Home : Artists : L : Los Campesinos!
Click the headline to unveil the full story
The band have also been busy working on a new album which is scheduled for release early next year. The first single from the forthcoming LP, `These Are Listed Buildings`, will be available on 7” vinyl and will be exclusively available to buy on their October tour. The band’s second album, `We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed` was released a mere eight months after debut `Hold on Now, Youngster` which means that this time the band have kept fans waiting for a shocking whole year to release another record!
To find out when you can welcome Kim Campesinos and grab a copy of `These Are Listed Buildings` check out the following tour dates…
October 2009
21 – Coventry Kasbah
22 – Southampton Joiners Arms
23 – Exeter Phoenix
24 – Cardiff The Gate (SWN Festival)
26 – Manchester Deaf Institute
27 – Newcastle University
28 – London Garage (SOLD OUT)
29 – Oxford Zodiac
30 – Leeds Cockpit
31 – Glasgow King Tuts
Frankie Ward (View Original Article)
Following on from the innovative wristwatch format of preceding single Beeline – Sky Larkin`s new single Antibodies will be released on a limited edition C60 cassette. Side A will contain the single track, 4 remixes of various album tracks, while Side B will have three exclusive new pieces of content, each one curated by an individual band member.
After shows in LA, a heavy duty schedule at SXSW and a full US tour with Los Campesinos!, Sky Larkin will return to the UK for shows with The Rakes followed by their own headline dates in May.
UK TOUR WITH THE RAKES
April Tue 21 Brighton Concorde 2 w Rakes
April Wed 22 Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms w Rakes
April Thu 23 Manchester Club Academy w Rakes
April Sat 25 Glasgow Oran Mor w Rakes
April Sun 26 Newcastle The Cluny w Rakes
April Tue 28 Nottingham, Rescue Rooms w Rakes
April Wed 29 London, Koko w Rakes
HEADLINE TOUR
April Thu 30 York Fibbers
May
May Fri 1 Glasgow Hinterland Festival
May Sat 2 Leeds live at Leeds Festival
May Sun 3 Birmingham The Victoria
May Tue 5 Dublin Academy 2
May Wed 6 Belfast Auntie Annies
May Fri 8 Canterbury The Farmhouse
May Sat 16 Brighton Great Escape
May Sat 23 Liverpool Sound City
Here`s hoping that their next release will be on either flexidisc or eight track cartridge!!
Nick Foster (View Original Article)
Los Campesinos! have announced a headlining tour this October with able support from Times New Viking and No Age. The tour is sponsored by The Coalition (a collection of the UK`s best independent record shops) and Drowned in Sound, who you probably know do the same as Culturedeluxe but with the added luxury of popularity.
It kicks off one day after their second album this year is released (`We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed`) and tickets go on sale on Monday 18th August.
Gareth from the band is looking forward to the tour:
"Times New Viking and No Age are two bands that over the past year we`ve attempted to stalk from as far afield as LA`s The Smell, Austin, Texas and back to Camber Sands. They are undoubtedly two of the best, most exhilarating live bands in the world right now, and to have the chance to tour on such a brilliant line up is as intimidating as it is exciting. It promises to be incredible."
October
14 - Brighton Komedia (£12/14; 01273 647100; tickets; 14+)
15 - Liverpool Carling Academy 2 (£12/14; 0151 707 3200; tickets; all ages)
16 - Leeds Irish Centre (£10/12; 08700 600100; tickets)
17 - Dublin Whelans (13 euros; tickets; 18+)
18 - Glasgow School of Art (£10/12; tickets)
20 - London Electric Ballroom (£10; 020 7403 3331; 18+)
21 - Bristol Fleece (£10; 0870 444 4400; 18+)
22 - Manchester Academy 3 (£10; 0161 832 1111; 14+)
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
Stone Roses, Elastica...ok, you may be all but entries in the big book of indie history these days, but you might still be around if you`d taken a leaf out of the book of Los Campesinos! and not dwelled for ever on your second LPs.
For Los Campesinos! will release their second album of this year on October 13th through Wichita. `We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed` was produced by John Goodmanson whose CV includes production work for Blonde Redhead, Bikini Kill and Wu Tang Clan.
Quick to distance themselves from any cat calls that this is an odds n sods compilation designed to keep the band in the nation`s faces (and ears) in a highly transient indie world, the band posted the following info on their website.
"It`s no B-Sides and rarities or "songs that weren`t good enough to be on the album cobbled together with some remixes and field recordings of Cardiff`s indie scene"; it`s ten all-new tracks that none of you have ever heard before.
"Sure, we considered re-releasing a radio-edit of `You! Me! Dancing!` and trying to get famous and scraping another tour out of that, but our parents unanimously agreed that if we did they would never speak to us again.
"Rather, we are blessed with having an incredibly supportive record label in Wichita, and they are as excited about such freedom, frivolities and spontaneity in releases as we are."
It`s a breath of fresh air to find a band willing to stand up to the remorseless re-issuing machine which has seen `indie` bands chuck out early singles again once they find themselves being played on radio 1. Take note Glasvegas...
As ever, the new Los Campesinos! album has a series of incredibly long song titles, for which I`m indebted to the cut n paste function - typing these out would be a bitch!
Los Campesinos! - `We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed`
1. `Ways To Make It Through The Wall`
2. `Miserabilia`
3. `We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed`
4. `Between An Erupting Earth And An Exploding Sky`
5. `You`ll Need Those Fingers For Crossing `
6. `It`s Never That Easy Though, Is It? (Song For The Other Kurt)`
7. `The End Of The Asterisk `
8. `Documented Minor Emotional Breakdown # 1`
9. `Heart Swells/Pacific Daylight Time`
10. `All Your Kayfabe Friends`
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
Although this year's line-up is on the lean side (particularly the open air stages) there's still plenty to excite you from the likes of The Futureheads, Chemical Brothers, Los Campesinos!, Rage Aaginst the Machine, dEUS, Erol Alkan, Sons & Daughters, The Stranglers, Band of Horses, MGMT, Lightspeed Champion, Little Man Tate, Aphex Twin, Justice, DJ Hell, Miss Kittin & The Hacker, Rob Da Bank, Primal Scream, Echo & The Bunnymen, Vampire Weekend, The Ting Tings, Interpol, Hot Chip, Seasick Steve, Battles, 1990s and Yeasayer among others!
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
Among the acts confirmed for the festival which runs from August 1st to August 3rd are Super Furry Animals, Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, Mystery Jets, The Maccabees, Late of the Pier and Glasvegas.
The festival also works with artists, set designers and performers to create a unique experience for festival goers. This year you'll need to look out for samurai warriors, geisha girls and real-life, wide-eyed Manga characters.
Full Line Up
Bands - Super Furry Animals, Mystery Jets, The Maccabees, Glasvegas, Late of the Pier, Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, Friendly Fires, Florence and the Machine, Johnny Flynn, Los Campesinos!, Acid Mothers Temple and the Cosmic Inferno, The Egg, Joji Hirota and Taiko Drummers, Cage the Elephant, The Mae Shi, Johnny Foreigner, Paloma Faith, Babyhead, Kitty Daisy & Lewis, She'koyokh, The Fabulous Penetrators, The Black Seeds, The Bookhouse Boys, The Early Years, Christopher D Ashley, Elle S'Appelle, Ipso Facto, Hatcham Social, The Cocknbullkid, New Rhodes, David Viner, Youthmovies, Lesser Panda, Delerium Tremens, Earl Okin, Pre Shuffle, Peggy Sue & The Pirates, Ratty Rat Rat, So So Modern, Sister, They Came From The Stars I Saw Them!, Ventriloquist, Mozzy Green, Old Street Musical Union, Chris Aliano, Across the Atlantic, Benin City, ThePetebox, The Brute Chorus,
DJs - Eddy Temple Morris, Dave Haslam, Radioactive Man, Brendan Long, Dom Chung, Loz, Damo Jones, Cantmixwontmixshouldntmixdontmix, General Jimmy.
Spoken Word - Sophie Wooley, Scroobius Pip, Sebastian Horsley, Joe Dunthorn, James Scudamore.
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
Like many smaller festivals today, RedFest takes aim at established festivals who have taken to bed with big corporations like loved-up, crusty festival revellers used to with each other. Promoter Matt Nichols explains:
"In today's crowded festival market, there aren’t that many independently run festivals who are putting on events without jumping into bed with the big corporations. How many festivals these days feel soulless? With Redfest, I want to reduce the emphasis on gimmicks and corporate sponsorship and take things back to basics so today’s youth can have the same experience that previous generations of festival goers had: an event put on purely with music in mind."
With a capacity of only 5000 and the following acts on the bill, you'll need to be quick to secure your tickets...
The Maccabees, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Elliot Minor, Pete and The Pirates, Operator Please, I Haunt Wizards, Fear Of Music, WinterKids, Lightspeed Champion, Late Of The Pier, Johnny Foreigner, Robots In Disguise, This City, Ebony Bones, SixNationState, Crystal Castles, Los Campesinos! Phew!
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
The acts announced range from the highly exciting Lightspeed Champion and Metronomy to the utterly awful One Night Only, but, with so much choice available and so many venues, you won't end up watching anyone crap - honest!
Those new bands in full, then - The Answering Machine, Bombay Bicycle Club, Crystal Castles, Does it Offend You, Yeah?, The Fratellis, Future of the Left, The Ghost Frequency, The Horrors (DJ Set), Lightspeed Champion, Los Campesinos!, Lowline, Lucy and the Caterpillars, Metronomy, The Noisettes, One Night Only, Operator Please, Robyn, Sam Isaac.
Amazingly, yet more acts are still to be announced. Crumbs!
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
Walsh said, "I love that song. There's a really good vibe about the band, there's an innocence that is very nice about them. I don't think the business has tarnished them yet, and I hope it doesn't. And it's great to see three girls and four boys together. Historically that doesn't happen much."
Well, not in the porn he probably watches anyway...
Los Campesinos! have not commented on their new found fan as yet and are busy preparing new single 'My Year in Lists' to be released on April 21st from their album 'Hold On Now, Youngster...' which was released last month.
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
Here's the complete list:
Both nights: The Answering Machine, Bobby Cook, Bombay Bicycle Club, Cage The Elephant, Cat The Dog, Thecocknbullkid, The Creepy Morons, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, Elle s'appelle, Fanfarlo, Florence and the Machine, Future of the Left, The Haunts, Ida Maria, Ipso Facto, Johnny Flynn, Johnny Foreigner, Ladyhawke, Lets Wrestle, Los Campesinos!, Lovvers, Lykke Li, Make Model, Noah and the Whale, One Night Only, Operator Please, Royworld, Slow Club, Sam Isaac, Sam Sparro, Tellison, This City, Wild Beasts
Friday only: Agaskodo Teliverek, Blackhole, Cheap Hotel, Cutting Pink with Knives, Eugene McGuinness, Figure 5, The Ghost Frequency, Hatcham Social, In Case Of Fire, JME, The King Blues, Pete Molinari, Post War Years, Rolo Tomassi, The Rushes, Sergeant, Shut Your Eyes And You'll Burst Into Flames, Simone White, SixNationState, Soko, Vinny Vinny, William, Yoav, Youthmovies
Saturday only: Acoustic Ladyland, The Brute Chorus, Circulus, Cheeky Cheeky and the Nosebleeds, Damn Shames, The Dirty Feel, Duels, Innerpartysystem, Invasion, Jay Jay Pistolet, Kode 9, Lucy and the Caterpillar, Nic Dawson Kelly, Pacific!, Reuben, Rosie Oddie and the Odd Squad, Skepta, Sky Larkin, Slagsmalsklubben, Stricken City, Team Waterpolo, Tronik Youth, White Lies
Tickets cost £29.70 per day and £49.20 for both Friday and Saturday.
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
Some more famous, yet interesting, inclusions are R.E.M., Daryl Hall, Was (Not Was), Hanson, The Presidents of the United States of America, Tia 'Wayne's World' Carrera and Dolly Parton.
The list is, naturally, subject to change and can be viewed in its entirity here. As always the site will expand with exact dates, venues and times and, hopefully, a considerable collection of free MP3 files to download.
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
'Hold On Now, Youngster...' Tracklisting
1. 'Death to Los Campesinos!'
2. 'Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats'
3. 'Don't Tell Me To Do The Math(s)'
4. 'Drop It Doe Eyes'
5. 'My Year in Lists'
6. 'Knee Deep at ATP'
7. 'This is How You Spell 'HAHAHA, We Destroyed the Hopes and Dreams of a Generation of Faux-Romantics'
8. 'We Are All Accelerated Readers'
9. 'You! Me! Dancing!'
10. '...And We Exhale and Roll Our Eyes in Unison'
11. 'Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks'
So, certainly not a band to use two words where thirty two will do, eh? Los Campesinos! are also out on tour in February with the highly-rated and pretty ace Johnny Foreigner.
February 2008
10 - London Astoria
12 - Bedford Esquires
13 - Birmingham Academy 2
14 - Glasgow King Tuts
16 - Newcastle Northumbria Uni
17 - Sheffield Leadmill
18 - Manchester Club Academy
19 - Brighton Concorde 2
20 - Reading Fez
21 - Kingston Works
23 - Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
Gareth from the band had this to say,
"We promise we'll have some amazing bands playing with us, because we know no other way. That's gonna be around the time our album comes out too. So it's gonna be total party time. For serious. ['Hold On Now, Youngster'] is the best title for any album ever. We have a tracklisting and stuff too, but that's all secret for the time being."
Well, that's confidence for you, check them out live next year at these venues:
February 2008
11 - Dublin Village
13 - Birmingham Academy 2
14 - Glasgow King Tut's
16 - Northumbria Uni
17 - Sheffield Leadmill
18 - Manchester Club Academy
19 - Brighton Concorde 2
22 - Bedford Esquires
23 - Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
SINGLE OF THE WEEK
Los Campesinos! - 'The International Tweexcore Underground'
Strongly tipped for over a year now and still to break into the mainstream, LC! combine Young Knives irrationality with bubble gum pop and a frantic chorus that sounds like The Arcade Fire on amphetamines. Throw in an exchange about a mutual ignorance of each singer's favourite music (Henry Rollins and Ian MacKaye vs Calvin Johnson and Sarah Records) and you have a record that celebrates what it is a part of. With their first album soon in the can and their first full tour announced, Los Campesinos! will be one of the bands of 2008.
Wichita Records
Videos: Hi Stream | Lo Stream
12 Stone Toddler - 'Candles on the cake'
Combining vocals in the style of Faith No More at their most pop with an alarmingly tight guitar-riff,
peppered with hammond organ and 'friendly' metal, the new single from the long-awaited debut album 'Does It
Scare You?' deserves to take this band straight out of the moshpit and into your hearts.
Amazon Music
!!! - 'Yadnus EP'
Quicker than you can say, 'Look out Gary Glitter's coming', 'Yadnus' glam stomps its way from your
speakers to your brain to your feet. Already a standout track on this year's 'Myth Takes', to say it's
catchy is to say crack cocaine is 'mildly addictive'. Making up the release are a set of remixes for album
co-favourite 'Heart of Hearts'. DJ Kaos throws in a bleepin' techno monster while Scottie B takes a more
historical point of view lending his dirty stabs an old skool sensibility by way of that
ubiquitous early breakbeat.
Warp Digital
LCD Soundsystem - 'Someone Great'
Poor old James Murphy, not only was he very upset at the extremely early leakage of LCD Soundsystem's
second LP, because we all heard it so far ahead of time it feels like he's cheating us by releasing such
'an old song'. That said, if he'd released any of 'Get Innocuous!', 'Sound of Silver' or the still epic
album closer 'New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down' you'd hear no complaints from this camp.
Even in this new version, 'Someone Great' is at best an album track.
DFA Records
The Maccabees - 'Toothpaste Kisses'
The point at which the Maccabees were transported back to the 1940s but took their electric guitar with
them. The end result is a song which disobeys the laws of verse-chorus-verse indie, choosing instead
wistful harmonies crooned, then whistled(!) over an almost calypso backing. In fact, you'd expect the
whole thing to turn up with Bob and Bing as a musical interlude in 'The Road to Maccabee' - wherever that
is. There is absolutely no denying though that this is the best thing the band has ever done.
Polydor Records
Videos: Hi Stream | Lo Stream
Myriad Creatures - 'The Hero'
The sleeve tells me this was recorded, mastered and mixed in Cornwall, a place well known for it's
local mysteries and legends and this track about a 'hero with a thousand faces' is less remarkable for the
lyrical subject matter, but more for the heroic rediscovery of a production sound that has been all but
lost in the recent indie blueprint. Guitars are fuzzy, pedals are stamped on. You can actually hear the
bass and drums, and the whole package has an air of very early Coral duetting with very early Suede.
Jackalope Recordings
Prinzhorn Dance School - 'You are the Space Invader'
Thankfully Prinzhorn Dance School's songs work better in isolation than on their insufferable recent
album. However, while thankful for the brevity and enticed by the lyrics especially the anti-'Rhythm is a
Dancer' ('You said white bread cancelled cancer / And there's no clean air in Hampshire') this
only just makes it into the 'listenable' category - still a triumph for PDS, but there you go.
DFA Recordings
Videos: Win Hi | Win Mid | Win Lo | Real Hi | Real Mid | Real Lo
The Delta Fiasco - 'Paperhouse'
Beginning with a Depeche Mode false start, 'Paperhouse' quickly builds into a combination of Editors
and The Killers i.e. The Bravery (if anyone remembers them). Not necessarily giving us anything new with
the single side, the band do give us something some of us have been crying out for for ages, some new
output from Ladytron. However, the mix is some way below the standard we expect from them and kudos is
only restored by the stomping Virgin Tears vs WhiteHEAT Remix that accompanies.
Smoke & Mirrors
Videos: Win Hi | Win Mid | Win Lo | Real Hi | Real Mid | Real Lo
Feist - '1234'
Less than three months since its last release and outselling everything else just now off the back of
the latest iPod commercial, if you haven't heard this beautiful pop-folk song or seen the award winning
video yet then you clearly didn't deserve to in the first place.
Polydor Records
Videos: Youtube
Orson - 'Aint No Party'
The comeback single from the band whose singer replaced Jamiroquai as 'the biggest twat you can think
of who permanently wears a hat' let's us know that 'there aint no party like a party going on at his
house'. One can only hope bigger boys gatecrash, replace his diluted funk-pop with some breezeblock-sized
beats and nick his hat collection on their way out.
Mercury Records
Take That - 'Rule The World'
If you do find yourself being dragged along to the new big-budget fairy tale 'Stardust' then make sure
you make a quick exit before the end credits. If not you'll have to listen to Gary Barlow telling his girl
that if she stays with him they can 'rule the world'. A bit much Gary, you could have offered her a fair
share of the remote control or promised to do the washing up instead? Exiting the cinema early will also
mean you won't have to admit that this sounds almost identical to what Brett Anderson was writing just a
short while ago.
Polydor Records
Bloodhound Gang - 'Screwing You on the Beach at Night'
Due to some unrecorded fluke, the Bloodhound Gang recorded a well-deserved top 10 hit some years ago
with the impossibly catchy 'The Bad Touch'. On 'SYOTBAN' they've resurrected an almost identical backing
track, added some tougher beats and upped the level of puerility, with giggle-some references to 'boobs'
and 'toilet parts', to way beyond schoolboy level. As a result if you're over 16, have ever kissed anyone
and didn't spend the whole of last night playing 'World of Warcraft' you won't find anything to amuse you
here.
Jimmy Franks Recording Company
Videos: Youtube
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
You can check out the video right here - Win Hi | Win Med | Win Lo
They're also out and about this March with a mini tour and have a couple of dates lined up for June already...
March 2007
1 - Nottingham Social
2 - Birmingham Barfly
3 - Glasgow Capitol
4 - Manchester Late Rooms
5 - London Spitz
June 2007
4 - Cardiff Point
5 - London Scala
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
If I could party with one band in the world it would probably be Los Campesinos! If you’ve heard their joyfully exuberant music before then you might understand what I mean. It’s partly also because there’s so many of them!
When the opening lines of opening number `Ways to Make it Through the Wall` kick in it is clear that Los Campesinos! aim to make their audience smile. Tinkly synths and witty Eddie Argos style observations punctuate most of the songs, particularly on the standout title track `We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed` where lead singer Gareth Campesinos! juxtaposes stereotypical ideas of love with his own macabre insights - `They say the future’s bright as halogen / We know it’s pretty bleak`.
Los Campesinos! have, in the past, toured with Johnny Foreigner and their common use of synth sounds will always provoke a comparison, however as with their strength in numbers, Los Campesinos! are able to experiement with different vocal contrasts - sometimes one, two, or three singers or sometimes the whole band. An effect that packs a `fantastic feeling` punch. Keyboardist Aleksandra also has such a delicate voice in comparison to Gareth, that the contrast of the two together is quite unique, and oddly calming. It does take a while to get used to, but I grew to like it within hearing a couple of songs.
It isn’t all fast and furious however. Tracks such as `You’ll Need Those Fingers For Crossing` involve charming glock and violin lines but still don’t drop the pace of the album. At ten tracks long, the record plays at little over half an hour. It seems Los Campesinos! have chosen quality over quantity and fans will not be disappointed.
Frankie Ward (View Original Article)
Los Campesinos! are a hard band to call 'ok'. Straight outta Cardiff with glockenspiels, violins, keyboards and guitars to the fore, they're leading the Tweecore charge. You'll either buy into the ethos of the energetic, call and response songs with their crazy names or it'll bring you out in a rash.
'You! Me! Dancing!' is the epitome of their sound. A ramshackle heap of instruments thrown together with a glockenspiel twinkling over the chorus, slightly cutesy vocals by the two singers and a friendly, upbeat feel. 'Death To Los Campesinos!' hops along in a similar vein, as does 'My Year In Lists' - in fact so do most of the songs. Despite the variation of instruments going into the mix the results are often very similar - the pace in particular is breakneck from start to finish.
On the whole though, the slightly nerdish, twee and excitable stylings of Los Campesinos! make a change from the grind of the more pedestrian bands we've been lumped with recently - think of them as the sorbet after The Enemy's toad-in-the-hole. 'Hold On Now, Youngster' isn't a perfect album by any means but it's a ray of sunshine.
Chris Unitt (View Original Article)
I think it's about the lost art of letter writing ..but I could be wrong.
Nick Foster (View Original Article)
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
I am reliably informed that I took in the artful, wordy Los Campesinos! and even delivered a string of appreciative whoops. However, it's likely I passed out before either Gareth or Aleksandra had time to finish introducing one of their over-long titled songs. I know I surfaced again in time for The Music with an in-form Robert Harvey ruling over the King Tut's stage with skill, albeit less majesty than their NME stage headline slot of a few years ago. Early material such as 'The People' sits well with new anthems such as 'Strength in Numbers' and, those who haven't been for a tactical puke yet, bounce along with the wide-eyed abandon that first nights at festivals inspires.
A long course is plotted to the NME stage, ensuring no sound of cash-in Verve is overheard, where The Chemical Brothers appear to have turned up, placed a CD in the mixer and buggered off leaving an incredible light show to accompany their sounds. However, a trained ear picks up some intentionally super edits, a sober eye enjoys the marching robot and exploding paintball visual effects perfectly synchronised to the music and Sky+ reveals that the brothers were skulking in the shadows all along. Not exactly what you'd ask for from a headlining slot, but it's only Friday and at least it drowned out the glorified busking of Richard Ashcroft and co.
Superheroes - with Friday billed as fancy dress day there are caped crusaders as far as the eye can see. But spare a thought for the chap who dressed up as 80's cartoon star Bananaman only to find there was already one there.
Smurfs - one of the weirdest sights I noticed in the Pet Sounds tent was a group of five blokes covered in blue paint and, understandably, out of their trees. The four white-capped smurfs were taking cues from the red-capped 'Papa smurf', the craziest of the lot.
Scotland Flags - not being waved in the air, but the choice of many young ladies at T in the Park as capes, aptly covering their modesty as underneath most were wearing very little at all.
'Altern 8' Rave Boiler Suits - these disposable coveralls double up as perfect mud-guards (for which there was no need) and ideal attire when you're 'on one' in the Slam tent.
Nostalgia continues with a trip to a packed out King Tut's tent for an early afternoon performance by The Stranglers. Although it's a long time since they last played with Hugh Cornwell (and drummer Jet Black is also missing today), long-term stand-in Baz Warne is on blistering form as always taking lead vocals on most of a classic-filled set featuring the likes of 'Peaches', 'Always the Sun', 'Golden Brown', 'Duchess', 'Strange Little Girl' and finishing with a storming 'No More Heroes' which threatens to raise the roof off a full tent. The only criticism one can levy is their ludicrously low placing on the bill resulting in a reduced set.
Reminding myself that it is, in fact, 2008 and not 1978, it's time to head to the Pet Sounds arena to Dev Hynes and an afternoon run through 'Falling off Lavender Bridge' by Lightspeed Champion. Dev appears on stage sporting his trademark furry hat, while his bassist prefers a red beanie and, before long, a sizable crowd are cheering in the first few bars of 'Galaxy of the Lost'. Highlights of the set include a breathtaking version of 'Tell Me What It's Worth', a violin-heavy run through the theme to 'Star Wars' and two new tracks (one of which is called 'Happy Birthday') which suggest Hynes and co may be about to surpass this year's fabulous debut album.
Back to the King Tut's tent and Adele Bethal of Sons & Daughters is highly-wired, squealing and shrieking her way through 'Gilt Complex'. Late in the set they wheel out a disappointing cover of Adamski's 'Killer' which makes some sense when the line 'All of the Sons and Daughters already know how that feels' appears, but it's scant reason to butcher a classic. The pieces are picked up in style by the set-closing 'Dance Me In', however, and the band escape, reputation in tact, with appreciative applause from the home crowd.
Special mention must go out to the 'Healthy T' area, conveniently located next to the excellent Pet Sounds stage, where, for a couple of quid more, revellers can enjoy excellent Loch Fyne roast beef and lamb rolls, Buffalo burgers, proper coffee, smoothies and (my personal favourite) stovies and put an end to those worries about food poisoning from the over-priced 'quality' burger vans that pepper the rest of the arena.
Acute disappointment is also a theme to the normally bankable Kaiser Chiefs headline set on the NME stage later. A string of new songs gauge an unimpressive response from the crowd leading to Ricky Wilson uttering a petulant "When we're headlining the main stage next year you'll all be singing along to them", clearly aimed at the immense crowd being entertained by Rage Against the Machine mere yards away. One new song, however, has single written all over it and, while not in the league of 'Ruby', 'I Predict a Riot' and 'Oh My God' which do find the crowd on their side, coupled with the band's gymnastic ability (particularly Ricky's stage-climbing antics) and unbreakable enthusiasm they pull the gig from being unremarkable. However, if Ricky's premonition is to come true, the third album needs to be more than a few steps above 'The Angry Mob'.
In typically anti-establishment mode, Rage Against The Machine have overrun their allotted stage time meaning virtually the entire festival are there to witness a triumphant run through 'Killing in the Name'. The line 'Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me' seems strangely apt as I check my watch and imagine an angry stage manager tapping his foot. Of course, the line is usually meant as a political statement and coupled with an update to the first verse 'Some of those that hold office, are the same that burn crosses' the band receive a huge round of applause that suggests their explosive start to the gig (a blistering run through 'Testify', 'Bulls on Parade', 'People of the Sun' and 'Bombtrack') was no fluke and, perhaps, loyalty to the Kaiser Chiefs live show was misguided this night.
Sunday starts late for us as I'm grudgingly led to the main stage for Shed 7's annual payday. Their audience is made up of sunbathers, some of whom can remember the lyrics to the band's sizable back catalogue remarkably well. It also gives me the chance to meet up with some pals whom I'd been unable to contact. So, thank you Mr Witter - just this once, mind.
The swarm of people heading towards the King Tuts stage for The Ting Tings worries me somewhat. Once again this is a two thirty show the organisers may not have expected to be completely full, given that they booked the band when they were a relatively unknown, hitless double act. With claustrophobia washing over me just looking at the potential crowd I slope off to the Pet Sounds tent for My Morning Jacket, an act I've heard mentioned often enough but never checked out. It turns out to be a rather inspired choice and when Jim James arrives on stage wearing a cape I figure 'what's not to like?' With a rather small crowd perfectly aware that the act they're watching will never hit number one, unlike their King Tut's rivals, and an enjoyable mix of plodding, dub-tinged grooves and melodic alternative rock punctuated by the odd shriek, My Morning Jacket are a perfect sunday afternoon band. Jim also reveals that today he's wearing the International Peace Belt designed by Wendy Black-Nasta and makes an impassioned plea for world peace to a crowd that clearly agree with every word.
Battles are one of the acts I've been most looking forward to, having enjoyed the experimental, abstract sound of last year's 'Mirrored' album. I'm clearly not alone as a large crowd have made their way down to Pet Sounds, some unsure what they're letting themselves in for. After half an hour of what appears to be improvisation (and almost certainly isn't), they finally make some sense when the chipmunk glam stomp of 'Atlas' begins and the gathered throng stamp along in approval. Leaving the stage with a highly-confusing run through 'Race: In', it's not clear if what we heard was actually great but I highly enjoyed it.
Taking a break for an hour or so, I head back to Pet Sounds yet again for Seasick Steve, the toast of last year's Connect festival and another on my list of must sees. The praise is vindicated immediately when Steve arrives, his home-made, three-string guitar in one hand and a bottle in the other. Joined by a drummer shortly after, the duo work their way through story-based alt.country stomps, pausing to deliver a heart-felt ballad to two lucky young ladies who join Steve on stage. Clearly feeling three strings to be a luxury, Steve then switches to a one string guitar for one of the highlights of the set, before being united with his usual instrument to finish with some 'three string trance', a gigantic clap-a-long that gives you some idea of how dance music may have sounded if it had originated in Oakland instead of Detroit and Chicago. Having delivered the performance of the weekend, it makes the disappointment of finding the Slam tent full for Justice's heavy electro set worthwhile. It also gives me the chance to catch the first few tracks by Metronomy on the tiny Relentless Energy stage, playing guaranteed floor-fillers 'My Heart Rate Rapid' and 'Holiday' to about twenty people.
Having been truly spoiled by Seasick Steve's set, to then be wowed by the most musically brilliant act of the weekend, Holy Fuck, makes my day. Again on the Relentless stage and with no more than one hundred clued-in viewers present, the band show exactly why their 'LP' begins with live track 'Super Inuit' (present today). Although barely addressing the audience as they hunch over various machinery, Holy Fuck successfully fulfill their modus operandi - to create dance music largely without the help of synthesizers - with memorable performances of 'Milkshake', 'The Pulse' and a wonderful finale of recent single 'Lovely Allen'. I must also make mention of the band's method of recycling tape to a sizzling sound effect and the fact that REM's Michael Stipe has since been quoted as being rather miffed they were scheduled at the same time as his own act as the act would have had a rather famous crowd member in other circumstances.
Passing Michael smugly we hear that he's still 'pushing an elephant up the stairs' and decide to leave him to it and give The Prodigy a fifth T in the Park audience. Liam, Keith and Maxim appear happy in their role as a 'retro' band tonight, albeit sounding closer to a heavy metal act now than the cartoon ravers who first excited us in 1991. The hits come thick and fast with a mid-set 'Firestarter' still sounding immense while 'Breathe', ironically, appears an asthmatic, wheezy shadow of its former self. The comparatively poor (at the time) 'Voodoo People', on the other hand, has never sounded better. The best tracks are saved for the encore though and both 'Poison' and an abridged 'Out of Space' leave the crowd happy and ready to go home and sleep...for a week if possible.
Special thanks to Andy J for input, photographs, lodging and perhaps saving my life over the weekend.
Richard Brown (View Original Article)
There was little time for banter before songs (Gareth later blamed his recent abstention from alcohol) as they slipped quickly into 'Don't Tell Me To Do The Math' and then into a performance of 'Death To Los Campesinos! that got the already enthusiastic crowd really bubbling up.
Not for nothing did Gareth single out the lone security guy for praise - there was a lot of crowdsurfing going on and certainly more than the venue seemed to be expecting. His job wasn't helped by the apparent presence of an Olympic shotputter in the crowd who had the knack of propelling people very far, very quickly.
A special mention goes to the charming young lady in the rather short dress who seemed shocked by how the beleaguered security bloke had to grab her top half to hoist her clear. Shocked but not displeased apparently - she crowdsurfed twice more before the end of the night beaming gleefully. Bless. Gareth got in on the act too - performing a whole rapidfire verse perfectly while lying back across the crowd, anchored by the security guy's hand round his ankle.
Anyway, back to the music. To be honest there's not much more to relate about the songs - the essential ingredients of:
were blended in slightly different ways with no let up in energy, verve, enthusiasm or crowd reaction.
If it's a criticism that the show was one-paced then at least the band maintained the level they set. They swapped instruments, danced about and generally looked like they were having fun. They played through the whole of the album 'Hold On Now, Youngster' in an order not far off that record's and added only 'The International Tweexcore Underground' to the setlist.
Ok, so my opening line wasn't strictly true. There was more to come after the shouted end to Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks (the best song of the night, incidentally) with an encore of 2007, The Year Punk Broke (My Heart). This saw the band stretching into slightly different territory, starting in a familiar manner but then dispensing with the distinctive vocals and sharpness; instead bringing the instruments together to create what, in its own way, could almost have amounted to a Mogwai cover. As the noise reached its peak the group abandoned their instruments to let the feedback play out, to be drowned out by the crowd's applause.
Chris Unitt (View Original Article)
| 1. | You! Me! Dancing! |
| 2. | Death To Los Campesinos! |
| 3. | My Year In Lists |
| 4. | We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed |
| 5. | Drop It Doe Eyes |
| 6. | Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats |
| 7. | Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks |
| 8. | We Are All Accelerated Readers |
| 9. | Ways to Make It Through the Wall |
| 10. | Knee Deep at ATP |