With Just A Hint Of Mayhem

Music reviews, gig reviews, fun trivia and extra added random stuff!

Leeds Festival 2024 – The Preview August 2, 2024

Filed under: News,Observation,Rants — justwilliam1959 @ 9:11 pm
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

It is now just a few weeks until the 2024 Leeds/ Reading Festivals and it must be time for a preview from me, so here goes. Are we back to one main stage again? The poster of the line-up suggests we are, which is wonderful news. Although there is still the silly joint headliner thing going on. But how do the acts on the main stage shape up? Personally, I will be sticking to the bands and artists appearing earlier in that part of the arena. On Friday 23rd August my tips for the best acts on the Main Stage are Pendulum and Crawlers. Who will I not be rushing to see? Well Liam Gallagher obviously, who needs an Oasis tribute act headlining a major festival? On Saturday I think headliners Blink 182 could be fun, even though watching middle-aged blokes with low-slung cargo shorts is a bit creepy sometimes, but I believe the band will rise to the occasion. I am optimistic for Two Door Cinema Club. Sunday’s Main Stage line-up is good with Bleachers, Fontaines D.C., Raye, and Lana del Ray likely to be highlights. The Last Dinner Party might pull it off if they can continue to live with the hype, but Fred Again.. as a headliner? Seriously? I know this festival has often been good at moving with the times, but I am not sure about this one.

The new and futuristic Chevron stage looks great for EDM and generic dance fans. Skrillex headlines on Friday and I find them quite a Marmite act, the Prodigy headline on Saturday, and even without the sadly departed Keith Flint I reckon they will smash it. The BBC Radio 1 Stage looks good, especially on Friday with Beabadoobee headlining and immediately preceded by Ashnikko. Confidence Man will be good on Saturday and the Sunday headliners are the Wombats, a real blast from the past. I imagine that I will be spending a lot of time at the Festival Republic Stage, particularly for the Japanese House, Rachel Chinouriri and Matt Maltese on Friday, Neck Deep, Bad Nerves and the Lambrini Girls on Saturday, and Kid Kapichi and Dream Wife on the final night. The BBC Introducing Stage is a favourite of mine and is a place where I have discovered some great artists. I am familiar with some playing the introducing stage this year, notably Sun King and Welly on Sunday. But shaping up to be the best act of the weekend is the magnificent Delilah Bon who headlines the BBC Introducing Stage on Friday. I predict that she will move to the main stage in 2025 or 2026. Who are you most looking forward to?

If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.

 

‘Prelude To Ecstasy’ – The Last Dinner Party February 12, 2024

Filed under: Observation,Review — justwilliam1959 @ 7:05 pm
Tags: , , , , , ,

I am regularly wary of bands that have been heavily hyped as often they cannot match that hype in recording and performance. On that basis, I did not expect to like the debut album from The Last Dinner Party. Actually, that stands true, I don’t like ‘Prelude To Ecstasy’, I bloody love it. The album flows together like not many albums before. I also feel, particularly in this modern age of streaming, that there is not a single track here that I would want to skip. It seems the album format is not quite dead yet, The Last Dinner party has given it a great boost! Although I can sense several possible influences, this is a very original band. Notably, I can hear small references to Queen, 10cc, Supertramp, Kate Bush, Abba, and Sparks to name just a few.

The band formed in London back in 2021 and consists of Abigail Morris, Lizzie Mayland, Emily Roberts, Georgia Davies, and Aurora Nishevci. I love the huge ambition and low arrogance that means the band has included a gorgeously orchestrated overture to open the album. It introduces a cinematic scope to the whole record and makes you want to listen to the whole thing, and I have, quite a few times so far. All five of the band’s singles to date are included and the familiarity with some of those tracks does not demean in the slightest the overall quality. The immaculate “Nothing Matters” and striking “Caesar On A TV Screen” are the best of the bunch in my opinion. I also feel that “My Lady Of Mercy” rocks like an absolute hellhound and might fit onto the kind of concept album that the Who used to be so good at. “Burn Alive” has a wonderfully dark vibe and strikes me as something Florence Welch might write if she was coming out of a fight with the black dog of depression. The instrumentation on “The Feminine Urge” evokes some of the best early sixties girl group hits. Although I can’t imagine any of those groups getting away with some of the stunningly powerful lyrics like “I am a dark red liver stretched out on the rocks. All the poison, I convert it and I turn it to love. Here comes the feminine urge, I know it so well“. That said the Crystals, who once recorded “He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss)”, might have got away with it.

“Beautiful Boy” is Baroque Pop at its finest and a full-on emotionally charged ballad that once again is evocative of Florence And The Machine. The shortest track on the album is “Gjuha” which according to Aurora translates from Albanian into Tongue. She has previously said that it describes her shame at not knowing the language of her mother country very well. It provides a wonderfully mystical interlude in the intensity of the flow of the record. “Portrait Of A Dead Girl” nods to a dreamlike duet between Lana del Ray and Kate Bush. Is it possible to get any deeper and darker than the album closer “Mirror”? I doubt it, it is a song with the ability to give you chills and closes this delightful set of songs perfectly with an orchestral finale to go full circle back to the overture.

So yes I am now a huge fan of The Last Dinner Party and ‘Prelude To Ecstasy’. But there is an elephant in the room isn’t there? All the talk about whether or not they are an “industry plant”. If you thought the hype around them was huge then I reckon the conspiracies around them being an industry plant are even bigger. The band has previously said that they believed that these accusations resulted from misogyny in the music industry. Following the struggles that Rebecca Ferguson, Delilah Bon (a.k.a. Lauren Tate) and others have had I suspect that this is true. In a recent NME interview the band said “If you don’t like our music, or our vibes, that’s okay! But it’s not fine to accuse us of not writing these songs or existing as a band in our own right. None of us have famous or industry parents either, shock horror!” Do I think they are an industry plant? Of course not, I doubt there is anyone in the industry with the intellect or nous to be able to create an industry plant. On top of that it would soon become obvious given the amount of people that would need to be in on it. In my view, people should dump the conspiracy theory shite and just follow what will, I am sure, become a truly gifted and great band. This is a contender for album of the year.

If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.

 

Leeds Festival 2023 Day 2 – Saturday 26th August 2023 August 27, 2023

Filed under: Review — justwilliam1959 @ 7:20 am
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Kicking off things on Main Stage West it was Lil Tjay who, for reasons currently unknown, failed to turn up yesterday. He is clearly a good rapper, and his DJ had some great beats and, MC skills. But the bottom line for me was I felt that Lil Tjay has all the stage presence of a used tissue. Also, was he lip-syncing at times? Maybe he was just having an off day! Next on the Main Stage East, it was superb Leeds band Yard Act who were accompanied on stage by a bunch of mannequins dressed in trench coats, who turned out to be dancers. This band is so refreshing, every bit as good as the Blockheads with some Talking Heads influence. Vocalist James Smith is just a one-off with perhaps some Mike Skinner and Ian Dury influence. A momentous set from a band who will headline this festival one day. After that, it was a dash back to Main Stage West for the god-like genius that is Frank Turner, along with his Sleeping Souls. I always feel positive and emotional when I see Frank play live. He is one of the most passionate performers in rock and this was a truly formidable set. Too many highlights to mention but “Photosynthesis” and “I Still Believe” were special indeed.

I took time out to interview the wonderful ALT BLK ERA next, and more of them later. Then it was over to the Festival Republic Stage for the Last Dinner Party. They are the subject of quite a bit of hype, did they live up to it? I think they did, in bucketloads. Musically they evoke classic seventies sounds like 10cc, Supertramp, and even Queen. But vocally they are simply first class in both lead and harmonies. I would love to hear singer Abigail Morris take on a cover of the odd seventies classic, “See Me, Feel Me” by the Who, maybe. It was keyboard player Aurora’s birthday today and the whole crowd sang Happy Birthday to her. This was an impressive set, “Nothing Matters” was perfect. I caught a few songs from Seagulls on Main Stage West. I thought they were good. Inoffensive indie pop rock like the Pigeon Detectives and Scouting For Girls.

Mimi Webb was on Main Stage East next. She played a hit-packed pop-fuelled set which hit the spot for most people in the crowd. After a short break, I was back at Main Stage East for Wet Leg. I like some of their songs and they played well and were clearly enjoying themselves, I am guessing you know there is a “but” coming right? Yes, there is. Personally, apart from one or two songs I find them a little bland! I was wandering past the BBC Introducing Stage, and I spotted that Antony Szmierek was about to start. I discovered his music recently via the weird algorithms that Spotify has with a great tune called “The Words To Auld Lang Syne”. He played that and did a great Sugababes cover. The highlight for me was “Twist Forever”. Mr. Szmierek appears to be a teacher as a group of kids all around 16 years old rocked up with a “Mr. Szmierek” sign. One of my favourite sets of the day.

I said there would be more on ALT BLK ERA later and this is it. They headlined the BBC Introducing Stage and after overcoming a few issues during soundcheck they played a set the force and power of which could be measured using a seismograph. Supported by an extraordinarily good drummer and a guitarist who might well be called Mr. Riffage. Together they produce a gargantuan metal hybrid sound which is often like the Prodigy on steroids. There were rough edges, but this is a young band that I believe has many fabulous years ahead of them. They played the title track of their upcoming EP, “Freak Show” which sounds classy. The Arctic Monkeys cover was so different from the original that it was perfect. But the highlight was set closer “I’m Normally Like This”.

Next, it was a stroll across to Main Stage West for a thumping set from Foals. I have seen them a few times and they are an immensely good live band with phenomenally good songs. At their base, they are essentially a funk band with musical muscle who overlay those huge bassy beats with great rock guitar and vocals. They clearly have an affinity with the sound of James Murphy’s LCD Sound System. They opened with the 2021 single “Wake Me Up” which brought a tired audience to life. They followed with some of their finest songs from their increasing canon of work. I think “(summer sky)” was the top choice for me, especially as they played it just when the sun was about to set. Finally, it was time for the mighty Sam Fender to grace the Main Stage East. The crowd was awash with hundreds of Newcastle United shirts waiting for a triumphant headline set from their Geordie Prodigal Son. He gave Bramham Park what many are already calling a career-defining set while showing his love of the North by wearing an Angel Of The North t-shirt. The encore came with waves of love from an adoring crowd.

All photos by John Hayhurst of Snapagig.com

If you have enjoyed this article, feel free to follow the blog, or follow us on; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, EMail. Are you interested in writing and reviewing for With Just A Hint Of Mayhem? If so then please get in touch.