In February this year I posted a list of my top ten rock/ music-related books biographies and autobiographies as a part of this blog’s tenth birthday celebrations. Click here to check it out. ‘Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys. : A Memoir’ by Viv Albertine was included in that list. It is easily among the best music-related autobiographies ever written. Well, I finally got around to reading the second autobiographical publication from Viv, ‘To Throw Away Unopened’ and it as least as good as the first, if not better. For me, an autobiography that combines brutal honesty, self-deprecation, love, rivalry and a really interesting life is likely to be good. This second volume of Viv’s life focusses on her relationships with family; her parents, her sister, and her daughter. It gives an insight into her struggles with cancer, relationships, and life in general. I get the impression that while Viv may not sometimes believe it she is a very strong woman who really knows who she is and what she is here for. She is a talented writer and performer and like all the best humans she has flaws alongside her strengths. We should take inspiration from the way she describes those flaws and how she deals with them or overcomes them.
Like many people, I loved the Slits, but Viv’s two books have opened up so much more about one of the people who was such an influence on feminism in rock music. Many of today’s female artists; the Tuts, Lily Allen, and Lauren Tate to name just a few owe a debt to Viv Albertine, even if they are unaware of it. Viv has an abundance of passion, compassion, exuberance and a love of life and she is a true original. She does not hide behind any kind of facade, she is who she is and proud of it. I love the way she deals with the death of her mother in the book, at times I was moved to tears and then a couple of pages later to laughter. ‘To Throw away Unopened’ along with ‘Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys. : A Memoir’ are without doubt two of the finest autobiographical works that I have ever read and not just in the music genre. Viv if you are ever in York I would love to sit down for a coffee with you, my treat, I believe that you are a truly great human being, and there aren’t too many of those these days. Thank you for the music and the writing, your talent has enriched this sad world.
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Nallo from Minneapolis have released their new single “Anger And Figureheads” on Chase Bliss Records as a taster to their self titled album which is due to drop in November. The song is punchy power-pop with a pinch of lo-fi. The band’s frontman Andrew Ranallo said that he wrote the song during a messy time in his life, navigating personal relationships and “trying to survive in the current American swirl of anger, mental unhealth, internet trolls, and violence.” The song certainly conveys the anger against some low key but compelling riffs. It also contains the level of paranoia included in some of the best protest songs. Nallo is a band for our troubled times. In “American Pie” Don McLean posed the question “Can music save your mortal soul?” Well, I believe it can and Nallo, particularly with “Anger And Figureheads” will help us keep our mortal souls fresh.
The song has a great video that fits it perfectly. It depicts many everyday actions which in most cases might seem bland and uninteresting, but it is overlaid with a feeling of menace and of course anger. It takes the normal and destroys it creating some interesting art in the process. The gloved hands give the film an eerie, horror style feel. Andrew Ranallo who wrote produced and directed the film said that it is”an attempt at trying to create something as chaotic and uncomfortable as the experience itself.” The video is first class and it supports an unforgettable song for our times. On this evidence, I think their album will be a hot one!
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Tonight was the third time that I had seen My Wonderful Daze in less than three months, the first time was also at the Fulford Arms for their Hands Off Gretel support slot back in July. Tonight was a show to let the band showcase their new EP “Guilty Party”. But before I tell you about their set there is the not so small matter of the support band, Freek. I first saw them in December last year, supporting Percy. Freek‘s roots can be traced back to Led Zeppelin and onward through to the White Stripes. Lead singer Ellis Best may, on the first impression, look like a mild-mannered Librarian, but then he unleashes blues-rock licks from his guitar which have the power to cause earthquakes in heaven and hell. But that isn’t all when he opens his mouth to sing out pops a voice that could match Roger Daltrey, Ozzy Osbourne, Paul Rodgers and many more. Best is one hell of a talented rocker. Drummer Christy Bloomfield is like the perfect rock ‘n’ roll metronome (and that is meant as a compliment.) He comes across as a well-controlled sticksman and then he hits those drums with a crazy, frenzied passion and you can imagine him being possessed by the spirit of Keith Moon and the wisdom of Ginger Baker. The highlight for me, and there were many, was “I Am A Weirdo” which is as close as you can get to the perfect rock song!
Just before 9 o’clock, the crowd was palpably excited as they waited for the imminent arrival of those weird, wacky and wonderful folk from Planet Daze, yes it was time for My Wonderful Daze to hit us with their best shot. Incidentally, their best shot is like being attacked by an artillery barrage of riffs, a rhythm section that could power a whole division of tanks and all this marshalled by Field Marshall Chloe Munt a.k.a. Flowers. This is a full-on shock and awe aural assault that either wins you over or forces you to surrender. They played the five songs from their new “Guilty Party” EP first. “Tommy” starts off quite soft and builds into a crescendo of dark passion backed by a band firing on all cylinders. The five-track EP is stunning and in the live environment the already uber heavy, riff-laden, hook-driven, eldritch tunes transform into something heavier, darker and psychedelic. At times they sound like Black Sabbath had Ozzy been replaced by Chloe.
My current favorite track from the EP is “God” and live it is an epic masterpiece. The crowd was up for this band in a big way. Chloe made a number of excursions into the audience and the crowd went into manic mosh mode towards the end. My Wonderful Daze lived up to a previous description from me “Imagine what band might arise if Florence and the Machine had been kidnapped by DC’s Suicide Squad and the Joker injected them with a mix of a large dose of heavy metal and Kurt Cobain’s DNA.” But they went even further than that tonight. In the week that ‘IT – Chapter Two” hit the cinemas there were plenty of Pennywise style red balloons with added black balloons to add a streak of goth. The second half of their set saw much fake blood, well at least I hope it was fake! This was streaked across the faces of the band and Chloe sporting red hair rocked a perfect Carrie White post-Prom Queen scene in a blood dripped white dress. This was not just a gig it was a show with some really theatrical moments, not many bands can pull that off, but My Wonderful Daze can do it with style and ease. There was a technical guitar hitch near the end, but a mighty and dynamic jam session from Mr. Jack Sparkle on bass and JoshQ6 on drums and Chloe taking it upon herself to dance with members of the audience entertained us impeccably while the guitar issue was resolved. For me, the mark of a great band or at least one with the potential to become great is how they handle a mishap like that. My Wonderful Daze handled it like seasoned veterans. They finished with a rip-roaring cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” closer to the White Stripes arrangement but with the heavy and dark turned up to full! You really need to see this band, but while you are waiting check out the “Guilty Party” EP by clicking here
All the photos apart from the EP promo were taken by me. The videos were all found on YouTube, if one of them is yours and you would like a credit or for me to remove it please let me know.
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Violet Contours from York are about to bring their latest single into the world, on 27th September to be precise. I have been lucky enough to see them live a couple of times and in this new track, I reckon they have captured a large part of the essence of what makes them such an exciting live act. The song is called “Pablo’s Hippos” and it is about a small part of Pablo Escobar’s self-centered extravagances. Escobar, perhaps one of the most powerful drug lords that ever lived, illegally smuggled four Hippos into Colombia for his private zoo, he also had giraffes and other exotic animals. Wild hippos are only native to Africa, and their escape after Escobar’s death left Colombia with an unexpected problem. Some of the 40 or 50 Hippos now living wild in Colombia have relocated more than 100 miles from Escobar’s estate. This is having a massive impact on Colombia’s biodiversity. I hear that there is even a bounty on Hippos in Colombia now, whereby you get paid if you can get a Hippo ear. I don’t know how successful that has been as I also understand that there is a big black market trade in fake Hippo ears. the world certainly is very strange, isn’t it? I knew absolutely nothing about this until I heard “Pablo’s Hippos”, so a big thank you to Violet Contours for educating me.
It is an incredible story and a truly great song with a pop trance vibe with African style guitars used as effectively as Vampire Weekend did in their early days. It is three minutes of perfectly crafted pop heaven with an 80s dance feel, like a Duran Duran club remix from the latter part of the 80s, around the time of “Skin Trade”. This is one of those tunes that most people would find it impossible not to dance to, especially in the live environment. Violet Contours have released some excellent songs since they formed in 2016; “Airstrike” and “Pixar” are my favourites, but without a doubt “Pablo’s Hippos” take the boys to another level. This song deserves loads of airplay and success. Jericho Keys made it his record of the week on BBC Radio York. I can’t wait to hear it live again and I hope to catch them at the Crescent in York next month. Ben, Sam, Niall, and Daniel have knocked it out of the park with such a banging tune!
Pictures were all “borrowed” from the band’s faceBook page. Videos were sourced from YouTube. If the video is yours and you would like me to credit you or to take it down, then please let me know.
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Around eighteen months ago 3 Songs & Out gave me the opportunity to review Nervus’ 2018 album ‘Everything Dies’ and I found it to be a great album and I still listen to it now. The band is about to release their third album ‘Tough Crowd’, due to smash its way into the world on September 27th courtesy of Big Scary Monsters Records. It was recorded at the Ranch in Southampton and produced by Neil Kennedy Is it as good as their last album? No, it’s not, it is even better! There is social and political commentary, notably on the hook-laden slower tune “They Don’t”. There is perhaps slightly less anger in this album than in its predecessor, but it is still there and handled with great control which gives it so much more impact. The songs tackle subjects that really need to be addressed and confronted; austerity, fascism and the ecology to name just a few. This is most notable in “Piss”, which might well be about right-wing arseholes. There are some wonderful melodies, riffs, and hooks on show throughout ‘Tough Crowd’ and these often generate a feeling of hope set against the at times very dark lyrics. My favourite couplet is probably “you blame the hangman, but you’re holding the noose” from “Engulf You”. The chorus of “Fake” has Em singing “I Don’t Wanna Be Fake” in perhaps her best vocal performance on this record. I think it is clear from this LP and their previous releases that whatever you might see Nervus as they are never fake. This is a band that is not afraid to confront haters, homophobes, nazi wankers, self-centered, lying politicians and anyone else that deserves to be challenged and taken down. Nervus don’t just play to punk ideals, they live by them. Punk happened to allow newer bands to continue to fly the flag for the downtrodden and the oppressed. I am glad I am on the same side as Nervus!
The first single “Flies” deserves a much wider audience and contains an array of angry, venomous lyrics which I assume are about a soured relationship. “You’re Dead, at least you are in my head”, tells me that I definitely would not like to get on the wrong side of Nervus! “No Nations” is a song of hope for the planet and never giving up, whatever the obstacle. Not a bad mantra to live by in my opinion. For me, the most inspiring song on the album is “Burn”. This is what humanity should be about; listening more than speaking, sharing and “We don’t need heroes, we need faith” sums this song up perfectly and encapsulates all of its acoustic beauty and passion. The harmonies on this song are immaculate. This is a song that would not be out of place in the Levellers canon. I was reminded of Weezer back in their prime in the style and delivery of “Inconvenient Truth” although clearly, the lyrics are most definitely Nervus. Overall ‘Tough Crowd’ is the bands most accomplished album to date and on this evidence, this is a band that will just keep on improving. I am sure that Em, Paul, Kenny, and Luce are proud of this staggeringly good collection of songs and so they should be. As a footnote, I love interacting with Nervus on social media, particularly Twitter. They are eloquent, spunky, passionate and sometimes laugh out loud funny! Give this album one listen and if you feel that you don’t need it in your life after that then you probably need to have your musical taste examined!
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Modern Day Dukes describe themselves as a dirty, grungey, weird punk band. I have no idea if that description fits Pais, Rory, Hannah, and Jordan personally, but it sure as hell describes their music perfectly. The band release their first album ‘100% Full Fat Noise’ this month and I am delighted to be among the first people to hear it. The album is full of a blend of full-on hardcore punk style songs with swampy, grungey bass guitars overlaid with huge choruses often supported with some very clever counterpoint harmony vocals.
Album opener “Company Anthem” is a little strange and almost suggests in an overture kind of way that the album is a concept album, although I don’t believe that it is. “Liability Friend” has punk classic written all over it and I am so looking forward to hearing it played live. I was reminded of early Damned with “Go!” and the response part of the call and response chorus has echoes of a pre-fame Adam and the Ants. At times on this collection Modern Day Dukes lean toward the US alt.rock stylings similar to Creed or even the Foo Fighters. They wear Nirvana proudly on their sleeves for the magnificent “Tourist” which is perhaps the grungiest track on the record.
The soaring vocal refrain from “Spent” invites you, or even demands you, to sing along and takes up permanent residence in your head. Instrumentally it took me back to the grossly underrated Tin Machine. I was reminded of that short period between punk and post-punk, say 1979 to 1980, by “Brand Loyalty” and after three listens this is probably my favourite track from ‘100% Full Fat Noise’. The angriest song here feels like “Okhrana”. Apparently, the Okhrana were the secret police of the Russian tsars, created in 1881 after the death of TsarAlexander II in 1881. It has a madcap feel to it, like the Fall going in a heavy metal direction. If the Ramones went prog rock then they might have created “Low Calorie Groove”.
Production by Piper Dawes is excellent and although I haven’t seen them live yet, it has a live feel to it. I must give a special mention also to Mike Bromage for the wonderful cover art. Modern Day Dukes have the ability, talent and scope to become a great band, they are already contenders for one of the best Yorkshire bands, hailing from Sheffield, Huddersfield, and Harrogate. Modern Day Dukes, on the evidence of this album are clearly a band on top form. Check out ‘100% Full Fat Noise’ you will not be disappointed and if you listen to it and don’t become a Modern Day Dukes fan then you and I need to have a little word, capisce?
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Airport Impressions are a Maltese rock band formed more than ten years ago. They began as a duo between Errol Sammut and Johann Schembri, later the pair were joined by Chris Curmi and Steve Farrugia and are now cited by many as the best band ever to emanate from the small Mediterranean island. Recently, Errol has also released a solo track, ‘Burton’s Song’, to raise awareness for autism, with all song sale proceeds donated to Autism Foundations around the world. So it is clear they are experienced and they care, but just how good are they? Well personally I can only judge them on their new single “Faith” and it is a gorgeous slice of passionate, emotional rock music. The playing and production is spot on and the lyrics are uplifting and hopeful. The song is anthemic in the way that U2’s greatest songs have been and it is full of hooks that wouldn’t be out of place on a Killers song. The accompanying video is understated excellence that fits really well with this staggeringly good tune. If you like “Faith”, and why wouldn’t you, then check out some of Airport Impressions other tunes; “Walk With Me” and “Hymns Of June” are particularly classy. If Airport Impressions happen to be playing live in the UK anytime soon I would be very keen to see them!
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How do Festival weekends seem to go so quickly? This was by far the hottest of my three days at the 2019 Leeds Festival, well in terms of temperature at least. Were the bands as hot in terms of performance? Well, dear reader, you will need to read on to find out. One of the big rumours of the day was that Frank Turner would be playing a secret set. There was a gap on the Pit/ Lock Up Stage from midday to 1 o’clock, so I came in extra early to be there only to find that it was just a rumour based on the fact that Frank had played a couple of album launch sets at the Brudenell in Leeds the night before. Hopefully, Mr Turner will be playing at the festival next year. My first action of the day was to see Amsterdam’s Pip Blom on the BBC Radio 1 Stage. The band name is taken from the name of the bandleader who writes and produces all of the band’s fabulous indie-pop classics. They are like a reincarnation of the Breeders with a very strong power-pop direction. Check out their album ‘Boat’ on Heavenly Recordings.
Oddity Road
Next, it was a quick dash across to the Festival Republic Stage to see Sheffield’s Oddity Road. They hit you with harmonic, melodious rock songs that would grace the canon of many successful bands. The Foo Fighters and the Killers to name just a couple. Oddity Road are purveyors of finely crafted and intelligently performed power-pop classics in waiting. Remarkably they are currently unsigned, but I doubt that will last for too much longer. I made a dash across to the Pit/ Lock Up stage with great excitement and anticipation as it was time for Queen Zee. But our hopes were dashed as the band had to pull out for medical reasons. I hope that there was a speedy recovering and that this amazing band will be back next year.
Belako
The Festival Republic Stage next played host to Basque country rock band Belako. This band are incredibly hard-edged with a planet splitting volcanic shriek of a rock vocal and I mean that in a good way. I heard shades of peak-era Siouxse and the Banshees in Belako. Definitely a band to keep an eye out for. I made my first visit to the Main Stage today to catch Against The Current. This charming, talented and well-rehearsed band from Poughkeepsie in the USA smashed it with a great set. This bunch epitomise perfect high powered pop with vocal hooks and riffs aplenty accompanied by some really top tunes. They have more energy than Duracell’s finest products! Back to the Festival Republic for a band that has been highly recommended to me by quite a few people, Sophie and the Giants. The band hail from Sheffield and while I don’t believe that they are real giants they do have some gigantic tunes with huge sweeping choruses that attach to your neural network like a stubborn and persistent beanstalk. Sophie Scott’s voice has an incredible range and volume and a gorgeous tonal quality. She could easily match the vocal talents of Florence Welch.
Sophie and the Giants
I rushed over to the BBC Radio 1 Stage for rising British rapper Slowthai and oh boy was it worth running in that heat. After being so disappointed by Gunna and Juice WRLD over the past couple of days Slowthai. He singlehandedly restored my faith in rap as I thought that he might. He is a great performer and his words and cyphers are intelligent, challenging and at times works of genius. His album ‘Nothing Great About Britain’ is, for me, among the best releases of the year. The Pit/ Lock Up was home to Bad Nerves from Essex next. These boys play it hard and fast with 100 miles per hour riffery and spot on sneery punk vocals. Their tunes are reminiscent and worthy of early Strokes cuts. I sense influences from classic period Buzzcocks and Stiff Little Fingers. I heard them play their single “Radio Punk” here and that has since become one of my favourite songs of the moment.
Bad Nerves
The BBC Introducing Stage has been supremely good this year on my next visit to that stage I got to experience the delights of Charlotte, a 20-year-old from Hull, who possess one of the most soulful voices I have heard. Her style is at times similar to Adele, but with less of the shoutier elements. Charlotte has a really tight and funky band behind her too. This girl can go all the way and I hope that she does. The Japanese House were next up on the Festival Republic Stage. I am sure that they are not Japanese, nor are they a house, what they are is highly talented singer-songwriter Amber Bain from Buckinghamshire. She has songs with hypnotic harmonies and huge hooks. If you want to chill out on the hottest festival afternoon that I can remember then you need to do it to the Japanese House. The refreshingly beautiful symphonic flow of Bain’s songs is still washing over me.
Charlotte
I did not make too many trips to the Main Stage on Sunday but I wanted to be there to witness the first person born this century to have a US number one album with ‘When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?’ I am talking of course about the mercurial talent that is Billie Eilish. She is what a 21st-century superstar should be; an original talent, someone who does things her way and on top of that a truly engaging performer. She has sass, style and superb songs. I reckon she drew the biggest crowd of the weekend, the crowd went absolutely nuts for her. She will undoubtedly be back at this festival before too long. Have I been at the Pit/ Lock Up Stage more times than any other this year? It certainly feels like it, this time I was here for Blood Youth from Yorkshire. This bunch are heavier than Osmium and harder than Nuclear Pasta (a.k.a. the material that makes up a Neutron Star). Blood Youth wield the force to cause an earthquake in Hell by the power of their mountainous riffs alone. This band produced a wave of the heaviest hardcore heavy metal today and rocked the Pit/ Lock Up Tent almost out of its moorings! Take a listen to their current album ‘Starve’ it is something special and you will not be disappointed.
Blood Youth
I stayed in the Pit/ Lock Up tent for the next act, an artist I knew next to nothing about, but I was intrigued. Just when I thought I had seen pretty much all there is to see at gigs and festivals during the last forty-seven years up comes Poppy, once known as Moriah Rose Pereira. This completely original LA artist shares a birthday with me, she was born the day that I turned 36. If you thought Lady Gaga was a bit ‘out there’ and strange then you have never come across Poppy. Is she an android? Well, she could be. This was perhaps one of the most spectacular sets that I have ever seen at one of the smaller stages at the Reading/ Leeds Festival! Poppy is like the sproglet of Max Headroom and Gwen Stefani with added alien DNA. Her band look like players in a rock star zombie film. The music is full-on heavy glam rock with a heavy nod to classic 60s girl group choruses in the vocals. Almost certainly my favourite act of the whole weekend. What was yours? I might have left after Poppy as nothing could really follow her, but I felt that I needed to stick around a little longer. Well, long enough to at least catch Twenty One Pilots. The boys opened with “Jumpsuit” which set the bar pretty high for the rest of their set. They managed to include a piece of the White Stripes “Seven Nation Army” within the live rendition of “Morph”, so I guess you could say that “Morph” morphed. It was an electrifying set, highlights for me were “My Blood” and “Cut My Lip”. But the real crowd-pleaser was a cover of the Oasis classic “Don’t Look Back In Anger” for which they were joined on stage by fellow co headliner Post Malone. I was more than satisfied to end my festival with such a great set from Twenty One Pilots. Apologies to Post Malone, the heat pretty much wasted me and I am not a big Post Malone fan! Leeds Festival I will see you again in 2020.
I know that they didn’t actually play the Leeds Festival, but they are a great band, so here is a sneaky Queen Zee video. Get well soon and we’ll see you next time!
All the photos apart from the Festival Line Up poster were taken on my cheap android phone. The videos were all found on YouTube, if one of them is yours and you would like a credit or for me to remove it please let me know.
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This Leeds Festival weekend was without a shadow of a doubt the hottest Festival weekend that I have ever experienced in the 44 years since my first festival. That was a very short visit to the 1975 Reading Festival, we bunked in under the fence and got to see Osibisa, then we had to run like mad to get the last train home. We were 16, had no tent and no money, but oh boy did it give me the bug! So how about we talk about Day 2 of the 2019 Leeds Festival. The first action I saw on Saturday was at the Pit/ Lock Up Stage for local band In Your Prime. They are brilliant and immensely talented, but I do hope that they are not actually in their prime for real because I really believe that they have so much more to offer and have the potential to develop into something very special. They spit out some dance tinged, emo veined heavy rock. Their stage performance is marvelously and magnificently manic with a ginger guitarist who plays like a harder-edged Johnny Marr. Then to cap it all off there are the classy vocals from Ruby Cooke. You should check out their tasty EP ‘Karana Mudra’ released last year.
In Your Prime
I followed this great start with a trip to the Main Stage to see a band that I knew nothing about but I was attracted by their name, they are I Don’t Know How But They Found Me. Can a rhythm be a band? well of course and this pair pay testament to that aesthetic. There is a strong 80s pop sensibility with some smooth blue-eyed soul style vocals. Set closer “Choke” is a mighty powerful glam rock stomper that would have been a huge hit in the early 70s. Considering the band took their name from Back To The Future perhaps they can go back to 1973 and launch this great song to an unsuspecting world. I want to hear so much more from the self-styled cheapest band on the bill. Next, it was the BBC Introducing Stage for RØYLS who provide perfect power pop with some sublime hook-laden songs. Each one of their tunes is every bit as good as anything that Ed Sheeran has written. “Choose To Believe” is the definition of what an anthemic pop song should be. But the highlight for me was “Life Like This” which hasn’t left my head since, not just a great track but an earworm of the highest order.
ROYLS
The Festival Republic Stage played host to No Rome who played some delightfully chilled, ambient R & B from Manila. This was the perfect sound accompaniment for a scorching hot festival afternoon. Twin Atlantic was the next attraction on the Main Stage. It would be easy to compare them to Biffy Clyro but Twin Atlantic are so much more than that. They have some mountainous bluesy, punky riffs and songs that overflowing with soul and abundant with emotion. I have been listening to their fourth album ‘GLA’ and it is a complete gem of a rock record. I stayed at the Main Stage for Charlotte Emma Aitchison or as she is better known, Charli XCX. I was always a Reading/ Leeds rock purist and never liked the idea of pop at this festival. But through the years there have been some incredible and notable exceptions; Shampoo, Junior Senior and now Charli XCX. For the record, I am no longer that narrow-minded rock purist, it’s all about great music right? Charli has sass, style, attitude, and tunes to die for. The crowd loved her epic performance.
I Don’t Know How But They Found Me
It was back to the BBC Introducing Stage for Suffolk singer-songwriter Caswell who I had the pleasure of seeing at last years Latitude Festival. She has a great band behind her and her songs are funky and synthy in equal measure. Caswell can handle fun dance songs and emotive ballads. Her vocals are sometimes Adele like but her range and depth is much greater. I sensed some Kate Bush-style singing on the beautiful “Surface”. I absolutely love “Brother” especially the “I am not the enemy” chorus hook. I am now a big Caswell fan. Bad Child brought their indie dance, top beats, and tunes all the way from Canada to the Festival Republic Stage. I must confess that I only popped in for some respite from the sun, but I am so fucking glad that I did! The BBC Radio 1 Stage played host to the Night Cafe. Jangly indie rock scousers with top-class songs and a musical lineage that can be traced back to C86 via the Icicle Works. Like my comments on Gunna yesterday I have to ask the same question after experiencing Juice WRLD on the Main Stage. When did rap become so dull and derivative? I am not offended by swearing and shit but was Juice WRLD’s assignment simply to see how many times he could fit motherfucker, pussy, and nigga into his lyrics? If so then I award this bloke an A+. Help me out, am I missing something subtle here?
Caswell
I caught Jeremy Zucker from New Jersey on the Festival Republic Stage. He comes across as the bastard son of Justin Timberlake and Ed Sheeran when he is on his best form. But at times I found some of his songs a little bland and lacking emotion. But what do I know? The crowd adored him. I was drawn back to the Pit/ Lock Up Stage for Dream State from South Wales. I saw them here once before. This band has passion, power, guts and they wear their hearts ripped open on their sleeves. This is what great rock is all about, the band packs the mightiest of punches and CJ’s vocals are truly spectacular. A return to the BBC Introducing Stage enabled me to catch Inka Upendo from Finland via BBC Cornwall. Inka writes and performs lush, dreamy, danceable bedroom symphonies that you cannot ignore and are impossible to dislike. I particularly loved “Limbo”. She is a genius in the art of looping. It was a real shame that the crowd was so small and I really felt for Inka when her laptop blew forcing her to end her set early.
Inka Upendo
Back at the Festival Republic Stage I was lucky enough to see Twisted Wheel. Hailing from Manchester Twisted Wheel are one of the best newer British bands that I have seen in quite a while. They will definitely appeal to fans of Oasis, Blur, the Small Faces, the Clash, the Jam and early Arctic Monkeys. But I am definitely not saying that they are any kind of tribute act, they are just a classy fucking rock ‘n’ roll band. Liam Gallagher would cut his arm off to sound as good as Twisted Wheel. Staying at the Festival Republic Stage it was the turn of Black Honey to entertain us next and oh boy did they entertain. There are some obvious Blondie comparisons in terms of their look but Black Honey’s sound is much more garage-style, dirty rock ‘n’ roll. They owe a debt to the finest glam rock bands too. This is one magnificent live band. Check out their new album, the eponymously titled ‘Black Honey’ it is a massive hit waiting to happen. I first saw Blackwaters in York about 18 months ago while they were supporting Hello Operator and I bloody loved them from the start. Had he still been alive John Peel would have made Blackwaters regulars on his show. They are from a similar mold to Cabbage with a vibrant punk attitude. There are shades of Mark E Smith and Jonathan Richman in their audience engaging performance. Blackwaters lead singer has the Jarvis Cocker shabby chic retro fashion style and he is an effervescent, manic and hugely talented performer. A truly great British band!
Twisted Wheel
Yet another visit to the Pit/ Lock Up stage came next for Laura Jane Grace and the Devouring Mothers. In my opinion, you don’t get much more punk than Laura Jane Grace. This was a mountainous, incendiary set that metaphorically took the roof off. Lara Jane speaks from the heart about living with mental health issues. On the evidence of this set, she not only survives, but she also thrives. Laura Jane Grace, we are not worthy! Staying in the Pit/ Lock Up tent it was time for PUP from Toronto. This is punk like it used to be, played hard, fast and short with not much chat between tunes. Not only does the band do exactly what it says on the tin they do it incredibly well. After this, it was a run over to the Main Stage for Royal Blood. A tsunami of a set; the power, the glory, the Blood! They pack the energy and firepower of a two-man Led Zeppelin. In fact, I would love to hear Robert Plant do some vocals for Royal Blood.
Blackwaters
The BBC Introducing Stage headliners on Saturday were local band Marsicans. I saw them at this very festival last year, in fact, they were the first band that I saw at last years festival. They were good last year and now they are on another level. Songs that are epic in ambition and cinematic in scope. Marsicans are one of the tightest musical units around from the perfect beaty purr of Rob and Cale’s rhythm section to Oli’s swooping and swaying guitar licks through to the icing on the cake of Jame’s stunning vocal performance. Marsicans have the potential to headline one of the bigger stages at this festival someday. Rather interestingly, for me anyway, Ethan Barnett a.k.a. Ten Tonnes took to the Festival Republic Stage to the strains of Neil Diamond’s late 60s classic “Sweet Caroline” and everyone was singing along, even the kids whose parents had probably not been born when the song came out. In a way a classic earworm and feel good song like that summarises what Ten Tonnes offers. His songs work their way into your head and take up residence in your brain. Most of his tunes appear to tell stories and his lyrics are well thought and very clever. Ten Tonnes is worth more than his weight in gold!
Marsicans
I stayed in the Festival Republic Tent for cartoon Aussie punks and Mullett ambassadors, the Chats and frankly, they were perhaps one of the most fun bands to grace a Reading/ Leeds stage in years. They entered the stage to the power and pomp of the Rocky Theme. Their songs are short and high powered which I think were mostly about booze, drugs, and sex and they kept the crowd bouncing. They are like a Viz version of Ash and they deserve their own cartoon TV series. It was a tough choice but I decided to give the 1975 on the Main Stage a miss and instead head to the Pit/ Lock Up Stage for headliners Bowling For Soup. How does a band that has been around so long, they formed in 1994, draw such predominantly young crowd? Well simply because they are still a great band, they have huge songs, they are funny, engaging and know how to please an audience. All the big hits were there; “Girl All The Bad Guys Want”, “1985” and my absolute favourite of the night the stone-cold pop punk classic “Punk Rock 101”. Anyone who didn’t leave the arena with a big smile on their face after this probably needs medical treatment. Thank you for reading this far and I will regale you with day 3 shortly!
All the photos apart from the Festival Line Up poster were taken on my cheap android phone. The videos were all found on YouTube, if one of them is yours and you would like a credit or for me to remove it please let me know.
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I am really not sure how many times I have been to the Reading/ Leeds Festival over the years, but I know that I haven’t missed many since my first Reading Festival back in 1975. The last year that I missed completely was 2007. Even after all this time, it remains a festival that excites me. So on to day 1 of the 2019 Leeds Festival. It took me so long to actually get on site that I only caught the final song from Milk Teeth on the Main Stage. This band is without a doubt one of the best punk outfits in the UK right now. They currently have the mightily talented Em Foster from Nervus in their ranks. Having spoken to a number of punters in the crowd around me as Milk Teeth left the stage it appears that I missed an awesome set from a great band.
Talkboy
To console myself I wandered across to the BBC Introducing Stage for an excellent set from Leeds band Talkboy. I sensed a bit of Heart, Arcade Fire and alt.country and simply fabulous pop-rock tunes. It was clear to me that Talkboy were really enjoying themselves and that joy easily infected the early afternoon audience, all of whom were smiling at the end. I made a run back to the Main Stage for SWMRS and like with Milk Teeth earlier I only caught their final song, which I believe was “Lose Lose Lose”. It certainly left me wanting to hear more, oh well maybe next year! AE Mak was haunting on the Festival Republic Stage with a set and a show that was refreshingly different to almost anything that I have seen recently (Later in the weekend Poppy made me rethink that!). AE Mak is like a friendly android formed from parts of Bjork and Héloïse Adelaïde Letissier a.k.a. Christine, of Christine and the Queens fame. Mak’s often robotic style of dancing was unmissable in a truly expressive dance like nobody is watching moment. AE Mak is one hell of a pop-dance act.
The Faim
Aussie band the Faim drew me to the BBC Radio 1 Stage next. I had seen the Faim once before when they supported Lower Than Atlantis at Fibbers, York in May 2018. They were very good then, but in the 15 months since they have improved in the kind of leaps and bounds that only the Hulk would find easy. They are becoming a really tight and highly polished unit. There is DNA from the likes of INXS and U2 in their performance, attitude and stage presence. This band has the potential to become a great stadium band. I managed to lose more than an hour next after I noticed that I had been given a Friday wrist band rather than one for the weekend. This meant that I had to trek all the way back to the wristband exchange tent. While it took a bit of time to sort it out the team resolved it perfectly. I want to use this moment to give a big shout out to all the folks who work at the festival. Ticket staff, wristband issuers, Security, stage crew, litter pickers, medics, food and drink vendors, the Samaritans and anyone else I have missed. Without all of you, events like this could not happen. You might not consider yourself headliners but you are all bloody superstars. Thank you.
Enter Shikari
When I got back to the arena I headed straight for the Main Stage for the never anything but awesome Enter Shikari, a band that I have seen at Reading/ Leeds many times and even one small gig in Brooklyn recently too. They never disappoint and as usual, my favourite tune “Juggernaut” was immense. The crowd formed a couple of huge circle pits, although I didn’t spot many crowd surfers. Enter Shikari remains one of my favourite bands and I was excited to learn that this would not be the only time that I encountered them today. I returned to the Festival Republic Stage to catch the Himalayas, who despite what their exotic name suggests, actually come from Cardiff. They offer punky melodic rock that at times is cinematic in its scope. The dual vocal approach takes their sound to another level entirely. Great stage presence too and I must mention the guitarist who looks like he could be the ghost of Joey Ramone. The Main Stage hosted the long-awaited return of the Distillers who reformed last year after a 12-year hiatus. Leader and all-round Distillers head honcho Brody Dalle still has the edgy punk style and it was a stunning set from a much loved and much-missed band, I am so glad that they are back together. Their explosive 11 song set never let up for a moment. Particular highlights for me were “Die On A Rope” and “Coral Fang”. The Distillers had the crowd eating out of their sweaty punk hands.
The Distillers
Remaining at the Main Stage I witnessed girls-only crowd surfing and a girls-only mosh circle. What could this mean? Well, obviously that festival favourites and all-round great band the magnificent Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes were performing. Frank and his erstwhile musical partner Deano both ventured into the crowd for some surfing. Frank, as usual, gave a big shout out to all the support staff and rightly so. The band opened with an extended and stunning romp through “Tyrant Lizard King”. Every song was a highlight, particularly “Devil Inside Me” and a fiery take on “I Hate You” which Frank dedicated to Boris Johnson. That dedication received a massive cheer from the crowd and rightly so. I was pleased to see so many ‘Fuck Boris’ (and variants with a similar sentiment) T-Shirts and badges on display throughout the weekend too. Back to the BBC Radio 1 Stage next for Georgia-based rapper Gunna. I am a fan of quality rap music like Jay Z and Eminem, but Gunna? Seriously? When did rap become so bland, predictable, derivative and frankly, shite? Tupac and Biggie will be crying in their graves at this travesty. Gunna, better than Vanilla Ice, but only just! Next, I needed something to pick me up and make me feel positive again, so it was off to the Festival Republic Stage for Bakar. He draws on a huge range of British influences; the Specials (and maybe Two Tone in general), Mike Skinner of the Streets, Grime and classic R & B. This dude is a bloody good performer, so good that he has even walked the catwalk at a Louis Vuitton show. He is picking up lots of airplay right now and on this performance that is well deserved.
Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes
My first visit to the Pit/ Lock Up Stage this weekend was for another set from St Albans finest, Enter Shikari. Rou and the boys delivered an even more blistering set than the earlier one on the Main Stage. The flame throwers and confetti cannons were spectacular as was Rou’s climbing the rigging antics. This ten-song set was full of bangers and highlights. “Live Outside” which also featured in their earlier appearance on the Main Stage was special. They performed “Tribalism” live for possibly the first time ever. But for me “Take My Country Back” blew the roof off. I believe I would miss anyone at a Festival if Enter Shikari were playing. I understand that they played three sets at Reading so the southern crowd were even luckier than us in the north. Finally, it was time for the Foo Fighters as Main Stage headliners. I have always felt that this festival was built around Reading which means that in Leeds we get the Reading final day on Friday. But I will go and experience the Foo Fighters on any day. The big rumour of the day was that we would be ‘Rick Rolled’ and Dave would bring out Rick Astley to do “Never Gonna Give You Up” with the band. However, that didn’t materialise, although Reading got that on Sunday. we were treated to Dave Grohl duetting with his daughter Violet Grohl on “My Hero”, now these things can often be a little crass, but in my opinion, Violet has a great voice. Foo Fighters opened the show with a soaring stomp through “The Pretender” and most of the bands biggest songs were given a great airing; “Times Like These”, “Monkey Wrench”, “Best Of You”, “This Is A Call” and a mountainous “Everlong” to close the show accompanied by some amazing fireworks. In between all that we had a rather impressive drum solo from Taylor Hawkins. While Taylor was doing a bit of a Freddie Mercury vocal work out, Dave spotted someone, who we later learned was called Ryan, in the crowd dressed as Freddie Mercury. So obviously they had the crowd pass him over their heads to the stage. Now Ryan couldn’t sing but his performance miming to Taylor Hawkins vocals on a great version of the Queen and David Bowie hit “Under Pressure” was great fun. The band also played a storming cover of AC/DC’s “Let There Be Rock”. In my opinion, if you end a festival day with the Foo Fighters you will always go home or back to your tent a happy bunny and I was certainly that! It set me up feeling great for Day 2, more of that to follow!
Mr Grohl and the band get buzzed by a real Foo Fighter!
All the photos apart from the Festival Line Up poster were taken on my cheap android phone. The videos were all found on YouTube, if one of them is yours and you would like a credit or for me to remove it please let me know.
If you have enjoyed this article feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on;
