More gig reviews from 2006, written to fill out the Native.tv website before it launched in early 2007.
Words - Suzy Sims
Previously published on Native.tv http://www.native.tv
(c) Niche News & Publishing Ltd
THE ZUTONS
Southampton Guildhall, 23rd May 2006
It’s another night in the city of culture
“I’m not feeling very well,” I told my friend after sneezing loudly. “I think I have ‘Zuton Fever.’ Ah ha ha ha.” He ignored me. That’s mates for you.
Last time I saw the Zutons, they had sold out the Wedgewood Rooms a few years ago. I was in the front row, alcopops clenched in hand, until I drunk too much, felt ill and sat at the back. Then when I got home, England were kicked out of whatever football tournament they were playing. Tonight’s gig would be a vast improvement. (Mainly because as the driver, I wasn’t going to be drinking. And because I wasn’t expecting any football matches, or for England to win if they were playing).
‘Tired of Hanging Around’ is the second album from the chirpy Liverpudlians. According to their website, they play ‘bluegrass rootsy stompy’ and who am I to argue with that description, although I would add ‘bouncy,’ ‘summery’ and ‘dry jazz’ to that. The band is very difficult to pigeonhole.
But the good thing is that everyone in Southampton loves them. Each song is greeted by a fresh wave of bouncing up and down. The only exception is super-thin saxophonist Abi, who is given a masculine roar whenever she moves.
The setlist tonight included all the best from debut album ‘Who Killed The Zutons?’ such as ‘You Will You Won’t’ (introduced as ‘You Shall You Shan’t’), ‘Havana Gang Brawl’, ‘Confusion’, ‘Don’t Ever Think’ and more, all greeted with a fresh of bouncing, singing and waving.
Our attention was distracted throughout by the girl in front, who was dancing (I use the term loosely) as if rapidly climbing a ladder despite being unable to bend her stiff arms. Then when she tired, she’d take a step back onto my foot and wait there awhile as she texted a friend.
But of course, the main part of the show was to promote ‘Tired Of Hanging Around’ and the people who had listened to that weren’t disappointed. ‘Valerie’ was greeted with a mass singalong, while ‘Why Don’t You Give Me Your Love’ was very popular.
The only low point was the lengthy instrumental near the end. Swirling purple lights and smoke combined with unusual, almost Far Eastern-sounding notes made my friend lean over and ask what on earth they were playing. It was entertaining, but didn’t seem particularly Zuton-y. But then again, the album needs a few listens before you start to thoroughly enjoy it; could be the same with this song.
“We might come from Liverpool, but this song’s about Southampton,” said singer/guitarist Dave at one point. And later: “You are definitely the best crowd we’ve had on this tour.” Aw shucks… bet you say that in every city Dave, but thanks v. much.
http://www.thezutons.com
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READING FESTIVAL - DAY ONE
The Subways / Fall Out Boy / Belle & Sebastian / Yeah Yeah Yeahs / Kaiser Chiefs / Franz Ferdinand
Somewhere in a field in Reading, 26th August 06
“How could you do it?” a man is yelling at me. “What have you done to him?”
“It wasn’t my fault! Honest!” I yelled back. Everyone knows Reading has a bit of a reputation for riots and violence, but I’ve been here an hour and I’ve been accused of murder. The man shook his fist and his girlfriend pretended to cry. “Tell no-one. You saw nothing,” I said. It’s Friday afternoon at the Carling Reading Festival, and I have just been accused of killing a Piglet balloon which is bobbing around my dusty feet, deflated-like, as I sit and eat potato wedges.
Due to a bit of sleepiness, I got on a late train and then got hopelessly lost trying to walk my way round the huge, disorientating site. How do you get in? Wristband exchange where? Maps are no good if you have no idea where you are on them, and it’s hard trying to navigate by burger van landmarks (which make some kind of Going For Gold riddle, like “Where am I? There’s a van to my left, three to my right and two in front…Come on, time’s running out.”).
Due to my laziness I’d managed to miss Mumm-Ra on the Carling Stage, but I was in time to stand behind a post and watch bits of the Pigeon Detectives. Once again there was quality rowdiness and crowd-surfing, then front man Matt Bowman was told off by security for climbing the speakers. It went a bit Pete Tong during ‘I’m Not Sorry’, but no-one minded because it was so much fun. And I lost my £7 programme after less than a minute of pogo-ing. New record!
After befriending some 15 year olds who were in need of smokes and potato wedges (little buggers) I made my way to the front of the main stage for the Subways. The sky was blue, the air was hot, blah blah blah, and I could feel a rosy bit of sunburn coming onto my face. The Subways looked very confident and not at all lost on the Main Stage. Charlotte ran to the front at the end and ended up being dragged away from the crowd by security, while Billy livened up the afternoon with some top-notch swearing.
Emo kings Fall Out Boy were next on (oh, the things I have to put myself through while waiting for the headliners). Found myself surrounded by hundreds of people who knew every single word to every single song, even the ones whose titles alone are too long to remember (‘Of All the Gin Joints In The World, I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me’ being just one) so pretended I knew what I was dancing to. They were certainly bouncy and kind enough to throw water at the crowd. Pete Wentz was annoyed someone had earlier knocked out Panic! At The Disco’s frontman with a carefully aimed bottle and so encouraged both halves of the crowd to lob plastic missiles at each other. One hit me on the back on the head. Damn friendly fire. It ended with ‘Dance Dance’, so everyone did.
It’s summer, so it must be time for Belle & Sebastian. This cult band brought a little bit of twee harmonising and delicate songs to a rough-and-ready rock crowd, but they went down very well, like a nice jug of Pimms (although half the crowd spent most of their set watching warily for that stupid purple inflatable cube to bash them on the head). Stuart Murdoch went into the crowd and got a lady to put make-up on him, then dragged another up on stage to dance. Poor Katie (for it was she) was very embarrassed so he asked her to ignore the crowd. “KATIE, KATIE, KATIE,” chanted several thousand audience members wickedly. The band opened with a few key songs from ‘The Life Pursuit’ (‘Sukie In The Graveyard’, ‘Blues Are Still Blue’, ‘White Collar Boy’) before revisiting parts of ‘Tigermilk’ and ‘The Boy With The Arab Strap.’ Their music perfectly suited the warm weather.
And now with the headliners approaching, some girls decided to push with all their might towards the stage. Bad luck – there were at least four rows in front of me, and they weren’t going anywhere. “We can’t go forward! There’s no fucking room!” boomed a few voices as security busied themselves by rescuing people out the front row.
Next were the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, although I had some difficulty seeing any of their set – even the big screens - as I spent most of it pressed against someone’s back while trying to give out my MySpace address to a charming young girl wearing the same t-shirt as me. Karen O was wearing an amazing, shiny green outfit, making her look a little like a magic dragon with a face mask and coloured tights. It certainly made the crowd look very dowdy. When she ducked around the stage and grinned with huge red lips, for a second she was the most brilliant, most terrifying woman in Reading. ‘Gold Lion’ is well received, as is ‘Y Control’.
A bit of a change around on stage, and it’s time for the Kaiser Chiefs. Right on cue, the heavens opened and the warm sweaty crowd was reduced to crazy haired, dripping savages. The band opened with ‘Na Na Na Na Naaa’, moving on through ‘Everyday I Love You Less And Less’ (with a big pause to bring on jeers while the band shouted ‘Come on, you can boo better than that!’) and plenty of others. ‘Modern Way’, ‘Take My Temperature’ and ‘Saturday Night’ follow, and I decided to step back slightly after falling backwards onto my arse in the crush. Death is not an option tonight – I’m meant to be going on holiday tomorrow. ‘Angry Mob’, ‘Heat Dies Down’ and ‘Everything Is Average Nowadays’ all got another UK outing. The people around me stopped jumping for a second to discuss the new songs – the consensus is that they are brill. It was still raining and not only could I not see though my glasses, I also got a crowdsurfer sprawled directly on my head. ‘I Predict A Riot’ thankfully didn’t incite any missile-throwing and ‘Oh My God’ left the audience too exhausted to sing along any more.
I escaped the front before Franz Ferdinand came on and went to examine the toilets and spend £4.50 on a Fanta and ice cream – at those prices, next year I’m bringing my own. Compared to some festivals (mixed Portaloos and open urinals at Download? Please no) these were luxurious toilet trailers. Well not so luxurious, seeing as the floor was wet, there was little loo roll left and no running tap water; but they even had mirrors and everything. Top.
Somehow managed to get to the front for Franz Ferdinand as the rain had made many people flee for shelter or to check if their tent was now at the bottom of a newly-formed lake. My new friend had been swept away in the Kaiser crush and was possibly dead (actually she wasn’t; she was watching Franz from the safety of some bloke’s shoulders). Franz all came on in matching black trousers and red shirts looking very smart. They hadn’t seemed particularly strong headliners to be honest, not compared to the showboat that is Muse, but I was impressed at how in control they were and the number of quality songs they had. ‘Take Me Out’ was launched quite early on, along with ‘Michael’, ‘Eleanor Put Your Boots Back On’, ‘Walk Away’, ‘The Fallen’, ‘Darts of Pleasure’ and ‘In The Dark Of The Matinee’.
A pause for breath and they returned with ‘Jacqueline’, ‘Outsiders’ and ‘This Fire’, during which brave guitarist Nick McCarthy ran to our corner of the barrier and was patted on the arm by damp, worn out fans. ‘Outsiders’ was a real stomper of a song, and again various band members and NME journos guested on drums as we all clapped along.
Right at the end I noticed the controversial second barrier. It appeared to be too far upfield to prevent everyone getting squashed at the front and just stuck out not doing very much apart from getting in the way when people were moving around between acts. How about not getting 80,000 people in a field; that might reduce crowd surges?
As it’s easy to forget, particularly if you’re camped in front of the Main Stage all day, there’s plenty of alternative entertainment. Just before midnight the Comedy and Cabaret tent saw various drunken people dressing as celebrities for some truly awful karaoke. There were also odd musical acts and the odd piece of burlesque. Being a lone girl, it seemed odd to be watching half naked female dancers and so it was time to trudge through the site to find the Cinema Tent (well, with no programme and no map, it was going to be impossible finding the Silent Disco. You can hardly listen out for it).
The site was cold. Everywhere was shut and there were plastic bottles on the floor. The Main Stage lights were flashing on and off forlornly as people picked their way through the junk and around the overflowing rubbish bags. From being completely packed, now there were only a handful of people shivering in the chill, waiting for trains like myself, trying to find food or taking a long hike to the toilets. The rain started spattering before completely pouring down in rivers beside the tents. It was a completely different site to the busy, dusty daytime only a few hours earlier. Huddling on the floor in the Cinema Tent, I found an abandoned programme by my feet. It looked a bit like someone had been dancing on it with hiking boots, but I pinched it. The day was complete.
http://www.readingfestival.com
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HOME TAPING TOUR
Zane Lowe (Radio 1) and Ricky Wilson (Kaiser Chiefs) @ South Parade Pier, Southsea 7th October 2006
The man I bought my ticket from was pretty excited about the Home Taping Tour landing in Southsea.
“Nothing like this ever happens in Portsmouth,” he’s busy telling a bespectacled man in front of me. “It’s amazing. Two Radio 1 DJs! Zane Lowe this weekend, and Mary Ann Hobbs soon as well. The awful Zane Lowe. Well, he plays brilliant music, but I hope to God they don’t give him the mic. His voice is so annoying.”
The man in front leaves, and I step up. “Can I have two tickets to see the awful Zane Lowe?” I ask nicely. He grins from behind the cash till. “Don’t tell him I said that,” he says. OK I say, making a mental note to type it up on the internet…
Radio 1’s evening show presenter Zane Lowe is a busy boy. Not only does he spend his evenings trusting in new music, but he also plays with Breaks Co-Op and heads off around the country to bring his unique music mixes to shedloads of fans. The Home Taping Tour was making a trip down to South Coast Central to entertain everyone on Portsmouth’s South Parade Pier.
The venue seemed a nice place, with carpeted floors leading to an enormous, dark and spacey room with a bar running the length of the far side, a dropped dance floor and a raised stage at the front, with a barrier to separate the DJs from the plebs.
The bar was already busy but most people were avoiding the dance floor (obviously needing a bit of liquid encouragement before getting on there). The DJs were playing a sort of commercial R’n’B mix so we decided to check out the smaller room at the back. This one was even darker, with the cloakroom hidden around the corner from the bar and a DJ cranking out Metallica and Fall Out Boy. A few of the dancers were armed with glowsticks and were having a good ol’ knees up on the tiny dance area.
Zane had managed to rope Kaiser Chiefs vocalist Ricky Wilson into accompanying him on the decks tonight. This was big news – the band themselves last played in Portsmouth in June 2004 and are usually glimpsed through the crowds at the summer festivals, so any band member who had managed to escape their recording sessions to pay us a visit would be warmly welcomed. Various other special guests have been joining Zane on this tour, including the Automatic, Boy Kill Boy, Bloc Party and Dan Greenpeace.
We sat huddled over our pretty expensive drinks until just before 11pm, when we’d been told Ricky was coming on stage. A quick stroll to the other room revealed a patchy dancefloor with some R’n’B vibes. Perhaps we were in the wrong room? Fifteen minutes later, me and my long-suffering friend bumped into a fellow Kaiser Chiefs fan who was also a bit confused. We decided there would be no way that Zane and Ricky would be crammed into the back room, so we drifted around the larger one, a bit lost and thoughtful, like beer-sodden clouds, until our New Found Friend said: “I think I just saw Ricky at the side of the stage!” Queue a rush to the front, where we danced next to the barrier as the crowd around us built up. The decks were covered in a camouflage material and there was a police siren on either side.
Just before midnight came the deafening call: ‘Home taping is not a crime. Home taping is not a crime.’ With that drilling into our heads and lights flashing all around, on walked Zane Lowe to shake hands with the crowd. We were flung against the barrier – forget clubbing, this was more of a gig atmosphere. Zane settled down, put his headphones on, raised his arms and immediately launched into some records.
Some Sugarhill Gang, Nirvana and a Klaxon later, I look around to see my friend had had enough of being pushed and squashed by girls. He’d nipped off to the bar, and the crowd was so tight he had no way of getting back through to us.
Meanwhile at the front, the white-shirted Zane is churning out tune after pounding tune and everyone is going crazy. We’re stuck on the barrier trying to bounce and throw shapes. He’s dancing intently, occasionally pausing to wave at people in the crowd. My New Found Friend next to me starts waving at the left side of the stage. I look up to see Ricky Wilson half hidden in the shadows, shyly smiling and waving back. I wave to get his attention, give him a thumbs-up and mouth “You all right?” He carries on smiling and returns the thumbs-up. “Good,” I say, and carry on dancing.
Ricky doesn’t actually appear on stage for some time – and when he does, he’s possibly under the influence of alcohol. A vacuum-wielding man with an ice bucket on his head slowly begins walking around the stage, picking up the CDs thrown at our man Zane. The disguise is quite poor, frankly; we can tell from the Elton John t-shirt and mischievous smile who is really under there. Eventually the bucket is lost and the pair spend the next half an hour DJing, robot dancing to ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ and supping of wine and Jack Daniels.
A major surprise is when Zane sticks on ‘I Predict A Riot’ and hands Ricky the mic. I’m excited to be in the front for an unexpected concert, but a little saddened as well (I bet my mate twenty quid they wouldn’t play a Kaiser Chiefs song. Arse). Ricky does his best charging around the stage and trying to clamber in the crowd, which has suddenly surged right forwards. A man crowdsurfs over the barrier and is dragged off by security. Ricky tries to follow him, but the burly bouncers guide him back to the relative safety of the screaming crowd. The bucket goes back on the head, there’s a few peace signs, and Ricky leaves us in Zane’s charming company.
One of the biggest yells was reserved for Peel favourite ‘Teenage Kicks.’ It’s only a couple of weeks until John Peel Day, and we all want to respect the man. Next up were tracks by the Killers, Gnarls Barkley, Chemical Brothers, the Futureheads and Franz Ferdinand. There were far, far too many songs to remember the whole tracklisting, but others were Justice vs. Simian, the Fratellis and Kasabian.
Sadly I have to leave the front row. My friend’s been wandering around by himself for about an hour and a half and I think he might be getting slightly pissed off, so I disappear to find him, leaving New Found Friend to shake Zane’s hand a few more times and get a free t shirt. We manage to stand in the middle of the crowd to applaud Zane calling for musical tolerance – there are no genres, it doesn’t matter what you listen to, so long as it’s good and you enjoy it he says, and I’m tempted to agree.
My ears are ringing as we sit down on the beach for a rest before starting the next challenge; the hunt for a taxi. Zane is a top quality DJ and the tunes he was playing were amazing, whether you know them or not. I’m impressed. Let’s hope he decides to visit the South again in the near future.
http://www.home-taping.co.uk
Showing posts with label mumm-ra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mumm-ra. Show all posts
Sunday, 20 January 2008
Gig Reviews 2006 - Carling24, The Holloways, Vital
In an attempt to build content before the website launched in 2007, I began writing gig reviews of the places I'd been in 2006. These are gigs I was going to anyway, I was there for fun and not work purposes. Unfortunately for anyone who likes variety, as a committed fan of the Pigeon Detectives and a bit of Kaiser Chiefs, the content all started looking rather familiar...
Words - Suzy Sims
Previously published on Native.tv in Jan 07 http://www.native.tv
(c) Niche News & Publishing Ltd
CARLING 24
Kaiser Chiefs / Captain / The Pipettes @ Brixton Academy, 24th April 06
This is the kind of ‘24’ that Kiefer Sutherland wants to be doing
“Excuse me, have you got a lighter?” slurs a man as he staggers towards the queue at the Brixton Academy. “I just want to light my joint.” No, sorry. A security man asks him to leave and stop harassing the crowd.
“Or what? You gonna fucking fight me?”
“Yeah.”
My friend panics and turns his back slightly, as if that’ll protect him from a crazed and drugged up Londoner tussling on the floor with a hefty bouncer about five feet away from us. Luckily that fight doesn’t materialise, so we can all breathe a bit easier. Thank goodness.
For those who haven’t heard of it, the premise behind Carling 24 is simple. 24 hours of solid live music in one city, hence the 24 part; and it’s quite obviously sponsored by Carling. That means a free drink, unless you skip the bar and run straight to the front row. Either pick and choose one gig or go to as many as you can.
Ian Brown, the Ordinary Boys, Larrikin Love, Goldie Lookin’ Chain, Dirty Pretty Things and co. are setting up to play in venues across London, but we only had tickets for the first match. Kaiser Chiefs – Best Live Act at the Brits, moshpit fans - promised to be a stunning opener.
My partner-in-crime on this trip shyly let on that he’d never actually been to a proper concert before (What?!) so I gave him tips in clinging onto the barrier and prayed he wasn’t going to get a crowdsurfer on his head.
If there’s one thing which can liven up a few hours waiting outside Brixton Academy, it’s the Wall of Cock. (We knew what it was called as someone had thoughtfully written it in large letters on the bricks). For those of you who have never seen it, the name pretty much describes it – 6ft plus of dirty jokes, band names and drawings of quite impressive appendages, which almost help take your mind off the fact it’s actually quite cold out and you didn’t bring a coat. We were slightly jealous at the people who seemed to have backstage passes slung round their neck, until we were given one and discovered it was just a list of times that bands were going onstage.
The Pipettes had the honour of kicking off the whole event, although sadly they missed out on being filmed for Channel 4’s coverage. The three girls Rose, Becki and Gwenno sing sunshiney 1950s pop, aided by various groovy dance moves, stylish polka dot dresses and an indie backing band called the Cassettes. Cute and fun, especially ‘Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me.’ What are cassettes?
Channel 4 presenter Alex Zane then walks on, trying to bellow ‘Hello Brixton!’ in a microphone which isn’t on and he looks suitably embarrassed. Ooops.
Next onstage were Captain. They didn’t look entirely comfortable, although rumour has it most were suffering from colds. Captain have been hyped up everywhere over the last week, which has timed quite nicely with new single release ‘Broke’. Poppy, with a dreamy fairground keyboard at times, lead vocals are shared by the sweet-voiced Clare and the big hatted Rik. The stage is then hidden away by a sweeping red curtain with ‘KC’ on it.
And at last – the Kaiser Chiefs came on. The crowd goes crackers (we tighten our grip on the barrier – without this, we might be a blob under someone’s trainers in no time) as Ricky Wilson strides down the centre to begin ‘Everyday I Love You Less and Less.’ The last year has been amazing for the band, who went from boisterous unknowns to even more boisterous Brit-winners and Live 8 openers.
Of course it’s not only Ricky’s band; the man lording over the back of the stage on drums and backing vocals is Nick Hodgson, a favourite with the ladies for his cheerfulness and shiny hair; Peanut (aka Nick Baines) is on keyboards in his traditional hat, clapping away and loving every minute. Big-haired Simon Rix is rocking away on bass to the right, while Andrew ‘Whitey’ White is calmly playing his guitar and occasionally smiling in quiet amusement.
It’s nearly the end of a long tour for t’Chiefs – they’re closing in their hometown of Leeds in a couple of days – and Ricky is starting to look a little worn, although he still has the energy to climb the odd speaker stack, run along inciting Mexican waves, start a few crowd singalongs, dance with a fan during ‘You Can Have It All’ and lean into the crowd while trying to prevent his trousers being ripped off by a) fans and b) the bouncers.
Ricky announces they will play one of their new songs, although he’s less than happy about the media taping it and walks over to a camera, randomly pressing buttons to turn it off. The band is grudgingly allowing cameraphones, as trying to turn off 5,000 of those is a little trickier. The audience is a little quiet during the new songs, possibly because the only recognisable parts are the clips that a sharing person has uploaded to YouTube.
Things get a little worrying during ‘I Predict A Riot’. For obvious reasons some people think the name of the song is an invitation to charge at the person in front, maybe swing a few elbows or try and climb up someone’s back. Looked round to see a crowdsurfer heading for my face, so ducked while the bouncer made a grab for them. A couple of people become ill and have to be pulled out. Later on while speaking to someone who had the luxury of an upstairs seat, they asked: “What was going on down there? It looked mad!” One man is attempting to push his way to the barrier by putting his hands very close either side of me and practically mounting my back. I pull a face which a bouncer notices – he bounds forward and starts yelling at the bloke to give me some space.
The Kaiser Chiefs also play ‘Caroline, Yes’, ‘Time-Honoured Tradition’, ‘Modern Way’, ‘Sink That Ship’ and ‘Na Na Na Na Naaa’ before closing with a storming ‘Oh My God’ which has the whole audience screaming that they’d ‘never been this far away from home’. My friend has a bruise all the way across his chest from the barrier. I have an elbow mark in my back. The night has been amazing fun, but we really feel for anyone going to the next gig (Ian Brown in Islington) and the ones after because we’re knackered already.
On the train home, we compare badges bought and text everyone to tell them to look out for us on the TV coverage. A woman moves away from us to sit with her boyfriend and says: “Sorry, you don’t smell or anything.” We point out that yes we do; we’ve been sweating and dancing for hours. She seems to think we’re joking and laughs. We honestly stink.
A fantastically lively start to Carling 24 – but will people still be feeling this buoyed up at 8am? To be honest we don’t care – we’ve had a great time and are looking forward to more alcohol, a decent sleep and watching the gig again on telly. Hurray for telly, and Kaiser Chiefs.
http://www.kaiserchiefs.co.uk
http://www.thepipettes.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/captaintheband
http://www.carling.com
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THE HOLLOWAYS / THE PIGEON DETECTIVES / SIXNATIONSTATE
@ Southampton Joiners, 18th July 06
Summer heat and stage invasions
Five stage invasions, three water pistols, one fist fight. It’s possible the July heatwave which is lazily covering the south in some sort of thermal blanket is affecting people’s brains.
Tonight is a revolving headline tour between the Pigeon Detectives and the Holloways, promoted by the Joiners as ‘Two NME Faves… One Great Bill.’
First on stage are local band SixNationState, whose lead singer has a belting voice. There’s lots of comedic bobbing up and plenty of knees-up in turn to their summery indie ska. They are joined on stage by two girls bouncing up and down (these two make a regular appearance through the night. Luckily it’s the bands getting a cut of the ticket price, not them).
Next are the Pigeon Detectives, the band I was most looking forward to. The member of this fast upcoming Leeds band are singer Matt, Oliver and Ryan on guitar, David on bass and Jimmi on the sticks. Matt was clearly hot already, one his first acts being to pour a bottle of water over his head and then sprinkle the rest at the crowd. Someone in front of me threw water at Oli. He looked seriously pissed off. The band has been seriously hyped up, mostly by NME and an overexcited Kaiser Chiefs drummer, but they’re worth it (just like L’Oreal).
This band are so in demand, apparently even the members can’t buy a copy of their new single ‘You Know I Love You’ because it’s sold out everywhere. The Pigeons play a nice raw slab of rock music with the biggest, sweatiest mosh pit I’ve seen for a long while. Matt is full of energy, running from one end to the other and leaping face-down into the crowd.
The girl in front of me turns round and shouts: “I’ve never been to a gig before!” She loves it, bless her cottons. There’s another teenager stood on a stool at the front, blocking a lot of people’s views. (Stool Boy later apologises nicely to the people and said he realises it annoyed everyone).
Pigeon Detective fans tend to have a large number of tracks in their collection (hurray for MySpace) and so there are a considerable number knowing the words. The band tear their way through ‘I Found Out’, ‘Wait For Me’, ‘You Better Not Look My Way’ and ‘Don't Know How To Say Goodbye’ among others, getting the crowd to join in on various choruses.
Matt amuses himself by climbing the speaker stack and sitting on the shoulders of a stage invader, dropping the mike and motioning until someone passes him another. “Thanks to the guy who let me rub my sweaty bollocks on the back of his neck for the last song,” he announced. Charmed, I’m sure.
The Pigeon Detectives finish with ‘I’m Not Sorry’, a cue for everyone to climb on stage (shortly followed by a few security personnel).
And inbetween bands, there is a mass exodus outside. People collapse on the cool pavement holding drinks and chatting across the road. Cars are driving through the centre real slow, looking nervously at the gig goers. Perhaps they’re expecting a riot, but it’s far too hot for that type of shit.
Back inside, the heat is heavy, the Holloways are chatting by the bar in fetching straw hats and a group of guys are walking past the bar singing Spandau Ballet’s ‘Gold’.
And here come the Holloways, ready to cheer up the crowd with some upbeat indie. “Anyone here not sweating?” asks chatty singer/guitarist Alfie, and the drummer picks up an enormous water gun and fires at the audience. The other band members are Rob on vocals/guitar/fiddle, Bryn on bass and Dave on drums (luckily their names fit the part). Alfie walks around the stage randomly commenting on the previous act until the band say: “Just pick up the Mustang and play a song.”
And tonight’s songs include ‘Diamonds and Pearls’, ‘Great Britain’, ‘Generator’ and plenty of others I don’t know (sorry). We’re told they’ve played Southampton lots before and we’re usually rubbish, but tonight we’re, oooh, second best on the tour.
The Holloways should also be highly commended for using an electric fiddle, an underestimated instrument in indie rock (although it keeps detuning in the heat so is only brought out on special occasions).
The heat was affecting a few people the wrong way, with two guys choosing a break between songs to try and punch each other. “What are you doing? You daft bastards,” Alfie says as the crowd try to separate them. One of the guys keeps trying to launch himself at the other, but is being held back by an audience member. The mosh pit, which seemed so frightening ten minutes ago, completely empties.
“He’s trying to punch him… Stop that!” says Alfie. The band decide the heat and the energy is a bit much and play a slow track to chill things down a bit. The gig’s overrunning and they’re not allowed to play everything, but of course there’s time for new single ‘Two Left Feet.’
“If you’re here for the music, take a step forward. If you’re here for a fight… er, just fuck off,” says Rob, who receives a round of applause for his wisdom.
Singer Alfie is having such a good time chatting he forgets to play, then imitates the crowd yelling at him in a high-pitched voice: “Alfie! ALFIE!” So the rest of the band (mainly Rob) blast him in the face with water pistols. The last song is greeted with a queue of people climbing on stage, patting Alfie, trying not to fall off, waving at their friends then launching into the moshpit. It’s overrun by half an hour but no-one cares.
Indie ska is here, boys and girls. And never underestimate the power of sweaty summer rock.
http://www.theholloways.tk
http://www.thepigeondetectives.com
http://www.sixnationstate.co.uk
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TENNENT'S VITAL FESTIVAL - DAY ONE
The Tides, The Pigeon Detectives, Mumm-Ra, Be Your Own Pet, The Raconteurs, Kaiser Chiefs.
The Botanic Gardens, Belfast, 22nd August 06
Norn Iron’s biggest rock/pop festival comes into town
Why are major festivals always sponsored by lager? I am a girl. I don’t like lager. I don’t want lager. I want more choice than warm cider or lemony vodka in the bar. Nothing against any brand in particular, I just don’t like it. Sorry.
If I did have to choose a lager right now though, Tennent’s is the best, judging from the events they put on (think I got out of that one all right).
There had actually been plenty of complaints, not over the choice of beverages, but over the line up for Day One of Tennent’s Vital Festival in the beautiful city of Belfast. Who knows why, because it seemed very impressive. Any line up with Jack White and the Kaisers is not to be sniffed at. ¡Forward, Russia! were headlining the second stage, although I didn’t catch them because I was stuck in front of the main one.
First on stage were Northern Ireland’s rising stars, The Tides. Rising Tides. Arf. They had brought a number of screaming fans/friends along with them for the ride; well, it’s not every day you open the biggest festival in the area. They were pretty enjoyable with catchy songs and looked proud to be up there.
Next up were the Pigeon Detectives, who frankly deserved a bigger audience. I found myself standing slightly apart from their main bunch of fans, so I held my own mini mosh pit (with just me in it, I had no chance of getting crushed/killed. Now that’s festival luxury). The band opened with ‘Romantic Type’, charging their way through ‘You Know I Love You’, ‘Don’t Know How To Say Goodbye’, ‘I Found Out’ and more, saving best known hit ‘I’m Not Sorry’ until the very end. Plenty of jumping up, getting tangled in the mike lead and leaning into the crowd from seriously energetic frontman Matt Bowman. The girls in front of me chose to ignore the band because they could see the Kaiser Chiefs watching from the side of the stage and they were trying to take pictures of them. Little bit rude, but there you go.
Up popped Mumm-Ra, the best band from Bexhill-on-Sea, and with one of the best names on the bill (I’m afraid the Pigeons take top honour there, but only after gaining points for surrealism). The lead singer stood on the amp on tiptoe, leaned forward and almost plunged headfirst into the crowd. He also made use of a plastic duck on stage, singing to it and putting it on his head. The audience looked confused. Tate, Noo, Oli, Niall and Gareth play a bewildering yet beautiful mix of styles in each individual song, and everyone is impressed. I'd most definitely go and watch their curious set again.
In the break, Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson decided to wander across the stage, wearing shades and sporting an enormous grin. When he was done, one of the girls in front of me turned around screaming ‘Oh My God… I think I just saw Ricky!’ There’s nothing like an overexcited fangirl almost weeing themselves on your shoes to make the time spent waiting between bands pass oh, so much faster.
Be Your Own Pet are probably a fantastic band if you’re a rebellious 15 year old. I’m not, and I found their rolling on the floor, hand gestures and spitting slightly ridiculous. But hey, if it’s what the kids like. Good shouty punk though, which got the crowd going. Tough frontwoman Jemina Pearl was booed for thanking the audience with a drawled ‘Thanks, you’ve been great. NOT!’, but as this was the lady who also reportedly started a gig in Newcastle with a phrase along the lines of ‘I hear all Geordies are wankers’ this was most amusing and actually good manners on her part.
The Raconteurs caused a few crowd surges well before they came onstage. It’s amazing the effect a golden curtain with a logo on can have on several thousand festival goers. On walked Brendan Benson and the crowd went wild, but it’s the sight of Jack White which caused a frenzy. The band launched into ‘Steady As She Goes’ fairly early on and the place was bouncing crazily. Jack White is a superb guitarist and the band play together tightly. One of the highlights is a corking, spine-tingling version of ‘Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)’ featuring White’s screeched vocals and some heavy guitar hanging in the air. There’s one reviewer here who has made it a mission to get hold of their album. (Well, when the stores start their 3 for 2 sales anyway).
And it seemed to be raining again. It’s been on-off all afternoon, but luckily the organisers have put some metal flooring down to stop the first few metres of fans disappearing into some kind of quickmud (“The audience members seem to be barely a foot tall, but it’s because most have sunk into the grass and will next be seen arriving feet first in Australia”).
And look who bounded onto the stage next. That’s right, they’re the Kaiser Chiefs, and boy do they look pleased to be here. The headlining act exploded with ‘Na Na Na Na Naaa’ and everyone went wild. Sadly I had arrived a minute too late to hang onto the barrier, so I spent most of the night gripping the person in front with fear in my eyes (spot the mosh pit coward).
The Chiefs treated us to many a track off ‘Employment’, including ‘Everyday I Love You Less and Less’, ‘Caroline Yes’, ‘Born To Be A Dancer’ and ‘I Predict A Riot.’ There were new stage lights (oooh) which were lit to a cry of ‘Kaiser! Chiefs! Kaiser! Chiefs!’ The band also made UK debuts for several new tracks, including ‘Everything Is Average Nowadays’ and ‘Heat Dies Down,’ which went down well.
Things went a little awry later on during ‘Modern Way’. Ricky was crowdsurfing as usual when suddenly the vocals stopped and he fell from sight. Turned out a fan girl had leapt on him and wouldn’t get off. Security craned their necks and the band carried on playing but looked a little concerned. Eventually Ricky surfed his way back to the front. He landed squarely on a girl’s head a foot away from me, doubling her up so I reached out a hand to try and lift his weight off her. Unfortunately the only part of him I could reach was his bum. Damn shame, but I honestly wasn’t making a grab for it. “Thank you,” he said sheepishly after making it back on stage. Keyboardist Peanut laughed at him.
It ended with a lengthy version of ‘Oh My God’ (always amusing to the KC Hardcore Massive when some of the crowd launches into the chorus a verse too early) with everyone screaming their lungs out. A top class finish to the day, with the Kaiser Chiefs living up to their excellent live reputation and the Raconteurs proving a fantastic choice and one of the highlights.
I got lost on the way back to my hostel and asked police for directions into town. My legs hurt, my wet hair looked like there were birds nesting in it and I had accidentally spent nearly £20 on a new band t-shirt. A nice man by the cashpoint offered me some chewing gum, so presumably I smelt bad too.
I like this festival. It’s a lot smaller than Reading/Leeds which makes it a lot nicer, seemingly more about the bands than about how many people you can cram into one field. Shame it’s quite short and isn’t suitable for camping or a longer stay though – but maybe next year…
http://www.vital06.com/lda.php
Words - Suzy Sims
Previously published on Native.tv in Jan 07 http://www.native.tv
(c) Niche News & Publishing Ltd
CARLING 24
Kaiser Chiefs / Captain / The Pipettes @ Brixton Academy, 24th April 06
This is the kind of ‘24’ that Kiefer Sutherland wants to be doing
“Excuse me, have you got a lighter?” slurs a man as he staggers towards the queue at the Brixton Academy. “I just want to light my joint.” No, sorry. A security man asks him to leave and stop harassing the crowd.
“Or what? You gonna fucking fight me?”
“Yeah.”
My friend panics and turns his back slightly, as if that’ll protect him from a crazed and drugged up Londoner tussling on the floor with a hefty bouncer about five feet away from us. Luckily that fight doesn’t materialise, so we can all breathe a bit easier. Thank goodness.
For those who haven’t heard of it, the premise behind Carling 24 is simple. 24 hours of solid live music in one city, hence the 24 part; and it’s quite obviously sponsored by Carling. That means a free drink, unless you skip the bar and run straight to the front row. Either pick and choose one gig or go to as many as you can.
Ian Brown, the Ordinary Boys, Larrikin Love, Goldie Lookin’ Chain, Dirty Pretty Things and co. are setting up to play in venues across London, but we only had tickets for the first match. Kaiser Chiefs – Best Live Act at the Brits, moshpit fans - promised to be a stunning opener.
My partner-in-crime on this trip shyly let on that he’d never actually been to a proper concert before (What?!) so I gave him tips in clinging onto the barrier and prayed he wasn’t going to get a crowdsurfer on his head.
If there’s one thing which can liven up a few hours waiting outside Brixton Academy, it’s the Wall of Cock. (We knew what it was called as someone had thoughtfully written it in large letters on the bricks). For those of you who have never seen it, the name pretty much describes it – 6ft plus of dirty jokes, band names and drawings of quite impressive appendages, which almost help take your mind off the fact it’s actually quite cold out and you didn’t bring a coat. We were slightly jealous at the people who seemed to have backstage passes slung round their neck, until we were given one and discovered it was just a list of times that bands were going onstage.
The Pipettes had the honour of kicking off the whole event, although sadly they missed out on being filmed for Channel 4’s coverage. The three girls Rose, Becki and Gwenno sing sunshiney 1950s pop, aided by various groovy dance moves, stylish polka dot dresses and an indie backing band called the Cassettes. Cute and fun, especially ‘Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me.’ What are cassettes?
Channel 4 presenter Alex Zane then walks on, trying to bellow ‘Hello Brixton!’ in a microphone which isn’t on and he looks suitably embarrassed. Ooops.
Next onstage were Captain. They didn’t look entirely comfortable, although rumour has it most were suffering from colds. Captain have been hyped up everywhere over the last week, which has timed quite nicely with new single release ‘Broke’. Poppy, with a dreamy fairground keyboard at times, lead vocals are shared by the sweet-voiced Clare and the big hatted Rik. The stage is then hidden away by a sweeping red curtain with ‘KC’ on it.
And at last – the Kaiser Chiefs came on. The crowd goes crackers (we tighten our grip on the barrier – without this, we might be a blob under someone’s trainers in no time) as Ricky Wilson strides down the centre to begin ‘Everyday I Love You Less and Less.’ The last year has been amazing for the band, who went from boisterous unknowns to even more boisterous Brit-winners and Live 8 openers.
Of course it’s not only Ricky’s band; the man lording over the back of the stage on drums and backing vocals is Nick Hodgson, a favourite with the ladies for his cheerfulness and shiny hair; Peanut (aka Nick Baines) is on keyboards in his traditional hat, clapping away and loving every minute. Big-haired Simon Rix is rocking away on bass to the right, while Andrew ‘Whitey’ White is calmly playing his guitar and occasionally smiling in quiet amusement.
It’s nearly the end of a long tour for t’Chiefs – they’re closing in their hometown of Leeds in a couple of days – and Ricky is starting to look a little worn, although he still has the energy to climb the odd speaker stack, run along inciting Mexican waves, start a few crowd singalongs, dance with a fan during ‘You Can Have It All’ and lean into the crowd while trying to prevent his trousers being ripped off by a) fans and b) the bouncers.
Ricky announces they will play one of their new songs, although he’s less than happy about the media taping it and walks over to a camera, randomly pressing buttons to turn it off. The band is grudgingly allowing cameraphones, as trying to turn off 5,000 of those is a little trickier. The audience is a little quiet during the new songs, possibly because the only recognisable parts are the clips that a sharing person has uploaded to YouTube.
Things get a little worrying during ‘I Predict A Riot’. For obvious reasons some people think the name of the song is an invitation to charge at the person in front, maybe swing a few elbows or try and climb up someone’s back. Looked round to see a crowdsurfer heading for my face, so ducked while the bouncer made a grab for them. A couple of people become ill and have to be pulled out. Later on while speaking to someone who had the luxury of an upstairs seat, they asked: “What was going on down there? It looked mad!” One man is attempting to push his way to the barrier by putting his hands very close either side of me and practically mounting my back. I pull a face which a bouncer notices – he bounds forward and starts yelling at the bloke to give me some space.
The Kaiser Chiefs also play ‘Caroline, Yes’, ‘Time-Honoured Tradition’, ‘Modern Way’, ‘Sink That Ship’ and ‘Na Na Na Na Naaa’ before closing with a storming ‘Oh My God’ which has the whole audience screaming that they’d ‘never been this far away from home’. My friend has a bruise all the way across his chest from the barrier. I have an elbow mark in my back. The night has been amazing fun, but we really feel for anyone going to the next gig (Ian Brown in Islington) and the ones after because we’re knackered already.
On the train home, we compare badges bought and text everyone to tell them to look out for us on the TV coverage. A woman moves away from us to sit with her boyfriend and says: “Sorry, you don’t smell or anything.” We point out that yes we do; we’ve been sweating and dancing for hours. She seems to think we’re joking and laughs. We honestly stink.
A fantastically lively start to Carling 24 – but will people still be feeling this buoyed up at 8am? To be honest we don’t care – we’ve had a great time and are looking forward to more alcohol, a decent sleep and watching the gig again on telly. Hurray for telly, and Kaiser Chiefs.
http://www.kaiserchiefs.co.uk
http://www.thepipettes.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/captaintheband
http://www.carling.com
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THE HOLLOWAYS / THE PIGEON DETECTIVES / SIXNATIONSTATE
@ Southampton Joiners, 18th July 06
Summer heat and stage invasions
Five stage invasions, three water pistols, one fist fight. It’s possible the July heatwave which is lazily covering the south in some sort of thermal blanket is affecting people’s brains.
Tonight is a revolving headline tour between the Pigeon Detectives and the Holloways, promoted by the Joiners as ‘Two NME Faves… One Great Bill.’
First on stage are local band SixNationState, whose lead singer has a belting voice. There’s lots of comedic bobbing up and plenty of knees-up in turn to their summery indie ska. They are joined on stage by two girls bouncing up and down (these two make a regular appearance through the night. Luckily it’s the bands getting a cut of the ticket price, not them).
Next are the Pigeon Detectives, the band I was most looking forward to. The member of this fast upcoming Leeds band are singer Matt, Oliver and Ryan on guitar, David on bass and Jimmi on the sticks. Matt was clearly hot already, one his first acts being to pour a bottle of water over his head and then sprinkle the rest at the crowd. Someone in front of me threw water at Oli. He looked seriously pissed off. The band has been seriously hyped up, mostly by NME and an overexcited Kaiser Chiefs drummer, but they’re worth it (just like L’Oreal).
This band are so in demand, apparently even the members can’t buy a copy of their new single ‘You Know I Love You’ because it’s sold out everywhere. The Pigeons play a nice raw slab of rock music with the biggest, sweatiest mosh pit I’ve seen for a long while. Matt is full of energy, running from one end to the other and leaping face-down into the crowd.
The girl in front of me turns round and shouts: “I’ve never been to a gig before!” She loves it, bless her cottons. There’s another teenager stood on a stool at the front, blocking a lot of people’s views. (Stool Boy later apologises nicely to the people and said he realises it annoyed everyone).
Pigeon Detective fans tend to have a large number of tracks in their collection (hurray for MySpace) and so there are a considerable number knowing the words. The band tear their way through ‘I Found Out’, ‘Wait For Me’, ‘You Better Not Look My Way’ and ‘Don't Know How To Say Goodbye’ among others, getting the crowd to join in on various choruses.
Matt amuses himself by climbing the speaker stack and sitting on the shoulders of a stage invader, dropping the mike and motioning until someone passes him another. “Thanks to the guy who let me rub my sweaty bollocks on the back of his neck for the last song,” he announced. Charmed, I’m sure.
The Pigeon Detectives finish with ‘I’m Not Sorry’, a cue for everyone to climb on stage (shortly followed by a few security personnel).
And inbetween bands, there is a mass exodus outside. People collapse on the cool pavement holding drinks and chatting across the road. Cars are driving through the centre real slow, looking nervously at the gig goers. Perhaps they’re expecting a riot, but it’s far too hot for that type of shit.
Back inside, the heat is heavy, the Holloways are chatting by the bar in fetching straw hats and a group of guys are walking past the bar singing Spandau Ballet’s ‘Gold’.
And here come the Holloways, ready to cheer up the crowd with some upbeat indie. “Anyone here not sweating?” asks chatty singer/guitarist Alfie, and the drummer picks up an enormous water gun and fires at the audience. The other band members are Rob on vocals/guitar/fiddle, Bryn on bass and Dave on drums (luckily their names fit the part). Alfie walks around the stage randomly commenting on the previous act until the band say: “Just pick up the Mustang and play a song.”
And tonight’s songs include ‘Diamonds and Pearls’, ‘Great Britain’, ‘Generator’ and plenty of others I don’t know (sorry). We’re told they’ve played Southampton lots before and we’re usually rubbish, but tonight we’re, oooh, second best on the tour.
The Holloways should also be highly commended for using an electric fiddle, an underestimated instrument in indie rock (although it keeps detuning in the heat so is only brought out on special occasions).
The heat was affecting a few people the wrong way, with two guys choosing a break between songs to try and punch each other. “What are you doing? You daft bastards,” Alfie says as the crowd try to separate them. One of the guys keeps trying to launch himself at the other, but is being held back by an audience member. The mosh pit, which seemed so frightening ten minutes ago, completely empties.
“He’s trying to punch him… Stop that!” says Alfie. The band decide the heat and the energy is a bit much and play a slow track to chill things down a bit. The gig’s overrunning and they’re not allowed to play everything, but of course there’s time for new single ‘Two Left Feet.’
“If you’re here for the music, take a step forward. If you’re here for a fight… er, just fuck off,” says Rob, who receives a round of applause for his wisdom.
Singer Alfie is having such a good time chatting he forgets to play, then imitates the crowd yelling at him in a high-pitched voice: “Alfie! ALFIE!” So the rest of the band (mainly Rob) blast him in the face with water pistols. The last song is greeted with a queue of people climbing on stage, patting Alfie, trying not to fall off, waving at their friends then launching into the moshpit. It’s overrun by half an hour but no-one cares.
Indie ska is here, boys and girls. And never underestimate the power of sweaty summer rock.
http://www.theholloways.tk
http://www.thepigeondetectives.com
http://www.sixnationstate.co.uk
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TENNENT'S VITAL FESTIVAL - DAY ONE
The Tides, The Pigeon Detectives, Mumm-Ra, Be Your Own Pet, The Raconteurs, Kaiser Chiefs.
The Botanic Gardens, Belfast, 22nd August 06
Norn Iron’s biggest rock/pop festival comes into town
Why are major festivals always sponsored by lager? I am a girl. I don’t like lager. I don’t want lager. I want more choice than warm cider or lemony vodka in the bar. Nothing against any brand in particular, I just don’t like it. Sorry.
If I did have to choose a lager right now though, Tennent’s is the best, judging from the events they put on (think I got out of that one all right).
There had actually been plenty of complaints, not over the choice of beverages, but over the line up for Day One of Tennent’s Vital Festival in the beautiful city of Belfast. Who knows why, because it seemed very impressive. Any line up with Jack White and the Kaisers is not to be sniffed at. ¡Forward, Russia! were headlining the second stage, although I didn’t catch them because I was stuck in front of the main one.
First on stage were Northern Ireland’s rising stars, The Tides. Rising Tides. Arf. They had brought a number of screaming fans/friends along with them for the ride; well, it’s not every day you open the biggest festival in the area. They were pretty enjoyable with catchy songs and looked proud to be up there.
Next up were the Pigeon Detectives, who frankly deserved a bigger audience. I found myself standing slightly apart from their main bunch of fans, so I held my own mini mosh pit (with just me in it, I had no chance of getting crushed/killed. Now that’s festival luxury). The band opened with ‘Romantic Type’, charging their way through ‘You Know I Love You’, ‘Don’t Know How To Say Goodbye’, ‘I Found Out’ and more, saving best known hit ‘I’m Not Sorry’ until the very end. Plenty of jumping up, getting tangled in the mike lead and leaning into the crowd from seriously energetic frontman Matt Bowman. The girls in front of me chose to ignore the band because they could see the Kaiser Chiefs watching from the side of the stage and they were trying to take pictures of them. Little bit rude, but there you go.
Up popped Mumm-Ra, the best band from Bexhill-on-Sea, and with one of the best names on the bill (I’m afraid the Pigeons take top honour there, but only after gaining points for surrealism). The lead singer stood on the amp on tiptoe, leaned forward and almost plunged headfirst into the crowd. He also made use of a plastic duck on stage, singing to it and putting it on his head. The audience looked confused. Tate, Noo, Oli, Niall and Gareth play a bewildering yet beautiful mix of styles in each individual song, and everyone is impressed. I'd most definitely go and watch their curious set again.
In the break, Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson decided to wander across the stage, wearing shades and sporting an enormous grin. When he was done, one of the girls in front of me turned around screaming ‘Oh My God… I think I just saw Ricky!’ There’s nothing like an overexcited fangirl almost weeing themselves on your shoes to make the time spent waiting between bands pass oh, so much faster.
Be Your Own Pet are probably a fantastic band if you’re a rebellious 15 year old. I’m not, and I found their rolling on the floor, hand gestures and spitting slightly ridiculous. But hey, if it’s what the kids like. Good shouty punk though, which got the crowd going. Tough frontwoman Jemina Pearl was booed for thanking the audience with a drawled ‘Thanks, you’ve been great. NOT!’, but as this was the lady who also reportedly started a gig in Newcastle with a phrase along the lines of ‘I hear all Geordies are wankers’ this was most amusing and actually good manners on her part.
The Raconteurs caused a few crowd surges well before they came onstage. It’s amazing the effect a golden curtain with a logo on can have on several thousand festival goers. On walked Brendan Benson and the crowd went wild, but it’s the sight of Jack White which caused a frenzy. The band launched into ‘Steady As She Goes’ fairly early on and the place was bouncing crazily. Jack White is a superb guitarist and the band play together tightly. One of the highlights is a corking, spine-tingling version of ‘Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)’ featuring White’s screeched vocals and some heavy guitar hanging in the air. There’s one reviewer here who has made it a mission to get hold of their album. (Well, when the stores start their 3 for 2 sales anyway).
And it seemed to be raining again. It’s been on-off all afternoon, but luckily the organisers have put some metal flooring down to stop the first few metres of fans disappearing into some kind of quickmud (“The audience members seem to be barely a foot tall, but it’s because most have sunk into the grass and will next be seen arriving feet first in Australia”).
And look who bounded onto the stage next. That’s right, they’re the Kaiser Chiefs, and boy do they look pleased to be here. The headlining act exploded with ‘Na Na Na Na Naaa’ and everyone went wild. Sadly I had arrived a minute too late to hang onto the barrier, so I spent most of the night gripping the person in front with fear in my eyes (spot the mosh pit coward).
The Chiefs treated us to many a track off ‘Employment’, including ‘Everyday I Love You Less and Less’, ‘Caroline Yes’, ‘Born To Be A Dancer’ and ‘I Predict A Riot.’ There were new stage lights (oooh) which were lit to a cry of ‘Kaiser! Chiefs! Kaiser! Chiefs!’ The band also made UK debuts for several new tracks, including ‘Everything Is Average Nowadays’ and ‘Heat Dies Down,’ which went down well.
Things went a little awry later on during ‘Modern Way’. Ricky was crowdsurfing as usual when suddenly the vocals stopped and he fell from sight. Turned out a fan girl had leapt on him and wouldn’t get off. Security craned their necks and the band carried on playing but looked a little concerned. Eventually Ricky surfed his way back to the front. He landed squarely on a girl’s head a foot away from me, doubling her up so I reached out a hand to try and lift his weight off her. Unfortunately the only part of him I could reach was his bum. Damn shame, but I honestly wasn’t making a grab for it. “Thank you,” he said sheepishly after making it back on stage. Keyboardist Peanut laughed at him.
It ended with a lengthy version of ‘Oh My God’ (always amusing to the KC Hardcore Massive when some of the crowd launches into the chorus a verse too early) with everyone screaming their lungs out. A top class finish to the day, with the Kaiser Chiefs living up to their excellent live reputation and the Raconteurs proving a fantastic choice and one of the highlights.
I got lost on the way back to my hostel and asked police for directions into town. My legs hurt, my wet hair looked like there were birds nesting in it and I had accidentally spent nearly £20 on a new band t-shirt. A nice man by the cashpoint offered me some chewing gum, so presumably I smelt bad too.
I like this festival. It’s a lot smaller than Reading/Leeds which makes it a lot nicer, seemingly more about the bands than about how many people you can cram into one field. Shame it’s quite short and isn’t suitable for camping or a longer stay though – but maybe next year…
http://www.vital06.com/lda.php
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