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Review: Dreadzone, Scala London

Photography by Mike Eccleshall

Dreadzone concluded their epic 27-date Eye On The Horizon winter tour this weekend, and I was there to catch their Scala show on Wednesday 8th. Frontman MC Spee might have been worried that a midweek set in the capital might not be the extravaganza it should always be, but gets it spot on when asking the crowd “do you get the feeling that Wednesday night turned into Saturday night about half an hour ago?”; tonight was a knees up, a celebration of Dreadzone’s incredible 15+ year career that had Scala bouncing all night long.

They set the tone early with Love, Life and Unity, showing that the material on offer this evening will stretch across the full span of their career. Ever eclectic, ever full of life and energy, they blaze through a spell-binding set encompassing every influence, every corner of Dreadzone’s sound. And though the crowd is a mix of both young and old (indeed, MC Spee took a particular shine to a young girl whose 21st birthday it was), everybody was onboard tonight, showing that Dreadzone’s ability to cross generations and cultures is absolute and has never waned.

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Feature: Gig Rig

Howdy folks, and happy binary Friday (for those of you who are geeky enough to know what that means)! Another fortnight has passed, which means that it’s time for the lowdown on the best live music coming to a stage near(ish) you.

Giants of the dance world, Faithless, will be hitting some of the larger venues around the country in December, after returning with their sixth album, The Dance, earlier this year.

A couple of smaller bands that have been doing the rounds lately in the blogosphere are Sleigh Bells and Warpaint, and you can catch them both at some of the smaller gig venues in Bristol and London later this month and in November.

Hit the link to see the full gig listing…

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Review: Muse, Wembley Stadium

Following the commercial success of The Resistance late last year, Muse recently returned to the stadium circuit. Their two closing sets on the UK leg of this tour hit England”™s capital, with a packed out Wembley Stadium.

Walking into the stadium early to embrace the day and catch the warm-up acts, one could be forgiven for questioning what might be in store later on. The almost overstated stage dominated the temporary pitch – its strange angular design stood tall, proud and suggestive, generating a warm sense of intrigue. The sun began to set, and the lights came up. The rapturous roar of the crowd bellowed and echoed around the arena, and Muse kicked-off their 2 hour set with the explosive ”˜Uprising”™. With the volume turned up waaaay past eleven and approaching obnoxiously loud, the instant energy generated from the excitable crowd felt as if it would blow the roof off. Though the volume was overwhelming, the sound of every single note, drum kick, guitar pluck or vocal line was lovingly tweaked to create a sound as pristine and perfect as a fully mastered studio release. Moving effortlessly into ”˜Super Massive Black Hole”™, It was clear from the off that this was a set to be remembered.

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Review: The Depreciation Guild, Jericho Tavern

The Depreciation Guild are a four piece electronic, chip-tune, ambient, dream pop, shoegaze, indie rock outfit from Brooklyn, New York embarking on their second tour of the UK. They are a bit of a favourite here at Spotisfaction Towers and having unfortunately missed them on the first tour due to unforeseen circumstances I was glad to have the opportunity to catch them this time around.

Support came in the form of local band Vixens. This up and coming band from Oxford Brookes University play an alternative indie post-rock blend that is at times reminiscent of Joy Division and at others more like Editors. The audience was small and not many seemed interested in the support act, but Vixens performed their set proficiently. The sound wasn”™t particularly original but it was good display of dark atmospheric rock. Perhaps, though, the performance was a little uninspired due to the small crowd.

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Review: The Jolly Boys, The 100 Club London

Image courtesy of AltSounds.com.

The sheer joy of a septuagenarian Jamaican rocking a red suit, belting out classic tunes mento-style and dropping the occasional James Brown-style “huh!” cannot be fully expressed in words. Just smiles, laughter and applause which are heaped on The Jolly Boys by the sell-out crowd at esteemed venue The 100 Club on Oxford Street.

With a changing lineup over six decades, the Port Antonio mento band are experiencing a revival after hooking up with Jon Baker (Gee Street Records) and Mark Jones (Wall of Sound) in 2009 who introduced a repertoire of pop and rock tunes to bring the mento sound bang up to date. The feel-good, retro vibe has been a hit at Secret Garden party and Camp Bestival and was well received this weekend at Big Chill.

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Feature: Gig Rig

Well it”™s Friday again, which can only mean that it”™s time for another instalment of the Gig Rig, after scouring pages of t”™interweb to find the finest selection of live music coming to a town near you. Highlights this week:

Booka Shade
will be playing a one-off gig at the HMV Forum in London to make amends for their performance at the Lovebox festival, which had to be cut short due to crowd control problems. Tracks from the German duo”™s latest album, More!, have been featured in a number of playlists recently, and for good reason (it”™s frackin”™ awesome)!

Another artist who has been blogged about numerous times is Karin Dreijer Andersson (aka Fever Ray), who is also well known as vocalist for The Knife and her collaborations with Röyksopp. Her live performances are renowned for being a little on the theatrical and wacky side, and are sure to be quite an experience.

Placebo
are currently on a worldwide tour playing at various music festivals across the globe, and will be stopping off in London on their travels. I”™ve found that some people seem to have an irrational hatred of the band, but personally I love their music and would love to see them live.

If shoegaze/post-rock is more your cup of tea (and you”™re in the London area) then I can thoroughly recommend This Will Destroy You and Red Sparowes.

Hit the link for this week”™s listings.

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Reviews

Review: Camp Bestival 2010

Image courtesy of Debretts.com.
Image courtesy of Debretts.com.

Hi-De-Hi Campers!

I”™m sitting in my lounge watching Nirvana”™s headline set at Reading Festival in 1992 on DVD. The heavy fuzz of Kurt”™s guitar, the chaotic nature of their live show and the screaming, unruly crowd is a far cry from my pleasant, family-friendly experience in the Dorset countryside at Camp Bestival last weekend.

My weekend, which was interrupted by shifts working for Oxfam, started with a midnight set by the exceedingly talented comedian Tim Minchin on Friday night in the Big Top. Minchin accompanied by a piano ran through a short but well received set of songs including an expletive-ridden attack on the ”˜mutherfucker”™ Pope Benedict XVI. But the highlight came at the end when Minchin was on the brink of doing the unforgivable by forgetting his words during an encore. Minchin”™s saving grace came in the form of a random trumpet player in the audience who started playing along and then was beckoned on stage by Minchin which turned into an electrifying 10 minute jazz improvisation with both performers showing off their formidable playing capabilities.

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Review: Converge, The Underworld London

Thrash Hits - Converge
Image courtesy of Thrash Hits.

The Underworld is the best name they could ever have given this grimey little hole in central Camden. It has established itself at the heart of alternative rock, metal and hardcore in England, and continues to attract the best the scene has ever had to offer. In the basement of the Worlds End, several pillars obscuring your view, and a stage so small that bands practically fall off it into the crowd, gigs are always intense. Only two days before, a good friend of mine had the pleasure of witnessing the bloodbath that was Enter Shikari – every song interrupted by a stage invasion, mass stage-diving, and reports of blood and broken noses all over the shop.

You can understand, then, a slight sense of trepidation about what injuries I”™m likely to sustain when I go to see the seminal hardcore act Converge during their European tour for Axe To Fall (Epitaph, 2009).

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Review: 2000 Trees Festival 2010

Image courtesy of VirtualFestivals.com

It was different this year. As 2000 Trees entered its fourth year it would appear that it is starting to become ”˜known”™. So much so that for the first time since the festival”™s start, they managed to sell out tickets to the event before it started.

The problem with selling more tickets is that there are more people to get into the site and this means queues. And it”™s in a queue that I found myself on Friday morning when Maybeshewill took to the stage. While I may not have been able to see the stage, thankfully I was able to hear them as I waited to enter the site. The people in front of me in the queue may not have been fans of the soft post-rock meanderings that wafted over us, thinking that it all sounded the same (I didn”™t want to point out that it was in fact just one long post-rock epic) – they didn”™t appreciate the sounds that gently caressed us and made the hour long queue a bit more bearable.

Post rock was to be a bit of theme for me for the entire weekend which is good as it”™s a genre I have a fondness for as can be seen in my post rock playlist. But before my next instalment of post rock there were some other acts to see.

Bags dropped off at the campsite we first made a move to the Leaf Lounge to catch part of the David Goo Variety Band set followed by Midnight Mile – two bands that, thanks to The Cheltenham Underground and I Started The Fire, I had seen before and two bands that produced solid sets. David Goo is an act that is extremely hard to categorise: imagine if you grabbed a bit of every genre and mixed it together with a bit of theatre and you”™d start to get an idea of what to expect. Midnight Mile are much easier to describe, being part of the I Started The Fire folk based label you know where their roots are but mixed with a bit of soul and acoustica to produce a deep soul felt sound.

But there was no time to hang around the Leaf Lounge as there was an appointment to be kept at the Green House for the performance of Spotisfaction hero Men Diamler. A solo performer that has more power than many bands I have seen Men Diamler truly has to be seen to be believed. Wandering on and off stage as the whim takes him Men Diamler doesn”™t need a sound system to be at his best and many an audience member will get a very close, and sometimes intimidating, look at his performance. I have seen Men Diamler a few times in the last few months and his performances just seem to be improving. A mix of own songs and traditional spiritual songs, hymns and shanties this is a sound that can divide the opinion of the listeners as much as his antics can physically divide the audience.

Then time to hit the main stage for one of the acts I really wanted to see and yes it was a bit of post rock. And So I Watch You From Afar may sound like something a stalker would say but it”™s also more words than you”™ll hear in an entire set from the band. An entirely instrumental set may not be everyone”™s cup of tea but these guys pulled it off with aplomb. The band were tight and the sound was phenomenal, this was post rock excellence being performed for our pleasure. With a sound much heavier than some of their post rock counterparts, this quintet from Belfast stormed through a flawless set full of swooping guitars and thrashing drums that is much more tightly structured then it may appear to the casual listener. The sheer forcefulness of their sound is proof that while lyrics can move you, music alone can get you moving.

A break for some food, and some more cider, as well as a wander around the site to check things out before heading back to the main stage to check out the headliners.

First up were Errors, more post-rock musing but this time with a much more electronic, synth laden feel. Melodic and tuneful, the Glaswegian four piece effortlessly blend their playful synth refrains with post-rock guitars and frantic drumming. There is comfortable cohesiveness amongst the band that creates a sound that almost rolls off the stage and over the crowd, settling comfortably into the spaces around everyone. This music isn”™t in your face, it”™s more subtle, tempting you in to investigate more.

Next we had Metronomy and quite frankly this was one of the best sets of the weekend. Full of energy and, of course, with a funky light show, Metronomy”™s current line up lit up the stage both literally and metaphorically. A mixture of smart electro pop and experimental new rave Metronomy can be hard to categorise but when they put on a show like this genres mean nothing. Pumping tunes like Heatbreaker and You Could Easily Have Me into the audience, the crowd responded with some highly energetic dancing that lifted the mood of the festival above the rain that had fallen during the day.

And finally there was headliner Frank Turner”¦
”¦hmm yeah I think I”™ll just leave that one there

[Kev]

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Feature: Gig Rig

Howdy folks, and merry Friday to one and all!

Monday”™s feature, Tomorrow”™s Sounds Today, included reviews for the latest releases from I Am Kloot and Lissie, both of whom have gigs coming up at Thekla in Bristol in September and October respectively. If you liked what you heard then why not check them out live.

In the run up to their appearance at V Festival and following the success last year of their latest album, West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum, Kasabian will be performing a one-off gig at the O2 Academy in Brixton. Definitely worth a look-in if you live in the London area.

Fenech-Soler
and Hurts are two artists that make an appearance on Kitsuné Maison Compilation 9: Petite Bateau Edition, the latest instalment from the French electronic music label Kitsuné. They have already had a decent amount of airtime on the radio and with a bit of luck will be destined for great things.

As always, hit the link for listings.

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Features

Love live music? Yep, we do too, so we thought we”™d bring you a selection of the finest musical extravaganzas that will be taking place over the coming months. New gig listings will be posted on a fortnightly basis, or more frequently if there is a need for it. If there are any gigs that have escaped our attention and that you think deserve a mention, then just drop me an e-mail (fozz@spotisfaction.com) and we”™ll get the details posted. Muchos amores [Fozz] [Show all] | [Hide all] [±] Black Mountain
    O2 Academy Oxford, Sat 04/09/10 @ 18:30
[±] Crystal Castles
    Roundhouse, London, Fri 15/10/10 @ 19:00 Anson Rooms, Bristol, Sun 17/10/10 @ 19:00
[±] Doom
    O2 Academy Brixton, London, Thu 14/10/10 @ 19:00 O2 Academy Bristol, Sat 16/10/10 @ 19:00
[±] Eels
    O2 Academy Birmingham, Thu 26/08/10 @ 19:00
[±] Errors, Twilight Sad
    XOYO, London, Thu 07/10/10 @ 20:00 The Fleece, Bristol, Sun 10/10/10 @ 20:00
[±] Groove Aramada
    O2 Academy Bristol, Tue 12/10/10 @ 19:00 O2 Academy Birmingham, Thu 14/10/10 @ 19:00 O2 Academy Brixton, London, Fri 15/10/10 @ 19:00 O2 Academy Brixton, London, Sat 16/10/10 @ 21:00
[±] Los Campesinos!, Frankie & the Heartstrings, Johnny Foreigner, Wichita
    The Relentless Garage, London, Thu 15/07/10 @ 19:00
[±] Maybeshewill
    O2 Academy Birmingham, Thu 26/08/10 @ 19:00
[±] Mr. Scruff
    Koko, London, Sat 23/10/10 @ 21:00 O2 Academy Bristol, Sat 30/10/10 @ 22:00
[±] Ou Est Le Swimming Pool
    The Croft, Bristol, Sun 10/10/10 @ 20:00
[±] School of Seven Bells
    Thekla, Bristol, Sun 18/07/10 @ 19:30 Scala, London, Tue 20/07/10@ 19:30
[±] Sia
    Troxy, London, Wed 06/10/10 @ 19:00
[±] Trentemøller
    Roundhouse, London, Sun 24/10/10 @ 19:00
[±] Two Door Cinema Club
    O2 Academy Oxford, Fri 24/09/10 @ 18:30
[±] Wolf Parade
    Thekla Bristol, Sat 11/09/10 @ 19:00
[±] The xx
    Somerset House, London, Tue 13/07/10 @ 19:30
[±] Yeasayer
    Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton, Wed 25/08/10 @ 19:00 Roundhouse, London, Thu 21/10/10 @ 19:30

Love live music? Yep, we do too, so we thought we”™d bring you a selection of the finest musical extravaganzas that will be taking place over the coming months. New gig listings will be posted on a fortnightly basis, or more frequently if there is a need for it. If there are any gigs that have escaped our attention and that you think deserve a mention, then just drop me an e-mail (fozz@spotisfaction.com) and we”™ll get the details posted.

Muchos amores
[Fozz]

[Show all] | [Hide all]

[±] Black Mountain

    O2 Academy Oxford, Sat 04/09/10 @ 18:30


[±] Crystal Castles

    Roundhouse, London, Fri 15/10/10 @ 19:00

    Anson Rooms, Bristol, Sun 17/10/10 @ 19:00


[±] Doom

    O2 Academy Brixton, London, Thu 14/10/10 @ 19:00

    O2 Academy Bristol, Sat 16/10/10 @ 19:00


[±] Eels

    O2 Academy Birmingham, Thu 26/08/10 @ 19:00


[±] Errors, Twilight Sad

    XOYO, London, Thu 07/10/10 @ 20:00

    The Fleece, Bristol, Sun 10/10/10 @ 20:00


[±] Groove Aramada

    O2 Academy Bristol, Tue 12/10/10 @ 19:00

    O2 Academy Birmingham, Thu 14/10/10 @ 19:00

    O2 Academy Brixton, London, Fri 15/10/10 @ 19:00

    O2 Academy Brixton, London, Sat 16/10/10 @ 21:00


[±] Los Campesinos!, Frankie & the Heartstrings, Johnny Foreigner, Wichita

    The Relentless Garage, London, Thu 15/07/10 @ 19:00


[±] Maybeshewill

    O2 Academy Birmingham, Thu 26/08/10 @ 19:00


[±] Mr. Scruff

    Koko, London, Sat 23/10/10 @ 21:00

    O2 Academy Bristol, Sat 30/10/10 @ 22:00


[±] Ou Est Le Swimming Pool

    The Croft, Bristol, Sun 10/10/10 @ 20:00


[±] School of Seven Bells

    Thekla, Bristol, Sun 18/07/10 @ 19:30

    Scala, London, Tue 20/07/10@ 19:30


[±] Sia

    Troxy, London, Wed 06/10/10 @ 19:00


[±] Trentemøller

    Roundhouse, London, Sun 24/10/10 @ 19:00


[±] Two Door Cinema Club

    O2 Academy Oxford, Fri 24/09/10 @ 18:30


[±] Wolf Parade

    Thekla Bristol, Sat 11/09/10 @ 19:00


[±] The xx

    Somerset House, London, Tue 13/07/10 @ 19:30


[±] Yeasayer

    Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton, Wed 25/08/10 @ 19:00

    Roundhouse, London, Thu 21/10/10 @ 19:30


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Reviews

DJ Shadow”™s slot at Wireless 2006 was a roadblock, with some fans unable to get anywhere near the tent. So you”™d forgive us for wondering what was going on when we arrived just 10 minutes early this year to find a relatively empty tent and nothing on stage but a mysterious grey ball. As the crowd finally begins to flow towards the Second Stage, they are greeted by text projected onto the ball: “Welcome to the first DJ Shadow show in nearly three years”¦ DJ Shadow does not have a new album out”¦ but there is some new music”¦ would you like to be first in the world to hear it?” After a quick appearance to greet the cheers of the now full (but never packed) tent, Josh Davis disappears into the ball. Although the projections offer an innovative and exciting visual backdrop to the music, it does make the show feel detatched, with the DJ and all his beat-crafting, turntablist trickery hidden away. The new material is promising. Leaving the questionable territory of 2006”™s The Outsider behind, it sees DJ Shadow return to dusty samples and big beats rather than manic MC vocals and alt-rock guitars. Still, the set does seem to lack momentum, without the funk breaks of The Private Press which could have added some energy (and dropping The Right Thing would also have been a clever nod to 2manydjs on the Main Stage). The big cheers are predictably reserved for classics such as Building Steam with a Grain of Salt (Endtroducing, 1996) and Six Days (The Private Press, 2002) and the crowd does get pumped towards the end as the bpm rises with some jungle-tinged vibes. Thanks to some technical hitches delaying the start of the show, Organ Donor isn”™t quite the triumphant set closer it could have been as it is cut short, much to the disappointment of a crowd that is finally hyped. Thankfully DJ Shadow appears to be going back to his crate-digging, experimental past with his latest tunes, and his classics get the heads nodding and the hands in the air, but with over-zealous stage production, this performance doesn”™t quite meet its full potential. Photos by Claire Withington

DJ Shadow”™s slot at Wireless 2006 was a roadblock, with some fans unable to get anywhere near the tent. So you”™d forgive us for wondering what was going on when we arrived just 10 minutes early this year to find a relatively empty tent and nothing on stage but a mysterious grey ball.

As the crowd finally begins to flow towards the Second Stage, they are greeted by text projected onto the ball:

“Welcome to the first DJ Shadow show in nearly three years”¦ DJ Shadow does not have a new album out”¦ but there is some new music”¦ would you like to be first in the world to hear it?”

After a quick appearance to greet the cheers of the now full (but never packed) tent, Josh Davis disappears into the ball. Although the projections offer an innovative and exciting visual backdrop to the music, it does make the show feel detatched, with the DJ and all his beat-crafting, turntablist trickery hidden away.

The new material is promising. Leaving the questionable territory of 2006”™s The Outsider behind, it sees DJ Shadow return to dusty samples and big beats rather than manic MC vocals and alt-rock guitars.

Still, the set does seem to lack momentum, without the funk breaks of The Private Press which could have added some energy (and dropping The Right Thing would also have been a clever nod to 2manydjs on the Main Stage). The big cheers are predictably reserved for classics such as Building Steam with a Grain of Salt (Endtroducing, 1996) and Six Days (The Private Press, 2002) and the crowd does get pumped towards the end as the bpm rises with some jungle-tinged vibes.

Thanks to some technical hitches delaying the start of the show, Organ Donor isn”™t quite the triumphant set closer it could have been as it is cut short, much to the disappointment of a crowd that is finally hyped.

Thankfully DJ Shadow appears to be going back to his crate-digging, experimental past with his latest tunes, and his classics get the heads nodding and the hands in the air, but with over-zealous stage production, this performance doesn”™t quite meet its full potential.

Photos by Claire Withington

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Reviews

AtmospherePhoto courtesy of gigwise.com The final instalment of my Glastonbury coverage, I look at some of the acts from the Sunday of the Festival. We focus on Everything Everything, These New Puritans, Gang of Four and LCD Soundsystem. Everything Everything Manchester-based Everything Everything blend a heady mix of Foals, Battles and pop sensibility to create a mind-twistingly catchy set of songs. They drew a good crowd to the John Peel Stage early on in the day, and did not disappoint, with a short but impressive set of their best-known tunes to date. Their debut album Man Alive is scheduled for August 2010, so see these guys touring in the near future. 8/10 Everything EvertythingPhoto courtesy of nme.com These New Puritans These New Puritans have always been ambitious – songwriter Jack Barnett reportedly learnt music notation in order to write the parts for the 3-part brass/woodwind ensemble heard on 2010 album Hidden (Angular/Domino, 2010). Multi-textured, ambiguously structured songs, cryptic lyrics and drums pounding louder than a 1000-strong Roman Army. And Glastonbury was to be no different. These New PuritansPhoto courtesy of nme.com The aforementioned brass ensemble joined them on stage to play a reworking of Hidden”™s closer 5, before launching into the pounding We Want War. The pace from there never abated, a constant drum-cacophony pushing the band through a set containing songs mainly from Hidden, apart from penultimate track Infinity. Rarely addressing the crowd, These New Puritans allow their music to confound the listener, presenting us with a backdrop of dense beats and leaving us to get on with the job of working it out for ourselves. In the seering weekend sun, though, we just don”™t have the energy. 6/10 Gang of Four Post-punk legends Gang Of Four were given a late afternoon slot following up-and-coming post-punk newboys The Drums. It was strange to see 56-year-old singer Jon King take to the stage following the sprightly boys of 20 minutes earlier, but they delivered an energetic, sneering set of their greatest hits. In particular, angry run-throughs of I Love a Man In Uniform and Damaged Goods were weekend highlights, eclipsed only by the appearance of a microwave oven on stage, and watching Jon King destroy it with a baseball bat in rhythm to the music. Fantastic. 8/10 Gang of FourPhoto courtesy of nme.com LCD Soundsystem Does James Murphy put any effort into being cool? Taking to the stage all in white, he addresses the crowd regarding the bands”™ mass-use of sunglasses: “Hi, it”™s very sunny, we”™ve not turned into LA arseholes, so sorry about this”¦not that I”™ve got anything against LA!” LCD SoundsystemPhoto courtesy of DrownedinSound.com Having to content with a deflated crowd following England”™s World Cup knock-out earlier in the day was not a problem, as classics Daft Punk Is Playing At My House, Tribulations and Yeah get the crowd jumping. With the sun setting on the final day of Glastonbury, high-energy disco-indie freakouts were just what the doctor ordered”¦ and if you were watching Orbital, who followed LCD on the Other Stage, the doctor is just what you got. The headliner on Sunday was Stevie Wonder, catch my review of his set, along with the other headliners and a Glasto review overall, here.

AtmospherePhoto courtesy of gigwise.com

The final instalment of my Glastonbury coverage, I look at some of the acts from the Sunday of the Festival. We focus on Everything Everything, These New Puritans, Gang of Four and LCD Soundsystem.


Everything Everything

Manchester-based Everything Everything blend a heady mix of Foals, Battles and pop sensibility to create a mind-twistingly catchy set of songs. They drew a good crowd to the John Peel Stage early on in the day, and did not disappoint, with a short but impressive set of their best-known tunes to date. Their debut album Man Alive is scheduled for August 2010, so see these guys touring in the near future. 8/10

Everything Evertything
Photo courtesy of nme.com

These New Puritans

These New Puritans have always been ambitious – songwriter Jack Barnett reportedly learnt music notation in order to write the parts for the 3-part brass/woodwind ensemble heard on 2010 album Hidden (Angular/Domino, 2010). Multi-textured, ambiguously structured songs, cryptic lyrics and drums pounding louder than a 1000-strong Roman Army. And Glastonbury was to be no different.

These New Puritans
Photo courtesy of nme.com

The aforementioned brass ensemble joined them on stage to play a reworking of Hidden”™s closer 5, before launching into the pounding We Want War. The pace from there never abated, a constant drum-cacophony pushing the band through a set containing songs mainly from Hidden, apart from penultimate track Infinity. Rarely addressing the crowd, These New Puritans allow their music to confound the listener, presenting us with a backdrop of dense beats and leaving us to get on with the job of working it out for ourselves. In the seering weekend sun, though, we just don”™t have the energy. 6/10

Gang of Four

Post-punk legends Gang Of Four were given a late afternoon slot following up-and-coming post-punk newboys The Drums. It was strange to see 56-year-old singer Jon King take to the stage following the sprightly boys of 20 minutes earlier, but they delivered an energetic, sneering set of their greatest hits. In particular, angry run-throughs of I Love a Man In Uniform and Damaged Goods were weekend highlights, eclipsed only by the appearance of a microwave oven on stage, and watching Jon King destroy it with a baseball bat in rhythm to the music. Fantastic. 8/10

Gang of Four
Photo courtesy of nme.com

LCD Soundsystem

Does James Murphy put any effort into being cool? Taking to the stage all in white, he addresses the crowd regarding the bands”™ mass-use of sunglasses: “Hi, it”™s very sunny, we”™ve not turned into LA arseholes, so sorry about this”¦not that I”™ve got anything against LA!”

LCD Soundsystem
Photo courtesy of DrownedinSound.com

Having to content with a deflated crowd following England”™s World Cup knock-out earlier in the day was not a problem, as classics Daft Punk Is Playing At My House, Tribulations and Yeah get the crowd jumping. With the sun setting on the final day of Glastonbury, high-energy disco-indie freakouts were just what the doctor ordered”¦ and if you were watching Orbital, who followed LCD on the Other Stage, the doctor is just what you got.

The headliner on Sunday was Stevie Wonder, catch my review of his set, along with the other headliners and a Glasto review overall, here.

Categories
Reviews

FlorencePhoto courtesy of www.citypages.com Focussing now on the Saturday of this years Glastonbury Festival, I review DJ Parker, Nero, The National, Biffy Clyro, Foals and The xx. Parker DJ Parker was a tip from Spotisfaction contributor Craig Haynes. A DJ Yoda styled dubtronica DJ, who gained some recent exposure with Where”™s My Monkey, a humourous retake on TC”™s Where”™s My Money, he was too low down the bill to attract the crowd his upbeat set deserved. This was a little gem of a DJ set, and he should be looked out for in future. 7.5/10 Nero Nero played twice over the weekend, once in the saloon style bar known as the Pussy Parlour late on Thursday, and once in the Glade, early on Saturday. There was little to get excited about on Saturday – especially when old timer Adrian Sherwood, due on after them, crashed their final song during his set up. Thursday, though, found Nero at the top of their game. NeroPhoto courtesy of www.wma.com Dubstep is maturing. The initial burst of dubstep a few years ago – fronted by Benga, Skream and others – stagnated somewhat, as these pioneers offered somewhat surprisingly downtempo releases. It”™s taken a few years for their influence to build, but there are now a new crop of dubstep artists who, having found a way to add textural influences from euphoric trance and techno along side the dub, heavy bass, and supermassive glitch two-step beats, are now drawing crowds and delivering electrifying sets. This weekend, along with Rusko, Nero showed that they are at the absolute pinnacle of the new breed of dubstep. 9/10 The National When the year is out and the aficionados are making their Album Of The Year lists, The National”™s brilliant High Violet (4AD, 2010) will be finding itself on most of them. Following on from their triumphant Royal Albert Hall gig in May, they return to the UK for Glastonbury, a festival they headlined, on the John Peel Stage, 2 years previously. In the dark, enclosed spaces of their own gigs, their downbeat, crooning songs squeeze touching melancholy into all four corners of the space; this time, though, they were appearing on the large open space of The Other Stage in the bright early evening of Saturday. The NationalPhoto courtesy of DrownedinSound.com Due to a combination of poor sound quality and the less-than-intimate space with which they had to try and communicate their sound to a festival crowd, their set did not hit the ground running. Fortunately, there seemed enough genuine fans to keep the set going, and the natural professionalism of the band was put into practice only 4 songs in when lead singer Matt Berninger jumped off the stage, microphone in hand, and furrowed deep into the crowd as far as his mic lead would carry him – a trick usually kept for much later in their performances, which became obvious when he jumped into the crowd for a second time later on (a fact this reviewer missed, having to leave slightly early to make it for the Special Guests) -  but one that enlivened the audience enough that the strength of their fantastic songs could carry them to the end of the set. 7/10 Biffy Clyro Biffy Clyro were the not-so-secret special guests on The Park Stage on Saturday, and they had a lot to live up to following Thom Yorke”™s exceptional set the day before. The crowd had swelled to gargantuan proportions by the time their set was due to start, an army of Biffy fans turning up with customary “”˜mon the Biffy” flags. Biffy The Biffy indeed take to the Park stage in the late afternoon and jump into a thumping rendition of That Golden Rule, the start of a rousing set of Biffy Clyro”™s most successful tracks. In particular, the melancholy Many A Horror and easy sing-along The Captain, used to close disappointingly short set – the only mark on an otherwise flawless set – were met with rapturous ovation from the huge crowd. While not quite the surprise of yesterday, but an excellent set. 8/10 At the end of the set, frontman Simon Neil climbed on his speaker one final time, and I had flashes of him landing awkwardly and falling over. Turns out I was quite the prophetic. Foals Hot-footing it straight from Biffy Clyro, I needed to catch Foals. Foals on record are somewhat of an enigma, their live shows expounding energy and musicianship. But their first record Antidotes (Transgressive, 2008) was surprisingly downbeat. Firstly, they got a little ahead of themselves in hiring Dave Sitek of TV On The Radio to produce it, only to reject his copy and remix it themselves, complaining that he”™d made it sound like it was “recorded in the Grand Canyon” (have you HEARD TVOTR, boys?). They also decided to eschew popular pre-release tracks Hummer and Mathletics, and these two things combined left an album that lulled a suprising amount, by building up tension in slower songs that had a dearth of upbeat songs to release the tension. Live, though, Foals continued to triumph, delivering adrenaline-rush, 1000-mph funk-punk. Foals The new album, Total Life Forever (Transgressive, 2010), was a realisation of the growing maturity in the band. The songs are louder, deeper (take a bow, Mr Sitek), more balanced, more energetic. It”™s still definitely downtempo, but you sense, when you see Foals live, that they”™ve got their craft exactly right now – explore songs and dynamics on record, but see them live to truly understand the band. Here at Glastonbury, Foals were in full swing, performing the new album impressively, transmitting their energy through their music and into the crowd, tighter-than-tight renditions of their growing catalogue of tunes, and the standard ”˜climb on the rigging and then jump into the crowd”™, a thrilling end to a fantastic party. See this band live, at all costs. 9/10 The xx The xx build atmosphere from sparse arrangements. It was going to be interesting to see how they coped with the loss of guitarist/keyboardist Baria Qureshi, and whether they would replace her minimal arrangements, or attempt to work out arrangements as a 3 piece. They chose the later, almost totally ignoring the parts of their former band member. The xx >Unfortunately, the gig suffered from a number of avoidable issues. Following the electrifying Foals set was going to be a real change of pace for a band so high up the bill, and with only one 40 minute album behind them, they were always going to be padding their set out. Which didn”™t match up well when they, conversely, chose not to replace the arrangements missing following Qureshi”™s departure. This had the result of reducing their already downbeat songs into something so empty it was half asleep. There”™s no doubting the strength of some of their songs, and the crowd did their best to keep the momentum of the gig going, but ultimately the set merely was a sluggish run through of the album. Not until Florence Welch joined them on stage to do a live version of their cover of You”™ve Got The Love did the stage come alive; indeed, Welch”™s take on the stutter-cut vocals heard in the remix was the most impressive things heard that night. 5/10 The headliner on Saturday was Muse, catch my review of their set, along with the other headliners and a Glasto review overall, here.

FlorencePhoto courtesy of www.citypages.com

Focussing now on the Saturday of this years Glastonbury Festival, I review DJ Parker, Nero, The National, Biffy Clyro, Foals and The xx.


Parker

DJ Parker was a tip from Spotisfaction contributor Craig Haynes. A DJ Yoda styled dubtronica DJ, who gained some recent exposure with Where”™s My Monkey, a humourous retake on TC”™s Where”™s My Money, he was too low down the bill to attract the crowd his upbeat set deserved. This was a little gem of a DJ set, and he should be looked out for in future. 7.5/10

Nero

Nero played twice over the weekend, once in the saloon style bar known as the Pussy Parlour late on Thursday, and once in the Glade, early on Saturday. There was little to get excited about on Saturday – especially when old timer Adrian Sherwood, due on after them, crashed their final song during his set up. Thursday, though, found Nero at the top of their game.

NeroPhoto courtesy of www.wma.com

Dubstep is maturing. The initial burst of dubstep a few years ago – fronted by Benga, Skream and others – stagnated somewhat, as these pioneers offered somewhat surprisingly downtempo releases. It”™s taken a few years for their influence to build, but there are now a new crop of dubstep artists who, having found a way to add textural influences from euphoric trance and techno along side the dub, heavy bass, and supermassive glitch two-step beats, are now drawing crowds and delivering electrifying sets. This weekend, along with Rusko, Nero showed that they are at the absolute pinnacle of the new breed of dubstep. 9/10

The National

When the year is out and the aficionados are making their Album Of The Year lists, The National”™s brilliant High Violet (4AD, 2010) will be finding itself on most of them. Following on from their triumphant Royal Albert Hall gig in May, they return to the UK for Glastonbury, a festival they headlined, on the John Peel Stage, 2 years previously. In the dark, enclosed spaces of their own gigs, their downbeat, crooning songs squeeze touching melancholy into all four corners of the space; this time, though, they were appearing on the large open space of The Other Stage in the bright early evening of Saturday.

The NationalPhoto courtesy of DrownedinSound.com

Due to a combination of poor sound quality and the less-than-intimate space with which they had to try and communicate their sound to a festival crowd, their set did not hit the ground running. Fortunately, there seemed enough genuine fans to keep the set going, and the natural professionalism of the band was put into practice only 4 songs in when lead singer Matt Berninger jumped off the stage, microphone in hand, and furrowed deep into the crowd as far as his mic lead would carry him – a trick usually kept for much later in their performances, which became obvious when he jumped into the crowd for a second time later on (a fact this reviewer missed, having to leave slightly early to make it for the Special Guests) -  but one that enlivened the audience enough that the strength of their fantastic songs could carry them to the end of the set. 7/10

Biffy Clyro

Biffy Clyro were the not-so-secret special guests on The Park Stage on Saturday, and they had a lot to live up to following Thom Yorke”™s exceptional set the day before. The crowd had swelled to gargantuan proportions by the time their set was due to start, an army of Biffy fans turning up with customary “”˜mon the Biffy” flags.

Biffy
The Biffy indeed take to the Park stage in the late afternoon and jump into a thumping rendition of That Golden Rule, the start of a rousing set of Biffy Clyro”™s most successful tracks. In particular, the melancholy Many A Horror and easy sing-along The Captain, used to close disappointingly short set – the only mark on an otherwise flawless set – were met with rapturous ovation from the huge crowd. While not quite the surprise of yesterday, but an excellent set. 8/10

At the end of the set, frontman Simon Neil climbed on his speaker one final time, and I had flashes of him landing awkwardly and falling over. Turns out I was quite the prophetic.

Foals

Hot-footing it straight from Biffy Clyro, I needed to catch Foals. Foals on record are somewhat of an enigma, their live shows expounding energy and musicianship. But their first record Antidotes (Transgressive, 2008) was surprisingly downbeat. Firstly, they got a little ahead of themselves in hiring Dave Sitek of TV On The Radio to produce it, only to reject his copy and remix it themselves, complaining that he”™d made it sound like it was “recorded in the Grand Canyon” (have you HEARD TVOTR, boys?). They also decided to eschew popular pre-release tracks Hummer and Mathletics, and these two things combined left an album that lulled a suprising amount, by building up tension in slower songs that had a dearth of upbeat songs to release the tension. Live, though, Foals continued to triumph, delivering adrenaline-rush, 1000-mph funk-punk.

Foals
The new album, Total Life Forever (Transgressive, 2010), was a realisation of the growing maturity in the band. The songs are louder, deeper (take a bow, Mr Sitek), more balanced, more energetic. It”™s still definitely downtempo, but you sense, when you see Foals live, that they”™ve got their craft exactly right now – explore songs and dynamics on record, but see them live to truly understand the band. Here at Glastonbury, Foals were in full swing, performing the new album impressively, transmitting their energy through their music and into the crowd, tighter-than-tight renditions of their growing catalogue of tunes, and the standard ”˜climb on the rigging and then jump into the crowd”™, a thrilling end to a fantastic party. See this band live, at all costs. 9/10

The xx

The xx build atmosphere from sparse arrangements. It was going to be interesting to see how they coped with the loss of guitarist/keyboardist Baria Qureshi, and whether they would replace her minimal arrangements, or attempt to work out arrangements as a 3 piece. They chose the later, almost totally ignoring the parts of their former band member.

The xx

>Unfortunately, the gig suffered from a number of avoidable issues. Following the electrifying Foals set was going to be a real change of pace for a band so high up the bill, and with only one 40 minute album behind them, they were always going to be padding their set out. Which didn”™t match up well when they, conversely, chose not to replace the arrangements missing following Qureshi”™s departure. This had the result of reducing their already downbeat songs into something so empty it was half asleep. There”™s no doubting the strength of some of their songs, and the crowd did their best to keep the momentum of the gig going, but ultimately the set merely was a sluggish run through of the album. Not until Florence Welch joined them on stage to do a live version of their cover of You”™ve Got The Love did the stage come alive; indeed, Welch”™s take on the stutter-cut vocals heard in the remix was the most impressive things heard that night. 5/10

The headliner on Saturday was Muse, catch my review of their set, along with the other headliners and a Glasto review overall, here.

Categories
Reviews

Photo courtesy of DrownedinSound.com For the second part of my Glastonbury review, I”™m focussing on day 2; the acts dotted around the festival on the Friday. This section features live reviews of Miike Snow, Mariachi El Bronx, Bonobo, Rusko and the amazing Thom Yorke. Miike Snow Miike Snow were not expecting success, but the exposure brought to them through remix-friendly material reworked by hype artists like Mark Ronson, Tiga and Fake Blood, a feature on massive American teen drama Gossip Girl and a bunch of simply great tracks, the success isn”™t a surprise. And this success was in evidence here at Glastonbury. Low down the bill, one of the first acts to play on the John Peel Stage at this years festival, you could be forgiven for thinking they were one of the headliners, such was the size of crowd they attracted. Photo courtesy of DrownedinSound.com The eponymous debut album is a fantastic listen, and tracks like Silvia and Burial all translate to Miike Snow”™s live show with incomparable ease. Unfortunately, the slower tracks, particularly Sans Soleil, which was chosen as the penultimate track to set closer Animal, served only to cede all the energy and momentum built up through the set. Animal was still a fantastic set closer, but you couldn”™t help but wonder how euphoric the set may have been had they not sent things into a lull only a few seconds before. 7/10 Mariachi El Bronx LA hardcore punk band The Bronx released three eponymous albums before taking on the pseudonym Mariachi El Bronx and quite literally writing a fully-embraced Mariachi record. On a blistering Friday afternoon they walk on in full black Mariachi attire (and LA sun-glasses, but directly facing the sun, we can let them off that as being function-before-style) and took us through a set that took us back to Mexico. Photo courtesy of Rock Sound Through their performance, they showed that they”™re enjoying their music, that the record is truly honest, and that their style of mariachi has been perfectly realised. It was truly odd to introduce that a song is about sexual perverts, only for it to break into bouncy, happy-go-lucky 3/4 waltz, but this helped to take the entire affair with the pinch of salt it deserved. Thoroughly recommended. 8/10 Bonobo Simon Green, otherwise known as Bonobo, has been an underground pioneer of chilled out beat electro for over a decade. Current album Black Sands (Ninja Tune, 2010) is a blissed out mix of trip-hop, soul and electro, but with textures so fleshed and layered that to label it ”˜chill out”™ does the musicianship a disservice. This was emphatically highlighted by the full band setup that took to the West Holts (previously Jazz World) stage on a still-glorious Friday afternoon. Vocalist Andreya Triana is a fantastic front for the band, her voice, pitched somewhere between Lauren Hill and Beth Gibbons, brings focus to an eclectic line-up – live drummer, bassist (Simon Green himself), acoustic guitarist, three-piece brass section and scratch DJ – and together they bring Bonobo”™s records to life in vibrant, stirring fashion. 8.5/10 Rusko Rusko is unashamedly a party DJ. Big basslines, big beats, and the most energetic DJ performance you will ever see. Though recent album OMG has a lot of garage influence and pop sensibilities, he chose here, backed by the Bezz-dancing of Skream, to drop a heavy, rave noisy dubstep set, and it took off. Perhaps the most hyped crowd seen all weekend, Glastonbury rocked as Rusko skreamed. 8.5/10 Thom Yorke / Johnny Greenwood Rumours abounded that Radiohead were to be the special guests on The Park Stage. Arriving at the stage suitable early, I was surprised to find the place less than full but as the time approached, the crowd unsurprisingly swelled. The sound technicians did their best not to give anything away, but even in the half-second of electronic samples we were given, it became increasingly obvious that, at the very least, we were about to get a set from The Eraser. Photo courtesy of Rock Sound We were not disappointed, as on stepped Thom Yorke, who treated us to a solo performance of some of the memorable moments of his solo work. A few song in, Johnny Greenwood took to the stage and between them worked on a medley of Radiohead and Eraser classics. Awe-inspiring moments included a guitar duet of Weird Fishes, a spine-tingling rendition of Pyramid Song, and the highlight of the festival: Karma Police. Incredible. 10/10 The headliner on Friday was Gorillaz, catch my review of their set, along with the other headliners and a Glasto review overall, here.

Photo courtesy of DrownedinSound.com

For the second part of my Glastonbury review, I”™m focussing on day 2; the acts dotted around the festival on the Friday. This section features live reviews of Miike Snow, Mariachi El Bronx, Bonobo, Rusko and the amazing Thom Yorke.

Miike Snow


Miike Snow were not expecting success, but the exposure brought to them through remix-friendly material reworked by hype artists like Mark Ronson, Tiga and Fake Blood, a feature on massive American teen drama Gossip Girl and a bunch of simply great tracks, the success isn”™t a surprise. And this success was in evidence here at Glastonbury. Low down the bill, one of the first acts to play on the John Peel Stage at this years festival, you could be forgiven for thinking they were one of the headliners, such was the size of crowd they attracted.

Photo courtesy of DrownedinSound.com

The eponymous debut album is a fantastic listen, and tracks like Silvia and Burial all translate to Miike Snow”™s live show with incomparable ease. Unfortunately, the slower tracks, particularly Sans Soleil, which was chosen as the penultimate track to set closer Animal, served only to cede all the energy and momentum built up through the set. Animal was still a fantastic set closer, but you couldn”™t help but wonder how euphoric the set may have been had they not sent things into a lull only a few seconds before. 7/10

Mariachi El Bronx

LA hardcore punk band The Bronx released three eponymous albums before taking on the pseudonym Mariachi El Bronx and quite literally writing a fully-embraced Mariachi record. On a blistering Friday afternoon they walk on in full black Mariachi attire (and LA sun-glasses, but directly facing the sun, we can let them off that as being function-before-style) and took us through a set that took us back to Mexico.

Photo courtesy of Rock Sound

Through their performance, they showed that they”™re enjoying their music, that the record is truly honest, and that their style of mariachi has been perfectly realised. It was truly odd to introduce that a song is about sexual perverts, only for it to break into bouncy, happy-go-lucky 3/4 waltz, but this helped to take the entire affair with the pinch of salt it deserved. Thoroughly recommended. 8/10

Bonobo

Simon Green, otherwise known as Bonobo, has been an underground pioneer of chilled out beat electro for over a decade. Current album Black Sands (Ninja Tune, 2010) is a blissed out mix of trip-hop, soul and electro, but with textures so fleshed and layered that to label it ”˜chill out”™ does the musicianship a disservice. This was emphatically highlighted by the full band setup that took to the West Holts (previously Jazz World) stage on a still-glorious Friday afternoon. Vocalist Andreya Triana is a fantastic front for the band, her voice, pitched somewhere between Lauren Hill and Beth Gibbons, brings focus to an eclectic line-up – live drummer, bassist (Simon Green himself), acoustic guitarist, three-piece brass section and scratch DJ – and together they bring Bonobo”™s records to life in vibrant, stirring fashion. 8.5/10

Rusko

Rusko is unashamedly a party DJ. Big basslines, big beats, and the most energetic DJ performance you will ever see. Though recent album OMG has a lot of garage influence and pop sensibilities, he chose here, backed by the Bezz-dancing of Skream, to drop a heavy, rave noisy dubstep set, and it took off. Perhaps the most hyped crowd seen all weekend, Glastonbury rocked as Rusko skreamed. 8.5/10

Thom Yorke / Johnny Greenwood

Rumours abounded that Radiohead were to be the special guests on The Park Stage. Arriving at the stage suitable early, I was surprised to find the place less than full but as the time approached, the crowd unsurprisingly swelled. The sound technicians did their best not to give anything away, but even in the half-second of electronic samples we were given, it became increasingly obvious that, at the very least, we were about to get a set from The Eraser.

Photo courtesy of Rock Sound

We were not disappointed, as on stepped Thom Yorke, who treated us to a solo performance of some of the memorable moments of his solo work. A few song in, Johnny Greenwood took to the stage and between them worked on a medley of Radiohead and Eraser classics. Awe-inspiring moments included a guitar duet of Weird Fishes, a spine-tingling rendition of Pyramid Song, and the highlight of the festival: Karma Police. Incredible. 10/10

The headliner on Friday was Gorillaz, catch my review of their set, along with the other headliners and a Glasto review overall, here.