of Burma arrived and began the onslaught. They made one hell of a racket which I found to be a long way from the riff focused approach of their studio output. The set was messy and vocally they failed to make any impression! The riffs found it hard to cut through the feedback noise doing nothing for their appeal. So disappointed with their efforts, I decided my time would be better off refueling at BK. However in my absence Mr. Flowers reported, sighting as crazy a scene he saw all weekend ignited towards the very end of the set, people were dancing and everything!
Mission of Burma
Having waited up for Quasi in the wee hours I can’t help but think that time would have been better spent catching up on some sleep. As soon as we emerged from Centre Stage, I could remember almost nothing from this mundane set. Tiredness on my part did not contribute to a positive review, but despite that there is very little i can recommend. In fact the wiser half of the DiR.net quartet did infact head back for some late night tv while myself and Mr. Flowers powered on downstairs to Reds.
Quasi
We had missed the majority of the Marble Valley set on the Reds thirds stage but this didn’t stop this from becoming one of the better bands of the day. Their lively pop and hyperactive stage antics were the perfect dose to bring us out of our Quasi induced coma. Plenty of sing-a-long moments and fun tunes spread an optimistic party atmosphere throughout. Match this with the sense they loved just being on stage and you have a great, all be it short show.
Marble Valley
Returning to our chalet, the leather sofa and a ready made cup of tea I sat and wondered why more festivals aren’t like ATP!
Day two to follow shortly.
Camden Crawl 2010: Day One
May 23rd
Who ever thought that putting a music festival on in London on a May Bank holiday weekend probably thought it was a good idea? Granted that extra days recuperation was great, but with general London transport chaos even arriving in Camden would be a half day mission in itself. Luckily for myself and the team, DoesItRock Towers is handily close by. We wandered down to the Roundhouse to pick up the days schedule for day one, laughing in the face of a weather forecast that would make the Outer Hebrides look like the Caribbean.
After seeing the schedule it’s easy to get swamped under the sheer size and scope of the lineup. 17 evening venues and 27 daytime events…where do you start? This of course leads to a music fan’s worst nightmare, clashes! Then you have to filter in the venue choice, venue capacity, arrival times in order to gain entry and if you have to pay extra stealth charges to see bigger bands. So under the enormous strain of options we did what any gaggle of men would do in times of difficult decisions…head to the pub!
With opinions flying at all angles, a plan finally came together. Hence it was time to get down to the serious business of catching some bands!
Dissolved In
We arrived rather chilly and windswept to discover the new for 2010 Outdoor stage was running late. S we ended up catching the tail end of an upbeat set from this Punk-pop quartet. They sounded quite promising and they have decent enough guitar melodies and vocal harmonies, although I am only judging on their final 2 tracks, the rest could have been pants!
Dissolved In
KASMs
Talking of pants, KASMs lead singer was liberally showing off hers as she catapulted around stage in all manner of screwball methods (including powerslides & Japanese schoolgirl kooky leaps). This in fact was a glad distraction from the noise generated by her screechy adolescent vocals. Ignoring the voice the music was edgy and alternative with plenty of sound effects which were largely hit and miss. They have lots of good ideas, outstanding energy and cannot be faulted for effort but today they failed to captivate. An indoor venue would definitely improve their sound, but for the time being, you get an E…more work required!
KASMs
We had been very lucky with the weather and the rain held off as we dived from pub to pub taking in quizzes, jazz sessions and musical bingo until we were en-route to the Electric Ballroom for the first of the evening performances. When the rain finally arrived, it was ferocious! Driving rain hammered the streets, turning Camden high street into a new canal extension! Drenched like hamsters in a washing machine we gained swift entry and prepared to be rocked.
Camden Lock before the storm
Pulled Apart By Horses
This young band from Leeds are a huge part of the experimental alt-metal scene developing in the city and from watching them tonight you can see why they are at the forefront of the movement. They play with a voracious intensity and skull denting power. An ever changing time signature, stop-start melodies, plenty of epic anticipation building crescendos and technically superb massive metal riffs litter their sound which is unpredictable and compelling to behold.
Pulled Apart By Horses
Almost as precarious is their crazed stage antics which left their bassist sporting a bandaged up knee prior to this evening. Yet he still managed to ascend to stand and leap off a 2 storey stack of speakers, meanwhile the vocalist went on aimless walkabouts through the crowd knocking over fans with his wildly flailing mic/guitar leads. Put simply they are entertaining and totally bonkers!
Ready for a Fall!
Lead vocals are, as one DiRocker pointed out “A bit shouty” & other noted “quite Blood Brothers-esque”, hence not easily accessible but still drive each tune with catchy melodies which demand your attention. Their volume is deafening as is the thump of their drumming but all this combined to form a brilliant set which is not going to be forgotten for some time to come. An essential new band worthy of attention!
That Fucking Tank
Next we trotted off to The Dublin Castle for another slice of Leeds originated alternative rock, this time a little more subdued, or so we thought. That Fucking Tank are an instrumental duo (drummer and guitarist) who play in perfect harmony some of the biggest goove heavy beats of the weekend, despite their minimal stage setup.
That Fucking Tank
Monster drumming and big guitars laced each tune, each craftily setup into an instantly recognizable riff, rhythm, chorus, solo structure. They are one of those catchy bands you can’t help but dance to, no matter how hard you try to resist. Scuzzy electro riffs, progressive trip-outs, heavy muted power chords and classic rock influenced interludes were all present in this great set proving variety is key without any vocalist to liven things up.
Throwing in a couple of classic licks from the likes of Nirvana and Springsteen helped really get the party going as the stage was overtaken by stage divers leaping back into the tiny mosh gathering down front. Their success was evident as the crowd would not be settled until they played an encore. This is a band you need to see live! On record they are good but nothing can recreate the duo’s almost telepathic musical connection and raw sound which is just as ease at the disco or the rock clubs! A huge prospect to keep an eye on!
Alex Metric
While Calvin Harris was entertaining the (supplementary ticket buying) crowds at the Roundhouse we were checking out a worthy rival to his electro crown in Alex Metric. His live performance was pretty good with hard hitting bass lines, snazzy keyboards and catchy vocal led dance tracks proving very popular. However the venue was hugely overcrowded and just too tiny, for all the fans that turned up and could not get within 10 meters of the stage, this was a disappointing outing. In a club venue this would have been rocking, instead it was subdued and underwhelming.
Alex (is back there somewhere) Metric
Teenage Fanclub
Instead of providing a springboard to the wee hours Teenage Fanclub lulled the crowds packed into KoKo into a sweet harmony of blissful semi-consciousness. Majorly indebted to 60’s folks The Byrds and love for the jangly melodies and high pitched sugar coated vocals were great for about 20 minutes. From which point on the relentless floppy haired mid-tempo acoustic strum-by-numbers became monotonous, tedious and lacking in invention.
Teenage Fanclub
Mixed in their set were a few good little pop numbers, but they were only resonating well with the long term fans who seemed to know every lyric. Their performance was mediocre and so it received lukewarm appreciation from the DiR mob as we jumped back in the taxi towards HQ for the night, ready to do it all again tomorrow.
Album Review: The Hold Steady – Heaven Is Whenever
May 15th
Probably the best bar band in the world ever are back with their literate indie rock and roll.
The Hold Steady – Heaven Is Whenever
RockOSaurus Says:
“Oh…where for art thou Franz” is the first thing which stands out on first listen to Heaven Is Whenever. Without it’s moustache sporting keyboard maestro many of the backing vocal led woah-a-woah-a-longs have gone and its seriously blunted their pop edge. Replacing them are bigger riffs which I would normally lap up, yet something doesn’t feel right. Their classic rock sound is fuzzier than usual and sounds like it was recorded in a tube tunnel. The production is purposefully more alternative than previous outings and I have to say I’m not a fan.
This is not saying Hold Steady have lost their touch completely. Tunes like ‘Soft In The Center’ & ‘Rock Problems’ are still packed with attention grabbing melodies and Craig Finn’s lyrical gift is more than a good reason to give this a try.
What the album is missing is some urgency despite the amping up of the record! The majority of the tracks ramble along in a mid-tempo groove that fails to pick-up when the going gets tedious. Even their ballads have lost their poignancy displaying vividly the hole left by their enigmatic piano player. A good album by anyone else’s standards, but for The Hold Steady this can only be a disappointment.
Mr Flowers Says:
The album starts with the relative slow-burners, Sweet Part Of The City and Soft In The Center, which give you an idea of what the album offers: less action, less excitement and probably fewer of those massive nights.
Now minus a keyboardist, the Steady seem to have compensated with crunchier guitars and a higher solo quota, with varying degrees of success. The Weekenders comes closest to getting back to the sound that made the band so well loved, while there’s some hope for the new formula with the rocky riffage and nice use of the cow bells in The Smidge, and the sweet solo in Rock Problems. Listening out for the numerous name-checks of We Can Get Together is amusing for a minute or so, but the song meanders and never reaches the sweet spot. It signals a string of similarly disappointing songs where a noticeable lack of hook works to the band’s detriment and unfortunately ends up defining the album.
It’s a shame it’s ended up like this, as previous Hold Steady albums would have gotten some 8s, 9s and even 10s on these pages. Let’s just hope the downward trend shown in this album isn’t part of some systemic problem for this much-loved band.
RockOSaurus: 6/10
MrFlowers: 6/10
DoesItRock Overall Score: 6/10
