With 2011's Reading and Leeds festival all but a week away, and ticket sales rendering this year's to be a flop, it's time to take a look at the best line ups in the festival's 40 year history.
5. Reading 2002
What happens if you take 2011's line up and add some quality bands and headliners to it? Well you get 2002's line up of course!
Headliners: The Strokes//Foo Fighters//The Prodigy (Guns N' Roses played Leeds only)
Subs: Pulp//Muse//The Offspring
Elsewhere: Weezer//The White Stripes//The Hives//Andrew WK//Incubus//Slipknot//Spiritualized//Black Rebel Motorcycle Club//Feeder//Aphex Twin
Future stars lower down: The Libertines//Death Cab for Cutie//Yeah Yeah Yeahs//The Vines//Interpol//The Streets//UNKLE
Weekend ticket: £90 Day ticket: £39
4. Reading 2005
One of Reading's strongest line ups in recent years, saw legendary indie band Pixies headlining during their first reunion tour since their split. Foo Fighters were back and Metal fans got Iron Maiden closing the festival on Sunday night. Kings of Leon treated fans to one of their best set lists on their R+L debut, a host of classics from Youth & Young Manhood and Aha Shake Heartbreak. Those were the days.
Headliners: Pixies//Foo Fighters//Iron Maiden
Subs: The Killers//Kings of Leon//Marilyn Manson
Elsewhere: Queens of the Stone Age//Razorlight//Iggy & the Stooges//The Coral//Kasabian//Bloc Party//The Tears//My Chemical Romance//Echo & the Bunnymen
Future stars lower down: Arctic Monkeys//Arcade Fire//Mystery Jets//We Are Scientists//Bullet For My Valentine//The National
Weekend ticket: £125 Day ticket: £60
3. Reading 2007
OK, so the headliners weren't too memorable; Razorlight?, RHCP giving their worst performance ever and the return of the Smashing Pumpkins not being as exciting as it should have been. However the line up just draws you in and who could forget memorable sub performances from Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire and Nine Inch Nails? Perhaps the first time in Reading's history where the subs have overshadowed the headliners?
Headliners: Razorlight//Red Hot Chili Peppers//The Smashing Pumpkins
Subs: Kings of Leon//Arcade Fire//Nine Inch Nails
Elsewhere: Interpol//Gossip//Bloc Party//Maximo Park//Lostprophets//Fall Out Boy//Klaxons//Ash//Jimmy Eat World//The Shins//Enter Shikari//Dinosaur Jr.
Future Stars lower down: Paramore//The King Blues//The Horrors//Crystal Castles//Bombay Bicycle Club//Foals
Weekend ticket: £145 Day ticket: £62.50
2. Reading 1992
Probably Reading's most memorable line up and headliner, Nirvana. However, the rest of the line up is fantastic and shows a great array of talent and originality from the era.
Headliners: The Wonder Stuff//Public Enemy//Nirvana
Subs: The Charlatans//Ride//Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
Elsewhere: Public Image Ltd.//PJ Harvey//Manic Street Preachers//Mudhoney//Teenage Fanclub
Future stars lower down: Pavement//Suede//Melvins//Beastie Boys//The Smashing Pumpkins
Weekend ticket: £49
1. Reading 1995
While it might not be the most recognizable line up in Reading's history, it is arguably it's strongest ever line up. A host of superstars from the 90s filled the stage, alongside the "legend" headliner, Neil Young, that is so sparse to find at the Berkshire festival these days. A true representation of what Reading should be about.
Headliners: The Smashing Pumpkins//Björk//Neil Young
Subs: Green Day//Paul Weller//Soundgarden
Elsewhere: Hole//Pavement//The Boo Radleys//Foo Fighters//Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine//Teenage Fanclub
Future Stars lower down: Beck//Ash//Cast//Pennywise//The Cardigans//Super Furry Animals
Weekend ticket: £60
Thursday, 18 August 2011
Thursday, 14 July 2011
Preview>>Latitude Festival 2011
The British festival season continues this weekend, with Latitude Festival taking place in Henham Park from Friday until Sunday. Headlining the Suffolk festival, are The National, Paolo Nutini and Suede respectively, with further performances from the likes of Foals, Kele, Bright Eyes, Eels, Paloma Faith, My Morning Jacket, The Cribs and Seasick Steve.
Brooklyn Indie quintet The National, have garnered critical acclaim throughout their career, but have only recently broke the mainstream through last year’s album, “High Violet”, which saw them nominated for two BRIT awards, ‘Best International Breakthrough’ and ‘Best International Album,’ losing in both categories to Justin Bieber and Arcade Fire respectively. Scottish singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini is headlining his second festival of the summer, after also topping the bill at Rockness festival in June, in his native country’s Highlands. Re-formed Britpop band Suede close the festival on Sunday night, in their first headline performance in the UK, since 1997’s Reading Festival, and they are keen to play a host of classics.
Tickets for the event have sold out, with weather predictions saying it will be muddy, with “strong winds and showers”. The event will be broadcast live on Sky Arts 1 from 9pm on all three days.
Seen It>>Weezer at Brixton Academy - 06.07.2011
Playing only their second gig in the UK since 2005, Reading and Leeds in 2010 being the only other, LA nerd rockers Weezer delighted a packed out crowd at Brixton Academy, playing a host of tracks from their first two albums. This was essentially a "warm up" to their weekend festival shows at Oxegen, Sonisphere and T in The Park, respectively, but this is by no means a warm up. It's the perfect chance for Weezer to show why they've become one of the biggest cult bands and influential bands since their formation in 1992.
Given that they had been touring around their native USA, playing both 'Weezer (Blue)' and 'Pinkerton' in full, a lot was expected of Weezer to deliver something similar. Opening track 'Undone - The Sweater Song', set the template for the night, as the crowd were in raptures and signing along to every word.
This was a night for the more hardcore Weezer fan, with Pinkerton tracks 'El Scorcho', 'Pink Triangle' and 'Tired of Sex' drawing louder cheers than perennial crowd-favourite, 'Buddy Holly.' Non-Blue or Pinkerton tracks such as 'Island In The Sun', which included front man Rivers Cuomo's improvised soliloquy to the crowd, 'Hash Pipe' and 'Pork and Beans,' also prove popular amongst the crowd. But the crowd went wild whenever a Blue track was unleashed, including 'No One Else', 'My Name is Jonas', 'The World Has Turned and Left Me Here' and 'Say it Ain't So.'
They even had time to throw in a couple of covers, most notably their ironic take on Wheatus' 'Teenage Dirtbag' (OK, own up, how many of you thought Weezer sang this?!) and Radiohead's 'OK Computer' classic 'Paranoid Android.'
A fan wearing a Weezer snuggie is allowed onstage for the encore and his singing and air guitar, during 'Buddy Holly', sums up the genial, party atmosphere inside the venue. A set like this makes it hard to pick out a highlight, as there were so many.
The band delivered a best-of Blue/Pinkerton set, with the crowd leaving in raptures and grins across their faces. This, pretty much, comes close to the perfect gig.
Setlist:
Undone – The Sweater Song
My Name Is Jonas
El Scorcho
Holiday
Pink Triangle
Susanne
Island in the Sun
Teenage Dirtbag
The Good Life
The World Has Turned and Left Me Here
Say it Ain’t So
Tired of Sex
You Gave Your Love to Me Softly
Pork and Beans
Across The Sea
The Greatest Man That Ever Lived
Only In Dreams
Paranoid Android
Encore:
Hash Pipe
Buddy Holly
Given that they had been touring around their native USA, playing both 'Weezer (Blue)' and 'Pinkerton' in full, a lot was expected of Weezer to deliver something similar. Opening track 'Undone - The Sweater Song', set the template for the night, as the crowd were in raptures and signing along to every word.
This was a night for the more hardcore Weezer fan, with Pinkerton tracks 'El Scorcho', 'Pink Triangle' and 'Tired of Sex' drawing louder cheers than perennial crowd-favourite, 'Buddy Holly.' Non-Blue or Pinkerton tracks such as 'Island In The Sun', which included front man Rivers Cuomo's improvised soliloquy to the crowd, 'Hash Pipe' and 'Pork and Beans,' also prove popular amongst the crowd. But the crowd went wild whenever a Blue track was unleashed, including 'No One Else', 'My Name is Jonas', 'The World Has Turned and Left Me Here' and 'Say it Ain't So.'
They even had time to throw in a couple of covers, most notably their ironic take on Wheatus' 'Teenage Dirtbag' (OK, own up, how many of you thought Weezer sang this?!) and Radiohead's 'OK Computer' classic 'Paranoid Android.'
A fan wearing a Weezer snuggie is allowed onstage for the encore and his singing and air guitar, during 'Buddy Holly', sums up the genial, party atmosphere inside the venue. A set like this makes it hard to pick out a highlight, as there were so many.
The band delivered a best-of Blue/Pinkerton set, with the crowd leaving in raptures and grins across their faces. This, pretty much, comes close to the perfect gig.
Setlist:
Undone – The Sweater Song
My Name Is Jonas
El Scorcho
Holiday
Pink Triangle
Susanne
Island in the Sun
Teenage Dirtbag
The Good Life
The World Has Turned and Left Me Here
Say it Ain’t So
Tired of Sex
You Gave Your Love to Me Softly
Pork and Beans
Across The Sea
The Greatest Man That Ever Lived
Only In Dreams
Paranoid Android
Encore:
Hash Pipe
Buddy Holly
Monday, 11 July 2011
Seen It>> Hurricane Festival - Schessel, Germany 17.06.2011-19.06.2011
Friday:
17.40-18.20//Irie Revoltes//German Hip-Hop/Punk ensemble from Heidelberg. They entertained the crowd on Friday afternoon with their songs comprising topics such as racism, prejudice, homophobia and sexism.
18.25-19.00//Kaizers Orchestra//Norwegian band hailing from Stavanger, the alternative rock band are similar to compatriots, Kvelertak, who were also on the bill, in singing in their native language.
19.40-20.20//Glasvegas//The Scottish quartet seemed to bring the rain and miserable weather with them to Germany, but it didn't stop James Allan and co from belting out their popular tunes, such as "Geraldine" and set-closer "Daddy's Gone".
21.10-22.00//Jimmy Eat World//The alternative rock quartet from Arizona were eagerly awaited by the young audience on the Blue Stage. They bundled their way through past hits and it seemed a rather tame spectacle, until the ending on popular hits "Bleed American", "The Middle" and "Sweetness" back to back.
23.25-01.00//Arcade Fire//The Montreal eight-piece have become a worldwide phenomenon ever since their headline set at Reading and Leeds in 2010, and they played to an eagerly-awaited and excited crowd at Hurricane. The band had opened their set with clips from their new film, "Scenes from the Suburbs" and they played several songs from the album which bored that title, "The Suburbs". However, unsurprisingly their most popular tracks came for their debut album, "Funeral", including the mash-up of "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" and "Rebellion (Lies)", "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" and the encore crowd-favourite "Wake Up".
00.45-02.00//The Chemical Brothers//The duo entertained the cold crowd on the Blue Stage with their remixes and instrumentals. However, it wasn't until they unleashed monster hits such as "Block Rockin' Beats" and "Galvanize" that the crowd really got going.
01.00-02.00/Sum 41//The Canadian four-piece are still proving their popularity, some 10 years since the release of "All Killer, No Filler", that they packed the Red Stage, forcing many revelers to have to stand outside and watch on the TV screen. They played a back catalogue of their biggest hits, including "Still Waiting", "We're All To Blame", "Motivation", "In Too Deep" and, of course, teenage anthem "Fat Lip", getting the mosh pit into a frenzy.
Saturday:
12.00-13.30//Pulled Apart By Horses/Leeds rockers PABH managed to awaken the entire campsite with their relentless and roaring riffs and usual mad stage antics. The breakfast mosh pit was into full gear with a host of tracks for their S/T Debut. They even asked for the rain to "fuck off" as they were on "holiday" at Hurricane.
14.45-15.20//Warpaint//All-girl band Warpaint managed to maintain their psychedelic hypnotic-riffs even though they were playing to open air. The LA quartet delivered crowd-pleasing renditions of 'Warpaint', 'Elephants' and 'Undertow' from debut album "The Fool".
17.30-18.20//Friendly Fires//The St Albans dance-punk trio livened up the early evening crowd in the sunshine, playing tracks from their debut album and highly-anticipated follow-up, "Pala".
19.30-20.30//Gogol Bordello//The gypsie-punks were lively as ever on the Green Stage, with the crowd moshing at every opportunity. Always one of the highlights of any festival they play and they didn't disappoint at Hurricane either.
23.00-00.30//Incubus//The alternative rock quartet from California were returning with a new album in tow, "If not now, When?" and their headline set treated the crowd to new singles such as "Adolescents", plus classics "Anna Molly", "Drive" and "Wish You Were Here."
01.00-02.00//Bright Eyes//Conor Oberst has signalled that the end is nigh for Bright Eyes and rather fittingly, he entered the stage dressed as the Grim Reaper. He seemed to spend more time yapping away, including about his “home girls” Warpaint, than he did play hits. That said, it was an enjoyable experience and should the Bright Eyes project end soon, it would be a big loss.
Sunday:
13.30-14.10//Blood Red Shoes//The Brighton duo seemed to bring the miserable weather with them, as they played host to a drenched crowd in the pouring rain. That didn't deter the rowdy crowd, as they chanted back the lyrics to hits including, "I Wish I was Someone Better", "Light It Up" and "It's Getting Boring by the Sea".
17.15-18.00//Flogging Molly//The Irish-American Celtic-Punk rockers entertained the crowd in the rain, with their collection of hits, including "Float" and "Drunken Lullabies". Irish jigging in the rain never sounded so fun!
18.45-19.55//The Hives//The Swedish garage rockers were up to their usual eccentric ways, belting out tune after tune, including "Main Offender", "Walk Idiot Walk" and "Hate to Say I Told You So." Front man Howlin' Pelle Almqvist had asked where his "25,000 screaming Germans were" and believed that God's intervention had stopped the rain, as "God loves The Hives," proving they've still got arrogance in bundles.
20.15-21.30//Arctic Monkeys//Sheffield's finest played a host of new tracks from album, "Suck it and See", alongside the classics from the first two albums. They were joined on stage by their mate and fellow Sunday performer, Miles Kane, to end their set on "505". They lacked their usual crowd chemistry that they regularly show in the UK, but it was a no nonsense show.
22.00-00.00//Foo Fighters//Headliners and festival closers, Foo Fighters, had a two-hour set packed of classics and new tracks from the album, "Wasting Light". Dave Grohl and co belted their way through an army of tracks, including "The Pretender", "Monkey Wrench", "Learn to Fly" and finisher "Everlong." Their set surely added to their reputation as currently the "World's biggest band".
17.40-18.20//Irie Revoltes//German Hip-Hop/Punk ensemble from Heidelberg. They entertained the crowd on Friday afternoon with their songs comprising topics such as racism, prejudice, homophobia and sexism.
18.25-19.00//Kaizers Orchestra//Norwegian band hailing from Stavanger, the alternative rock band are similar to compatriots, Kvelertak, who were also on the bill, in singing in their native language.
19.40-20.20//Glasvegas//The Scottish quartet seemed to bring the rain and miserable weather with them to Germany, but it didn't stop James Allan and co from belting out their popular tunes, such as "Geraldine" and set-closer "Daddy's Gone".
21.10-22.00//Jimmy Eat World//The alternative rock quartet from Arizona were eagerly awaited by the young audience on the Blue Stage. They bundled their way through past hits and it seemed a rather tame spectacle, until the ending on popular hits "Bleed American", "The Middle" and "Sweetness" back to back.
23.25-01.00//Arcade Fire//The Montreal eight-piece have become a worldwide phenomenon ever since their headline set at Reading and Leeds in 2010, and they played to an eagerly-awaited and excited crowd at Hurricane. The band had opened their set with clips from their new film, "Scenes from the Suburbs" and they played several songs from the album which bored that title, "The Suburbs". However, unsurprisingly their most popular tracks came for their debut album, "Funeral", including the mash-up of "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" and "Rebellion (Lies)", "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" and the encore crowd-favourite "Wake Up".
00.45-02.00//The Chemical Brothers//The duo entertained the cold crowd on the Blue Stage with their remixes and instrumentals. However, it wasn't until they unleashed monster hits such as "Block Rockin' Beats" and "Galvanize" that the crowd really got going.
01.00-02.00/Sum 41//The Canadian four-piece are still proving their popularity, some 10 years since the release of "All Killer, No Filler", that they packed the Red Stage, forcing many revelers to have to stand outside and watch on the TV screen. They played a back catalogue of their biggest hits, including "Still Waiting", "We're All To Blame", "Motivation", "In Too Deep" and, of course, teenage anthem "Fat Lip", getting the mosh pit into a frenzy.
Saturday:
12.00-13.30//Pulled Apart By Horses/Leeds rockers PABH managed to awaken the entire campsite with their relentless and roaring riffs and usual mad stage antics. The breakfast mosh pit was into full gear with a host of tracks for their S/T Debut. They even asked for the rain to "fuck off" as they were on "holiday" at Hurricane.
14.45-15.20//Warpaint//All-girl band Warpaint managed to maintain their psychedelic hypnotic-riffs even though they were playing to open air. The LA quartet delivered crowd-pleasing renditions of 'Warpaint', 'Elephants' and 'Undertow' from debut album "The Fool".
17.30-18.20//Friendly Fires//The St Albans dance-punk trio livened up the early evening crowd in the sunshine, playing tracks from their debut album and highly-anticipated follow-up, "Pala".
19.30-20.30//Gogol Bordello//The gypsie-punks were lively as ever on the Green Stage, with the crowd moshing at every opportunity. Always one of the highlights of any festival they play and they didn't disappoint at Hurricane either.
23.00-00.30//Incubus//The alternative rock quartet from California were returning with a new album in tow, "If not now, When?" and their headline set treated the crowd to new singles such as "Adolescents", plus classics "Anna Molly", "Drive" and "Wish You Were Here."
01.00-02.00//Bright Eyes//Conor Oberst has signalled that the end is nigh for Bright Eyes and rather fittingly, he entered the stage dressed as the Grim Reaper. He seemed to spend more time yapping away, including about his “home girls” Warpaint, than he did play hits. That said, it was an enjoyable experience and should the Bright Eyes project end soon, it would be a big loss.
Sunday:
13.30-14.10//Blood Red Shoes//The Brighton duo seemed to bring the miserable weather with them, as they played host to a drenched crowd in the pouring rain. That didn't deter the rowdy crowd, as they chanted back the lyrics to hits including, "I Wish I was Someone Better", "Light It Up" and "It's Getting Boring by the Sea".
17.15-18.00//Flogging Molly//The Irish-American Celtic-Punk rockers entertained the crowd in the rain, with their collection of hits, including "Float" and "Drunken Lullabies". Irish jigging in the rain never sounded so fun!
18.45-19.55//The Hives//The Swedish garage rockers were up to their usual eccentric ways, belting out tune after tune, including "Main Offender", "Walk Idiot Walk" and "Hate to Say I Told You So." Front man Howlin' Pelle Almqvist had asked where his "25,000 screaming Germans were" and believed that God's intervention had stopped the rain, as "God loves The Hives," proving they've still got arrogance in bundles.
20.15-21.30//Arctic Monkeys//Sheffield's finest played a host of new tracks from album, "Suck it and See", alongside the classics from the first two albums. They were joined on stage by their mate and fellow Sunday performer, Miles Kane, to end their set on "505". They lacked their usual crowd chemistry that they regularly show in the UK, but it was a no nonsense show.
22.00-00.00//Foo Fighters//Headliners and festival closers, Foo Fighters, had a two-hour set packed of classics and new tracks from the album, "Wasting Light". Dave Grohl and co belted their way through an army of tracks, including "The Pretender", "Monkey Wrench", "Learn to Fly" and finisher "Everlong." Their set surely added to their reputation as currently the "World's biggest band".
Seen It>>Arctic Monkeys - Don Valley Bowl, Sheffield 10.06.2011
The quartet returned home to deliver tracks from their eagerly-awaited fourth album, "Suck It and See" and play to some long-lost live favourites. The Monkeys played to a packed 10,000 strong tent, borrowed from the near by Leeds festival site, with fans travelling from all over.
Their intro was a quick and no-nonsense start to proceedings, with "A View from the Afternoon", quickly followed by "Brianstorm." They mostly played homage to their first two albums, including the Yorkshire-clad 2Still Take You Home", about nights out on their home turf. The hometown show, perhaps, was always a best place to debut tracks from their new album, with the crowd singing along with every word, despite the fact that their album had been out for barely a week. "Don't Sit Down, 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair", "Library Pictures", "Brick by Brick, "The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala" and "She's Thunderstorms" being the new tracks.
Though the big moment of the show, was the live return of fan favourite, "Mardy Bum", played to Alex Turner's sole guitar and the bellowing crowd. "You've always been better than me at singing this", Turner revealed looking emotional and struck for words. The band are later joined on stage by support act, Miles Kane, for anthem "505", before ending on "A Certain Romance", with Turner forgetting the words only for the crowd to support.
They may not have gone for the same stage show they had on recent tours, but all Arctic Monkeys needed was a hometown show and a return of live favourites, to once again regain their tag as "Britain's most loved band."
Setlist:
A View from the Afternoon
Brianstorm
This House is a Circus
Still Take You Home
Don't Sit Down, 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair
Library Pictures
Teddy Picker
Crying Lightning
Brick by Brick
The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala
Cornerstone
Mardy Bum
I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
She's Thunderstorms
Pretty Visitors
If You Were There, Beware
Do Me A Favour
That's Where You're Wrong
505
Encore:
When The Sun Goes Down
Fluorescent Adolescent
A Certain Romance
Their intro was a quick and no-nonsense start to proceedings, with "A View from the Afternoon", quickly followed by "Brianstorm." They mostly played homage to their first two albums, including the Yorkshire-clad 2Still Take You Home", about nights out on their home turf. The hometown show, perhaps, was always a best place to debut tracks from their new album, with the crowd singing along with every word, despite the fact that their album had been out for barely a week. "Don't Sit Down, 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair", "Library Pictures", "Brick by Brick, "The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala" and "She's Thunderstorms" being the new tracks.
Though the big moment of the show, was the live return of fan favourite, "Mardy Bum", played to Alex Turner's sole guitar and the bellowing crowd. "You've always been better than me at singing this", Turner revealed looking emotional and struck for words. The band are later joined on stage by support act, Miles Kane, for anthem "505", before ending on "A Certain Romance", with Turner forgetting the words only for the crowd to support.
They may not have gone for the same stage show they had on recent tours, but all Arctic Monkeys needed was a hometown show and a return of live favourites, to once again regain their tag as "Britain's most loved band."
Setlist:
A View from the Afternoon
Brianstorm
This House is a Circus
Still Take You Home
Don't Sit Down, 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair
Library Pictures
Teddy Picker
Crying Lightning
Brick by Brick
The Hellcat Spangled Shalalala
Cornerstone
Mardy Bum
I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
She's Thunderstorms
Pretty Visitors
If You Were There, Beware
Do Me A Favour
That's Where You're Wrong
505
Encore:
When The Sun Goes Down
Fluorescent Adolescent
A Certain Romance
Thursday, 9 June 2011
Reviews>>Arctic Monkeys - Suck It and See (Domino Recordings)
Alex Turner and co return with their fourth album, hoping to once again be crowned 'Britain's Best Band'. After the experimental, desert-rock of 'Humbug', which many felt was a backwards step for the Sheffield quartet, Turner promised the new record would be a "more poppier" affair. With song titles named after what would seem, a drunken booze up, the Monkeys have stopped taking themselves seriously, with the after-effects being positive. Lead single "Don't Sit Down, 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair", driven by its Alice in Chains bass-riff, contains lyrics such as "do the Macarena in the Devil's Lair" and "go into business with a grizzly bear", whilst "Library Pictures" contains "Library pictures, of the quickening canoe. The first of its kind to get to the moon."
Whilst 'Humbug' was recorded in the California desert with QOTSA front man Josh Homme in as producer, 'Suck it and See' was recorded in a LA studio, with James Ford back in. Homme, however, does return to add background vocals to "All My Own Stunts", where his voice is almost un-recognizable. In short, the album sounds nothing like the early March teaser, 'Brick by Brick', many predicted it would have been. Turner brings some of his crooning and balladry from the "Submarine" soundtrack, "Reckless Serenade" and "Piledriver Waltz", to show how he has developed as a musician from the days of writing songs about "fucking taxi ranks", a Turner himself put it.
Arctic Monkeys show how they have grown out of their contemporaries and have reclaimed their crown as both Britain's 'best guitar band', but more importantly, as Britain's 'best band.'
8/10
Monday, 16 May 2011
Seen It>>The Great Escape Festival//12-14 May (Various - Brighton)
No, not a homage to the classic Steve MacQueen movie, The Great Escape is, to quote themselves, "Europe's leading festival for new music". Quintessentially, the British answer to Austin's SXSW festival, it is the perfect way to start the ever-earlier festival season.
In case you've been living on the moon or in a cave for the past five years, then you would've heard about the festival, as it is the best place to catch the up-and-coming stars of the future. Chances are, your favourite artists of the past five years have played here, with Hall of Famers including Vampire Weekend, Kasabian, Ellie Goulding, Klaxons and current lady-of-the-moment Adele. Whilst it is a festival for discovering new bands, you can also catch artists who have broken through, with Friendly Fires, Sufjan Stevens, Katy B, Example and Warpaint, just a few names who played over the weekend.
Thursday's discoveries were:
Dry the River (Above Audio) - The five piece from London, brought their folk-infused indie rock, which also embraces Americana and gospel sounds. Their energetic and euphoric set was watched by a full crowd in the venue, and they left as one of the bands of the weekend.
The Smokin' Barrels (Komedia Downstairs) - The Geordie trio, heavily influenced by the Mod and Britpop eras. Their sound borrows heavily from their influences. They even had time to cover The Who's "My Generation" too. Ooh, get them.
In-Flight Safety (Jam) - Part of the Canadian invasion to hit Brighton, the Halifax, Nova Scotia quintet played melodic indie anthems to dramatic sounds. Like a cross between the synths and vocals of The Killers and the alternative sounds of Death Cab for Cutie, it won't be long till they're big.
Fight Like Apes (Coalition) - The Irish quartet from Dublin, brought their synth-electro punk anthems to the festival, giving a thrashing performance to supplement their attitude-fuelled songs.
Brasstronaut (Komedia Studio) - The Canadian quintet from Vancouver compress jazz, indie rock and electro, to harness their own impressive sound. Similar to compatriots Arcade Fire, their multi-instrumentals combining together really shouldn't work, but it does and to fantastic achievement, creating an original and highly enjoyable sound.
Friday's discoveries were:
Trails (Komedia Downstairs) - The quartet from Guildford tore apart the venue, with their impressive and raucous live shows. Their heavyweight riffs where supplemented by a collison of relentless energy and melodic vocals. With a summer EP due to be produced by James Kenosha, responsible for Pulled Apart By Horses and Dinosaur Pile-Up, they will soon by joining them as live favourites.
Brother & Bones (Komedia Downstairs)- The five piece managed to upstage Trails, with the bluesy-western folk and loud racket threatening to tear apart the venue. Quite how combining blues guitar solos and bongo drums works is suprising, but it does to great effect.
Gallops (Prince Albert)- Jagged guitars and electronics combine to produce dancefloor anthems, that more than make up for the lack of vocals from this North Wales quartet.
Funeral Suits (Hector's House)- Multi-instrumental Irish alternative band, combining guitars, with synths and keyboards. Their sound incorporates distorted guitars, art rock, electronica and harminous pop. Not bad for a band looking of a combined age of about 16.
Tripwires (Hector's House)- With influences including Sonic Youth and The Smashing Pumpkins, the Reading quartet are intent on bringing back the 90s grunge/alternative sound of the latter. With floppy hair and flannel shirts, it's as if Kurt Cobain has never been away! Their energetic live show includes distorted guitars and compulsory accompanying headbanging from the crowd.
Dinosaur Pile-Up (Jam)- The Leeds trio further enhanced their growing live reputation, with another incredible set that threaten to erupt the venue. A surging mosh that nearly broke the barrier, resulted in the band asking crowd members to join on stage, resulting in some poorly attempts at singing along with anthem "Traynor" and some terrible stagediving. The best band of the weekend, showing the newcomers how to do it.
That concludes the first two days of The Great Escape festival. Sadly, being unable to attend on Saturday, meant missing out on some quality bands, the beach and arcade games. Damn!
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