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With the imminent release of `Papillon` the lead single from the album, scheduled for release the day before on October 11th, we have also been given a tantalising glimpse of the new world that Editors hope to immerse us in, full of dark beats and electronica.
Now we have been given a video that, bizarrely, consists of lots of people running through streets at night and which I expect would be illegal - so don`t try this at home kids.
Adam Gibby (View Original Article)
Taking place on July 4th and July 5th they have produced a line up to rival any of the major festivals this year. Highlights on the Saturday (4th) include The Fratellis, The Pigeon Detectives, The View, Ash, Echo and the Bunnymen, Howling Bells, Bell X1, Florence and the Machine and Johnny Foreigner. The Sunday line up is equally mouth watering with its headline slot filled by Paul Weller alongside whom we have the likes of Editors, Doves, Super Furry Animals, The Twang, Mystery Jets, Ladyhawke and Danananaykroyd. More acts are still to be announced and the complete line up so far can be found at the festival’s website, located at the end of this piece.
Alongside the music are a few other nice touches. Carrying on the theme of listening to the fans, personal food and drink will be available on site, along with several bars that will also be selling real ale (only fitting from a Hop Farm!). There will also be several charity events including a celebrity 5-a-side football tournament, more details of which can be found at the website.
With day tickets going for £65 and a weekend ticket for £125, Hop Farm Festival is one of the most affordable tickets and one that you can’t afford to miss.
For full details and line up see:
http://www.hopfarmfestival.com
Adam Gibby (View Original Article)
Editors are to head back to the studio in the next few months with producer Jacknife Lee to record their third album and the follow-up to their slightly disappointing sophomore effort `An End Has a Start`.
According to guitarist Chris Urbanowicz in an interview with NME.com, he has been heavily influenced by Brad Fiedel`s score for 1984 film `The Terminator`.
"We`ve started writing differently and taking a new approach," he said. "I`ve started writing a lot of riffs on synthesisers and there`s a lot more electronics, samples and drum loops on it. I keep referencing the `Terminator` theme."
The full interview can be seen here.
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
The line up for the Reading and Leeds festivals were announced yesterday (March 31st) and the full line up (so far) is:
Reading: Friday August 22, Leeds: Saturday August 23
Main Stage Rage Against The Machine
Queens Of The Stone Age
The Fratellis
The Enemy
Biffy Clyro
Serj Tankian
Dizzee Rascal
Taking Back Sunday
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly
Anti-Flag
NME/Radio 1 Stage
Babyshambles
The Wombats
Vampire Weekend
MGMT
Reading: Saturday August 23, Leeds: Sunday August 24
Main Stage
The Killers
Bloc Party
The Raconteurs
Editors
We Are Scientists
Dirty Pretty Things
The Subways
NME/Radio 1 Stage
Manic Street Preachers
Bullet For My Valentine
Justice
Foals
Reading: Sunday August 24, Leeds: Friday August 23
Main Stage
Metallica
Tenacious D
Slipknot
Feeder
Avenged Sevenfold
Dropkick Murphys
NME/Radio 1 Stage
The Cribs
Conor Oberst
Pendulum
Nick Foster (View Original Article)
The Internet assures us that the following have a very high chance of playing...
Rage Against The Machine, NOFX, Metallica, Biritish Sea Power, Cut Off Your Hands, The Killers, Editors, Queens of the Stone Age, Avenged Sevenfold, Lightspeed Champion, Slipknot, Gallows, The Ting Tings, Enter Shikari, Young Knives, The Cribs, Modest Mouse, The Enemy, Machine Head.
While rumourmongers are optimistic about the following...
Green Day, Foo Fighters, My Chemical Romance, The Kooks, Foals, Glasvegas, The Wombats, Los Campesinos!, The Subways, Dizzee Rascal, Bloc Party, Metronomy.
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
The band have also been confirmed as support on Editors tour which begins next week and takes in the following venues:
Editors / Sons and Daughters Tour
Feb 28 - Blackpool Empress Ballroom
29 - Birmingham National Indoor Arena
Mar 2 - Doncaster Dome
3 - Manchester Apollo
5 - London Alexandra Palace
Following that they'll head to SXSW where they'll play an unprecedented five shows during the Domino showcase.
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
Arctic Monkeys snapped up three deserved nominations for Best Group, Album and Live Act while Kaiser Chiefs matched them, gaining recognition for the year's finest number one single 'Ruby' and deservedly missing out on a nomination for their bitterly disappointing second album.
Mercury veterans Klaxons and Bat For Lashes gained two nominations. The former making a baffling appearance in the 'Best Live Act' category with Natasha Khan taking full advantage of the notoriously undercontested 'Best Female' category.
The awards show takes place on 20th February at London's Earls Court, presented by the unintelligible Ozzy and the unlikable Sharon Osbourne.
Full Nominations List
CDX tip in italics
Best British Male
Jamie T
Mark Ronson
Mika
Newton Faulkner
Richard Hawley
Best British Female
Bat For Lashes
Kate Nash
KT Tunstall
Leona Lewis
PJ Harvey
Best British Group
Arctic Monkeys
Editors
Girls Aloud
Kaiser Chiefs
Take That
Best British Album
Arctic Monkeys - 'Favourite Worst Nightmare'
Leona Lewis - 'Spirit'
Mark Ronson - 'Version'
Mika - 'Life in Cartoon Motion;
Take That - 'Beautiful World'
Best British Breakthrough Act
Best British Live Act
Best British Single
Best International Male
Best International Female
Best International Group
Best International Album
Outstanding Contribution Award
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
Bat For Lashes
Kate Nash
Klaxons
Leona Lewis
Arctic Monkeys
Kaiser Chiefs
Klaxons
Muse
Take That
The Hoosiers - 'Worried About Ray'
James Blunt - '1973'
Kaiser Chiefs - 'Ruby'
Kate Nash - 'Foundations'
Leona Lewis - 'Bleeding Love'
Mark Ronson - 'Valerie'
Mika - 'Grace Kelly'
Mutya Buena - 'Real Girl'
Sugababes - 'About You Now'
Take That - 'Shine'
Bruce Springsteen
Kanye West
Rufus Wainwright
Timbaland
Michael Buble
Alicia Keys
Bjork
Feist
Kylie Minogue
Rihanna
The Arcade Fire
The Eagles
Foo Fighters
Kings of Leon
The White Stripes
The Arcade Fire - 'Neon Bible'
The Eagles - 'Long Road Out Of Eden'
Foo Fighters - 'Echoes, Silence, Patience, Grace'
Kings of Leon - 'Because of the Times'
Kylie Minogue - 'X'
Paul McCartney
Kaiser Chiefs start the ball rolling with their cover of The Move's 'Flowers in the Rain', the first record Tony Blackburn played on the first Radio 1 show in 1967 (discounting his own theme tune of course) and every year is represented up until 2006 - The Raconteurs 'Steady As She Goes' covered by Corinne Bailey-Rae who ironically has not been heard by anyone since 2006.
Elsewhere, genuine intrigue surrounds Klaxons' cover of 'No Diggity', Kasabian's 'Too Much Too Young' and Franz Ferdinand's 'Sound and Vision'.
There's clearly been a lot of shifting and relaxing of 'rules' as many tracks which are covers themselves are covered and many are based on the years those tracks were re-issued. Will any of the acts do the originals justice? We shall see.
Tracklisting
1. Kaiser Chiefs - 'Flowers in the Rain' (The Move)
2. The Fratellis - 'All Along The Watchtower' (Jimi Hendrix Experience)
3. Amy Winehouse - 'Cupid' (Johnny Nash)
4. Robbie Williams – 'Lola' (The Kinks)
5. The Streets - 'Your Song' (Elton John)
6. Sugababes - 'Betcha By Golly Wow' (The Stylistics)
7. The Feeling - 'You’re So Vain' (Carly Simon)
8. Foo Fighters - 'Band On The Run' (Wings)
9. Kylie Minogue - 'Love Is The Drug' (Roxy Music)
10.KT Tunstall - 'Let’s Stick Together' (Bryan Ferry)
11.Franz Ferdinand – 'Sound & Vision' (David Bowie)
12.The Raconteurs - 'Teenage Kicks' (The Undertones)
13.The 'Flamboyant' Mika - 'Can’t Stand Losing You' (The Police)
14.Kasabian - 'Too Much Too Young' (The Specials)
15.Keane - 'Under Pressure' (Queen & David Bowie)
16.McFly - 'Town Called Malice' (The Jam)
17.James Morrison - 'Come Back And Stay' (Paul Young)
18.The Gossip - 'Careless Whisper' (George Michael)
19.Pigeon Detectives – 'The Power Of Love' (Huey Lewis & The News)
20.Lily Allen - 'Don’t Get Me Wrong' (The Pretenders)
21.The Stereophonics - 'You Sexy Thing' (Hot Chocolate)
22.Mutya Buena - 'Fast Car' (Tracy Chapman)
23.Editors - 'Lullaby' (The Cure)
24.Razorlight - 'Englishman In New York' (Sting)
25.Groove Armada - 'Crazy For You' (Madonna)
26.Paolo Nutini - 'It Must Be Love' (Madness)
27.The Kooks - 'All That She Wants' (Ace Of Base)
28.Mark Ronson - 'You’re All I Need To Get By' (Mary J Blige)
29.Calvin Harris - 'Stillness In Time' (Jamiroquai)
30.Klaxons - 'No Diggity' (Blackstreet)
31.Just Jack - 'Love Fool' (The Cardigans)
32.Natasha Bedingfield - 'Ray Of Light' (Madonna)
33.The Twang - 'Drinking in LA' (Bran Van 3000)
34.The Fray - 'The Great Beyond' (REM)
35.Girls Aloud - 'Teenage Dirtbag' (Wheatus)
36.Maximo Park - 'Like I Love You' (Justin Timberlake)
37.The View - 'Don’t Look Back Into The Sun' (The Libertines)
38.Hard-Fi - 'Toxic' (Britney Spears)
39.The Enemy - 'Father & Son' (Yusuf Islam & Ronan Keating)
40.Corinne Bailey Rae - 'Steady As She Goes' (The Raconteurs)
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
"Why I feel sorry for them is that we put out our first album Turn on the Bright Lights and we're fucking Joy Division reincarnated, and then the Editors appear and they're the British Interpol. Just leave them alone and leave us alone. If indeed they have influence from us I think that's flattering."
Editors release the Interpol-esque 'The End Has a Start' as the second single off the album with the same name on the 3rd September through Kitchenware Records.
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
"When people dismiss us as a second-rate whoever it pisses you off. Vocally there is a similarity with Interpol and that's fine but our first album 'The Back Room' doesn't sound anything like them. What amazes me is we still get that on this record, 'An End Has A Start', which sounds nothing like Interpol or Joy Division."
He's right you know, 'An End Has A Start' is not fit to lick the boots of either band and actually sounds as though Editors set out to exorcise these highly flattering comparisons when recording the album.
One wonders how he'd react to comparisons with Coldplay and Snow Patrol which is the flip to the lazy-comparo-journalist's coin of choice.
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
Friday's line-up is rather sparse with only the Main Stage, T-Break and the Bacardi Bar boasting a full evening line up. I'd heartily recommend Edgar Prais who open the T-Break stage and have some excellent tunes in their arsenal. Once they've played I'd grab a few beers and wait for Bloc Party then Arctic Monkeys. If you can fit in Kobai who play in the gap in between then all the better - they're a Glasgow band who suitably tickled us last year with their 'Serotonin' single.
So to Saturday and the first full day. Take things slowly to begin with at the Bacardi Bar and visit our old employers Snafu until you're sure it's safe and the Saw Doctors have finished. On no account go near the Main Stage until The Skids come on, then rabidly sing 'Ahoy! Ahoy!' with every old bloke within a forty mile radius. Immediately after scoot off to King Tut's for another, yet completely different, Scottish band in Camera Obscura.
We hear Gogol Bordello have cancelled but it does mean the unfortunate clash with the Long Blondes is no longer an issue. Go see the latter for a performance high on sex and fun. Speaking of which, CSS follow immediately on the NME stage if you don't fancy the retro sound of James or the er...retro sound of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
After sticking your head round the door of the Slam Tent to hear a bit of Dizzee Rascal, get yourself a good spot for the anthemic sound of The Arcade Fire. Then, well, it's up to you, Hot Chip are one hundred times the live band that The Klaxons are but let your hype-o-meter lead you. Of course, I'll probably miss both as my desperation to see Brian Wilson (and not one of the fucking Killers, Kooks or The View) is so high that I'm probably going to shack up in the Pet Sounds tent early.
Sunday must start with a visit to the Slam Tent to see Andy 'It's Andrew Weatherall you cunt' Weatherall. At Oxegen two years ago he surprised punters by playing a punk rock set, who knows what the legendary DJ and producer will do this time. Next I'd recommend you remain in the Slam Tent for Digitalism's live show or head off to the Pet Sounds arena for a double bill of ex-Arab Strap man Malcolm Middleton followed by US college-rock revivalists The Hold Steady.
After a quick lunch, take your pick from either The Twang or Switches to snoozily listen to from the back of the crowd, then get yourself a good place for The Gossip on the NME stage. Expect a big crowd as those preoccupied with Beth Ditto's size will be treating it as a freakshow. Of course, if they play 'Standing in the Way of Control' first then the crowd will soon dwindle.
Being very careful to ignore the two Jacks on offer (Just Jack and Jack Penate) you should now head to the Pet Sounds arena to enjoy the unique sounds of the Brian Jonestown Massacre in a rare Scottish performance.
I'd then recommend a nice long snooze for three hours. Have a walk round the stalls, try your luck in the fairground (if you can walk through it without being accosted by neds then you win) and sample the most bizarre 'ethnic' food that you can. You'll only be missing the likes of The Fratellis, Ocean Colour Scene, Jet, Badly Drawn Boy, Mika, Enter Shikari and whichever two of the Wu Tang Clan turn up.
Later on we have the day's conundrum. Which of Interpol, Editors, Air, Pipettes, Hardfloor and The Little Kicks would you most like to see and why the fuck are they all on at the same time? Afterwards you can wonder why there's pretty much nothing decent following any of them. However, when pushed, plump for Queens of the Stone Age if you can make it into the King Tut's Tent.
Download your own T in the Park schedule here
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
Friday 22nd June
Pyramid Stage
Arctic Monkeys
Kasabian
The Fratellis
Bloc Party
The Magic Numbers
Amy Winehouse
Gogol Bordello
The Earlies
The View
Adjagas
Other Stage
Bjork
The Arcade Fire
Rufus Wainwright
The Coral
Super Furry Animals
Bright Eyes
The Automatic
Modest Mouse
The Cribs
Reverend and the Makers
Mr Hudson and the Library
Saturday 23rd June
Pyramid Stage
The Killers
The Kooks
Paul Weller
Paolo Nutini
Lily Allen
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
Guillemots
The Pipettes
Seasick Steve
Liz Green
Other Stage
The Stooges
Editors
Maximo Park
Babyshambles
Klaxons
CSS
Biffy Clyro
The Long Blondes
Brakes
El Presidente
Switches
Sunday 24th June
Pyramid Stage
The Who
Kaiser Chiefs
Manic Street Preachers
Shirley Bassey
James Morrison
The Marley Brothers perform 'Exodus'
The Waterboys
Corb Lund
The National Youth Orchestra
Other Stage
Chemical Brothers
The View
The Go! Team
Mika
The Rakes
Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly
Cold War Kids
Sunshine Underground
The Enemy
The Holloways
Kharma 45
So, a little something for everyone there, including a performance from everyone's favourites Kharma 45 for the Sunday early birds - if they actually turn up to this festival...disappointment caused by their Reading no-show last year was huge.
Obviously Glastonbury has a range of other stages including the John Peel stage, One World, Circus and the Hungarian Performance Art Circle. So, don't spend too long ogling at these middling indie bands will you?
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
The album will be preceded by new single 'Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors' out digitally on the 11th June and on other formats a week later.
Here's the full tracklisting:
1. 'Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors'
2. 'An End Has A Start'
3. 'The Weight Of The World'
4. 'Bones'
5. 'When Anger Shows'
6. 'The Racing Rats'
7. 'Push Your Head Towards The Air'
8. 'Escape The Nest'
9. 'Spiders'
10.'Well Worn Hand'
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
Top 5 albums
1) Editors - The Back Room
2) LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem
3) WhoMadeWho - WhoMadeWho
4) Princess Superstar - My Machine
5) The Dead 60's - The Dead 60's
2005 has been pretty good for albums, and it must be said it was pretty difficult making a top 5 only. Franz Ferdinand's You Could Have It So Much Better and MIA's Arular only just missed out thanks to late entries from WhoMadeWho , who proved they are more than a one trick pony, and an all star Production team helping Princess Superstar push her game forward. What's more encouraging however is that, with the exception of Princess " Marmite" Superstar, the top 5 albums are all debut albums. Roll on 2006 and that forthcoming debut from Akira The Don ...
Top 5 Singles
1) Editors - Blood
2=) Franz Ferdinand - Do You Want To
2=) The Futureheads - Area
4) Akira The Don - Clones
5) LCD Soundsystem - Tribulations
It's really been all about the Editors this year. The band didn't register until I heard Blood and although it's a lazy comparison, especially on this single they are Joy Division reincarnated. Easily the biggest prospect to be "the next Coldplay" in terms of their sales and thankfully not their music, expect to see the forthcoming reissue of Munich do big things in the traditionally dead New Year charts. One breakthrough single is all it took Coldplay after all. Franz Ferdinand meantime proved you could squeeze three songs into one and provided this year's biggest anthem, whereas the Futureheads just go from strength to strength. If you haven't already, go and buy the Area EP as rumors are it will not be on the new album. CDX favorite Akira The Don scored his first no.1 with Clones, albeit a CDX number one. It's a cracker though, and criminally neglected in the "real" charts. LCD Soundsystem meantime provided not only one of the best live shows of this year, but possibly also the catchiest chorus of this year.
Top 3 Remixes
1) Jem - They (Photek Remix)
2) Franz Ferdinand - The Fallen (Justice Remix)
3) The White Stripes - Blue Orchid (High Contrast Remix)
Jem ? Jem ? Truly Outrageous you may think but Photek had a stunning return to his Drum & Bass roots in his demolition of the fairly timid yet catchy Jem track. The drums are tuned to perfection, and it just sounds like a nothing you've heard when you catch it played loud. Justice meantime turn Franz Ferdinand into a glitch / rap act to equally stunning effect. The only complaint on this front is that it's too damn short. High Contrast, whilst also increasing momentum in his own right as one of the premier league Drum & Bass acts, turned in this limited edition remix for the White Stripes turning one of this years biggest Indie rock tracks into a drum & bass monster: it doesn't essentially change much, just ups the ante some considerable degrees. Every time I've played this out this year, it has created absolute havoc.
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
All tracks cost 99p and feature sneak previews so you can hear what you're buying. War Child Music would love to present the charity with a five figure cheque, so if you like the sound of some of the tracks above then get your credit card out and enjoy!
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
In characteristic Franz fashion, the new US single will not be 'Walk Away', but altogether rockier album opener 'The Fallen'...so keep your eyes peeled for the import versions.
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
That’s the real trouble with this album. A lot of it takes a while to click and a lot of people won’t have the patience to sit there and listen to it 10, 15, even 20 times. They’ll dismiss it as being crap. However, when Editors get it right they really get it right with ‘Bricks and Mortar’ and ‘You Don’t Know Love’ sitting comfortably alongside the best stuff that they have written. The former is THE Terminator inspired song, its synth line seemingly lifted straight from the film, and is the closest that we get to an anthemic ‘Smokers...’ type song on the album. The latter is the album highlight with a steady build up, complete with ‘ooohs’ and ‘aaahs’, before bringing Tom’s increasingly emotive vocals over a rare example of their signature guitar riffs.
Next comes ‘The Big Exit’, which I would describe as poor, but others have described at brilliant. A further example of opinions being split. After that we have lovely, melodic ‘The Boxer’ and ‘Like Treasure’, which features their most commercially appealing synth hook, after ‘Papillon’. To close the album we are given to vastly different songs. ‘Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool’ is full of dark energy and is the heaviest we have ever seen Editors whereas the album closer, ‘Walk The Fleet Road’ is a beautiful, layered track; certainly the best album closer we have seen from them so far.
All in all, this could prove to be a pivotal record for them. It’s impossible to predict whether they will lose or gain fans but we see them growing in to themselves both in terms of inhabiting a record and in terms of ambition. We’ll have to wait until the next album to see where all of this takes them.
Adam Gibby (View Original Article)
The day itself must be applauded and celebrated and, yes, the nation still retains a morbid fascination with the cover version at this time but it doesn't stop the first CD from being a largely joyless wasteground of pointless retreads, some of which (yes, I'm looking at you Liam Howlett and co who re-submit their 'lost' cover of The Specials' 'Ghost Town') have featured on other such compilations (The NME's 50th anniversary afterthought collection '1 Love'). However, redemption is found in Editor Tom Smith's sound departure on Prefab Sprout's 'Bonny', British Sea Power's assured shoegazing tribute to Galaxie 500's 'Tug Boat' and The Charlatans nod to the origins of their latest New Order-heavy LP with their hammond-infused run through 'Murder'.
Perhaps faring best of all are Feeder with a brave and shockingly accurate attempt on 'Public Image' and Devendra Banhart's successful nurturing of 'Don't Look Back in Anger' from a simple Lennon-copyist nursery rhyme into something with real substance.
What you really should be picking up this compilation for is the second disc which crams some of the most exciting up and coming acts covering the entire indie gamut into a neat fifteen tracks. Alongside better known acts such as Goose and Basia Bulat are some genuinenly exciting prospects such as the lo-fi indie pop of Thomas Tantrum ('Swan Lake'), a perfect Mambo Taxi impression from Shrag ('Long Term Monster') and the fiery pop rock of Bang Bangs ('In Arms'). The ones to skip to first, however, are The Tenderfoot's 'People are the Problem' which brings to mind Gruff Rhys backed by robot versions of the Beach Boys, and the scintillating low-ridin' gangsta jazz of Jose James & Flying Lotus' 'Visions of Violet'.
Coupled with the timely comeback of My Bloody Valentine and the collective might of these hand-picked future stars, all I can say is roll on 'ID09'...just ditch the covers concept and give us two discs of the new stuff next time though.
Buy: Play.com, Amazon.co.uk, HMV, Zavvi.
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
Adam Gibby (View Original Article)
Nick Foster (View Original Article)
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
Beautiful chiming guitars and beguiling lyrics about somebody burning like a 'Dancing Cigarette' all add to the general brooding atmosphere of the track, and ultimately this is what separates Editors from their peers: the ability to make atmospheric Joy Division-esque new wave without sounding contrived and soulless. In the words of Alan Partridge quoting Shakin' Stevens, it's "Lovely Stuff".
Ben Goldrun (View Original Article)
2005 was a good year for the Editors - I would expect 2006 to be an even better year, and although this is a re-release, it's worthy of a strong chart position which the band so urgently now need to secure their position as "the next big thing", which they deserve so much. If you lot help, it should get the top ten at least in the dead January market. If you don't buy this, please go and buy their album instead - I promise you won't be disappointed. And I think I've just worked out why this is called Munich.
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
Saturday 4th July 2009
The Hop Farm Festival started for me with a leisurely ten minute drive from my house. That’s one in the eye for all of those who had to travel from far and wide in order to savour the delights that the festival had in store for us and, although many people claim that the campsite provides the very essence of any festival, I was looking forward to going home for a good night’s sleep! After being held up in the guest list queue by some tits who thought they were on the list but quite clearly weren’t, it was off to the press tent for a look at the day’s schedule. Why pay the quite frankly extortionate price of £5 for a guide when a few clicks of my camera phone could do the job?!
All of this meant that I, somewhat predictably, missed the opening band of the day, 12 Dirty Bullets but seeing as how they didn’t seem to be on the pre-festival billing anyway I didn’t mind too much. So the honour of being my first band of the day went to Howling Bells. Out came Juanita and co and launched in to a set that included their most recent singles ‘Digital Hearts’ and ‘Cities Burning Down’. I have a theory that those Antipodeans put something in their water as they produce some fine looking women. This is a theory that Ladyhawke managed to back up the following day. Unfortunately for the Bells their early time slot meant that they weren’t getting the most out of the crowd but they still managed to hold their own and engaged with a fan with an air horn. Next up were Noah and the Whale, who I can remember alarmingly little about. I have no notes, no photos and can vaguely remember a very enthusiastic, floppy-haired violinist and a big reception for their much loved ‘5 Years Time’. Maybe my drink was spiked...?
Looking around the site it was good to see a lot of families in the crowd, many with picnics, introducing their children to the joys of live music. It’s refreshing to see a family orientated festival that can still be enjoyed by the older people as well, even if it does mean that we have to endure parents with their kids on their shoulders standing right in front of us!
Keeping up with the no branding, ethical love-in nature of the festival, between all of the acts I was delighted to see a man giving out free hugs and plenty of festival goers taking advantage of his generosity. Unfortunately he disappeared before I could document his activities.
Having refused to enter the photo pit at the front of the stage up to this point because of a severe case of camera envy, the arrival of Florence and the Machine prompted me to throw caution to the wind and enter the fray. I’ve been listening to her debut album, ‘Lungs’, almost religiously for the past couple of weeks so she was naturally one of the acts that I was looking forward to most and she didn’t disappoint, owning the stage from the moment she stepped out on to it. Many critics have mentioned her ‘eccentric’ performance style but I don’t think it’s too eccentric. People tend to forget that she’s only 22 and she’s just very obviously having a great time. Twirling and dancing her way through previous singles such as ‘Dog Days Are Over’ and ‘Kiss With a Fist’ the songs take on a whole new life and showcase her hugely impressive vocals. "This is `Cosmic Love`" she says, "the name’s kind of lame but it started off as a joke and then stuck" before launching in to the album highlight. Finishing off with current single ‘Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up)’ she leaves the stage to rapturous applause and was one of the highlights of the weekend.
After Florence I set off to explore the site and was impressed by the sheer amount of t-shirts and silly hats that could be packed in to one field. One thing that I was impressed and appalled by in equal measure was the persistence of the girls trying to give out massages. After walking past for about the millionth time they must have recognised me and yet time after time they kept on offering. Maybe they were attracted by the dashing shade of scarlet I’d turned by that point, having been caught out by the sun.
Anyway it was back off to the main stage for every Dad’s favourite: Echo and the Bunnymen. I can’t help but feel that the generation gap was never so obvious, with the exception perhaps of Paul Weller, than when they were treating the crowd to old favourites such as ‘Seven Seas’ and ‘The Killing Moon’. Despite this fact it was a privilege to watch some true giants of British music. In a complete reversal the youngsters went wild when the Ash strolled on to the stage, barely acknowledging the crowd before launching straight in to a spirited rendition of ‘Girl from Mars’. Displaying a slightly rawer edge since the departure of Charlotte Hatherly the three-piece proved that they could still make a sound that would put most other bands to shame as they performed a very balanced set of old and new, including the heavy ‘Orpheus’ and ‘Kung-Fu’. They also showed any Radio 2 listeners how ‘Shining Light’ (covered by Annie Lennox) is supposed to sound and finished up, as always, with their anthem ‘Burn Baby Burn’, provoking arguably the biggest crowd reaction of the day so far.
I then missed mumbling Scottish rockers The View as I was putting my blagging skills to the ultimate test in order to get a quick interview with Ash after their set (see elsewhere on the site).
Perhaps it was the rush of being allowed in the photo pit because I have slight regrets now that I only stuck to the main stage on the Saturday to see The Pigeon Detectives and The Fratellis complete the day’s music. I would have liked to have seen Bell X1 on the Third Stage and everyone I’ve spoken to have said that White Denim and The Sunshine Underground were both brilliant on the same stage. However, The Pigeon Detectives were great fun to watch with front man Matt Bowman’s boundless enthusiasm leading him to run around the stage, twirl his microphone and just generally trying to combine the frontmanship of the likes of Mercury and Jagger. I’d also forgotten just how many good tunes they’ve put out over the last couple of years and found myself rediscovering them all over again. I don’t really have much to say about The Fratellis’ set. Although they’ve been headliners at various festivals over the past year or two I see nothing in them that justifies their billing. The success of the biggest hit ‘Chelsea Dagger’ was down to it being, as I would describe it, ‘a chant for morons’ rather than through any actual musical ability. Even so, the last time I saw them at Radio 1’s Big Weekend last year in Maidstone, they were surprisingly fun but here they were just a bit limp and it was a disappointing end to the day.
Sunday 5th July
I unfortunately missed the first band of the day, That Petrol Emotion, in remarkably similar circumstances to the previous day, but I was able to catch up with them later for a chat about life back together again. After heading to the press tent to get the timings for the day, and being harassed by the massage girls, again, it was off the see The Rifles on the main stage. Lumbered with the same early slot that had plagued Howling Bells the day before the London boys fared slightly better than their Australian counterparts but there were still plenty of disinterested picnickers, which was disappointing considering the very accomplished performance that they were (supposedly) being treated to!
I was slightly, perhaps annoyed isn’t the right word, but disappointed maybe, that I had to miss the first half of Ladyhawke’s set but I did so in order to grab an interview with The Twang, who were due on stage about halfway through the day. However, the few songs that I did manage to see the New Zealander perform were highly impressive. Dressed as a kind of grungey eco-warrier with a Nirvana t-shirt and floral headband she effortlessly floated through songs such as ‘Paris is Burning’ and ‘My Delirium’ and left the crowd wanting more. Next up were Mystery Jets who I’ve never really had much time for but their live show was surprisingly good and certainly gave a new life to songs that just sound plain dull once they’ve been recorded.
After watching the opening songs from The Twang, with double front men, Phil Etheridge and Martin Saunders swaggering around the stage, I headed off to the Third Stage to see a bit of Fight Like Apes, who I’d heard good things about. They certainly were creating a hell of a noise in there but the crowded conditions inside the tiny tent meant that I decided I would be better off catching the end of The Twang on the main stage. However, I got back just as they were walking off stage so I settled down in anticipation for Super Furry Animals who are famed for their eccentric and eclectic live shows. Eventually the heavily bearded Welshmen appeared on stage dressed disappointingly ordinary and the crowd began, for perhaps the first time in the day, to flock as one to the main stage. My interest in seeing how they performed was cut short about 20 minutes in to what was a very interesting, if unspectacular, set when I got a call to tell me that they would be doing interviews afterwards. Rushing back to the media tent to prepare for this (and missing the rest of their set as a result) I was then told that they had changed their mind and weren’t going to do any interviews. Typical! This also meant that I didn’t have time to see Danananakroyd on the Third Stage, but the Scottish girls that I’d been chatting to during the day assured me that they’d been brilliant. Damn those Super Furries!
And so to the business end of the night and first up...Doves. You could feel the excitement stirring the crowd as they anticipated the final trio of acts on the main stage and the crowd erupted as they stepped out. I’ve seen a few places report that Doves actually got the biggest crowd of the weekend but, in my view, that’s nonsense as the vast majority, if not all of the crowd stayed for Editors, and then the biggest crowd gathered for Paul Weller, which was only to be expected. Jimi was in a chatty mood and soon easily got the crowd on his side as they raced through favourites such as ‘Snowden’, ‘Winter Hill’ and ‘Kingdom of Rust’. An entertaining side show to their set was Jimi’s constant claims that Helmans Mayonnaise stole the logo from their latest advert from the Kingdom of Rust artwork...“Have a look and see if we can sue them. Boycott Hellman’s Mayonnaise!” Unsurprisingly the biggest reactions of the set were reserved for ‘Black and White Town’ and the set closer ‘There Goes the Fear’.
I’m an unashamedly big fan of Editors, having seen them about six time previously so they were always going to be one of the highlights of the weekend for me but, having run in to Tom backstage where he revealed they’d be playing four new songs, coupled with The Twang assuring me that the new stuff sounded like it had come from The Terminator soundtrack, my excitement was turned to intrigue and I wasn’t disappointed. The opening synths sounded exactly like The Terminator, which I wouldn’t necessarily have expected to work in a proper song but they managed to create a storming number out of it. In amongst the darker, edgier, heavily synth based new tracks were old favourites such as ‘Munich’, ‘Bullets’, ‘Fingers in the Factories’ and the biggest reaction was probably saved for ‘Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors’, which I suspect may well become the song that they become remembered for. After they finished with the final new track of the day I headed off to the dance tent for the first time of the weekend in order to see the end of Scratch Perverts. I’ve never really seen the appeal in watching a couple of blokes play records of other people’s songs but the nutters in the dance tent were going crazy. I suspect the bar inside the dance tent itself had some form of effect on this! After they’d left the stage I headed back to see Paul Weller walk out to headline the night.
I’ve never been much of a fan of Paul Weller, partly through ignorance of his stuff and partly though ambivalence towards the stuff I had heard but I thought I’d give him a chance given his seemingly near-legendary status. However song after song came that were performed extremely well but just didn’t interest me so, after ‘Eton Rifles’ I headed off to the dance tent again to see what all the fuss about 2 Many DJs was. I was not expecting to see two blokes dressed as James Bond behind the decks but whatever floats their boat I guess. Again, loads of people were going mental and, again, copious amounts of alcohol was being consumed. Alcohol to enjoyment correlation? Maybe. (`Hell no, you should have stuck around, you`d have witnessed one of the true party acts out there` - shocked Ed).
As you can probably guess I decided I’d be better off back with Weller and arrived to hear ‘Wild Wood’ and a couple of other tracks before he came back on for the first of his two encores and the unsuspecting crowd were in for the treat of the weekend as Weller introduced Roger Daltrey to the stage for a version of ‘Magic Bus’. With Weller on backing vocals and Daltrey rocking out on the harmonica it was undoubtedly the highlight of the portions of the set that I actually saw and I’d argue that the appearance of The Who frontman got a larger cheer than any aimed at Weller. And so it was left to ‘Town Called Malice’ and an impromptu performance of ‘Whirlpool Ends’ after half the crowd had started heading away, to end the festival.
So my first experience of the Hop Farm Festival was a highly enjoyable one and I was impressed with the calibre of the acts and the calibre of the facilities around the site. It all added up to a very satisfying festival experience and I for one will be back next year.
Adam Gibby (View Original Article)
Unfortunately I only managed to catch the end of the support band, Sons and Daughters so I can't really do them justice here. I can only direct you to their MySpace if you want to get an idea of their sound. So on to the main event... The first thing that you notice when Editors are on stage is the sheer energy that they bring. Whereas other bands seem to be content to let their music wash over an audience you get the sense that Editors need you to hear their songs. Every note and beat has a sense of urgency about it, which is mirrored in Smith's performance with its frantic contortions and fidgety mannerisms. I don't think he's actually capable of remaining still once the music has started. While the familiar singles, Blood, Munich, All Sparks, Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors etc may form the highlight of the show for many, it's actually lesser known album tracks that have become firm fan favourites. Tracks such as Fingers in the Factories with its pulsating verses and exploding choruses and You Are Fading (actually a B-Side that never made the cut for The Back Room), drawing some of the biggest cheers from the crowd.
The gig was marred slightly by technical faults during the encore where the microphones cut out, although this didn't stop people from still singing along in full voice. It also gave the band a chance to enjoy some banter with the crowd whilst the problems were being fixed. Not for the first time I came out of one of their gigs wishing that I was just going in again. After the rise of Editors over the last couple of years it seems as though the world is their oyester and, if they carry on at this rate, I can only guess where they'll be in another two years time.
Adam Gibby (View Original Article)
The first issue was that the whole place was a navigational nightmare. The main stage was directly to our right as we walked in but the rest of the other stages were in a separate area of the park, which would have been ok if it wasn’t for all the similar sized “sponsorship” tents and stages that were littered all over the place, leading to many “wondering over to a stage expecting to see a band only to find it’s actually an advertising skate ramp for a new kind of underwear” situations. Again not a problem after you’ve got your bearings but bloody annoying when these tents are so near to other stages that you could hear the pumping dance beats from the Strongbow tent whilst watching bands play their sets on the C4 stage.
The other, much more serious problem, was the use of …beer tokens, BEER TOKENS ..at a festival !!! This meant that you had to queue for at least two hours, calculate how many drinks you would possibly need over the weekend and stump up the cash for the tokens before purchasing your cold frosty ones at the bar next to the booths (or queue for two hours every time you wanted a pint). Possibly not a big deal if this was a four day fest but seeing that the whole event only spanned two days you don’t really want to stand in line for that length of time,potentially missing a few bands. Then you have to guess how much alcohol you are going to consume within two days(which if you are a bloke will always be an over estimate ..”umm I’m going to need at least a million pints ..for Saturday”).No wonder there was a constant flow of (what I hope was) beer being thrown into the crowd late on Sunday..
However I (flicks non existent hair) had access to the hospitality area, so the token situation wasn’t really a problem for me, yay.
OK what you really want to know about is the bands,yes?
Some of the bands earlier on the bill seemed to have quite a short allotted time slot which meant that the The Editors played the five or so songs that I know back to back on the main stage, which enabled me to bugger off after twenty minutes to hear enough of The Thrills, (on the C4 stage) to decide that I didn’t really want to listen to any of their new songs (Big Sur” and “One horse Town” were enjoyable though) , get myself a pint, watch Kanye West perform a very slick greatest hits set back on the main stage and then head over to JJB/Puma Arena for the first real surprise of the day.
Hip hop has really come along way since I witnessed Public Enemy limp through their set many moons ago at Reading and British rap seems to be having a bit of a renaissance with the likes of Lethal Bizzle and Dizzee Rascal who literally rocked the tent with a prime choice of old school hip hop and drum and bass beats .Cutting the “hit” single “Dream” short just after the first few bars of the “Happy Talk” intro with a curt “that’s enough of that shit” Dizzee and his cohorts lurch into singles “Sirens” and the classic “Fix Up, Look Sharp” whipping the overfull tent into a frenzy.
They finish with a furious drum and bass track and leave the stage to rapturous applause.
The first real triumph of the day.
Unfortunately the need for more beer and food (and not being quite sure what the time is) mean that I miss the one band that I really wanted to see, so I have to imagine that The Coral were ace and slouch off toward the main stage to witness the biggest draw of the day Snow Patrol.
Gary Lightbody bounds cheerfully onto the stage waving his arms in the air as the rest of the band take up their anonymous positions. They then, as you would expect, trot out a very tight and crowd pleasing singles set featuring all the songs you know and love. “Run”, “How to be Dead”,” You're All I Have", “Chasing Cars” are all present and correct but it’s with the introduction of special guest Martha Wainwright” for the very special “Set Fire To The Third Bar" that Snow Patrol prove that they are more than the Celtic Coldplay .
After Snow Patrol the crowd thins slightly as people head toward the C4 stage to watch The Kooks meaning that they miss part of tonight’s headliners set, the fools.
After warming up by doing a secret show in one of the smaller tents earlier in the day The Foo Fighters prove tonight that they are much, much more than your average rawk band. It takes a lot of confidence to open a festival headline set with a vocal and guitar only arrangement but Dave Grohl does just this, starting the show off on his todd with a slowed “Everlong”. The band then join him, running through favorites like “Monkey Wrench”, “My Hero”. “Learn to Fly” and “Best of You” as well as previewing material from their new album, Echoes, Silence, Patience, Grace. Dave lives up to his mantle as one of the most likable and funniest rock stars by entertaining the crowd with comic anecdotes, invitations to a party back at his hotel (he has a mini bar) and techno impressions. Knowing that they should always leave the best for last the Foos finally sign off with a thunderous “All My Life” and the crowd go (for want of a better word) mental.
For all of you that thought going to see The Kooks was a better idea than watching the Foo Fighters …you were wrong!
Nick Foster (View Original Article)
| 1. | Munich |
| 2. | Papillon |
| 3. | An End Has A Start |
| 4. | All Sparks |
| 5. | Blood |
| 6. | Lights |
| 7. | Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors |
| 8. | Bullets |
| 9. | The Racing Rats |
| 10. | In This Light And On This Evening |