It’s been a gorgeous summer so far but come September you’ll be gazing through the window at the rain (probably).  Why not guarantee a bit of September sunshine with the Stop Making Sense Festival in Croatia?

Featuring live music from The Very Best / Django Django / Nathan Fake / Matias Aguayo / Son Of Dave / Wbeeza / The Worm / Joana & The Wolf / Fran and Josh / Latin Dub Sound System / Longjon La Flecha / Loose Fit and DJ Sets from Carl Craig / Juan Atkins / Theo Parrish / Friendly Fires (DJ set) / Radioclit / Toy Selectah / Optimo / Richard Norris (Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve) /  Benji B / Patrice Scott / Keith Worthy / Kyle Hall / Allez Allez / Isa GT/ Mark E / Rebolledo / Chris Coco / Tama Sumo / James Priestley / Giles Smith  / Russ Jones / Cal Jader / Sensu / Lakuti / Girlcore / Fact DJs / Ali Tillett / Rob Summerhayes / Gringo Da Parada / Count Chocula / Tchicky Al Dente / Leon Lace/ Slutty Fringe / Sebilio / Rob Pollinate vs Neon Skullz / Lunadisko.

This wide variety of musical delights can be enjoyed in a relaxed woody peninsula with easy access to beaches, restaurants and the sea.  You won’t be queuing up for four hours only to receive a lukewarm can of drink and part-frozen vegi-burer.

For more details visit the SMS website – you can also find free DJ mixes from Friendly Fires, Django Django, Allez Allez, Russ Jones, Chris Coco and more at the SMS blog .

Tickets can also be purchased here:

via Ticketweb, Gigantic & We Got Tickets

Electric Elephant, Croatian’s leading music festival which takes place between 27th and 29th August in the village of Petrcane, have announced their initial line-up.

Fuck Buttons, The Phantom Band, Jesca Hoop, Juan Maclean and Andrew Weatherall have all been confirmed.

Tickets are £80 and are available from the following outlets:

www.gigantic.com (10% of profits go to Oxfam)
www.ticketweb.co.uk
www.skiddle.com
www.wegottickets.com
and Electrik Bar in Chorlton, Manchester, with no booking fee.

For more information, head to their website: www.electricelephant.co.uk

Following on from last year’s sun soaked extravaganza, The Big Chill returns in 2010 with a line-up to rival any other big festival this year.

Highlights announced thus far include: Kruder & Dorfmeister, Massive Attack, The Bug (Live), Roy Ayers, Joker, Martyn, Roots Manuva, Foreign Beggars, Dam Funk, Alice Russell and Mad Professor.

Now in its 16th year, the Malvern Hills looks set to be dominated by blissful bass and dirty breaks.

The full current line up can be viewed here, with ticket, travel and camping information available on the main site.

The Big Chill takes place between August 5th – 8th.

So, this is some line-up for this year’s Brighton Festival, which is curated by the great Brian Eno.

Here are four highlights of the festival that takes place this May – tickets on sale from 5th March:

May 1 and 2: Apollo: This is for all Mankind is a live soundtrack of music by Eno performed by Icebreaker Ensemble to the Al Reinert documentary of the Apollo space missions with an introductory talk by Brian Eno. Widely regarded as one of his most influential albums, this unique multimedia experience is the final frontier for Eno’s ambient music milestone. British new music innovators Icebreaker have performed the works of some of the best-known and most influential names in contemporary music including Louis Andriessen, Philip Glass and Michael Gordon. Special guest pedal steel guitar innovator BJ Cole has collaborated with everyone from Björk and Beck to Groove Armada and John Cale.

May 9: This is Pure Scenius! sees seven individuals – Brian Eno, Karl Hyde, Leo Abrahams, Jon Hopkins and The Necks – come together to imagine new forms of music, realised over three consecutive performances altogether forming a 6-hour music experience. Karl Hyde is the poet voice of Underworld who assimilated techno into the art-rock tradition with frantic cut-up lyrics, eccentric humour and waves of improvisation. Jon Hopkins is a musical shapeshifter, composer, pianist and self-taught studio wizard who co-produced Coldplay’s Viva La Vida. Leo Abrahams was discovered by Eno and has since worked with Nick Cave and Grace Jones specialising in generating ambient sounds. Tony Buck, Lloyd Swanton and Chris Abrahams – collectively known as The Necks – are recognised as being among the world’s most consistently great exponents of improvised music.

May 7: This is Acappella! brings together Frank Zappa’s group The Persuasions, the New York sextet Naturally 7 and Seattle based singer Reggie Watts for this special celebration of the unaccompanied voice. After Frank Zappa heard The Persuasions singing over the phone from a New Jersey record shop, he immediately flew the group to Los Angeles to record their first album, A Cappella. Since then they’ve opened for Ray Charles, performed with Stevie Wonder and Van Morrison and released over 20 albums. Naturally 7 sees seven voices replicating the full band arsenal armed only with their vocal cords and natural harmonies. Reggie Watts – Seattlebased singer-cum-stand-up-cum-self confessed-’disinformationist’ – creates songs on the hoof and in the moment with only his formidable voice, ‘side splitting wit’ and a looping machine for company.

May 14: This is Afrobeat! featuring Tony Allen/Seun Kuti & Egypt 80. Two iconic African artists come together for one essential Afro-beat encounter. Tony Allen was the drummer and unofficial musical director of Fela Kuti’s seminal band, Africa 70, from 1968 until 1979. Together they pioneered the Afro-beat revolution, melding Nigerian highlife, jazz and James Brown-style funk grooves into a potent musical force. If Allen is the progenitor, then Seun Kuti – youngest son of Fela – is the natural successor to the Afro-beat crown. Leading his father’s band Egypt 80 for the last decade, Seun has kept the Afro-beat agenda well and truly alive, perpetuating its pulsing rhythms and outspoken politics.

More information can be found on the Brighton Festival website.

Bestival, the festival that takes place on the Isle of Wight between 9th and 12th September, is curated by Rob Da Bank this year.

The festival have also just announced a bit of a coup with two of it’s acts… The XX and Fever Ray have been added to an already impressive line-up.

Also, Bestival’s late night contingent will bare witness to a solid gold techno deity as Richie Hawtin presents PLASTIKMAN LIVE in one of only two English shows.

Something for everyone then!

Previously Announced Acts:
Live Acts: A Genuine Freakshow / Archie Bronson Outfit / Beardyman / Beth Jeans Houghton / Bookhouse Boys / Chase & Status / Chilily Gonazales / Countryside Alliance Crew / Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip / Deer Tick / Delphic / Dizzee Rascal / Echo and the Bunnymen / Ellie Goulding / Fat Freddy’s Drop / Flying Lotus / Four Tet / French Horn Rebellion / Gil Scott Heron / Glen Matlock / Goldhawks / Here We Go Magic / High Llamas / Hot Chip / Hurts / King Charles / Kitty Daisy & Lewis / Laura J Martin / LCD Soundsystem / Marc Almond / Mixhell / Rolf Harris / Samuel and the Dragon / Simian Mobile Disco / Sisters of Transistors / Spindle and Wit / Starless & Bible Black / Stornoway / Telegraphs / The Antlers / The Boy Who Trapped The Sun / The Cuban Brothers / The Flaming Lips / The Gaslamp Killer / The Japanese Popstars / The Lost Brothers / The Twinkle Brothers / The Vegetable Orchestra / Three Trapped Tigers / Worship / Tim and Sam Band / Tinie Tempah / Tunng / Ulrich Schnauss / Unicorn Kid / Vitalic

DJ Sets: Annie Mac Presents / Back To The Phuture / David Rodigan / Dixon / DJ Derek / Ewan Pearson / Greg Wilson / Nathan Fake / Greg’s Greats / Huw Stephens / Jaguar Skills / Jakwob / Joy Orbison / Horse Meat Disco / Mary Anne Hobbs / Ramadanman /SBTRKT / Seth Troxler / The Broken Hearts / Untold

Xiu Xiu and Deerhoof will perform Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures on April 29th at the Donaufestival, which runs April 28th through May 8 in Krems, Austria.

Other festival performers include Peaches, Rufus Wainwright, Deichkind, Panda Bear, Dan Deacon, Wolf Parade, Cobra Killer, Alec Empire & The Ex, Fuck Buttons and many more.

Additional information can be found at www.donaufestival.at and you can order tickets here.

For the first time in my life, I feel as if I’m missing out on something by not living in, or near, Austria…

Brighton’s Beachdown Festival has been cancelled today, just 2 days ahead of its scheduled start date. The four day festival, which would have been in it’s second year was due to host the likes of Super Furry Animals, Grace Jones, Saint Etienne, The Zutons and, er…Ocean Colour Scene over the Bank Holiday Weekend.

The Festival organisers issued the following statement:

Dear All

It is with immense personal regret that the Directors of Beachdown Festival have been advised that they must announce that due to slower than forecast ticket-sales and lack of support at a critical time from our bank and certain suppliers that despite being so so close to being able to deliver Beachdown Festival we are unable to do so. Very simply we were unable to meet the demands that the current economic climate put against us and at the eleventh hour despite having most of the infrastructure in place we have been forced to cancel the event.

We wish to say at this time how desperately sorry we are to all those who have bought tickets or were participating in the event and to say that we all here are personally shattered expecially after eleven months of battling against the recession to try and put this event on and coming so close. We also wish to advise everyone that we explored every possible avenue to finance the event including re-mortgaging our houses to combat the unwillingness of banks to support us.

We will do everything in our power to give the best information that we can via the web-site and via email but we ask that people understand that we will also be inundated with enquiries but we will endeavour to communicate to everyone as best we can.

We ask all ticket-holders to get information from the outlet that you purchased the ticket from in the first instance and once again we will do everything we can to get as much infrmation as we can to everyone as quickly as we can.

Directors
Beachdown Festival

The cancellation will come as a double blow to those who bought tickets for the Bloom Festival that was cancelled earlier this month, as instead of a refund they were given a ticket exchange top up scheme.

Located in Victoria Park with a great atmosphere, Field Day is, even without music, great fun. Backwards sack races, blindfolded watermelon relay races and many more are held in a village green area, and everybody seems determined to have a good time (whether they’ve heard of the bands playing or not). Unfortunately my first experience of Field Day 2009 was blighted by a borderline incompetent system of collecting photo passes, which left Minh and I being sent from one end of the festival to the other, gradually picking up other photographers in similar situations on our way. This unfortunately meant that I missed the first band of the day I wanted to see, First Aid Kit. Not to worry though, there were plenty of other bands on to keep me entertained for the rest of the day.


Fanfarlo

We first headed to the Village Mentality tent, to catch Jon Hopkins. With his electronic ambient compositions, Hopkins was oddly compelling. Very static electronic musicians are never the most fun to see live, but Hopkins managed to keep his tent entertained, even if he didn’t exactly get them moving. His droning, but melodic music was however a very pleasant way to start the day.

Just as pleasant were Fanfarlo on the Eat Your Own Ears main stage, drawing a reasonable crowd early in the day. Their anthemic indie pop worked well with a day that, so far, seemed to be defying the weather forecast. They were annoyingly late to the stage, which meant that the Main Stage was slightly out of sync with everywhere else for the rest of the day, but nobody’s perfect. Despite being far from the best band of the day, Fanfarlo did their job of keeping an audience entertained (although not entertained to the point where they’ll stop their conversations) at a time when nobody else was really on.

The next band on the main stage, Errrors, however got the crowd standing up. At first they seemed weak and far too quiet (which was a common problem throughout the day, due to tough noise restrictions on the festival). But they quickly warmed up, managing to get the early day, not yet alcohol infused, crowd dancing. With Simon Ward winning over the crowd with his northern indie charm, Errors were a relative success, managing to keep a suddenly rained on crowd happy.

Final Fantasy

However, Final Fantasy got the crowd moving forward in anticipation, even just to excitedly watch him set up his keyboard and violin. After a quick introduction, in which he demanded fatter English people, he got started on a set mostly consisting of new songs, reminding us that we “had records” for his old material. The new material, was by and large, excellent and enough so to make me genuinely excited about the new record. However, perhaps due to lack of experience with his new songs, or due to other problems, Owen Pallett at first seemed almost sloppy. His loops were almost out of time, and he appeared to be having a few problems on the stage. He quickly warmed up though, and was soon giving a compelling performance that marked him out as the best act of the day so far.

After a quick wander around the small, but busy, festival and lunch (during which we watched the exciting backwards sack race), we returned to the main stage for The Temper Trap. These Aussies were the first act to get the main stage audience really dancing, and they certainly went over very well. They were energetic (especially the bass player), and were a perfectly enjoyable main stage act, far from an exceptional band, but a real crowd pleaser.

About this time, it suddenly started raining quite hard, so, partially due to the weather, and perhaps curiousity about her act, I headed to the Adventures in the Beetroot Field tent to see Michachu and the Shapes. The tent was packed, and I only managed to get a partially obscured view, but I was still struck by quite how tiny Michachu is. Because of this, and her childlike figure, Michachu is a surreal sight on stage. Her cute and weird music fits this. She does, however, lack real stage presence, and by the time she tried a largely inaudible acoustic song, I had grown tired of her and headed out into the suddenly rainless festival to get to the front of the main stage for The Horrors.

The Horrors

The surprising lack of rain didn’t last though. Soon I was waiting for a band who, until this year, I would have paid not to see. However, they arrived on stage to near torrential rain. Perhaps due to their Mercury Prize nomination, or perhaps due to their album actually being quite good, there was a real element of hype surrounding the Horrors arriving on stage. I missed their opening ambient chords of ‘Mirrors Image’ due to the conversation of a drunken Irish man, but there was a definite buzz. Unfortunately, like most hyped bands, the Horrors failed to live up to theirs, and despite some tracks (such as ‘Sea Within a Sea’) being excellent, they seemed out of their depth on the main stage. They weren’t nearly loud enough, and required techs to be running about the stage fixing things for them nearly constantly. Their performance was energetic and dramatic, all 5 of them glaring solemnly and menacingly at the audience throughout the performance while Faris rose his hand in a dark, wizardly manner at crescendos in the songs. The Horror’s sense of drama on stage is amusing, but they managed to keep me entertained in the heavy rain.

The normally excellent Fennesz was unlucky. Placed on the wrong stage, during intolerable rain, he was never going to truly engage an audience. Ambient electronic music isn’t wonderfully fun to watch live at the best of times, but many, including me, couldn’t be bothered to stand in the rain watching a man behind a box press buttons. Fennesz put on the best performance he could, but unfortunately was doomed the moment it started raining, and people started leaving for the safety of the tents.

Mumford and Sons, the latest buzzed about folk act from London, drew an impressive crowd to the Village Mentality tent. There had been rumours of Laura Marling appearing on stage with them (she had been spotted walking around the festival with the band), but unfortunately she was not to be seen. Mumford and Sons are a strong act, despite not yet releasing an album, and entertained an audience, with their pleasant, if not exceptional, folk songs.

Errors

Electro-Rock duo The Big Pink are one of the most promising bands emerging from London at the present time. Having been noted, and interviewed by Pitchfork, they now have a lot of hype to live up to. I would confidently say that they are currently delivering on that hype. They presented the Adventures in Beetroot Field tent with a powerful, rhythmic, melodic and supremely enjoyable set.

The problem with too many of the electronic acts that I either watched, or caught glimpses of at Field Day, was that they were simply too boring to watch. Either because of ambient music (which is only ever really good on record) or being too static. Four Tet, with his supremely danceable, but atmospheric tunes, provided an excellent listening experience. By bringing on dancers with glowing hula hoops, he also provided one of the best visual experiences of the day.

Influential Dub step producer DJ Skream was kept late, and then cut short to only 20 minuets, a fact that he much lamented whilst on stage. Opening with his excellent cover of La Roux’s ‘In for the Kill’, DJ Skream got around half the crowd very excited. The other half of the crowd, including me, were waiting for Mogwai and simply viewed him as an inconvenience who they’d rather be rid of. Despite this, DJ Skream put on an excellent performance that got his half of the crowd moving.

Greeted, regrettably with a few boos from the DJ Skream fans, legendary post-rock act Mogwai were the last act to take to the main stage. The boos were soon silenced by the multitude of adoring fans, and the crowd shushed itself in preparation for their first song, ‘Yes! I am a Long Way From Home’. Mogwai may have suffered from the noise restrictions, but this did not mean they were any less impressive. The audience was awed into submission, particularly notable by the respectful silence that fell over the crowd in the quiet section of the incredible ‘Mogwai Vs Satan’ (during which they were joined by James Hamilton from Errors to help with rhythm). Mogwai gave an extremely impressive performance even by their own standards, songs full of stately energy and power, and left the crowd demanding more, and an encore would have certainly been very welcome. Mogwai were certainly the best act of what had been an excellent, if blighted by rain, festival.

All photos by Crazy Bobbles

With the Field Day festival happening THIS WEEKEND, we’ve got the full stage-by-stage breakdown of acts playing this year’s event. There’s also a brand new Guardian Tea Room Tent and Do You Come Here Often, an art happening area from Time Out.

There are still some tickets available from the usual outlets…

STAGE LINE UPS:

Eat Your Own Ears Main Stage

Eat Your Own Ears DJ’s / Errors / Fennesz / Final Fantasy / First Aid Kit / Gaggle / Jon Hopkins / Mogwai (Only English Summer Festival Show) / Santigold / Skream / The Horrors / The Temper Trap

Adventures In The Beetroot Field Stage

Allez Allez / Crispin Dior (AITBF) / Devil Made Me Do It / Four Tet / King Charles / Micachu And The Shapes / Mystery Jets / Plugs / S.C.U.M / Sian Alice Group / Stopmakingme (AITBF) / The Big Pink / The Invisible / Wild Beasts

Village Mentality Stage

Fanfarlo / James Yorkston / Juana Molina / Malcolm Middleton / Mumford And Sons / The Thing / Toumani Diabate / Wet Paint / Woodpigeon

Bugged Out! Stage

Aeroplane DJs / Audion (Live) / Delphic (Live) / Erol Alkan / Fake Blood / JD Twitch (Optimo) / Little Boots (Live) / Wild Geese DJs

Bloggers Delight Stage

Casper C (AITBF/Bloggers Delight) / Drums Of Death (Live) / Greco-Roman Soundsystem  / No Pain In Pop DJs / Rusko (DJ Set) / Skull Juice (Bloggers Delight) / The Xx / Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs / Work It

As the cobbled streets of Serbia’s Novi Sad overflow with animated and lairy youths from what seems like every corner of the globe, it is clear that overseas festivals are the new black. As in, very cool.

Set in the expansive Petrovaradin Fortress with the epitome of eccentric festival line-ups, the 10th anniversary of Exit Festival was held by all with high expectations, boasting acts such as Kraftwerk, Madness, Moby and Lily Allen. The crowds were drawn in by the thousands, proving what a success Exit had become, having only begun 10 years previous as a protest against Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.

The first acts began just after 7pm, allowing the audience to spend the day embracing or avoiding the Serbian sun, and the last act lasted through to 6am. Dominating the main stage on the first evening were Darkwood Dub, a domestic art rock band who played at the very first Exit and reiterated the essence of the original festival, alongside a collection of England’s own darlings Lily Allen, Roots Manuva, Arctic Monkeys and Caspa and Rusko. Featuring on numerous other stages were variations of jazz, hip hop, reggae and electro acts and DJs, literally providing something for every one of the sun-drowsed euro-travelers staggering from one of the 11 stages to another.

Canadian punk-rock act Fucked Up, Manic Street Preachers, KoRn and Fabric regulars Andy C and MC GQ were headliners for the next night, a line-up even more curious than one that featured Lily Allen. The crowd, as per, lapped up every moment, packing into the stage so tightly that it was impossible to get through an act without being ear to ear with a German metal head, or possibly catching swine flu.

The main nights were still to come however, as Saturday’s unbeatable line-up promised a phenomenal experience. Patti Smith continued what Darkwood Dub reiterated, the angst and action needed to make a difference, and the protest roots of the festival. Projecting her political vision with crowd shocker ‘Rock N Roll Nigger’, her message was well and truly received as she held up her guitar and preached, “This is the instrument of our future… the weapon of mass instruction”, and with angry energy broke the strings of said guitar and left the audience feeling as though Smith herself had just told them personally to save the world.

The political message persevered with electronic veterans Kraftwerk, relaying ‘protect the human’ type tracks ‘Computer World’ and ‘Radioactivity’ to the anticipant crowd. The minimalistic and futuristic aura of their performance added to the experience of witnessing live one of the world’s first electro bands, adding to the novelty by replacing their places on stage with robots for the encore, before returning in luminous neon attire, making the difference between the robots and themselves barely perceptible.

And though that were not enough for the hearts and loins of Exit festival-goers, past midnight appeared Moby’s bald and humble head. Intoxicating the crowd with his energetic stage prancing and tendency to allow singer Joy Malcom take centre stage while he fluctuated from guitar to bongos, the American singer performed an excellently planned set-list to a crowd of over 30,000 people. The fortress echoed with the sounds of ‘Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad’, ‘Go’ and ‘We Are All Made Of Stars’, as well as Moby apologising for the state of his country, and the unhinged screams of his dearest fans. Finishing the set with ‘Feeling So Real’, Moby dedicated the track to ‘anyone whose been at a rave at 6am when the suns coming up’, leaving the crowd in a state of dancing euphoria.

The festival was summed up on Sunday with performances from Madness, Prodigy, DJ trio Japanese Popstars and dubstep duo Chase and Status. Although the main night, Saturday, had already past, the venue seemed to be more packed than ever, making movement incredibly difficult. The crowd even went crazy for Madness, starting a mosh pit to the drones of Sugs despite the bands slightly dire and predictable performance. Prodigy, as expected, drew in the biggest crowd of the festival, as fans clamored on top of each-other for a glimpse of the performance and crowds gathered on hills and walls from far away to see. The set could be heard from miles away and brought out the most inner animal instincts of the audience, punctuating the four night fest with an explosive performance and a bevy of bruises and sweat.

Considering the previous year boasted acts such as Gogol Bordello, Manu Chao and Orkestra Del Sol, the tenth Exit had a lot to live up to. And that it did within the line-up, with everyone who attended now newly converted Moby fans, yet the unique setting was metaphorically urinated on in that there were a couple thousand people too many in attendance, as an excessive amount of extra tickets had undoubtedly been sold. By the end of the weekend feet were exhausted yet happy, ears were ringing with glee, but a few thousand faces was incredibly tired of meeting the elbows and fag ends of beefy men who you couldn’t even swear at because they spoke a different language.

Following on from the YouTube phenomenon that was their cover of Fleet Foxes ‘Tiger Mountain Peasant Song’ (currently at over 600,000 views), Johanna and Klara (aka First Aid Kit) have decided to get their video camera out again this Summer… From July onwards they will be asking for ideas and suggestions on songs that you’d like them to cover by contacting them through Twitter.

By messaging the girls at @faksessions, they will then choose a suggestion and go and film themselves singing and playing in various locations around their town. Johanna and Klara are going to be making several trips around Europe and to the UK this Summer too; what with Latitude, Field Day & Underage, Standon Calling, Summer Sundae and End Of The Road all confirmed, and so they’re bringing their camera with them wherever they go. Keep an eye on their website (www.thisisfirstaidkit.com) as they’re hoping to do as many sessions as they can whilst on the road – be it in a cafe in Paris, on the boating lake in Hyde Park – message over your location and cover suggestions, and check back to the site to see if they’ve fulfilled your request!

They launched the website with a brand new session – ‘Universal Soldier’ by Buffy Sainte-Marie.

Klara explains their song choice:

“This song was written in the early sixties by Buffy Sainte-Marie, it’s about individual responsibility for war. We wanted to sing this song because, unfortunately, it still is so true today and will probably be so for years to come. We changed the lyrics a bit to make it more relevant to today’s society.”

More info on the First Aid Kit official website.

Watch the classic Fleet Foxes cover version below…

Click here to view the embedded video.

This year Hop Farm offered up three stages and two days of music, but despite three acts constantly playing at the same time, there were hardly any actual clashes to worry about. Having The Fratellis as one of the headliners is bad enough, but a Stage One bill littered with ‘highlights’ such as The View, The Rifles, Mystery Jets, Pigeon Detectives and The Twang tells its own story. On the bright side, the poor bill meant a poor turn out, so those of us that bothered got a blazing hot weekend with hardly any queuing for beer or food. Marvellous.

Day 1

Florence & The Machine were the first band to really make a main stage impact, after the painfully dull Howling Bells and the good but not really main stage material Noah & The Whale. Flo and her machine produce hippy dippy nonsense really, but thoroughly enjoyable and believable hippy nonsense. The latest in a long line of Kate Bush-a-likes, her voice is genuinely powerful, the band is tight and it’s great in-a-field music. ‘Kiss With a Fist’ is the real stand out, adding a rocky edge and a bit of Kate Nash to make it that bit more interesting than the rest.

Next up were Echo & The Bunnymen, followed by Ash, and suddenly we were at a festival. Both bands hit the crowd running, furnished us with the sing-a-long hits we wanted, and in return got the receptions they deserved. The Bunnymen arrived with ‘Rescue’ and closed with ‘Killing Moon’ and ‘The Cutter’, while Ash started on ‘Girl From Mars’ and signed off with ‘Burn Baby Burn’. That’s what it’s all about.

Low turnouts tend to be bad for all bands, and the smaller stages are no exception. The Dance Tent didn’t get going at all on the Saturday, but the Third Stage managed some notable successes. The Joy Formidable showed the growing hype around them is well placed with a blistering, beautiful and sometimes brutal set. They mix the ethereal beauty of twee nineties shoegazers with the more extreme MBV end of the genre: accessible yet ever so slightly unhinged and unpredictable.

Both Bell X1 (yawn) and White Denim (please tell me it is a terrible, terrible joke at my expense) failed to convert me in any way shape or form, but Sunshine Underground proved worthy small stage headliners. It’s all a bit eighties riff and bass heavy, with a clear PIL vocal slant in places, but they pushed all the right buttons and send the tent home happy.

Day 2

Burn The Negative got Sunday off to a good start in a sadly near empty (again) Dance Tent. It’s unashamed eighties electro pop but done really well, with big bass sounds – both keys and strings – to the fore. With a busy festival season ahead of them, I wouldn’t be too surprised to see these guys making more of a mark this year.

Taking the eighties vibe on a completely different tangent were Sergeant. They’ll hate me saying it, but they were really cute – it was like watching a Scottish sixth form band pay tribute to Madchester. But it’s not meant as an insult, as they were right on it – plenty of Las, a bit of Mondays, loads of sixties pop nous, plenty of tunes and a bit of attitude. Sergeant are definitely ones to watch.

I did my best to watch a bit of The Rifles, Ladyhawke and Mystery Jets, but with the notable exception of Ladyhawke’s ‘My Delirium’ (comfortably the biggest sing-a-long of the afternoon) and the Mystery Jets’ general enthusiasm, it was all massively uninspiring.

Luckily, this meant I got to see Fight Like Apes and Dananananackroyd instead. Both did a good job of filling the Third Stage and gave the kind of live shows they’ve become famous for – humour, energy, general bedlam and plenty of crowd participation (even if its just passing various band members over their heads, or being stared at accusingly by beardy hand-clapping keyboard monkeys). Fight Like Apes do a cracking version of Mclusky’s ‘Lightsaber Cocksucking Blues’ and if you can imagine a female fronted keyboard heavy version of said band, you’re in the right ballpark. Glaswegian post hardcore popsters Fight Like Apes bounce like loons, shout like loons and generally, well, you get the picture. The frontman spent about half the set either in or on the crowd, screaming his head off, before getting back on stage to cajole in a soft Scottish accent. Catch these bands live if you haven’t already – they deserve their reputations.

Next up were 65 Days of Static, which was a shame as the last two were hard acts to follow. On their day, 65DoS are my favourite live band on the circuit right now, but they didn’t quite nail it today. I can’t help thinking recent sets have lacked a little of the atmosphere of the older shows, with more sledgehammer immediacy and less subtlety. The continued move away from the Mogwai mould to a more electronic sound is working on one level, but I can’t help think it might damage the whole. Time will tell, but they’re still one of the best live bands around.

After about ten minutes of Editors, I headed off to a now thankfully rampant Dance Tent for two brilliant festival closing sets. The Scratch Perverts absolutely ripped the place up, mashing up everything and everyone in the process: I’d love to know how much vinyl those guys go through per set. As much as I’m a guitar, bass and drums man, watching those three guys work the decks is every bit as live, and as vital, as any ‘rock’ band. The same can’t be said for 2manyDJs, but they make up for it with tuxedos, Python-esque video backdrops and a musical set that had the whole tent going mental (or should that be Bonkers? See pic).

My last beer couldn’t have been better timed: I wandered across the field to the strains of Paul Weller doing a great version of ‘Town Called Malice’, and was almost back in the Dance Tent as he wheeled out Roger Daltrey to play something turgid. Comically, there were probably as many 30-somethings in the Dance Tent as there were watching Weller, which hopefully bodes well for the future.

All photos by Chris Marling

With market saturation and the recession it’s getting far more difficult to make a new festival work these days without major backing. One such venture that has found a successful niche is Indietracks, which has the unique selling point of combining indiepop with heritage trains. Based at the Midland Railway Centre in Derbyshire, with stages on an actual steam train and in a rebuilt Victorian church, it’s also quickly garnered a reputation that draws in a friendly clintele and top bands in their specific, chiefly young DIY field – the Wedding Present and Los Campesinos! headlined last year.

This year’s third event is the biggest yet, partly due to a link-up with Elefant Records, the highly regarded Barcelona based label celebrating its twentieth anniversary in 2009 by curating the main stage. They’re bringing headliners Teenage Fanclub, Camera Obscura and Au Revoir Simone; also on the bill are the likes of Emmy The Great, the Frank And Walters, Ballboy’s Gordon McIntyre, Wake The President, BMX Bandits, Lucky Soul, Cats On Fire, MJ Hibbett, Rose Elinor Dougall, The School and The Manhattan Love Suicides. As a preview of one of the festival season’s most unique propositions, TLOBF asked some questions of festival organiser Stuart Mackay.

How did Indietracks come into being? Why the location?
I restore old trains for a living, and I’d been on a contract at the Midland Railway for quite a while when I started to get interested in indiepop. I was travelling a lot to gigs and shows, and thought why not have them come here for a change? So I set up a little show with three bands and DJs and it was a tremendous success, I’d not envisaged the way everyone would take to the old trains.

What were your ambitions for the festival, and how has reality compared?
I never started out having ambitions about a festival, it was just something that happened. For the second show I thought we’d have to make it more worthwhile for the people that had travelled so far, so I started planning an all-dayer, but then thought, we’re setting this place up for one day, we may as well leave it set up for another day. But if there were any ambitions about what I was doing it was just to see happy smiling faces, people enjoying themselves, and that’s been achieved.

How much of a challenge is it to turn the Railway Centre into a festival-ready location?
It’s not too bad, as unlike many festivals that set up in empty fields we’re based on an existing tourist site with facilities. The first year there was a mad rush to finish the building work on the loco shed where the main stage was, the concrete floor has barely set by the time we started building a stage in there! And as the festival grows each year we’re gradually expanding with it, and the staff there are getting used to what we were trying to do.

How do you approach artist booking?
Headliners are always tough to get, there’s a limited amount that we could get away within the indiepop remit, and that number is reduced further as we’re so small we don’t have the funding booking agents expect when they hear the words ‘festival’. As for the rest, I prioritise initially on any foreign bands that have asked, as I feel I might not always be able to have them back. I get inundated with requests to play and I do listen to them all, and it’s probably the hardest part trying to pick from them for the remaining slots. There’s so many great indiepop bands out there I hate not having them all play.

How did the Elefant link-up come about?
It was simply from a suggestion on the Anorak forum, I approached them and they liked the idea. Being their anniversary helped, it was the ideal time. And I like how they’re bringing loads of bands that I wouldn’t have normally considered.

Do you buy into the talk at the moment of a Pains Of Being Pure At Heart-spearheaded full-on C86 revival?
I’m so glad that they’re doing really well! I hope that the music press look beyond them into the rest of the scene and give it more exposure.

Who are you most looking forward to this year?
I rarely get a chance to see any acts! Although I’ll probably be “unavailable” when Pocketbooks, The Smittens and One Happy Island are on, and a big list of others if I can manage. But I wouldn’t book any of the acts unless I was excited about seeing them all.

Who would you recommend among the lesser known artists?
Again, they’re all there for a reason! I’ve probably listened to Kevin McGrother‘s album the most. But not all have albums!

Having been involved with San Francisco Popfest, is there a transatlantic difference in perception?
American indiepop tends to be more rockier, less twee. I’m getting used to it!

Who would you most like to play that hasn’t already or can’t due to being defunct?
There may be a band or two that have split up I would do anything for to get them to play. Bands seem to get back together, so fingers crossed!

Do you have any other favourite British festivals?
I don’t go to any. I’ve went to Leeds, V and T in the Park once years ago, but don’t make a point of going. I’m probably too old now…

Indietracks Indiepop Festival takes place on 24th to 26th July at the Swanwick junction of the Midland Railway Centre, Butterley, Derbyshire. For tickets and further information, visit the Indietracks website.

Dananananaykroyd. Photo credit: Jordon Gordon

Following the success of its inaugural run in 2008, Shoreditch’s Stag and Dagger festival (sponsored by Vice Magazine, of course) has this year gone Lollapalooza on the UK’s ass, and taken its grab bag of trendy talent across the country. Its first stop outside of London was in Leeds, which is soon to be home to a new Vice-run venue, Nation of Shopkeepers. Word had spread far about the mini-festival, but a number of aspects don’t quite sit right; more often than not, the five venues playing host to some thirty bands were queue-free zones, with ticket sales apparently lower than anticipated. Indeed, even the one venue which remained full for the duration, TJ’s, fell victim to “time constraints”, leaving the late-arriving Abe Vigoda with a paltry fifteen minutes to play, followed by an inexplicable 45 minute gap before a brilliantly intense set from Crystal Antlers.

Whether this is because, especially for the American bands, it was less a special occasion than Just Another Stop On Tour, is unclear; however, a lot of the bands who drew lacklustre crowds – from the stoned psychedelia of Girls to the droned miserabilia of The Twilight Sad – could have comfortably filled their respective venues in their own right, were it not for who they clashed with. Similarly, many of the bands playing London neglected to make the trek northwards, a drag for those (like myself) who were excited for the potential presence of acts like Evan Dando or Wavves, who pulled out altogether.

Still, that’s not to say that the bands themselves didn’t deliver. The Manhattan Love Suicides, who opened proceedings at the Library, played a storming set; seeming somewhat worse for wear following their previous night’s support slot with best friends The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, their fuzzbomb indiepop still kicked off the night perfectly. Following The MLS, Girls stormed through their set of blissed-out slack rock in style; mixing up garage punk and foggy Velvets-style pop, the long-haired bunch rarely put a foot wrong, and once they rolled out their two signature tunes – the effervescent “Lust for Life” and gauzy forthcoming single “Hellhole Ratrace” – it seemed most of the crowd was converted.

Meanwhile The Brudenell Social Club, one of the city’s best venues, was hijacked by the Scottish indie mafia; folktronica hero King Creosote and offshoot bands Pictish Trail and Player Piano made up the first third of the night’s bill, while TLOBF favourites The Twilight Sad previewed their eagerly-awaited new album Forget the Night Ahead to an almost reverential response. That said, for all concerned, Stag and Dagger was pretty much stolen by Dananananaykroyd; taking to the stage twenty minutes early, presumably to avoid the same unfortunate fate as Abe Vigoda, they still managed to draw venue’s biggest crowd of the night so far. The band’s relentless set comprised the majority of debut album Hey Everyone! pretty much in sequence , and their irrepressible enthusiasm finally rubbed off onto the crowd, who screamed every “YEAH!” back at the band. True to usual form, the band ran riot onstage, straddling speaker stacks and playing guitars on audience members’ heads, as singer Calum Gunn quipped “I want to fuck your tits,” and probably meaning it. Meanwhile, during the breakdown in “Some Dresses” – arguably the best song of the whole night – the band dropped their gear to challenge the crowd to an impromptu dance-off.

By the time of the glorious noise climax of “Song One Puzzle”, which closed out the set, even the judgemental door staff couldn’t help but break form and raise a smile at one of the country’s best live bands. For a sweet, brief moment, all the night’s organisational hiccups and fuck-ups were forgotten, and the paying punters of Leeds remembered what they were there for. Whether or not the festival continues in its multi-city guise remains to be seen – and if it does, there’s certainly some tweaking to be done; however, if it continues to showcase sets as good as some of those witnessed tonight, Stag and Dagger may just have a future outside of London after all.

After launching to critical acclaim in 2008, Offset Festival returns to the beautiful Hainault Forest Country Park – just a short 30 minute commute from London by tube – on September 5-6^th.

The first announcements for 2009 are The Horrors, with a performance that will draw upon their critically acclaimed new album Primary Colours. Legendary post-punk group The Slits are the first of a number of influential bands to be announced, alongside pioneering punk-funk band A Certain Ratio – Factory Records’ second-ever signing. Welsh alternative group Future of the Left join these names, with over 150 new and iconic artists to be announced. Hardcore pioneers Rolo Tomassi are in, as well as Sheffield quartet Holy State and Factory Floor, who are supporting the Horrors all summer. DJs will include Douglas Hart from shoe-gaze legends Jesus and Mary Chain, plus guests from the UKs most innovative and exciting club nights.

Earlybird tickets are on sale now and priced at  £45 with camping. For more information visit www.offsetfestival.co.uk

If the initial line-up for July’s Pitchfork Festival didn’t look tantalising enough, a whole slew of awesome new bands have been recently added to a roster that would make even the most cynical muso drool in anticipation.

Psychedelic Brooklyners Yeasayer, French shoegaze types M83 and Portland folk-rockers Blitzen Trapper join Plants & Animals, Disappears and Mew for the event taking place at Chicago’s Union Park from 17th to 19th July. This all in addition to the already confirmed “Write The Night: Set Lists by Request” performances by Built to Spill, The Jesus Lizard, Yo La Tengo and Tortoise, and more conventional sets from the likes of The Flaming Lips, The National and Grizzly Bear. With even more names surely to be added over the next couple of months, this looks ever more like a festival worth jetting across the Atlantic for…
The full line-up is as follows:

Friday, July 17
“Write the Night: Set Lists by Request”
Built to Spill
The Jesus Lizard
Yo La Tengo
Tortoise

Saturday, July 18
The National
Yeasayer
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Fucked Up
Plants and Animals
Matt and Kim
Wavves
Charles Hamilton
The Duchess and The Duke
Disappears

Sunday, July 19
The Flaming Lips
Grizzly Bear
M83
The Walkmen
Pharoahe Monch
Blitzen Trapper
Black Lips
The Very Best
Mew
Vivian Girls
Japandroids
Women

Truck Festival has announced the first set of bands to play this years festival.

Taking place on 25th & 26th July in Oxfordshire, the following acts are around, including a Supergrass headline slot for the Sat night.

Red Light Company
Detroit Social Club
Yacht
And So I Watch You From Afar
Pulled Apart By Horses
Calories
Data Select Party
Broken Records
Errors
Heloise And The Savoir Faire
Nervous Testpilot

Further details can be found at www.thisistruck.com.

Tickets for the weekend are £70, buy from:

www.wegottickets.com/truck
www.gigantic.com
www.seetickets.com

Field Day 09 drops yet another A-list of performers. Cosmic synth pop chanteuse Little Boots plays a full live set, The Horrors and Mystery Jets both re-emerge with a brand new sound and dancehall queen Santigold plays one of just two exclusive UK dates all summer, the other being Field  Day’s ‘little brother’ Underage Festival.

These acts join the following, already confirmed, bands: Mogwai, Toumani Diabate, Four Tet, Erol Alkan, James Yorkston, Apes And Androids, Final Fantasy, Malcolm Middleton, Aeroplane, Fennesz, Errors, Skream, S.C.U.M, First Aid Kit.

Field Day is taking place between 11-30am and 10-30pm on Saturday 1st August 2009 at Victoria Park, London, E9. Ticket prices are a very reasonable £29.50 plus a, no doubt not-so-reasonable booking fee.

The line up has been announced for this years Reading & Leeds festival.

Kings of Leon, who seem to have involved in every major UK festival over the past 5 years, return to Reading on the Friday night (August 28) and headline Leeds on the closing evening (Sunday August 30).

Radiohead play Leeds on Saturday and close Reading on the Sunday.

They join the already announced bill topper Arctic Monkeys.

The rest of the acts so far announced are:
Kings of Leon day on the Main Stage features Kaiser Chiefs, Placebo, Fall Out Boy, Deftones and Funeral For A Friend. Joining Arctic Monkeys are The Prodigy, Maximo Park, Ian Brown, The Courteeners, Enter Shikari and Eagles Of Death Metal. Playing with Radiohead are Bloc Party, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Vampire Weekend and Brand New.

At Leeds on the Friday, Reading on Saturday, co-headlining the Radio 1/NME Stage are Gossip and Glasvegas. Also playing that stage over the weekend are Gallows, Gaslight Anthem, AFI, Jamie T, White Lies, Friendly Fires, The Maccabees and Florence & The Machine.

The festivals takes place over the weekend of August 28-30.

Tickets are already on sale, but selling fast.

(Last update: 28th May)

Ah, the great British festival. Pay over the odds for a ticket, camp on a damp incline in a field that turns brown at the first sign of drizzle, clump what seems like miles between stages past people who still think loon pants and glowsticks are fashionable, get fleeced for drinks and listen to a clodhopping post-landfill indie band through a murky sound system. Can’t beat it.

This is TLOBF’s list of every festival this summer in the UK worth bothering with. All prices given are for full weekend camping tickets and all details are correct at time of going to press.

We will update this as and when new acts get confirmed making it (hopefully) your one stop shop for all Festival shenanigans.

Camden Crawl
Hoxtonites rejoice, fire safety limits get tested
When: 24th-25th April
Where: across Camden
How much: £54.81
Confirmed: 808 State, Alessi’s Ark, Art Brut, Billy Bragg, Brakes, Dan Black, Dananananaykroyd, Dinosaur Pile-Up, Echo & The Bunnymen, Eugene McGuinness, The Fall, Fight Like Apes, Future Of The Left, Golden Silvers, Hockey, Howling Bells, Idlewild, Ipso Facto, It Hugs Back, James Yuill, Kasabian, King Creosote, Little Boots, The Maccabees, Madness, Mumford & Sons, Patrick Wolf, Pulled Apart By Horses, Thecocknbullkid, The View, The Virgins, The Von Bondies, VV Brown, The Whip, Wire, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
www.thecamdencrawl.com

Bang Face Weekender
Cross-genre extension of club night of “neo rave apocalypse” of legendary hedonism
When: 24th-26th April
Where: Camber Sands Holiday Centre
How much: Sold out
Confirmed: 808 State, Alec Empire, Altern8, Dillinja, Flying Lotus, Kevin Saunderson, Luke Vibert, Rebel MC, Renegade Soundwave, Shitmat, Skream, Toddla T, Venetian Snares, Zomby
www.bangfaceweekender.com
Buy tickets

Hinterland
Music and art festival across around twenty venues
When: 30th April-1st May
Where: across Glasgow
How much: £42
Confirmed: Broken Records, Copy Haho, Dan Black, Dananananaykroyd, Dinosaur Pile Up, The Fall, Findo Gask, Good Shoes, iLiKETRAiNS, Jeffrey Lewis, Little Man Tate, Manda Rin, Metronomy, Micachu and the Shapes, Pulled Apart By Horses, Simian Mobile Disco, Sky Larkin, Sons and Daughters, Thecocknbullkid, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Wild Beasts
www.hinterlandfestival.com
Buy tickets

All Tomorrow’s Parties – The Fans Strike Back
ATP Vs The Fans II – The Bloodening. Also features Lydia Lunch curating a spoken word stage
When: 9th-11th May
Where: Butlins Minehead
How much: £150
Confirmed: !!!, The Acorn, Beirut, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, The Cave Singers, Devo, Edan, Future Of The Left, Fuck Buttons, Grizzly Bear, Harvey Milk, Health, Jeffrey Lewis, The Jesus Lizard, Killing Joke, Lords, M83, The Mae Shi, Marnie Stern, School Of Seven Bells, Shearwater, Spiritualized, Young Marble Giants
www.atpfestival.com

All Tomorrow’s Parties – The Breeders
Kim and Kelley curate. Shellac are ‘House Band’, something we’d like to see on our next cruise
When: 15th-17th May
Where: Butlins Minehead
How much: £150
Confirmed: Blood Red Shoes, Bon Iver, The Breeders, The Bronx, CSS, Deerhunter, Foals, Gang of Four, Giant Sand, Holy Fuck, Kimya Dawson, Madlib, Melt-Banana, Shellac, Supersuckers, Teenage Fanclub, Th’ Faith Healers, Throwing Muses, Times New Viking, Tricky, Wire
www.atpfestival.com

The Great Escape
Like SXSW, but in Brighton. Right across Brighton rather than in one street, actually. Thus, not like SXSW at all
When: 14th-16th May
Where: around Brighton
How much: £39.50 early bird
Confirmed: Black Lips, British Sea Power, The Charlatans, Cursive, Dananananaykroyd, Emmy The Great, Future Of The Left, Gang Of Four, Holy Fuck, Johnny Flynn, Johnny Foreigner, Kasabian, Lightspeed Champion, Little Boots, The Maccabees, Marnie Stern, Metric, Metronomy, Mumford & Sons, Mystery Jets, Noah & The Whale, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Patrick Wolf, The Phantom Band, School Of Seven Bells, Times New Viking, Titus Andronicus, The Twilight Sad, The Week That Was, Vivian Girls, White Denim
www.escapegreat.com
Buy tickets

Wood
Truck’s eco-friendlier little brother
When: 15th-17th May
Where: Braziers Park, Oxfordshire
How much: £55
Confirmed: Brakes, Danny and The Champions of The World, Dodgy, Go-Kart Mozart, Jonquil, Meic Stevens, Spiers & Boden
www.thisistruck.com
Buy tickets

Liverpool Sound City
Industry shindig with conferences by day and gigs across thirty venues by night, a la In The City
When: 20th-23rd May
Where: across Liverpool
How much: early bird £35, £60 after
Confirmed: Animal Collective, Billy Bragg, Black Lips, Cage The Elephant, Calvin Harris, Clinic, Crystal Antlers, Deerhunter, Johnny Foreigner, Little Boots, Mika Miko, Mumford & Sons, The Phantom Band, Red Light Company, Sky Larkin, Telepathe, Tinchy Stryder, White Denim, White Lies
www.liverpoolsoundcity.co.uk
Buy tickets

Stag And Dagger
Three days, three cities, three interconnected bills
When: 21st, 22nd & 23rd May
Where: across East London, Leeds and Glasgow respectively
How much: early bird £10
Confirmed: London: Abe Vigoda, Andrew Weatherall, Casiokids, Cold War Kids, Cursive, Dan Black, Dananananaykroyd, Filthy Dukes, James Yuill, Let’s Wrestle, The Mae Shi, Maps, The Phantom Band, Tubelord, The Twilight Sad, Wild Beasts
Leeds: Abe Vigoda, Casiokids, Cold War Kids, Crystal Antlers, Cursive, Dananananaykroyd, Delphic, Everything Everything, King Creosote, The Mae Shi, Micachu & The Shapes, The Phantom Band, Pictish Trail, Telepathe, Tubelord, The Twilight Sad, Vivian Girls, Wavves, White Denim
Glasgow: The Aliens, Black Lips, BMX Bandits, Cold War Kids, Cursive, Dananananaykroyd, The Mae Shi, Meursault, Mika Miko, The Phantom Band, The Twilight Sad, White Denim
www.staganddagger.com
Buy tickets

Evolution
Three days of gigs followed by a weekend quayside blowout
When: 21st-25th May
Where: across Newcastle but chiefly Gateshead Quays
How much: Sold out
Confirmed: Chase & Status, The Count & Sinden, Dizzee Rascal, Esser, Friendly Fires, The Human League, Imelda May, Kissy Sell Out, Ladyhawke, Little Boots, The Maccabees, Mystery Jets, Nouvelle Vague, Twisted Wheel, The View, VV Brown, White Lies, The Wombats
www.evolutionfestival.co.uk
Buy tickets

Dot To Dot
See under The Great Escape, only over two cities’ matrixes
When: 23rd May (Bristol)/24th May (Nottingham)
Where: across Bristol and Nottingham
How much: £25
Confirmed: 65daysofstatic (Nottingham only), Abe Vigoda, Cage The Elephant, Crystal Stilts, Friendly Fires, Ladyhawke, Little Boots, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Patrick Wolf, Vivian Girls
www.dottodotfestival.co.uk
Buy tickets

Wychwood
Much respected family aimed event
When: 29th-31st May
Where: Cheltenham Racecourse
How much: £110
Confirmed: The Beat, Danny And The Champions of The World, Red Light Company, Super Furry Animals, Supergrass, The Wonder Stuff
www.wychwoodfestival.com
Buy tickets

Brainlove Festival
Did someone say free BBQ?
When: 30th May
Where: Brixton Windmill
How much: £8
Confirmed: A Scholar & A Physician, Ace Bushy Striptease, Braindead Improv, Christopher Alcxxck, The Duloks, Gaggle, gwEm, Heartbeeps, Internet Forever, Jam On Bread, Keyboard Choir, Kid Carpet, Laura Wolf, Mat Riviere, Napoleon IIIrd, Pagan Wanderer Lu, Stairs To Korea, The Middle Ones, Thee Oracle, We Aeronauts
www.brainlove.co.uk
Buy tickets

Sellinge
New for this year. “Sellindge doesn’t intend to copy. It doesn’t intend to follow. We expect to lead!” We’ll judge that.
When: 5th-7th June
Where: Hope Farm, near Ashford
How much: £55
Confirmed: Brandon Block, Cut La Roc, The Holloways, Supergrass, Young Knives
www.sellindgemusicfestival.co.uk
Buy tickets

Middlesbrough Music Live
Tenth anniversary of the council backed all dayer
When: 7th June
Where: Middlesbrough town centre
How much: Free
Confirmed: The Chapman Family, Dan Black, Das Wanderlust, Detroit Social Club, Dinosaur Pile-Up, Frank Turner, Future Of The Left, Golden Silvers, Master Shortie, Noah And The Whale, Pulled Apart By Horses, The Qemists, The Rumble Strips, Skint & Demoralised, The Sunshine Underground, Tommy Sparks, The Zutons
www.middlesbroughmusiclive.co.uk

Isle Of Wight
The anti-Neil Young at IoW Facebook group has over 2700 members at time of writing. They deserve each other
When: 12th-14th June
Where: Seaclose Park, Newport
How much: £120
Confirmed: Alesha Dixon, Bananarama, Basement Jaxx, Black Lips, Calvin Harris, The Charlatans, Eddi Reader, Goldie Lookin’ Chain, The Horrors, Killing Joke, Ladyhawke, The Maccabees, Maximo Park, McFly, Mercury Rev, Neil Young, Noisettes, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Pendulum, Pixies, The Pigeon Detectives, The Prodigy, The Rakes, Razorlight, The Script, Simple Minds, Stereophonics, The Ting Tings, The View, White Lies, Will Young, The Zombies
www.isleofwightfestival.com
Buy tickets

Download
Traditional gathering of the rock masses takes a trad hair metal turn this year
When: 12th-14th June
Where: Donington Park
How much: £135
Confirmed: Anvil, Billy Talent, Bring Me The Horizon, Chris Cornell, Def Leppard, Faith No More, Fightstar, Journey, Korn, Lacuna Coil, Limp Bizkit, Marilyn Manson, Middle Class Rut, Motley Crue, Pendulum, The Prodigy, Pulled Apart By Horses, Slipknot, Therapy?, Trivium, Whitesnake, ZZ Top
www.downloadfestival.co.uk
Buy tickets

Rock Ness
Party times on the banks of the near-titular water feature. Skins held a casting call here last year
When: 12th-14th June
Where: Loch Ness
How much: £139
Confirmed: Alabama 3, The Aliens, Basement Jaxx, Biffy Clyro, Chase & Status, Dizzee Rascal, DJ Yoda, Erol Alkan, The Flaming Lips, Frightened Rabbit, Jazzie B, Just Jack, Micachu and the Shapes, Orbital, Pendulum (DJ set), Pete Tong, Placebo, The Prodigy, Super Furry Animals, The Whip, The Wombats
www.rockness.co.uk
Buy tickets

Glastonbury
If you can remember it you weren’t there. You were watching Jo Whiley
When: 26th-28th June
Where: Worthy Farm
How much: Sold out
Confirmed: Amadou et Mariam, Badly Drawn Boy, Bat For Lashes, Black Eyed Peas, Bloc Party, Blur, Bon Iver, British Sea Power, Bruce Springsteen, Calvin Harris, Crosby Stills & Nash, Dizzee Rascal, Doves, Echo and the Bunnymen, Eliza Carthy, Fairport Convention, Fleet Foxes, Franz Ferdinand, Gabrielle Cilmi, Glasvegas, The Horrors, Jack Penate, Jamie T, Jarvis Cocker, Just Jack, Kasabian, La Roux, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, Madness, Maximo Park, Neil Young, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Peaches, Pendulum, Peter Doherty, Prodigy, Rolf Harris, The Specials, Spinal Tap, Status Quo, The Streets, Ting Tings, Tom Jones, Tony Christie, White Lies, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk

Hard Rock Calling
In London and don’t fancy a long trip? Don’t particularly like Blur? Like to try a misleadingly named event? You’re in luck
When: 26th-28th June
Where: Hyde Park
How much: £45 per day
Confirmed: Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews Band, Fleet Foxes, The Gaslight Anthem, The Killers, The Kooks, Neil Young, The Pretenders, Seasick Steve
www.hardrockcalling.co.uk
Buy tickets

Hop Farm
Last year’s Neil Young/Mighty Boosh double header develops into a proper festival
When: 4th-5th July
Where: Hop Farm, Tonbridge
How much: £125
Confirmed: 2manydjs, 65daysofstatic, Ash, British Sea Power, Dananananaykroyd, Datarock, Doves, Echo and the Bunnymen, Editors, Etienne De Crecy, Florence & The Machine, The Fratellis, Howling Bells, Johnny Foreigner, Kissy Sell Out, Ladyhawke, Metronomy, Mystery Jets, Noah And The Whale, Paul Weller, The Pigeon Detectives, The Rifles, Scratch Perverts, Super Furry Animals, The Twang, The Twilight Sad, The View
www.hopfarmfestival.com
Buy tickets

Blissfields
Won a Best Small Festival prize in 2007, cancelled in 2008, back with a vengeance
When: 3rd-5th July
Where: Bradley Farm, Alresford, Hampshire
How much: £41
Confirmed: Laura Marling, Mumford & Sons, Soweto Kinch, Super Furry Animals, Thomas Tantrum
http://www.blissfields.co.uk
Buy tickets

Wireless
Last year four days long, in 2009 two. At least the Bella Union stage is back for both days
When: 4th-5th July
Where: Hyde Park
How much: £40 for each day
Confirmed: Afrika Bambaataa, Alesha Dixon, Banjo Or Freakout, Basement Jaxx, Beth Jeans Houghton, Chipmunk, Daniel Merriweather, Delphic, Digitalism, Dizzee Rascal, Does It Offend You Yeah?, Fanfarlo, Filthy Dukes, Fischerspooner, Flo Rida, Frankmusik, Jack Penate, Jesca Hoop, Here We Go Magic, Ironik, Kanye West, Kelly Rowland, Kid Cudi, Lady Sovereign, The Low Anthem, Metric, My Latest Novel, N.A.S.A., N-Dubz, Peter Broderick, Q-Tip, St Vincent, Saint Etienne, The Streets, Tinchy Stryder, Young Jeezy
www.wirelessfestival.co.uk
Buy tickets

T In The Park
Second year as a three day event, and some activities on Thursday for the first time. The funfair will be kept busy
When: 10th-12th July
Where: Balado
How much: £170
Confirmed: Bloc Party, Blur, Calvin Harris, Doves, Elbow, Foals, Franz Ferdinand, Friendly Fires, Glasvegas, Idlewild, Jane’s Addiction, Katy Perry, Keane, The Killers, Kings of Leon, Lady GaGa, Lily Allen, Manic Street Preachers, The Mars Volta, Maximo Park, Mogwai, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Nine Inch Nails, Of Montreal, Patrick Wolf, Pendulum, Pet Shop Boys, Peter Doherty, Razorlight, Snow Patrol, Squeeze, The Streets, The Ting Tings, TV on the Radio, The View, White Lies, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
www.tinthepark.com
Buy tickets

Guilfest
Families enjoy the superannuated, unsigned bands are asked to buy fifty tickets each before bill consideration
When: 10th-12th July
Where: Stoke Park, Guildford
How much: £110
Confirmed: Athlete, The Beat, Brian Wilson, The Charlatans, DJ Yoda, Eddi Reader, Happy Mondays, The King Blues, Lightning Seeds, Lisa Hannigan, Little Boots, Motorhead, Nouvelle Vague, The Stranglers, Toploader, The Wailers, Will Young
www.guilfest.co.uk
Buy tickets

Loop
Largely electronically minded coming together with a digital arts sideline
When: 10th-12th July
Where: Victoria Gardens, Brighton
How much: £65
Confirmed: Casiokids, Datarock, Emiliana Torrini, Esser, Fanfarlo, Fever Ray, The Field, Fujiya & Miyagi, Hatcham Social, The Invisible, James Yuill, Joakim, The Juan Maclean, The Matthew Herbert Big Band, Mum, The Qemists, Squarepusher, Telepathe, Tunng, Zomby
www.loopbrighton.com
Buy tickets

Lounge On The Farm
On the actual farm, with all the layout curiosities that suggests
When: 10th-12th July
Where: Merton Farm, Canterbury
How much: £65 early bird
Confirmed: The Aliens, Bent, Cage The Elephant, Chris T-T, Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, DJ Food, DJ Format, Edwyn Collins, The Horrors, It Hugs Back, Ipso Facto, Jay Jay Pistolet, Joe Gideon & The Shark, The King Blues, Midfield General, S.C.U.M., Mr Scruff, The Temper Trap, The Wave Pictures, Wild Beasts, The XX, Zomby
www.loungeonthefarm.co.uk
Buy tickets

Wakestock
Free competitive wakeboarding just next door
When: 10th-12th July
Where: Pwllheli Inner Marina and Abersoch Beach
How much: £115
Confirmed: Calvin Harris, Chase & Status, Dizzee Rascal, DJ Format, Elliott Minor, Goldie, Just Jack, Moby, N*E*R*D, Noisettes, Norman Jay, The Pigeon Detectives, Red Light Company, Super Furry Animals, Tinchy Stryder, The Zutons
www.wakestock.co.uk
Buy tickets

Cornbury
David Cameron was spotted here last year
When: 11th-12th July
Where: Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire
How much: £90
Confirmed: The Boy Least Likely To, The Damned, Dodgy, Eddi Reader, I Am Kloot, Imelda May, The Magic Numbers, The Pretenders, Scouting For Girls, Sharleen Spiteri, Sugababes, Teddy Thompson
www.cornburyfestival.com
Buy tickets

Glade
Techno, house and breakbeats from the people behind the Glastonbury tent of the same name
When: 16th-19th July
Where: Winchester
How much: £125
Confirmed: The Bays, Dave Clarke, The Egg, Femi Kuti, Finley Quaye, Freeland, Juan Atkins, Kid606, Nitin Sawhney, Squarepusher, Underworld, Venetian Snares
www.gladefestival.com
Buy tickets

2000 Trees
They won’t appreciate “two of Kelly Jones’ matches” jokes
When: 17th-18th July
Where: Upcote Farm, Cheltenham
How much: £47
Confirmed: Blood Red Shoes, British Sea Power, Dananananaykroyd, Fightstar, Frank Turner, Jay Jay Pistolet, Napoleon IIIrd, Ox.Eagle.Lion.Man, Red Light Company, Rolo Tomassi, Wild Beasts
www.twothousandtreesfestival.co.uk
Buy tickets

Latitude
Art, literature, poetry, Radio 4 recordings… oh, and some music too
When: 17th-19th July
Where: Henham Park Estate, Beccles
How much: £150
Confirmed: !!!, 1990s, 65daysofstatic, The Airborne Toxic Event, Bat For Lashes, Chas & Dave, Chairlift, Datarock, Doves, Editors, Fight Like Apes, Golden Silvers, Gossip, Grace Jones, The Invisible, Ladyhawke, Lisa Hannigan, Little Boots, Magazine, Marnie Stern, Mew, Newton Faulkner, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Patrick Wolf, Pet Shop Boys, The Pretenders, Regina Spektor, Slow Club, Spiritualized, Squeeze, White Lies, Wild Beasts
www.latitudefestival.co.uk
Buy tickets

Lovebox
Basement Jaxx’s baby, an eclectic selection usually comes up fun times trumps. Promises “hosedowns”
When: 18th-19th July
Where: Victoria Park, London
How much: £75
Confirmed: Au Revoir Simone, Chairlift, Dananananaykroyd, Datarock, Doves, Duran Duran, Florence & The Machine, Frankmusik, Friendly Fires, Gang Of Four, Gary Numan, Groove Armada, Ladyhawke, Magistrates, N*E*R*D, The New York Dolls, Noah And The Whale, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Simian Mobile Disco, VV Brown
www.lovebox.net
Buy tickets

The Secret Garden Party
Like an acid trip without having to take the acid first. Last year culminated in blowing up a pirate ship
When: 23rd-26th July
Where: East Anglia – it’s officially a secret until just before the event
How much: early bird £137
Confirmed: Au Revoir Simone, Bombay Bicycle Club, Caribou, Chairlift, Daedelus, Dan Black, Detroit Social Club, The Do, EMF, Emiliana Torrini, Emmy The Great, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Fight Like Apes, The Holloways, Jarvis Cocker, Peggy Sue, Phoenix, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Slow Club, Sonny J, Those Dancing Days, Toots And The Maytals, VV Brown
www.secretgardenparty.com
Buy tickets

Global Gathering
Godskitchen brings the spirit of the all-nighters
When: 24th-25th July
Where: Long Marston Airfield, Stratford-upon-Avon
How much: early bird £115
Confirmed: Altern8, Anne Savage, ATB, Benny Benassi, Carl Cox, Chase & Status, The Count & Sinden, Digitalism, DJ Yoda, Does It Offend You Yeah?, Eric Prydz, John Digweed, Erol Alkan, Fabio & Grooverider, Fedde Le Grand, Frankmusik, High Contrast, Josh Wink, Judge Jules, Kissy Sell Out, Lisa Lashes, Mary Anne Hobbs, Nic Fanciulli, Orbital, Paul Van Dyk, Pendulum, The Prodigy, Richie Hawtin, Sasha, Scratch Perverts, Shapeshifters, Skream & Benga, Slipmatt, Stanton Warriors, Tiga, Utah Saints
www.globalgathering.co.uk
Buy tickets

Wickerman
Hedonistic spectacles and a booking policy that’s all over the place
When: 24th-25th July
Where: Kirkcarswell Farm, Galloway
How much: £80
Confirmed: Billy Bragg, Candi Staton, Danny Rampling, The Dickies, Dreadzone, Hot Chip (DJ set), The Human League, Idlewild, Kid British, The Magic Numbers, UK Subs, Utah Saints, The Zutons
www.thewickermanfestival.co.uk
Buy tickets

Camp Bestival
Rob da Bank’s downsized kid sister event
When: 24th-26th July
Where: Lulworth Castle, Dorset
How much: £130
Confirmed: Alela Diane, Alessi’s Ark, Benga, Bon Iver, Candi Staton, Chase & Status, Chic, Dan Black, Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, DJ Yoda, Erol Alkan, Florence & The Machine, Frank Turner, Goldie Lookin’ Chain, Horace Andy, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Laura Marling, Mercury Rev, Micachu and the Shapes, Mumford & Sons, Phoenix, PJ Harvey, Peggy Sue, Roots Manuva, Skream, VV Brown, Will Young
www.campbestival.co.uk
Buy tickets

Indietracks
The indiepop (no, not twee) hordes gather. One stage is on an actual moving steam train
When: 24th-26th July
Where: Midland Railway, Butterley Station, Derbyshire
How much: £55
Confirmed: Au Revoir Simone, BMX Bandits, Butcher Boy, Camera Obscura, Cats On Fire, Emmy The Great, The Frank And Walters, Gordon McIntyre (Ballboy), Lucky Soul, Pocketbooks, Rose Elinor Dougall, The School, Tender Trap, Wake The President
www.indietracks.co.uk
Buy tickets

Supersonic
The least commercial here by some distance, Capsule’s avant-garde/experimental collectivisation adds a third day
When: 24th-26th July
Where: The Custard Factory, Birmingham
How much: £65
Confirmed: 65daysofstatic, Caribou, Flower/Corsano Duo, Growing, Pram, Venetian Snares
www.capsule.org.uk/supersonic
Buy tickets

WOMAD
This feels so unnatural, Peter Gabriel too
When: 24th-26th July
Where: Charlton Park, Malmesbury
How much: £122.34
Confirmed: Ethiopiques, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Orishas, Oumou Sangare, Rokia Traoré, Roy Ayers, Solomon Burke
www.womad.org
Buy tickets

Truck
Rotary Club, vicar selling ice cream, cross dressing bar men, members of Goldrush everywhere etc
When: 25th-26th July
Where: Steventon, near Abingdon, Oxfordshire
How much: £70
Confirmed: A Place To Bury Strangers, And So I Watch You From Afar, Ash, Broken Records, Calories, The Candyskins, Chew Lips, Damo Suzuki, Detroit Social Club, DJ Food, Errors, Euros Childs, Fanfarlo, Gary Louris & Mark Olson (The Jayhawks), Grammatics, The Joy Formidable, Neil Halstead, Pulled Apart By Horses, Red Light Company, Sad Day For Puppets, Sky Larkin, Supergrass, This Town Needs Guns, Thomas Truax, Vieux Farka Touré, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Wild Beasts, The XX, Yacht
www.thisistruck.com
Buy tickets

Cambridge Folk Festival
45 years in, the country’s highest profile of such keeps its cards close to its chest for longer than most festivals
When: 30th July-2nd August
Where: Cherry Hinton Hall Grounds, Cambridge
How much: £104, on sale from May 17th
Confirmed: Adrian Edmondson & The Bad Shepherds, Alela Diane, Bellowhead, Booker T. Jones, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Cara Dillon, Eddi Reader, Hot Club Of Cowtown, Imelda May, Jim Moray, Los Lobos, Lucinda Williams, Mumford & Sons, The Saw Doctors, The Waterson Family, The Zutons
www.cambridgefolkfestival.co.uk
Buy tickets

Kendal Calling
As far as we can tell unrelated to the one below, oddly
When: 31th July-2nd August
Where: Lowther Castle, Kendal
How much: £70
Confirmed: Andrew Weatherall, Ash, Beardyman, Chase & Status, Cornershop, Fight Like Apes, Frank Turner, Goldie Lookin’ Chain, Idlewild, The Kabeedies, The King Blues, Nine Black Alps, Noah And The Whale, Red Light Company, The Rumble Strips, Shy FX, Skream, Stanton Warriors, The Streets, The Sunshine Underground, Twisted Wheel, The Zutons
www.kendalcalling.com
Buy tickets

Standon Calling
Dressing up, genteel touches, DIY decorations and a listed sixteenth century manor house
When: 31th July-2nd August
Where: Standon, Ware
How much: early bird £70
Confirmed: The Aliens, Casiokids, Dent May, Easy Star All Stars, Ed Harcourt, Femi Kuti, First Aid Kid, Freeland, Friendly Fires, Golden Silvers, Hawkwind, The Invisible, Ladytron, Micachu & The Shapes, Mumford & Sons, N.A.S.A., Paloma Faith, Pulled Apart By Horses, Son Of Dave, Sun Ra Arkestra, Tony Christie, The Whip
www.standon-calling.com
Buy tickets

Field Day
Eat Your Own Ears try and get the bar/toilet/sound right for the third time
When: 1st August
Where: Victoria Park, London
How much: £29.50
Confirmed: Erol Alkan, Errors, Final Fantasy, Four Tet, The Horrors, James Yorkston, Juana Molina, Little Boots, Malcolm Middleton, Mogwai, Mystery Jets, Santigold, Skream
www.fielddayfestivals.com
Buy tickets

Sonisphere
Knebworth’s new attempt at a Download rival
When: 1st-2nd August
Where: Knebworth House
How much: £157.50
Confirmed: Alice in Chains, Anthrax, Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet For My Valentine, Coheed & Cambria, Corey Taylor (Slipknot), Dinosaur Pile-Up, Feeder, Fighting With Wire, Frank Turner, Fucked Up, Heaven & Hell, Hundred Reasons, Killing Joke, Lamb of God, Linkin Park, Machine Head, Mastodon, Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Rolo Tomassi, Taking Back Sunday, The Used
uk.sonispherefestivals.com
Buy tickets

Underage Festival
14 to 18 year olds only
When: 2nd August
Where: Victoria Park, London
How much: £26.50
Confirmed: Esser, Golden Silvers, Hadouken!, The Horrors, Ladyhawke, Marina and the Diamonds, Metronomy, Mystery Jets, Patrick Wolf, The Pigeon Detectives, Rolo Tomassi, Rosie & The Goldbug, Santigold, Tinchy Stryder, The Whip
www.underagefestivals.com
Buy tickets

Belladrum Tartan Heart
Is it fair the Scottish festivals blag most of the best views?
When: 7th-8th August
Where: Belladrum Estate, Inverness-shire
How much: early bird £80
Confirmed: Blue Roses, British Sea Power, Broken Records, Dananananaykroyd, Editors, Glenn Tilbrook, Magistrates, Noah And The Whale, Ocean Colour Scene, The Phantom Band, The Saw Doctors, Shed Seven, Seth Lakeman, Sons & Daughters, Toploader
www.tartanheartfestival.co.uk
Buy tickets

Big Chill
“Thursday arrivals have also been invited to come dressed up as zombies”. Chris Cunningham is premiering a new audiovisual experience
When: 7th-9th August
Where: Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire
How much: £145
Confirmed: Amadou & Mariam, Andrew Bird, Annie Nightingale, Basement Jaxx, British Sea Power, Calexico, Dan Black, David Byrne, Emmy The Great, Friendly Fires, Hexstatic, James Yuill, The Juan Maclean, Kathryn Williams, Lamb, Lindstrom, Marina & The Diamonds, Max Romeo, Mr Scruff, Music From The Penguin Cafe, The Nextmen, Noah and the Whale, Norman Jay, Orbital, Spiritualized, To Rococo Rot, Tom Middleton, Zombie-Zombie
www.bigchill.net
Buy tickets

Summer Sundae
Amiably eclectic city centre shindig. Features actual indoor stage
When: 14th-16th August
Where: De Montfort Hall and Gardens, Leicester
How much: £109
Confirmed: 65daysofstatic, Bon Iver, Broken Records, Chairlift, The Charlatans, Dan Black, Dananananaykroyd, Easy Star All-Stars, Emmy the Great, Fanfarlo, Frank Turner, Future Of The Left, Horace Andy & Ashley Beedle, Idlewild, Jenny Lewis, Maybeshewill, Micachu & The Shapes, My Latest Novel, Mum, Mystery Jets, New Beautiful South, The Noisettes, Port O’Brien, Saint Etienne, The Streets, Woodpigeon, The Zutons
www.summersundae.com
Buy tickets

Woolfire
New music on a smaller scale, including a showcase by our friends at Brainlove Records
When: 14th-16th August
Where: Woodmancott, Hants
How much: £35, on sale soon
Confirmed: Bearsuit, Cats In Paris, Dark Captain Light Captain, David Thomas Broughton, Fireworks Night, Jam on Bread, Keyboard Choir, Napoleon IIIrd, Pagan Wanderer Lu, Pure Reason Revolution, Sky Larkin
www.woolfirefestival.co.uk
Buy tickets

Beautiful Days
The Levellers attempt a back to green basics approach
When: 21st-23rd August
Where: Escot Park, Devon
How much: £100
Confirmed: The Blockheads, Broken Family Band, Dreadzone, Drever McCusker Woomble, Eliza Carthy, Frank Turner, Hawkwind, The Imagined Village, Imelda May, Jay Jay Pistolet, Lamb, The Levellers, Pendulum (DJ set), The Pogues, Richard Thompson, The Saw Doctors, The Wonder Stuff
www.beautifuldays.org
Buy tickets

Green Man
This used to be a strictly folk festival; this year Future Sound Of London are playing a seven hour set
When: 21st-23rd August
Where: Glanusk Park, Powys
How much: £115
Confirmed: Andrew Bird, Animal Collective, Beach House, Bon Iver, British Sea Power, Broken Records, Dirty Three, Emmy The Great, Errors, The Fence Collective, Four Tet, Future Sound of London, Grizzly Bear, Jarvis Cocker, Martin Carr, Noah And The Whale, The Phantom Band, Roky Erickson, Vetiver, Wilco, Wooden Shjips
www.thegreenmanfestival.co.uk
Buy tickets

V Festival
Has now outlived most of the Virgin Group it was named after
When: 21st-23rd August
Where: Hylands Park, Chelmsford/Weston Park, Staffordshire
How much: Sold out
Confirmed: Alesha Dixon, Biffy Clyro, British Sea Power, Dizzee Rascal, Elbow, The Enemy, Fatboy Slim, Happy Mondays, The Human League, James, Katy Perry, Keane, The Killers, Lady GaGa, Lily Allen, MGMT, Oasis, Paolo Nutini, Pendulum, Peter Doherty, Razorlight, The Saturdays, Seasick Steve, Snow Patrol, The Specials, The Streets, Taylor Swift, The Ting Tings, The Wombats
www.vfestival.com
Buy tickets

Solfest
Crafts, families and an musical mix that sees folk and techno as equals
When: 28th-30th August
Where: Tarnside Farm, nr Aspatria, Cumbria
How much: £85
Confirmed: Adrian Edmondson & The Bad Shepherds, The Beat, The Blockheads, Buzzcocks, The Charlatans, The Kabeedies, Kula Shaker, Miles Hunt, Nerina Pallot, Seth Lakeman, The Travelling Band
www.solwayfestival.co.uk
Buy tickets

Reading & Leeds
Portaloo bonfires, bottles of piss, yadda yadda yadda
When: 28th-31st August
Where: Little Johns Farm/Branham Park
How much: Sold out
Confirmed: Arctic Monkeys, Billy Talent, Bloc Party, The Bronx, Crystal Castles, Deftones, Faith No More, Fall Out Boy, Fightstar, Florence & The Machine, Friendly Fires, Funeral For A Friend, Gallows, Glasvegas, Gossip, The Horrors, Ian Brown, Jamie T, Kaiser Chiefs, Kings Of Leon, Lethal Bizzle, Little Boots, Lostprophets, The Maccabees, Maximo Park, Metronomy, New Found Glory, Passion Pit, Patrick Wolf, Placebo, The Prodigy, Radiohead, Rival Schools, Vampire Weekend, White Lies, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
www.leedsfestival.com
Buy tickets

Beachdown
“The driest underfoot site of anywhere in the UK”
When: 28th-31st August
Where: near Devils Dyke, South Downs
How much: £97.50
Confirmed: The Blockheads, The Fall, Gilles Peterson, Grace Jones, Grandmaster Flash, Ida Maria, Laurent Garnier, Prince Buster, The Rakes, Saint Etienne, Super Furry Animals, The Zutons
www.beachdownfestival.com
Buy tickets

Creamfields
The people who made big outdoor dance festival culture happen
When: 29th-30th August
Where: Daresbury Estate, Cheshire
How much: £105
Confirmed: 2manydjs, Aeroplane, Andy C, Basemnet Jaxx, Beardyman, Calvin Harris, Casiokids, Chase & Status, Delphic, Dirty Vegas, Diplo, Dizzee Rascal, Erick Morillo, Erol Alkan, Ferry Corsten, Filthy Dukes, Friendly Fires, High Contrast, John Digweed, Judge Jules, Kissy Sell Out, Laurent Garnier, Mylo, Nick Warren, Paul Van Dyk, Pete Tong, Sander van Doorn, Sasha, Skream & Benga, Sven Vath, Tiesto, Timo Maas, Toddla T
www.creamfields.com
Buy tickets

Get Loaded In The Park
Is there a park in London not commandeered for a day of music yet?
When: 30th August
Where: Clapham Common
How much: £35
Confirmed: Chase & Status, Carl Craig, The Count & Sinden, Esser, Felix Da Housecat, Freeland, Laurent Garnier, Miss Kittin & The Hacker, Orbital, Peaches, Pendulum (DJ set), Rob da Bank, Roni Size Reprazent, Royksopp, Sneaky Sound System
www.getloadedinthepark.com
Buy tickets

Offset
If they can get the organisation right this time, plenty of new band-based potential
When: 5th-6th September
Where: Hainault Forest Country Park, Redbridge
How much: £35 early bird
Confirmed: A Certain Ratio, Future Of The Left, The Futureheads, Good Shoes, The Horrors, Rolo Tomassi, The Slits
www.offsetfestival.co.uk
Buy tickets

Bestival
This year’s fancy dress theme: space. This year’s bill: stratospheric
When: 11th-13th September
Where: Robin Hill Country Park, Isle Of Wight
How much: £140
Confirmed: 2manydjs/Soulwax, 65daysofstatic, Alessi’s Ark, Bat For Lashes, The Big Pink, Carl Cox, Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, Diplo, Dirty Projectors, Doves, Elbow, Fabio & Grooverider, The Field, Fleet Foxes, Florence & The Machine, Frankmusik, Friendly Fires, Frightened Rabbit, Fujiya & Miyagi, Future Sound of London, The Horrors, Jack Penate, Just Jack, Klaxons, Kraftwerk, La Roux, Little Boots, Lily Allen, Massive Attack, Metronomy, MGMT, Seasick Steve, Squarepusher, Underworld, Vetiver
www.bestival.net
Buy tickets

End Of The Road
TLOBF don’t make festivals, but if they did…
When: 11th-13th September
Where: Larmer Tree Gardens, nr Salisbury
How much: £115
Confirmed: The Acorn, The Boy Least Likely To, The Broken Family Band, David Thomas Broughton, Darren Hayman, Dirty Projectors, The Dodos, Efterklang, Explosions In The Sky, Fleet Foxes, First Aid Kit, Herman Dune, Howlin Rain, The Leisure Society, The Low Anthem, Magnolia Electric Co, Malcolm Middleton, Mumford & Sons, Neko Case, Okkervil River, Steve Earle, Wildbirds & Peacedrums
www.endoftheroadfestival.com
Buy tickets

Pure Reason Revolution

Woolfire Festival is back in 2009 for an unmissable weekend of groundbreaking live music, visuals and décor, set against the beautiful rural backdrop of Vicarage Farm. Escape into the site’s lush parkland, let your hair down and enjoy some of the freshest and most exciting new artists from across the musical spectrum.

Pure Reason Revolution are set to headline the festival on Saturday 15th August. Described as “updating the legacies of Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin with the earth-shattering heaviness of Muse.

Other festival highlights so far include the return of DIY indie label Brainlove Records. Label mainstays Napoleon IIIrd, Keyboard Choir and Pagan Wanderer Lu will be joined by a cross section of the best new leftfield bands of the moment, as seen at Brainlove’s weekly showcase at Club NME in London. Southampton based indie record label Sotones also join us at Woolfire with an awesome line-up of local artists, including JayEtAl, The Moulettes, and Peter Lyons.

A welcome presence on the UK festival circuit, Woolfire is notable for its diverse music policy and support of emerging underground talent. From dubstep DJs to cutting edge indie bands, folk troupes to ambient electronica and much more besides – every act at Woolfire is carefully chosen to bring you the best new music, all in one place.

The event takes place 14th – 16th August at Vicarage Farm, Woodmancott (nr. Winchester). For tickets and further details visit www.woolfire.com

Explosions In The Sky

Fleet Foxes and Explosions In The Sky have been confirmed for headline slots at the End of the Road Festival 2009, with other confirmations including Okkervil River, Magnolia Electric Co, The Broken Family Band, The Acorn, The Dodos and Mumford and Sons.

Little need be said here about Fleet Foxes except that it’s hard to think of a better place to see them play than the leafy Garden Stage, with a glass of local cider and a peacock meandering about nearby. They’ll be headlining on the Saturday, with fellow Bella Union label mates Explosions in the Sky taking the Friday slot.

In alphabetical order, the full list of artists announced today is as follows:

The Acorn
The Boy Least Likely To
The Broken Family Band
Dan Sartain
Dent May
The Dodos
Explosions in the Sky
Fleet Foxes
J Tillman
The Lost Brothers
Magnolia Electric Co
Malcolm Middleton
Mumford and Sons
The Mummers
Ohbijou
Okkervil River
Papercuts

They join a lineup already including: Alela Diane, Archie Bronson Outfit, Bob Log III, Charlie Parr, Efterklang, Howlin Rain, Joe Gideon and the Shark, Lay Low, The Low Anthem, Motel Motel, Peter Broderick, Sparrow & The Workshop, Steve Earle, Tallest Man on Earth, This Frontier Needs Heroes, William Elliot Whitmore and Whispertown 2000.

Pretty amazing huh? Safe to say every band mentioned above is TLOBF approved one way or another. Perhaps one year they might even give us our very own TLOBF stage to curate. Cooooor, imagine that?! My head is bubbling with lists of potential acts just thinking about it.

The festival, now in its fourth year, will take place at Larmer Tree Gardens, North Dorset between 11th-13th September.

For up to the minute details on the lineup, to buy tickets and for directions to the site visit the official EOTR site here.

Hard Rock Calling organisers confirmed today that the headliner for Saturday 27 June in Hyde Park, London will be Neil Young. Appearing alongside shakey will be Fleet Foxes, Ben Harper, Seasick Steve and The Pretenders with more artists to be announced soon.

With Sunday’s headliner already confirmed as Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band and day tickets selling out in under an hour, folk are advised to act quick when the Neil Young tickets go on sale this Friday, 13 March at 9am priced at £45 plus booking fee.

For more info, visit the Hard Rock Calling website.

The initial line-up for the fourth annual Pitchfork Festival has just been announced, and as you’d expect from an event curated by the US indie bible, it’s already looking rather stellar. Built To Spill, Tortoise, The Jesus Lizard and Yo La Tengo have been all confirmed for the Friday- a pretty formidable run of bands under normal circumstances, but especially given the twist the organisers have added to proceedings. Those purchasing a ticket for the event, taking place at Chicago’s Union Park on 17th-19th July, will be given the opportunity to vote for what songs they want these four bands to play, and they’ll tailor their setlists accordingly. So, if you’re dying to hear some obscure Yo La Tengo b-side, or desire to hear rarely performed guitar workours from Built To Spill, this could be your lucky day.

Still not convinced? Well, with The National, The Pains of Being Pure At Heart and Pharoah Monch added to Saturday and Grizzly Bear, The Walkmen and Vivian Girls set to perform on Sunday (regular sets, mind), the rest of the festival’s shaping up pretty nicely too. Even at this early stage, Pitchfork’s surely set itself as a contender for best line-up of the summer.

Pitchfork Festival website

As previous ATP go-ers will know, ATP usually have an introduction to the festival written by the curators which goes in the front of the programme fans are given when they arrive at the event. However as the co-curators for this event are The Fans, ATP thought that this time one of them should write it on behalf of fellow ticketholders.

So today the organisers of ATP launching a rather special competition. They want fans to write an introduction of 200-500 words and send it to accommodation@atpfestival.com along with the list of 10 bands that they voted for and the booking confirmation number of their chalet.

The best one as chosen by ATP will not only be printed in the programme but the writer will also receive two VERY special prizes:

1. They will win a 2. berth chalet to the ATP Nightmare Before Christmas festival this December!
2. One of the acts from the winners chosen 10 will be added to the festival lineup!

Get writing! The deadline for this competition is the 15th March.

For more information check out the brand new look ATP website.

Good Luck!

It’s sold out? Already? Of course it’s sold out, and I don’t mean that in a ’stick-it-to-the man’ kind of way. Clearly Mr Eavis’ latest method of ticket flogging has worked to great effect, and the gradual, trickling leak of headliners has only served to increase that.

There’s something for everyone at Glastonbury: the variety of music is astounding and, combined with the vast collection of street (or in this case, field) art and general mad shenanigans conjured up by the attendees – it makes for one of the very best festivals in the world. The ideal place to shed that city stress and learn how to circumnavigate with the use of a tiny, wet Guardian lanyard.

Unlike 2008, there are to be no hip-hop superstars taking the piss out of Oasis treading the Pyramid stage’s boards this year. Instead, it’s going to be the more traditional, humourless, politically-inspired pop legends of : Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen and Blur…

Oh, I’m sorry – I must’ve nodded off.

After returning from Glastonbury last year, tired, stinking and looking rather like I’d just been shat out of a cow; Michael ‘ye olde King of Glastonbury’ Eavis started whining that too many older people were changing the ‘feel’ of the festival.

Say what? I beg your puddin? Hex-squeeze me? Did you just infer that I is too old to part-ay? Hey, I didn’t know that 30 to 40 year olds weren’t your target audience – I mean – just look at this year’s headliners. Wow! Well they’re just set to appeal to dem mad yoof, yeah?

Now, I don’t care how bad the weather gets down on Worthy Farm, though the rain can make things an awful lot harder when it comes to dancing and generally ‘getting around’ the billion acre site when your wellies are caked in 2 kilos of mud; I’m not bothered that the PA on the main stages can be shoddy (remember the Arctic Monkeys’ headline slot when the sound was only coming out at one side of the stage? Ummm – wooops!); I’m quite happy to use the long-drop toilets and drink beer and cider that tastes like Michael’s flavoured, carbonated piss, but I absolutely refuse – REFUSE to be part of Glastonbury’s problem.

It was great to have Jay-Z headline last year. Amongst the many cow pats of crap that the Eavis’s managed to drop in, here was something so very different – and it showed just how adventurous people with CBEs can be. And then, like Commanders of the Order of the non-existent British Empire tend to, they go and spoil it with witless comments and return to their traditional, aged-rocker fayre – and all in time for all the ‘kids’ who they hope will have bought all the tickets on that new, goofy micro-credit system created to recreate that alleged bygone Glastonbury vibe.

Well, balls to Glastonbury and balls to your stupid, crinkly line-up, Eavis! As exciting as Shangrai-La was, and as brilliant as the fires of the magnificent Trash City were – Glastonbury 2009 sounds like it’s set to be more of the same bleeding bollock-ache of a traipse that it always was. Only, this time, and much like they did to Paul McCartney, the kids you so deeply value will be yelling “You’re shit!” at Bruce Springsteen. Which is, of course, what anyone with at least one functioning ear would say.

We’re thrilled to reveal this years Camden Crawl lineup. Taking place in and around various participating venues in the cooler than thou London borough. The two day event this year will take place on Friday 24th and Saturday 25th April. Full details on the bands, comedy and other activities below.

THE AUTHOR
THE BADDIES
THE BARKER BAND
BLEECH
BLK JKS
BRAKES
THE CHAPMAN FAMILY            
CHEW LIPS
THE COMPUTERS
THE CORDELIER CLUB
DAN BLACK
DANNY & THE CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD
DATAROCK
THE DEAD FORMATS
DETROPIX
DIE! DIE! DIE!
DRUMS OF DEATH                                                     
EXPERIMENT ON A BIRD IN THE AIR PUMP      
FIGHT LIKE APES                                                       
FLASHGUNS
FOY VANCE                                                                  
GENERAL FIASCO                                                      
GOLDHEART ASSEMBLY                                         
GOLDIELOCKS                                                            
HEARTBREAK                                                             
HEXES                                                                            
I BLAME COCO
IT HUGS BACK                                                            
JAMES YUILL
THE JIM JONES REVIEW
JOSH WELLER 
THE JOY FORMIDABLE                                                                                         
KASMS
THE KING BLUES
LION CLUB                                                                   
LITTLE DEATH
MAN LIKE ME
MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS
NEWHAM GENERALS
PATRICK WOLF                                                           
PEGGY SUE                                                                   
PULLED APART BY HORSES
S.C.U.M.
SKINT & DEMORALISED
SLEEPERCURVE
THE TEMPER TRAP                                                                                  
THE XX
THREATMANTICS                                                      
THREE TRAPPED TIGERS
TODDLA T
TOMMY SPARKS
THE VON BONDIES                                                    
VV BROWN
THE WHIP

COMEDY
BACKSTAGE COMEDY – Following its huge success at Camden Crawl 2008, Backstage Comedy will once again present a fine selection of stand up and musical comedy from up and coming award winning comics with the odd special guest.
 
FALLING DOWN WITH LAUGHTER – Voted Best Small London Comedy Club at the 2008 Chortle Awards, Falling Down With Laughter showcases the best in sketch, stand-up, character and musical comedy. Past guests have included Jack Dee, Stewart Lee, Russell Brand, Sean Lock, Lenny Henry, Adam Hills, Brendon Burns, and Phil Nichol…so expect some surprises.
 
UNDERBELLY – Underbelly is one of the main promoters at Edinburgh Festival and produces events and comedy tours all over the UK.Their commitment to finding and developing new talent has seen them become one of the foremost names in the UK’s up and coming entertainment scene. Their fantastic line-up of comedians at their debut Crawl showcase will be one not to miss!
 
SPOKEN WORD
APPLE & SNAKES – The top poetry promoters present an explosion of upbeat, in-your-face poetry featuring the X-rated-but-charming Salena Godden, with support from psychedelic funnyman Ash Dickinson and the waggish Alison Brumfitt. Compered by loveable motormouth Steve Larkin.
 
BLOODY AWFUL POETRY – Returning to the line up after a hectic year, BAP are settling back into the Crawl, bringing with them the best in live acoustic music and much more including a poetry wall, confession booth, art exhibitions and the world famous ‘Bloody Awful Poetry Exhibition’.
 
BOOKSLAM – Bookslam events cover a wide range of storytellers from all disciplines – novelists, spoken word poets and musicians – gathering together for an eclectic day of words and music. London’s coolest night out for nerds comes to the Camden Crawl bringing guests which include verbal junkies Scroobius Pip and Dockers MC; notorious novelist John Niven; the absurdly talented renaissance man, Joe Stretch; comedy that jumps off the wall from Dan Antopolski; and the sweetest bittersweet music from Lail Arad. Patrick Neate will stick the whole thing together like corn flour in lumpy gravy.
 
LIVE MUSIC
BONANZA – A club night, promoter and radio show now in it’s sixth year, Bonanza showcases the best in Country, Americana and Roots music and is an umbrella for numerous club nights. Bonanza will be hosting ‘The Battle Of The One Man Bands Round 3′ at the Lock Tavern, a no-holds barred bout of cosmic country and trash-blues pugilism where ‘you the audience’ will decide the winner!… plus very special guest DJs.
 
CLERKENVILLE WEST – Local promoter and scenester Punk Rock Dolly joins forces with legendary Clerkenwell pub venue The Betsey Trotwood to bring Crawlers an epic hoedown of Alt-folk, Nu-grass and Cosmic Country. The recently re-launched Betsey hosts the wonderful folk sessions “Snake Mountain Review” and “The Lantern Society” as well as its raucous tri-level fest of Bluegrass and Americana “Clerkenville West”.
 
INDIE IDLE – The Gigwise Indie Idle unsigned artist competition will run over the weekend of the Crawl. On Friday, our panel of experts will whittle down the 10 semi-finalists chosen by public vote to a live final shortlist. On Saturday, wthe finalists battle it out live on stage to win a headline slot at the festival later that evening.
 
CONFIRMED DAYTIME PROGRAMME
HAWLEY ARMS SESSIONS – One of our favourite local pubs and renowned Camden hotspots presents a series of acoustic live sessions from their friends and favourite acts.
 
ANDY ROSS PRESENTS – There are not many things more Camden than Andy. The former head honcho of Food Records and the man who brought us Blur, Idlewild and Jesus Jones amongst others hosts two afternoons of idiosyncratic performances generally not involving instruments requiring a plug or big thumpy drums. In previous years, he has introduced the likes of Soko, Mumford & Sons and Noah and the Whale at the Crawl.
 
TURNING WORM – Launched in 2004 by two young rouges seeking fun, fortune and the best new bands in the world, TM now promotes successful club nights across in numerous venues with a wide variety of strange & beautiful bands, soloists, DJs, artists and poets featuring.
 
OTHER EVENTS
FUTURE SHORTS – The short film label returns to the Camden Crawl, bringing another unforgettable cinematic experience to life. They plan to present live rescores by the hottest bands for a unique programme of films, remixing the idea of what film can be.
 
HUNGA MUNGA’S CAMDEN COCKTAIL- Arts and crafts madness in Camden’s favourite cocktail bar. Loads of art materials and crafty bits to explore your artistic side alongside amazing live music from three of HungaMunga’s favourite bands: Gabby Young and Other Animals, Tabloid and Off Ground Touch….. and lots of fun and games.
 
KARAUKE – (kar’e-yoo’ke) v. you sing, they play ukuleles! If you’ve ever fancied singing ‘I will Survive’ disco to and with an entire backing band of fine-tuned ukuleles, here’s the chance…They provide the words, the music and backing vocals (should you need them) and do everything from Abba to The Undertones to Blur.
 
MUSICAL BINGO – After their debut outing at last years crawl, the cast of Bring & Share’s musical bingo is back and loaded with brand spanking new games just for festival goers. Spot the tunes, as they play out a fast and furious medley of songs. Only the eagle eared will walk away with supa-snazzy prizes!
 
POP QUIZZES – Who Killed Bambi? is the famous music quiz London Lite touted last year as the “best music quiz in London”. The Moshi Moshi Pop Quiz is in the Caffrey’s Book of World Records as the longest running pop farce since records began. After the charming botch jobs at the last two Crawls, the Moshi Quizmasters have become something of a Camden Crawl institution. Loved and tolerated in equal measure. Like a strange-smelling distant Uncle on Christmas day. The legendary Brighton I Predict A Pop Quiz heads north to the bright lights of Camden Town to pose questions of a pop nature. There are prizes for all (while stocks last), special guests, interpretive dancing and picture rounds.
 
SPEED HATING – Want a date? Join in the legendary ‘Speed Hating’, as Feeling Gloomy belt out classic anthems of misery from the likes of The Cure, Smiths and Dolly Parton.
 

FRIDAY 24TH & SATURDAY 25TH APRIL 2009
12PM – 4AM

2 DAY PASSES £55.00 AND SINGLE DAY TICKETS £32.50
Tickets available from the following outlets:
24hr CC Hotline 0871 2200 260 / See Tickets 020 7403 3331
OR buy online: www.thecamdencrawl.com
 
Tickets are to be exchanged for wristbands which allow free entry to each of the participating venues as individual capacities permit. Wristbands and programmes announcing the full line ups and timings for the event are obtainable from 11:00 am onward each day at the Camden Crawl ticket exchange point located at: THE ROUNDHOUSE (Chalk Farm Road, NW1). Please note that 2-day pass holders will need to return to ticket exchange to collect Saturday’s timetable. Festival goers are advised to arrive early as there will be a full daytime programme on both days from 12:00 pm. Doors open for evening schedule at 5:30 pm most venues. There will be late night after show parties featuring live bands and DJs until 4:00 am both days.
 
MAIN PARTICIPATING EVENING VENUES:
THE ROUNDHOUSE – KOKO – ELECTRIC BALLROOM - JAZZ CAFÉ – DINGWALLS – UNDERWORLD – CUBAN BAR - BARFLY – DUBLIN CASTLE – THE MONARCH – EARL OF CAMDEN - OH! BAR – PURPLE TURTLE – BULLET – THE BLACK CAP

My Bloody Valentine

H-O-L-Y-S-H-I-T

Check out the lineup for this years Primavera Festival. Full details in the official press blurb below.

Barcelona, 18th of February 2009 – Once again, the best of international independent music will meet in the Parc del Fòrum of Barcelona. The festival, which this year will take place from the 28th until the 30th of May, maintains its eclectic quality by presenting an array of artists, who stand out in the originality and quality of their performances. The festivalgoers will witness an amazing display of talent from the participating bands.

This new edition of Estrella Damm Primavera Sound will be marked by the double performance of My Bloody Valentine, the mythical band of the 90s who made a comeback last year, by the visit of Sonic Youth with their new record, the classics of indie rock Yo La Tengo, the elusive electronic music of Aphex Twin, the ex lead singer of Pulp, Jarvis Cocker and the British band Bloc Party.

In the section of artists with a long history are artists of the calibre of The Jayhawks and the return of one of the most important bands of post punk: A Certain Ratio. Joe Henry (selected by Rockdelux as best concert of 2008) and the veteran Michael Nyman will also perform at the festival. Other influential artists who will be there in the Forum from the 28th to the 30th of May are Shellac, the Black Lips revitalizing punk, the frontman of Grandaddy Jason Lytle, the mythical and overpowering The Jesus Lizard, Magnolia Electric Co, from France, Phoenix, the Sonic Boom Spectrum, the kings of drone metal Sunn O))), Kimya Dawson or the hardcore Fucked Up.

Every year we try to include a high number of bands playing in Spain for the first time and this year among the chosen ones are: The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Crystal Stilts, Girls, Lemonade, Sleepy Sun, Shearwater and Carsick Cars, a young band from China, protégés of Sonic Youth.

The national bands, which will increase in the next few weeks, include Extraperlo and The Lions Constellation launching their debut LPs, the comeback of Veracruz with one of the records of the year, the psychedelic metal of Cuzo and the robust post hardcore of Rosvita.

The area of more experimental sounds is covered by artists such as Ariel Pink and Marnie Stern, the unbeatable duo Lightning Bolt or what promises to be the concert of the 2009 edition, Dan Deacon with an ensemble of 15 musicians presenting his new record.

Electronic music and hip hop still have their space in the Estrella Damm Primavera Sound with the visit of the rapper Ghostface Killah, a live performance by Squarepusher, the revelation Ebony Bones, the captivating eclecticism of Girl Talk, the ever efficient EL-P and dance music from DJs like A-Trak (Dj of Kanye West and the coolest hip hop agitator) and Michael Mayer.

The full festival tickets for Estrella Damm Primavera Sound 2009 can be purchased for 115 € (+ booking fee) up until February 22th. The full festival tickets will cost 130 € (+ booking fee) from February 23rd.

The only official ticketing companies are: the entire Tick Tack Ticket network, the CD Drome shops in Barcelona and Madrid, Seetickets UK, Fnac France and PayPal through the festival website.

CONFIRMED ARTISTS: A-Trak, A Certain Ratio, Alela Diane, Andrew Bird, Angelo Spencer, Aphex Twin, Ariel Pink, Art Brut, The Bad Plus, Bat For Lashes, Black Lips, Bloc Party, Bowerbirds, The Bug, Carsick Cars, Crystal Antlers, Crystal Stilts, Cuzo, Chad VanGaalen, Damien Jurado, Dan Deacon Ensemble, Deerhunter, Dj Mehdi, The Drones, Ebony Bones, El-P, Extra Life, The Extraordinaires, Extraperlo, Fucked Up, Gang Gang Dance, Ghostface Killah, Girl Talk, Girls, Jarvis Cocker, Jason Lytle from Grandaddy, Jay Reatard, The Jayhawks, The Jesus Lizard, Joe Crepúsculo y Los Destructores, Joe Henry, John Maus, Karl Blau, Kimya Dawson, Kitty Daisy & Lewis, Lemonade, Lightning Bolt, The Lions Constellation, The Mae Shi, Magik Markers, Magnolia Electric Co., Mahjongg, Marnie Stern, Michael Mayer, Michael Nyman, My Bloody Valentine, The New Year, Oneida, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Phoenix, Plants & Animals, Ponytail, Rosvita, The Secret Society, Shearwater, Shellac, Simian Mobile Disco, SkatebÅrd, Sleepy Sun, The Soft Pack, Sonic Youth, Spectrum, Spiritualized, Squarepusher, Sunn O))) performing “The Grimmerobe Demos”, The Tallest Man On Earth, Throwing Muses, Uffie, The Vaselines, Veracruz, Vivian Girls, Wavves, Women, Wooden Shjips, Yo La Tengo and Zombie Zombie.

ATP STAGE: Ariel Pink, Carsick Cars, The Drones, El-P, Gang Gang Dance, The Jesus Lizard, Lightning Bolt, Magik Markers, Shellac, Sleepy Sun, Sunn O))) and Wooden Shjips.

One of the greatest festivals to be held in the UK has announced it’s initial line-up for 2009. Birmingham’s Supersonic Festival is an event I’ve sadly not yet made it to, but looking at the line-up below, I’m going to beg, borrow and steal to get there.

Organisers of the illustrious Festival are please to announce the first confirmations – including HEAD OF DAVID who bring their driving bombast to proceedings for the first time in 23 years – for this year’s festival, which will take place in Birmingham on 24TH – 26TH of July 2009.

Now in it’s 7th year, the event will once again take place at the Custard Factory utilising the many rooms for music, art and film.

Additional confirmations will follow in the upcoming weeks, but the line-up is shaping up to be another extravaganza  – the rather incredible former Swan, JARBOE; the expansive drone-noise of GROWING; Brighton’s prog adventure, DIAGONAL; the wild avant futuristic jazz of ZU; the stoned pysch of EARTHLESS, the Virginian sludge rock of PONTIAK, the industrial experiments of 65 DAYS OF STATIC, the immense duo that is FLOWER/CORSANO DUO, KHYAM ALLAMI and THEO will be featured in the line-up, once again highlighting the highly eclectic booking policy of the festival organisers.Tickets go on sale early March from www.theticketsellers.co.uk.
Further info on artists/hotel deals tec see www.capsule.org.uk/supersonic.

Confirmed line-up, which is a blatant Copy + Paste job….

Head Of David – UK
http://www.myspace.com/headofdavidofficial
Rising from the landlocked Black Country of England in the early 80′s, Head Of David were a genetically modified product, bleeding clogged metallic arteries into the densest industrial smog. Signed to Blast First – first live show in 23 years as original line up.

65 Days of Static – UK
http://www.myspace.com/65propaganda
Initially, the band interspersed heavy, progressive, guitar-driven instrumental sections with live drums and off-beat sampled drums akin to those of Aphex Twin, although since their second album they have developed their work to include keyboard parts.

Berg Sans Nipple – France
http://www.myspace.com/thebergsansnipple
The Berg Sans Nipple are an indie rock band from Nebraska and Paris, consisting of Lori Sean Berg and Shane Aspegren. The Berg Sans Nipple have a ‘repertoire’ going from hard post-Rock rhythms to chaotic IDM compositions with parenthesis of melodic tracks.

Caribou – Canada
http://www.myspace.com/cariboumanitoba
“a perfect slice of bedroom psychedelia from someone for whom melody and emotion are ten times as important as collectible obscurity”

Cave – US
http://www.myspace.com/realreelpro
Cave shares members with the now-defunct Warhammer 48k that put out 2 intensely heavy and very psychedelic post-hardcore records.  Most of the post-hardcore was worked out of their system in Warhammer and Cave has become a distillation of the heavy, psychedelic influences.  They take a riff, jam it for all it’s worth and then they have their way with it. Released on Static Caravan

Chris Herbert – UK
http://www.myspace.com/chrisherbert
Chris Herbert lives and works in Birmingham, UK. His is inspired by urban field recordings, a neon-drenched world of darkness and rainfall, mis-judged glances and rude altercations – this is a sub-aquatic soundtrack to the underbelly of city living, bringing to mind the darker moments of Stars of the Lid or William Basinski for starters, and giving a nod towards Deaf Center at their most atmospheric.

Diagonal – UK
http://www.myspace.com/diagonalband
A seven piece from Brighton, all in their mid twenties. They all had a shared love of Kyuss and the stoner rock bands of the mid nineties but this soon developed into an obsession with space rock, prog rock and even Jazz rock bands such as Coliseum. Word has spread about their incendiary live show which manages to combine the righteous indignation of bands such as the MC5 and The Sex Pistols with the cosmic jams of Gentle Giant and Can and the experimental noise of bands such as Battles and Lightning Bolt.

Earthless – US
http://www.myspace.com/earthless
Earthless is a psychedelic rock band from San Diego, California that is known for their unusually lengthy instrumental songs. Its members are Isaiah Mitchell (guitar), Mike Eginton (bass), and prolific drummer Mario Rubalcaba. Rubalcaba has played for such staples of the San Diego scene as 411, Rocket from the Crypt (alias Ruby Mars), Clikatat Ikatowi, The Black Heart Procession, Hot Snakes, Sea of Tombs, the Sultans, Pinback

Flower/Corsano Duo – US/UK
http://www.myspace.com/chriscorsano
As a powerful and loud guitar/drum duo, Lightning Bolt comparisons come cheap….the Flower-Corsano Duo are something else – more like a white-punk-jazz-trash Konono No.1 or an Eastern sound, opiate-fixated Harry Pussy. As a duo they have that special power to elevate through noise, rhythm and primal harmonix. An exhilarating sight/sound that shudders the body and cleanses the mind. Obsessive stuff.

Genghis Tron – US
http://www.myspace.com/genghistron
NY trio have a reputation for genre-splicing creativity and as one of heavy music’s most exciting bands.

Growing – US
http://www.myspace.com/growingsoundnyc
“A kaleidosope of prismatic tones and juddering electronics forming a series of mesmeric constellations.” – Mojo

Jarboe – US
http://www.myspace.com/jarboeliving
Jarboe is a solo artist who came to prominence in the mid-1980s with the New York City based group Swans. With founder Michael Gira, the duo was the core of Swans until the group broke up in 1998.

Khyam Allami – UK
http://www.myspace.com/khyamallami
Khyam Allami was born to an Iraqi family in Damascus, Syria, in 1981 and brought up in London from the age of 9. His passion for music began at a tender age in Syria when he played the role of a young violinist in an art house film. Currently, Khyam Allami is performing as an ‘Ud (Oud) soloist and is concluding his studies in Ethnomusicology at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. Meanwhile he is working on original compositions, that lean more towards the contemporary as opposed to tradition, under the artistic influence of Frank Zappa, Naseer Shamma, King Crimson, Secret Chiefs 3, Riyad Al-Sunbati, Philip Glass, Jaz Coleman and many others.

Master Musicians Of Bukkake – US
http://www.myspace.com/mastermusiciansofbukkake
Hidden in the broken amplified logs and delayed deep green moss. Damp evergreen floors with Hidden secrets to tell. Master Musicians of Bukkake is born of this primordial Northwest passage of rights , electric old growth rituals formed when the earliest saplings and fungus brokeforth through the ground reaching their life filled limbs to the sun ever seeing ever growing. The prehistoric mountians an ever present lurker steadfastly onlooking this ascent to the heavens covered in their glacial white shrowds. No man made monoliths or megaliths could ever out shadow the giants of the olympics, of Cascadia these TOTEMS of old, TOTEMS of the ancients. As we move into the age of modern mans descent into ruin and the trees regain their dominance over the pitiful buildings and machines of humans…Now, In this final age when the sun scorches the southern states and burns our grand citys mile by mile in a hope to burn off the impurities of the earth back to the prima materia, you can hear a far away sound a scream a ritual and a gathering ….Master Musicians of Bukkake.

Nancy Wallace – UK
http://www.myspace.com/nancywallace
Nancy Wallace  has been described as “One of the finest folk vocalists of her generation” hailing from Suffolk, but now firmly ensconced in east London. She sings with the Memory Band, and features on the albums “The Memory Band” and “Apron Strings”. Her interpretations of songs have been included on both volumes of Tom Middleton’s Crazy Covers albums, Paris Derniere and the Big Chill compilations. Her tunes are enhanced no end by the amazing violin skills of Jenny may Logan of the Elysian Quartet , The Memory Band and the Basquiat Strings, and more recently Richard Lewis has added add his inimitable accordian, banjo and hurdy gurdy to a couple of tracks. Recently Nancy has joined the ranks of The Owl Service which she is enjoying very much indeed.

Pontiak – US
http://www.myspace.com/pontiak
Pontiak is three brothers from the Blue Ridge farm country of Virginia. Van, Lain and Jennings Carney did not play music together until the three were older and moved to Baltimore from various points around the country. The results, swaggering guitar rock, straddle the line between a power trio and something whose expansive results exceed the trio format. Their broad song structures allow ample room for Van’s amazing vocals and guitar work to stretch and captivate. Julian Cope described them as “straddling a wide sonic rift valley, with references that stretch from the southern latitudes of Spain’s Viaje A800 to the northern majesty of Black Sabbath and Harvey Milk via the Doors.” Released on Thrill Jockey

PRE – UK
http://www.myspace.com/prepreprepre
Born in a basement, based in London, the first outing of PRE had the entire audience locked outside, watching through barred windows from above. To the assemblage up top, it was clear that these five noise sprinkled nu-wavers had already figured it out – sound moves quicker in high pressure.

Theo – UK
http://www.myspace.com/theo1000
Theo, the work of one Sam Knight, is one for themath rock fans. Taut, chugging guitar loops layer up with frenetictapping patterns that interweave in spiralling complexity before nearsub-atomically precise, powerhouse drumming clatters and builds eachsong into juggernaut of riffs and rhythms. To achieve something likethis recorded is one thing, but to see Theo perform live is quiteanother as each song blurs into the next and the dazzling guitar anddrum acrobatics leave jaws sagging on the faces of all who bear witnessto the talent on offer.

Venetian Snares – CAN
http://www.myspace.com/venetiansnares
Aaron Funk (aka Venetian Snares) hails from Winnipeg in Canada. Since his debut 12″ in 1999 on a small Minneapolis label he has risen out of the drill’n'bass/breakcore mire to become one of the most astonishing (and popular) musicians working in the experimental electronic sphere (alongside Squarepusher, Aphex Twin and Boards Of Canada).

Zu – Italy
http://www.myspace.com/zuband
Zu, the Roman metal/math/no-wave/free noise/punk/jazz trio.
“…combining the abstractions of Sonic Youth with the out-there explorations of the best free jazz” – The Times

ZzZ’s – Netherlands
http://www.myspace.com/zzz
zZz is a Dutch band from Amsterdam, founded in 2001. The instruments of the band only consist of an organ and a drumkit. The duo makes dark danceable rock. The single “Ecstacy” was used in the soundtrack of the film Phileine zegt sorry. In 2005, the band won an Essent Award and opened for Anouk in a few shows

The really quite brilliant Palimpsest Festival has announced that, after taking a break for 2008, will return in May! Featuring some of the most exotic and truely wonderful music ever to grace a mini festival, this year will see the following play the All Saints Church in Cambridge:

Group Doueh (Sublime Frequencies; Western Sahara)
Omar Souleyman (Sublime Frequencies; Syria)
Vibracathedral Orchestra (VHF)
Dicky Deegan
Herb Diamante (Abduction)
Pete UM (Gagarin)
Part Wild Horses Mane on Both Sides (Singing Knives)
John Clyde-Evans (Foxy Digitalis)

Sublime Frequencies DJ
Pete UM DJ
The Doozer DJ

Saturday 30th May 2009
at All Saints Church, Cambridge
2PM – 11PM

Tickets go on sale 3rd April 2009 from http://www.palimpsest-festival.co.uk for £18 advance.

The order above bears little relation to the order on the day, this has yet to be determined.

Primavera Sound this year has announced a stage curated by the U.S. music website Pitchfork.

Coupled with this is a new series of confirmations, who include: Vivian Girls, Wavves, Crystal Stilts, The Tallest Man On Earth, Ponytail, Crystal Antlers, The Bug, Bowerbirds, The Mae Shi’s and  Plants & Animals. All of them will perform on the stage that Pitchfork curates for Estrella Damm Primavera Sound 2009. The festival will take place from May 28th to May 30th in Barcelona’s Parc Del Fòrum.

FULL FESTIVAL TICKET PRICE CHANGES SOON

January 15th is the last day to buy the full festival tickets for 90€. From January 16th, their price will be 115 €. Tickets can be purchased at the following sale outlets: Tick Tack Ticket network (www.ticktackticket.com), CD Drome stores in Barcelona (Valldonzella str. 3) and Madrid (Pozas str. 6), Seetickets (www.seetickets.com), Fnac France (www.fnacspectacles.com) and PayPal in the official website of the festival, www.primaverasound.com.

CONFIRMED ARTISTS 13th JANUARY 2009

PITCHFORK STAGE
Bowerbirds, The Bug, Crystal Antlers, Crystal Stilts, The Mae Shi, Plants & Animals, Ponytail, The Tallest Man On Earth, Vivian Girls and Wavves.

OTHER STAGES
Alela Diane, Damien Jurado, Extra Life, Gang Gang Dance, Kitty Daisy and Lewis, Michael Nyman, My Bloody Valentine, Spiritualized, The Soft Pack, Throwing Muses and The Vaselines.

Since the announcement a few weeks ago about the early lineups for this years ATP Festivals I’ve been totally undecided on which one to go to. “BREEDERS OR FANS BREEDERS OR FANS BREEDERS OR FANS etc” – both are offering some seriously good music. Though my mind has firmly been made up now as The Acorn and Shearwater have been added to The Fans weekend. FUCK YEA. How exciting??!! But still – the thought of missing Bon Iver and Teenage Fanclub at the Breeders weekend still fills me with absolute dread… Anyhoo – further news from ATP HQ follows:

From the 8th – 10th May, The Fans Strike Back weekend will see half of the festival line-up chosen by ATP and the other half voted for by everyone that buys a ticket. The latest additions to the ATP side of the line-up as of today are:

HEALTH
Shearwater
The Acorn
The Pink Mountaintops

That means that the full list of ATP curated bands so far is:

The Jesus Lizard / Devo / Sleep / Spiritualized  / Young Marble Giants /
Antipop Consortium / Grails / Sleepy Sun / The Cave Singers / Retribution Gospel Choir / HEALTH / Shearwater / The Acorn / The Pink Mountaintops

So far the Fans have only picked Beirut, but offers have been sent to My Bloody Valentine, Flight Of The Conchords and Electric Wizard.

Tickets to the event are on sale NOW from  here.

—————————-

From the 15th – 17th May, ATP will be curated by the legendary BREEDERS. The latest additions to their line-up as of today are:

CSS
Supersuckers

The full list of bands chosen by them so far:

The Breeders / Throwing Muses / Bon Iver / Foals / Teenage Fanclub / Holy Fuck / Kimya Dawson / Pit Er Pat / Deerhunter / Gang Of Four / Shellac / Zach Hill / The Soft Pack / The Holloys / Styrofoam / CSS / Supersuckers

Tickets to the event are on sale today from here.

Words: Marc Higgins | Photographs: Lucy Johnston

Sometimes Christmas comes early when you’re a child, but very rarely when you get older. This year, however, is going to be one of those Santas visited early moments. Obviously by Santa I mean Mike “I’ve got more side projects than you’ve had hot dinners” Patton. Riding a sleigh from the depths of ungodly hell, along with his good friends The Melvins to curate ATP’s Nightmare Before Christmas shebang at Butlins holiday resort in Minehead. Never before has ATP’s nightmare vision been more fully realized than on the days between 5th & 7th December 2008.It is undeniable the amount of fantastic musicians ATP have given the curator card too over the years; Mogwai, Thurston Moore (who invariably shows up in one guise or another at most ATP’s); Shellac; Portishead; Dinosaur Jr; Explosions in The Sky etc. The list gets more and more ridiculous.

On announcement of this years Nightmare Before Christmas annual party, the list just got downright insane! The Lord is smiling down and so are all the people with tickets for this one. I now know what Charlie felt like when he found that golden ticket! Like one lucky, Melvins lovin’, Fantomas shouting mother trucker. Sorry, I must musically critique and stop salivering like a dog chomping down on the postman’s last fingertip!

Friday December 6th was a cold, cold day, and with a 5 hour drive under my belt (courtesy of my friend Steve – props to him for holding the wheel till we got there), we entered what seems like the most surreal place for ATP to stage its festivities; Butlins, of fair Minehead. A strange mix of retirees and career professionals live in Minehead, a slightly lost in silence seaside town, which makes it all the more strange that we’re here to watch Mike and The Melvins raise unholy sledgehammer hell! Bring it on.

The Melvins 1983

Who would take to the stage first but The Melvins 1983; either cos Buzz and co couldn’t find anyone to play or the just wanted to plain hog the stage. Yes they’re famous for their lineage and influence on the grunge movement, but tonight they sound tired and a little out of place. ‘Honey Bucket’ still sounds awesome, but I find that I’d rather listen to the records as they will forever have venom and punch. Tonight, Melvins 1983 lack both. Too bad really as most of the bands playing here this weekend seem to be picked, or influenced by The Melvins.

Undeniably Big Business are huge fans. But before they can show where they’ve taken that influence, Jared Waren blows up his bass amp. He hasn’t even played one note of any BigBizz song! For a second a wave of distress and mild laughter sweeps over the crowd but a generous man awaits backstage. Undeniably anxious, the unknown backstage minion lends his amp over for the greater metal good. Rather you than me. The slaying begins. Jared plays the bass like he was taking over the world with it, like a force of nature. Towards the end Dale Crover, of The Melvins, makes his second stage appearance to hammer out ‘Just as the Day was Dawning’ and the monstrous ‘Grounds for Divorce’ from their mighty album Here Come The Waterworks. Genius! Dale Crover will no doubt win the award for most time  on stage this weekend.

Trevor Dunn’s new project isn’t quite what you’d expect from the ex-bungle bass man. Well, it is, and it isn’t. Strangely blending hooky, romantic alt rock, with Peeping Tom style sexiness (hmmm are they sexy?), Madlove make disturbing alt-pop. It doesn’t register like it should’ve done. I expected far more experimentalism, more strangeness. It’s far more of a straight forward venture for Dunn, who is known far and wide amongst these circles, especially in this circle, for Mr Bungle, and his lesser known Trio Convulsant outfit. It was their second gig ever, so maybe I can forgive it lacking something inspiring. To see Trevor Dunn play live was pretty special for me so I’m happy as a pig.

It wasn’t easy to get lost or miss bands this time round as only Reds and Centre Stage were open. Luckily I was able to catch every last energy fuelled moment of Torche! Their album Meanderthal is an absolute classic of sludge-pop-metal, and live they set the bar so high that they would never be beaten for the entire festival. Louder than God and far more supreme, they nailed it through stompers like ‘Piranha’. I almost couldn’t take it when they played ‘Healer’ and ‘Across the Shields’. Outstanding! Take QOTSA, throw in some Pelican, and some more Pelican, and you have the best heavy band on the planet right now. I haven’t loved a gig as much since I saw QOTSA at Leeds 2005! Completely jaw dropping. Plus the singer looked like he should be in a country and western quartet, but sounds like Burton C Bell with groove! Just managed to see the last sixty seconds of bile inducing noise nuts The Locust, which means, we saw three songs, and they rip your throat out!

ISIS

If there’s a band on the planet doing more for progressive metal it’s ISIS. Aaron Turner and Co make it look easy. The music is so dynamic that I thought it may not translate as well live. But they never failed to mesmerize, playing a selection of tracks from their latest record, including my favorite ‘Dulcinea’, an absolute master class in how to break the mold. We’ve waited for a band to take Tool’s mantle; these guys have well and truly taken it on. From a relatively new band in terms of influence, to perhaps one of the best known grunge bands of all time: The Meat Puppets. Like The Melvins their influence spans generations. I have a feeling people are only here to see them play ‘Plateau’ and ‘Lake Of Fire’ though. I miss the latter through the need for sleep. They hit hard with there brand of psychedelic punk and noise. It was unexpected as Curt Kirkwood plays guitar more like J Mascis than the bluegrass style I thought I was going to hear. A gift no doubt, he handled his effects guiding the phasers and rampant delays like a true guitar god. Unfortunately I’m off to bed and miss Porn (and Dale Crovers next appearance surely – he invariably bashes it out with these guys live too), but, having seen them before, I’m not overly upset. The double blow will come tomorrow.

When starting the day, why not start it with Mastodon! Hell that’s exactly what I needed; pure skilled, old-school metal for the new crowd. Missing a guitarist (you’d never tell) they give one of the most crowd pleasing performances of the weekend. Viking metal full of demons and shrouded in gothic imagery. Definitely what I wanted. However, what I didn’t want was a fifteen minute set from Fennesz. What was the point in trekking downstairs to get a small slice of nothing? One of the more experimental acts of the weekend I really wanted to see what he was about. Fuck it lets go for some King Buzzo!

And so we did, where they made up for their earlier disappointing set by ripping into the new stuff. Not that I know it, but they have far too many albums for me to know them all. But with two drummers, and a new bass player, namely Coady Willis, of Big Business, joining Dale Crover on drums, and Coadys bandmate Jared on bass The Melvins have found a whole new energy. They play through mostly new stuff, and what I think is Hooch, but don’t really touch their two best albums, Houdini and Stoner Witch, other than that. Cleverly orchestrated dismantled sludge from the godfathers! Good times! Whether Butthole Surfers could match that was soon to answered, and answered with a firm No! Not what I would call a live show fit for ATP; funny, but not musically entertaining. Plus I was itching to see Mike spasm on stage like someone on day release. I wasn’t disappointed!

Fantomas enter stage right 15 minutes late – obviously because The Directors Cut is only about 37 minutes long and they weren’t prepared to throw some others in. He’s Mike Patton, we’ll let him off. He squeals like a man possessed and with abated glee ‘The Godfather’ is first up (Go! Go! Gagaga! Go! Go! Yayayayayaya!) All the way through the set it is evident how incomparable Pattons talent is with any other musician here tonight. He composes the rest of the band, guiding them through songs like ‘Henry: portrait of a Serial Killer’ and psycho trauma that is ‘The Omen’. Simultaneously graceful and horrific Fantomas deliver and deliver, ‘Cape Fear’ has heads firmly bouncing before ‘Rosemary’s Baby’. I spy that Dale Crover has also made another appearance on stage – taking place of Dave Lombardo, of Slayer. To play his drum parts! Dale you’re a magician. With a very gentlemanly thank you to the crowd and a slating of the hellhole that is Minehead they finish ‘Der Golem’ and ‘Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me’.

Santa has come early and looking like the cutest snowflake is Martina Topley Bird. Adorning a red ball dress she warms the crowd with alternate versions from her fantastic debut album that was released some time ago now. She alleges she has a new record, and plays some songs from that but she has a number of technical hitches that stunt her performance. She shines best when she sings unaccompanied, and even gets the crowd in on the act for one Christmassy number. She is a charming jewel of the British music scene and even has time to cover ‘Baker Street’, but in her own street lullaby style. Dreamy. Unfortunate incidents preceeding this gig mean that I sleep through Teenage Jesus and The Soulsavers gigs, missing Thurston Moore, Lydia Lunch and Mark Lanegan. You can imagine the biting agony of realizing that when I awoke at 3am!

Fantomas

On Sunday I was astounded by this Norweigian band called Farmers Market who completely blew me away. Gypsy folk, with hints of lounge, rock and country, but in the way that Bungle do it. Musically they were simply audacious. I don’t think the saxophonist took one breath the entire show. I advise anyone who likes Mr Bungles mix to get hold of Surfin USSR, its brilliant; Inventive musicality with a satirical political edge. With titles like ‘The Dismantling of The Soviet Onion Made Us Cry’ why wouldn’t you go for it!? Israeli punk outfit Monotonix , obviously on a mission ruffle up the system, played the gig in with the crowd. Whether it was a backing track, or not, is to be debated as there was no band on stage and they couldn’t physically play in the crowd. Lead singer Levi Elvis was surfing a kickdrum across the crowd whilst belting out their brand of rock n roll infused punk anthems. Just what the festival needed really, everything tends to be slightly reserved at ATP. Fuck that!

Fantomas were brilliant again only they played a cover of Al Greens’ ‘If I gave you My Love’. Exactly what I was hoping for; Soul Death Metal! Lip smackingly good!

The most intense gig of this “nightmare” had to be Dalek. Ipecacs kings of noise truly shook the foundation of Reds bar. Never has Hip Hop been so monstrously dark and industrial. The malevolent stage presence of Mc Dalek, on vocals, and his co conspirator Okt0pus, on production, packs even more fire. Okt0pus struts at the back of the stage like a caged beast, eyeballing the audience! There’s no way you can’t be moved and almost broken by the consuming darkness they breed when their music plays. On record it’s intense, but live they’ll blow your mind! Word! After that The Black Heart Procession kinda just fall by. It takes time to digest Dalek and I’m not really affected at all by TBHP. A band I love, their nourishing romantic pop touches Bad Seeds territory at times and they can really hit you in the heart. But not tonight, besides the singer looks like Kevin Smith, and he knows it.

It’s all a waiting game, preparation for the pusher of squares. He’s well up for the gig and, despite being the quintessential English eccentric, Tom Jenkinson is loving the audience and breathing energy from every fret. As he powers through tracks from his latest, more dynamic melodic effort, Just a Souvenir it is clear that the best has been saved until last. In terms of musical progression no one is taking things further than Mr Jenkinson. ‘Delta V’, ‘A Real Woman’ and ‘The Glass Road’ all go down a storm as well as his classic move into the realms of greatness ‘Come On My Selector’. Genius knows no bounds and this guy is touching the sky. Whilst it’s hard not to dance, you have to take a few minutes out to look on in awe at his bass playing; phenomenal magic. End of!

Same time again next year anyone?

P.S Probably should mention the in-chalet gig by The Melvins, but I missed that too! Next time I’m gonna check every chalet! Apparently the people staying in that chalet got kicked out for destroying their accommodation – hmmm, a little unfair I feel. But that’s Rock n Roll Kids!

The Damned

Bosshog

Squarepusher

Mastadon

Leila

Butthole Surfers

Monotonix

The Melvins 1983

ATP Festival
Lucy Johnston Photography

The all new Hinterland Festival have just announced the first 30 bands that will be appearing over the two day event. We posted about the Scottish based festival a few weeks ago, but it’s only now that any news on bands has been made public. 

Glasgow will open up a ton of its venues (much like London’s Concrete & Glass / Camden Crawl) on 30th April and 1st May and roughly 80 acts are expected to play. And what’s more – they’ll all be Scottish. 

Tickets are priced at a staggeringly reasonable £23.50 per day / £42 for both days or £35 if you order NOW!

Lineup thus far:

85 Bears
Brother Louis Collective
Come on Gang!
Copy Haho 
Dananananaykroyd 
Edie Sedgwick
Fangs
Findo Gask 
Galchen 
Geordi La Force
Hudson Mohawke
Isosceles 
Lesser Panda 
Manda Rin
Micachu 
Mitchell Museum 
My Tiger My Timing 
Oh, Atoms
Pearl & the Puppets 
Pulled Apart By Horses
Punch & The Apostles
Remember Remember
Rustie
The Xcerts
These Monsters
Three Trapped Tigers
Tommy Reilly
We Have Band 
We Were Promised Jetpacks 
Zoey Van Goey

Yup – you read it right! News literally just in – The Jesus Lizard have agreed to reform and play at next years ATP vs The Fans Festival. The orginal lineup of David Yow, Duane Denison, David Wm. Sims and Mac McNeilly will be playing a series of shows throughout 2009, but the ATP hosted event will be the first live appearence from the Lizard since they disbanded in 1999.

In conjunction with the reformation, Touch and Go Records will reissue four full-length releases from the Jesus Lizard in May 2009. Remastered recordings of Head, Goat, Liar, and Down will be available on both LP and CD, all with expanded packaging and liner notes. Bob Weston is heading up the remastering process with Steve Albini, the original session engineer, sitting in.

In other ATP news; The Cave Singers have also confirmed for the vs The Fans event which (if you didn’t already know) takes place at Butlins Minehead on between 8th and 10th of May. For The Breeders curated weekend (15-17th May) - Shellac have been announced as the house band(!) and Gang Of Four are also set to make an appearence.

If you can’t wait until next year (and who can blame you) – ATP have a whole bevvy of London based events lined up before Chrimble. Those being:

December
2nd: DEERHOOF + UNDERGROUND RAILROAD – ULU
2nd: BEACH HOUSE + JANA HUNTER – Cargo
4th: MEAT PUPPETS perform MEAT PUPPETS II + ZU + MONOTONIX – ULU
4th: ISIS + TORCHE – Scala
8th: FANTOMAS perform THE DIRECTOR’S CUT + THE LOCUST – Astoria
9th: MELVINS + BIG BUSINESS + MELVINS 1983 – Scala
16th: TINDERSTICKS – Union Chapel
18th: THE BLACK ANGELS – ULU

Behold! All the stage times for this years Nightmare Before Christmas festival, taking place at Butlins Minehead between December 5th-7th. Interestingly (yet, totally unsuprisingly) ATP have decided to not to use the Pavilion stage. Apparently, many of the acts booked for the weekend would be too loud for that stage… Whatever the reason, it’s a good move all round. I wonder if they’ll continue the trend for next year…? 

Friday 5th December

Stage 1 – Centre Stage
4.45pm-5.30pm – MELVINS 1983
6.00pm-6.45pm – BIG BUSINESS
7.15pm-8.15pm – THE DIRTBOMBS
8.45pm-9.45pm – THE LOCUST
10.15pm-11.15pm – ISIS
11.45pm-12.45am – MEAT PUPPETS
1.15am-2.45am – OS MUTANTES

Stage 2 – Reds
4.30pm-5.15pm – KILL ME TOMORROW
6.00pm-6.45pm – TWEAK BIRD
7.00pm-7.45pm – MADLOVE
8.30pm-9.30pm – TORCHE
10.00pm-11.00pm – ZU
11.30pm-12.30am – WHITE NOISE
1.00am-2.00am – PORN

Saturday 6th December

Stage 1 – Centre Stage
3.15pm-4.00pm – JUNIOR BROWN
4.30pm-5.30pm – MASTODON
6.15pm-7.15pm – MELVINS
- ROOM CLEARED -
8.15pm-9.15pm – BUTTHOLE SURFERS
10.00pm-11.00pm – FANTOMAS
11.30pm-12.15am – NEIL HAMBURGER
12.30am-1.15am – RAHZEL
1.45am-2.45am – SQUAREPUSHER

Stage 2 – Reds
3.00pm-3.45pm – VOCAL SAMPLING
4.15pm-5.15pm – MUGISON
6.00pm-6.45pm – FENNESZ
7.30pm-8.30pm – J.G. THIRLWELL’s MANOREXIA
9.00pm-9.30pm – TEENAGE JESUS & THE JERKS
10.00pm-11.00pm – TARAF DE HAIDOUKS
11.30pm-12.30am – MARTINA TOPLEY BIRD
1.00am-1.30am – TEENAGE JESUS & THE JERKS
2.00am-3.00am – SOULSAVERS FEAT. MARK LANEGAN

Stage 3 – Crazy Horse
5.30pm-6.15pm – KONTAKTE
11.00pm-12.00am – LABEQUE SISTERS

Sunday 7th December

Stage 1 – Centre Stage
1.45pm-2.30pm – JAMES BLOOD ULMER
3.00pm-3.45pm – LEILA
- ROOM CLEARED -
4.30pm-5.30pm – BUTTHOLE SURFERS
6.15pm-7.15pm – FANTOMAS
- ROOM CLEARED -
8.15pm-9.15pm – MASTODON
10.00pm-11.00pm – MELVINS
11.30pm-12.30am – THE DAMNED
12.45am-1.30am – KOOL KEITH + KUTMASTA KURT
2.00am-3.30am – SQUAREPUSHER

Stage 2 – Reds
1.30pm-2.15pm – BOHREN & DER CLUB OF GORE
2.45pm-3.30pm – JOE LALLY
4.15pm-5.15pm – FARMERS MARKET
6.00pm-6.45pm – MONOTONIX
8.00pm-9.00pm – DALEK
9.45pm-10.45pm – BLACK HEART PROCESSION
11.15pm-12.00am – GHOSTIGITAL
12.30am-1.15am – BOSS HOG
1.45am-2.30am – DOUBLE NEGATIVE

Stage 3 – Crazy Horse
2.00pm-3.00pm – BERNARD PARMEGIANI

ATP has announced its return to Kutsher’s Country Club in Monticello, New York for the 2nd annual ATP New York festival. The event will be held Sept 11-13, 2009 (moved from labor day weekend as previously announced).

Existing tickets will work for the new dates. All ticketholders have been contacted with news on the date change. If you are holding a ticket and the new dates do not work for we are happy to offer a full refund.

Friday: Don’t Look Back/Comedy

Dirty Three Performing Ocean Songs
Suicide Performing First LP

David Cross – Hosting Comedy Stage

Saturday: curated by ATP

Animal Collective
Anti-Pop Consortium
Atlas Sound
Panda Bear

Sunday: Curator TBA in the coming weeks

Tickets are $235 + $12 booking fee

Accommodations are available at Kutsher’s and at the nearby Raleigh Resort (on sale from later today!).

Tickets and full information available from this www.atpfestival.com

Lightning Bolt

Jeepers. As gigs are coming up thick and fast this time of season and after talking a good talk about having a super-cool themed costume all at the ready, I wasn’t even prepared for ‘Release The Bats’. My memory has been mush since I got taken down by the killer-man-flu fever doing the rounds though it has to be said. Better act fast. I make a phone call to my friend James the evening before, pleading with him if I can borrow his gruesome Saw-esque Pig-mask to which he duly obliges. Result. Just need to pick it up now… Cutting it a little fine though…

So I get to the venue excitedly and giddily oinking and snorting around quarter past 6, just a little after Rhode Island’s very own, hard-noise-spaz-core Lightning Bolt take to the er… floor for their guerrilla-style performance for the first 500 entrants (the rest viewing from the balcony). I’m on the venue floor but as expected and previous Lightning Bolt experience, I can’t see a darned thing. People directly within the band’s sight seem fully enthused and totally into it, moshing and pushing and elbowing away to the rhythmic bass, frantic drums, and distorted vocals sound. (Yes, At The Drive-In would be rollin’ in their grave!) but it seems frustrating for the outer layer on tippy toes, craning their necks to get a look in. As the set progressed I slowly get more and more into the volatile noise assault they bombarded the crowd with, and thought “screw it, I’m getting in there while it’s hot”… It was worth it but my ribs are feeling the effects now. On reflection, I always wonder if it would be best to have them play, still the floor area, but on an elevated platform just for every one’s enjoyment and plus, it would look and be darn cool. Whatever. One things for certain though, they “PWN’D” as they say on the internets. And it definitely kicks the night off to a high octane start.

Pissed Jeans

So roll on the next 2 bands, Pissed Jeans and Wooden Shjips. Both bands I’ve heard mostly positive feedback about but never had the pleasure of hearing their music before. Well, I am never trusting positive feedback ever again… To be honest, Pissed Jeans were the better of the two. Playing a heavy brand of 80s garage punk rock, there was definitely enough there to make me want to source out their recent Sub pop release, Hope for Men. ‘People Person’ sounded passionate and raw and ‘Fantasy World’ grabs you with it’s loud, off-quilter instrumentals but I felt they were let down at times by their juvenile lead singer Matt Korvette, who seemed like a obsessive compulsive with the mental age of 8 who’s had too much Sunny D. One compulsion disorder seemed to be he needed to dip his microphone into every single half filled glass of beer on stage during a song while trying his best to stick his head up his arse. I swear I am not making this up.

As for Wooden Shjips, sorry but I honestly lost interest after a couple of songs. Sure they had some elements of kraut which usually is a repetitive win-win joy for me, but singer/guitarist Ripley Johnson’s meandering self-indulgent and yes, pretentious solos left me feeling cold as they aimlessly wandered into the night. The San Francisco quartet’s 60s psychedelic lacked groove and enough dynamism to hold my attention unfortunately but it did give me a chance to admire some of the Halloween costumes people had the made the effort for (not as many as I had expected but I’m thinking people are saving it for tomorrow night – it being the 31st ‘n all). I sensed the overriding feelings were shared by the crowd, at least the ones surrounding me. Every one else seemed to be waiting patiently for Les Savy Fav. And can I just say, it was totally worth the wait for the Brooklynites. They were the much needed second wind the night was crying, no, screeching out for! They were colossal and brought the night back on track.

Wooden Shjips

Now I’ve been waiting a long while to witness their highly-regarded live show experience first hand and when the crowd caught a glimpse of the band, all dappered out in skeleton attire, they went bananas. Tim Harrington’s first act was to take the skeleton dude next to me by the hand and bring him on stage, bumping and grinding him like there was no tomorrow. His other acts of gratuity included simulating sex with dead corpses and stretching a mutant baby over his head. As fun as it was to behold, much like the Pissed Jeans syndrome, it did feel like the antics took away from the musicianship of the group who all seemed highly proficient and skilled in what they were doing. Odd, but very cool to see the rest of the group all in dead pan motion as this large overweight troll sleazes it up like some kind of Har Mar nightmare.

They oozed their way through crowd favorites such as ‘The Sweat Descends’ and ‘What Would Wolves Do’. A set highlight was during the funk-fuelled ‘Patty Lee’, where Tim takes to the crowd, walks up one end of the balcony, still holding the microphone still stringed back to the stage, tempting death as he dangles head first down off the railings aided by some firm gripped onlookers and returns form the other end. It gets the biggest roaring applause of the evening. Absolutely exhilarating and expertly broke down the barrier between act and audience. The moment of the evening though (apart from Shellac’s legacy set of course – more on that later) was where Tim’s look-alike takes to the stage, complete with papier-mâché head and dude-love hippy t-shirt. They begin to jive some synchronized dance moves and cap it off with a spot of crowd surfing. Brilliant. I swear if that guy doesn’t win the ATP chalet prize then there is no justice in this world. With me and my pig-mask coming in a close second obviously.

Les Savy Fav

So then, what better way to cap off a fright night evening with some impeccable tightly woven noise rock from Shellac of North America. And it seems the band are fully into the spirit of things. Steve Albini dressed out as a Mummy, Bob Weston making a mean Frankenstein (“Ughhh! Ques….Tion?!” Answer ..? “Ughhh!”) and Todd Trainer looking totally the bloodied part as The Prince of Darkness himself. Yes. Dracula. They crash through ‘Squirrel Song’, where Albini’s sneering voice spits out “This is a sad fucking song!”. Weston provides accompanying busy bass lines that are low, melodic and down right dirty and Trainer plays like a human drum machine set with those long lasting Duracell batteries. The songs are intricate and tense and contain a certain amount of irony and humour that Shellac can play them like only they can. The crowd are going mental but It’s a mosh too far for me and I decide to make a swift exit out of the madness and to more civil retreat by the sound-desk (Yes I am a wuss! Sue me).

‘The End of Radio’ was worth the price of admission fee just to hear it. With its three chords on the bass, while Trainer intermittently pounds his snare with primitive force, not so much hitting his drums, but more to punish them (and always in sync I may add). In the meantime, Albini almost improvises the lyrics, evoking the last radio announcer on Earth (“We’d like to thank our sponsor, but there is no sponsor…”) and you don’t know if you want to feel frightened or bust out laughing.

When they played the haunting, harsh and now anti-anthem ‘Prayer To God’ for all music geeks worldwide, “Kill her! Just fucking kill her!” never sounded so normal and apt on an evening like this.

Shellac

Photographs by Lucy Johnston

ATP Official Site

Reykjavik’s Airwaves Festival is one of the biggest events on Iceland’s cultural calendar. A celebration of the country’s thriving scene and prolific musical output, Airwaves introduces local bands to an international audience whilst bringing a tantalising selection of cross-genre bands to Reykjavik from around the world.

Our guide Halli was a brave leader, stewarding us through Opal, Viking, Thule and Tópas; the local brews of choice. After mooching around a few warmup shows in downtown Reykjavik (including a memorable early blowout from noiseniks Dr Spock and a couple of folky numbers from Iceland’s current number one-selling artist Lay Lo), the Kimi Records party was the place to catch some of the best Icelandic bands on offer.

Airwaves stalwart Benni Hemm Hemm produces a seemingly ever-expanding band over the course of his set. Brass and string players stream through the crowd, instruments held high above their heads, climbing onto the packed stage and crowding around the sound desk. Spectacular as it all is, much of the sound goes astray in the mix, and Benni’s songs flounder slightly above the heads of the chattering crowd. I’m later told his recordings are excellent by a Norseman with awesome taste and even awesomer hair, so giving Benni Hemm Hemm a proper listen remains on my long post-Airwaves to-do list.

Borko play gentle post-rock-influenced instrumentals and delicate slow-motion ballads laced with spidery electronica. “Hondo & Borko”, the final track from their current album Celebrating Life, really must be seen live – its climactic shoutalong finale blows the roof off the packed Tunglið.

Retro Stefson are clearly a much-loved band and get a rapt response from the heaving Tunglið crowd. They play clean-cut indie-dance with shuffling drums, tidy electric piano and squeaking synths, not unlike Foals dressed in their Sunday best.

Hjaltalín play very neat and tidy “Krútt” music: easy on the ear, slightly twee, faux-naif Icelandic pop with a childlike sense of wonder but a knowing gleam in its eye. They lean towards the Beach Boys’ classic, multi-instrumental pop, employing drums, guitars, bass, piano, violin, cello, bassoon, clarinet, bass clarinet, keyboard, accordion, harmonium, banjo, trumpet, trombone and French horn (according to their Myspace) to great symphonic pop effect. It’s perhaps a little too candy-sweet for some tastes, but they give a highly accomplished and enjoyable performance.

Reykjavik! are the finale and they proceed to rock out with the gusto of McLusky. It’s a welcome breath of fresh air after all the cuteness and jumpers. With the exception of Æla, Reykjavik! are the rockingest band in Iceland.

On Friday, we listen to Ólafur Arnalds‘ swooping, melancholy arrangements for piano and strings. Powerful and engrossing, he’s currently garnering well-deserved attention on our side of the Atlantic – if you’re lucky you might still be able to catch him on tour in the UK. Dyrdin, meanwhile, play straight-up indie-pop with shades of Bearsuit, the Concretes and Cardigans. They’re perky and energetic, with a high-sheen finish and catchy songwriting.

Ólafur Arnald

Æla play headline shows on both the Friday and Saturday night, first in bar venue Hressó, and then in the legendary party venue Kaffibarrin (aka “the Blur bar”). Both sets are tense, combustible affairs that see the band painted in glowing paint or dressed like fairy godmothers, pogoing in their pants or stripped down to gold lamé leggings walking down the bar. The band’s frontman Halli Valli is a deserving Reykjavik legend. 6’5″ and dripping with Cobain levels of charisma, he has a Frank Black scream and a fondness for getting naked, laughing maniacally mid-song and invading the crowd with regularity. Æla are a taut and wired live spectacle, and an Airwaves highlght.

Planningtorock, aka Berlin-via-Bolton resident and ausio-visual performer Janine Rostron, puts on an almighty solo spectacle, fusing hip hop beats, clipped strings and that sensational yowling purr of a singing voice. She dances in a variety of masks and homemade voodoo headwear against huge projections of her characters playing out rites and routines in slow motion. This is an engrossing, sensual and danceable fusion of high and lowbrow elements into a pungent, ritualistic post-pop brew.

Fuck Buttons turn in a characteristically immense performance at Airwaves’ largest venue, the palatial Reykjavik Art Museum. Drenched in beams of light, they storm through songs from their stunning melodic noise debut Street Horrrsing and give some of their glitchier, dancier new material an airing. 2009 will only see things going even crazier for these TLOBF favourites.

Æla

Saturday in Iceland was a pretty amazing experience. We got up at noon and headed out to the Iceland Airwaves Blue Lagoon party in an expensive taxi, having missed the coaches.

The Blue Lagoon is an incredible place, a milky hot spring flanked by volcanic flats, birthing huge jets of hot steam into the cold air, visible for miles around. The water itself tastes of minerals and salt, hot bath temperature and emitting a curious high-frequency sound from the surface. White mineral slime forms on the bottom, which is processed into world famous regenerative mineral skin compounds, available free by the ladle in the centre of the lagoon. At points, nothing was visible around but hissing white steam, blue sky above, and warm white water below… this place is a little earthly paradise.

One pool held the Airwaves party, with a variety of DJs including the increasingly renowned French electro/dance bloggers Fluokids and Iceland’s top DJ Margeir, who played a warm, glowing set of house and electronica, with welcome cameos from Zero 7 and Nina Simone. Partying like it’s 2008, with our hands in the air waving the passing planes, in a hot spring, with a bar serving cold beers… unforgettable.

Here, I hand over to my companion and photographer Oli. Because after being on the losing side of a glasses-smashing argument with the icy Reykjavik pavement, I completely missed Saturday night.

Oli Horton: After our life-changing time in the Blue Lagoon, John proceeded to lose his mind with our Icelandic hosts and a bottle of rum, so it’s here I step in as memory man to fill you in on Saturday night.

I went off for a pre-party snooze which unfortunately resulted in me missing the first half of PNAU at Tunglið. For all its shirt-removing bravado, the second half of their set did succeed in making me dance around so they got something right. I’d heard their record but the rock/dance crossover comes over much better live. Unfortunately the best track of their set (“No More Violence”) gets cut off by the venue due to time restrictions. Bo-ring.

Crystal Castles were dogged by technical hitches, causing them to start their set several times. Unfortunately during this time they lost me, and themselves, it seems. I’m sure it felt bad to have their entrance ruined but they could have tried harder to save the situation instead of giving up. Clouds and silver linings, though: the disappointment led me to make new friends in the crowd and wander off halfway through the set to the safety of Kaffibarinn for a quiet(ish) drink.

Later we headed to NASA, just in time to catch the last song or two of Robots In Disguise, which admittedly I was hoping to avoid, but actually was pretty entertaining. We came to see FM Belfast‘s festival-conquering party show, which was just that, leading me to waving my hands around to songs I’d never heard before. Some lighthearted commentary on the current problems in Iceland got the crowd on side (“What the fuck is going on” to the tune of Toto’s “Rosanna”) and their spot-on murdering of “Killing In The Name Of” had me in stitches.

For the melancholy synthpop of Familjen, I tried to dance but was caught up and moved around beyond my control by a sea of bodies. They sing in Swedish so I have no idea what it was about, but it was great nonetheless.

There were more drinks but no more bands so I’ll hand you back over to John to fill you in on the rest..

Sunday was spent in a Nissan 4×4 carving out a path around the distant Snæfellsjökull volcano, stopping at black sand beaches, wind-whipped fishing villages and craggy lava caves along the way. Iceland’s landscape is every bit as dramatic and magical as you can imagine, with huge scrapes and clefts torn out of the earth by ancient tectonic movements and violent eruptions. And perhaps because of all the jagged gray around them, the Icelanders’ fondness for careful design and splashes of colour on buildings, cars, boats and houses is endearing and welcome.

The final night at Nasa had the feel of a classical event as much as a pop concert, and saw Boys In A Band take to the stage with their slick, mannered pop-rock show. They’re somewhere between Busted and the Libertines, but nowhere near as bad as I just made them sound.

DJ Margeir rounded off the festival in spectacular style by playing his trademark soft-focus house and electronica with the accompaniment of a full orchestra. He signalled to the conductor to indicate which record was coming next from a crowd-facing podium at the back of the stage, who in turn signed to the musicians – a complex communicative process that was riveting to watch and as musically exciting as anything from the whole of the weekend.

Airwaves was one of the best weeks of my life, and Iceland one of the finest places. Huge thanks go out to all the organisers and the people who made it so special. If you can find a way to be there next year, then go. It’s a wonderful, magical event… and you might just be able to see a Brainlove Records band or two as well.

I listened to a lot of music at Airwaves, in some pretty extraordinary circumstances.

In a hired 4×4, cruising around a volcano on a flat lava plain, surrounded by sea and sky… driving over a long land bridge or through a seemingly endless tunnel… waking up in Reykjavik 101 with huge, rolling snow-capped cliffs at the bottom of the street… playing records in Kaffibarrinn, my new favourite bar in the world… or listening to my iPod while strolling down Laugavegur, my head buzzing with excitement and optimism.

This mix is made in response to all of that happy overload of stimuli and circumstance. It’s sprinkled with field recordings from Reykjavik and the Snæfellsjökull volcano – church bells ringing, the tide on the black sand beach, skimmed stones skittering over a frozen lagoon, and a harmony sung in the Songhellir singing cave all feature here too.

Click on the image below to download the podcast.

Look out for an in depth review of this years Airwaves Festival coming to TLOBF this weekend.

Click on the image to download the podcast

Aaaaaah my favourite day of the year. Halloween? Nope. Far, far more special than that. Yes, today is the day ATP announce the curators of their annual weekend festivals which will both take place at Butlins in Minehead. Looks like Camber Sands has finally being given the cheerio.

So who is curating? I bet you’ve all been guessing – my money was on Broken Social Scene (how good would that be??). It gives me great pleasure to announce that the lineups for ATP 2009 will be chosen by…….

[WEEKEND 1] ATP vs THE FANS STRIKE BACK!!!!! 

[WEEKEND 2] THE BREEDERS

Heeeeeeeell yes!

Ok, so this is what we know so far.

Weekend 1 will take place between 8th-10th May. Weekend 2 will be on 15th-17th May.

Acts already confirmed for The Breeders weekend are…. Bon Iver, The Breeders, Throwing Muses, Teenage Fanclub and Holy Fuck. (oh my god, I think I just wet myself).

Acts confirmed for ATP vs THE FANS are… (chosen by ATP) Devo, Sleep, Spiritualized and Grails. Now get this… there are some new rules that have been put in place this year.. ATP have decided to make things more interesting, NO BANDS that have ever played an ATP festival before will be allowed to be voted for. Wowzers. That is going to be one HELL of a great lineup. 

Can I go to both please?

More news as we get it.. But for now, read all the info you need on purchasing tickets etc from the ATP website. I’m off now to dance around the room like a crazy loon.

I <3 ATP.

Day 6
And so I get home and all is calming. And clammy. There is no band to see across town at 1pm. Or 1am. There are no more Yellow Cabs and sleek black Car Service glides from Brooklyn into the pit of Manhattan, no more subway rides overground in the glistening morning sun. No more beards (I shaved off mine own on arrival at home) and probably less beer, weed and pizza than has been the norm this last week. Certainly not for breakfast anyway.

So, was it all hard work? Well, yes. And no. Don’t get me wrong: 15 hour days of bands and beer are great. I have to admit is a little daunting when you stack 5 of them back to back. Especially rolling straight on from two days on the road with new Swedes, Air France. But I have skills and methods and coping strategies.

1.) Do not agree to see every damn show people tell you about. In fact tell them you can’t make it. Then if you do, people are pleased to see you.
2.) Eat. Seems obvious but unlike marketing conferences in leisure complexes, there are no breaks for lunch or anything. So eat. Little and often. Keep feeding the meter.
3.) Prepare. Work out where the shows you want to see are. Make a plan and check that it is all possible.
4.) Fuck everyone else’s plan. What they hell do they know anyway?
5.) Hide when you can. Just totally hide. Could be in a basement. In bed. Bars are especially good for this. Yet more so if they have a pool table.
6.) Never. Stop. Drinking.

Emmy The Great

Day 1
I get into town a day late and go straight to The Royale to catch Lissy Trullie. She rocks a great show with her 4 piece Velvets-y band and has some really big, catchy, dirty rock tunes and is drop dead, I said goddam, gorgeous to boot. One. To. Watch. Then on to see The Gay Blades who play the first of about 8 CMJ shows. Newly signed to Warners and working a punishing schedule, the band seems set to blow up. CMJ is just 5 days out of their national tour and they squeezed in two shows a day, a 14 hour video night shoot and a Daytrotter session, as well as being Blender magazine’s roving reporters, clocking up hours of interview footage from CMJ. A two piece that sound like a full band, they have a glammy White Stripes sound colliding with freewheeling Bright Eyes lyrical undertow. Singer James Wells is pretty damn funny too.

I hook up with some friends and stop in a random tiny dive bar to refuel and bump into Emmy The Great and Lightspeed Champion, who are also hiding from the CMJ beast. Emmy is a bit of a buzz this week too and playing a bazillion times. I head out to catch Gentleman Auction House but have screwed up my chances of this somehow and they seem not to be in the bill at Rehab, guttingly. Alas it is their only show this week. Gah! Indeed. There then follows some shouting and drinking and discussion of politics. I cop out at 3am, which adjusted for UK time is 8am. Boing.

Friendly Fires

Day 2
Wow. How dizzy and sick am I feeling. Back to bed. I try again at 10am and again at lunchtime before I successfully exit my bed. I head out to meet Lukestar, Norwegian skyscraping rock dudes, reviewed elsewhere on this site. They look like they are having a fun time and we make some plans. I then go hide and talk to the guys who book Pianos. A small venue that seems to be increasingly the dark epicentre of CMJ. Folks are drawn in there and packed tight. If you ever get lonely at CMJ, stand outside Pianos. It will only be 5 seconds before a friendly face arrives. They speak highly of Twi the Humble Feather, and Sharon Van Etten and Emmy and then rant on about how NME is destroying music for the world. Being British, I am partly to blame, apparently.

I head upstairs at Pianos to witness the black hole of CMJ explode and expel about 436 people from a Friendly Fires show in a room that usually struggles to holds 100. They are a hot band. The crowd is hot too. I have nothing against their chirpy pop but can’t see why they are being taken very seriously here. CMJ buzz ahoy. You can tell who’s hot cos they play the most shows. Everyone wants a piece. You can probably achieve hotness through ubiquity at CMJ. Just put on 5 parties. Include your own band on the bill. Voila: hotness.

While we are at it, way I saw it, this year’s CMJ hotlist. Little Boots, Friendly Fires, Marnie Stern, Crystal Antlers, Crystal Stilts, Ponytail, Women, Vivian Girls, School Of Seven Bells, Amazing Baby, Gay Blades, Passion Pit, Pattern Is Movement.

And the 4th annual “VHS or BETA Award” for old band that becomes hot is Gang Gang Dance.

Anyway I head over to the Gothamist Party in the uber sexy new Bell House in Brooklyn, which holds about 300. This fact made poignant by the fact they there are about 25 souls in. My associates The Silent League are due on at 8. It is 6 now, and the venue is a bit off the beaten track. ie not in Williamsburg or the L.E.S. Damn. Two more bands first. Bad Veins. Baaaaaad name. They are a duo with a reel-to-reel tape machine and sundry machines and noises. I hate them. They start playing. I still hate them. Singing like Joy Division thru megaphones is so 2004/1996/1981. Then, halfway through the first song, I realise I love them. They are in fact OMD circa 81. This is, of course, a good thing. There are weird slow hooks and ticks and they are amazing. Then, they seem to go a bit, I dunno, competent, and move into some ballad-y territory and I lose interest. I head backstage. I don’t see the next band. But I hear them. And they hear me, it seems. They play some sort of Tortoisey instrumental noodle. Then another identical one. Then another. Then another. I vow never to find out who they are*. I decide this gentle peaceful music is actually quite provocative and quietly confrontational. Cos it annoys me after 15 minutes and enrages me after half an hour. Just fucking quit it, wouldja. I realise I am shouting louder than the band.

The Silent League are on next and playing some new songs and some old songs and they are now an 8 piece. Luckily, 150 folks have shown up so the place feels full-ish. It is truly beautiful and lush and the sound is great despite the standard no soundcheck “rule” of CMJ. New single ‘Your Truly’ is a standout. As is ‘Kings and Queens’. The Bellhouse looks a bit like the bar in The Shining. A very dark ball room with very dim chandeliers. Behind the stage the red drapes and the red and white lighting on the band spin this visual look into something a bit Twin Peaksy. Spooky. We stay and watch someone I have now forgotten and then Jealous Girlfriends do their U Mass 94 thing and they are kind of fun.

I glance at my schedule. It is somehow 12.30pm. I have 4 more bands on it to see today. My bed is 4 blocks from here. I go home and watch chat shows.

The Silent League

Day 3
I have a brunch meeting with a band (sooooooo American, now am I) and then have a few meetings during the day and catch 5 mins of AU droning uninvolvingly, and marvel at Pattern Is Movement. You know the singer from Les Savy Fav? OK, two of them; on keys and drums, wailing and droning and thrashing and moaning and being endearing but quite mental and it is not my idea of fun. They are hot apparently. Hmmmm. Awful. I was gonna make a joke about the kind of dudes who normally only get jobs as Santas. Instead I split and spend some time with Team Weed and my mood elevates. We try to see School Of Seven Bells, another buzz band and a Secret Machines spin off; but three songs into their crapola “fun” indie set, they announce “Hello CMJ, we are The Seabellies”. Bugger.

Schedule dictates that I catch the many-headed, multi-instrumental, semi-improv, increasingly hot, Stars Like Fleas at Union Pool. The drummer is wearing a nappy. The singer is hiding in the crowd, inconspicuously. There are some serious beards here. Like knee length. The harpist is hot. The dude swinging the lasoo-esque tube instrument is less so. I have never heard anything quite like it and find it hard to describe. Like two people arguing chorally over the way to sing over two diffferently tempoed minimalist pieces all at the same time. With satanic elves on percussion. Pitchfork and New York Times love them apparently.

I split off and catch The Gay Blades again. Damn they are fun. It is a shorter set and extra punchy and I love it. I confess, I can’t remember what happened after this but I did eat some fish in a restaurant that had a beach in it and I did get a cab ride with an eye wateringly racist driver, who was only slightly less hammered than me. He offered me his big bottle of beer. I declined. In the kingdom of the one eyed man, the less drunk people drive the more drunk people home, I suppose.

School Of Seven Bells

Day 4
Well, I did kinda take it easy today. Shopping was fun. More so was getting a little blasted and watching Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanemo Bay, which was a bone-raw satire on US policy, wrapped in the stupidest film I have ever seen, with some truly horrible uncontrollable belly laughs and and some particularly vile sex. And an even more psychotic Dougie Houser. And unicorns. I loved it. I did venture out to catch Hello Saferide, who despite being appealing on record, didn’t do it for me live, rocking, if that is the word, and I am prettty sure it isn’t, a sort of happy clappy Christian family band look. A couple of the tunes had me going though. I guess I am against smiling, miserable sod that I am. Last band of the trip was Blackstrap, whose records talk a cool black leather jackety JAMC/BRMC/MBV type talk, but whose live show was less reliant on the drone rock tropes and was walking in dirtier jeans and rocking out in fine style. Lusty fun guitar solos and a lusty fun keyboard player took over and I’m reminded a little of The Cult, whom I have a big soft spot for. Mebbe they are headed into QOTSA’s desert rock arena. Who knows. Lukestar are now on in 2 minutes and I’m an hour away. Fuck. I was looking forward to that.

Day 5
No bands. I whiled a way some time in Barnes and Noble, and rummaged a little in the very rummagable Other Music shop and Kim’s, which are two of the last record stores in Manhattan; and then allowed my hosts to introduce me to a very funny TV show. This time it was “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”. Hard to describe convincingly. Four guys run a shitty bar and have many hilarious small time adventures. It is kind of like The Simpsons but real. A lot of people get run over. Funny as hell. Get thee to Youtube. A nice come down Sunday, except I sleep to much and will not sleep on the plane home now.

I think I saw or heard a lot more bands. I certainly poked my head round a lot of doors to find sensitive souls strumming idly on guitars, only to unpoke my head a moment later.

*Funny story, I just checked who it was. Only Twi the Humble Feather. Ha. Brilliant. See rule 4 above.

Photographs courtesy of: Jalapeño, ihateanarchists, EAR FARM, osty2012

The first of its kind in Scotland, the Hinterland Festival is a brand new two day event in the same vein as London’s Stag and Dagger, Camden Crawl and Concrete & Glass and the Great Escape in Brighton. Over the course of 30th April and 1st May 2009, Glasgow will open up its venues in order to host a plethora of exciting new bands and cutting edge artists. No line up has been announced as yet, but it is thought that 50% of the acts will be from Scotland and the Hinterland Committee will advise upon the event line-up.

The Hinterland Committee is made up of key music personalities and companies from around the UK.  Scottish committee members include Jim Gellatly (BBC Radio Scotland), Tam Coyle (Scottish DJ/promoter), Glasgow School of Art and Diverse Promotions – an independent Scottish based promotions company. Other committee members include Gigwise, 1965 Records (The View and Toddla T), Moshi Moshi records (Kate Nash, Late of the Pier and Hot Chip), This is Fake DIY, Rock-A-Rolla Magazine and A Badge of Friendship (independent music promoters).

Mike Oman, Hinterland organiser said of the two day event:

“Scottish people are driven by art, music and fashion.  Glasgow provides the ideal backdrop for a one-ticket multi venue event like Hinterland.  This will be the first time an event of this structure and on this scale has been held in Glasgow.  There will be two days of art and music that will allow people to really experience the level of established and underground talent that Scotland, and the UK, has to offer.   

The city has a rich heritage and history in the fields of both art and music.  At the turn of the century Glasgow’s very own Charles Rennie Mackintosh – who was the UK’s leading exponent of the Art Nouveau movement – developed what is now commonly known in the art world as the ‘Glasgow’ style.  In the world of music the city has also nurtured numerous world-recognised bands and musicians including Simple Minds, Wet Wet Wet, AC/DC’s Angus and Malcolm Young and more recently bands like Glasvegas and Biffy Clyro.”

Hinterland’s music events will be staged in around 12 city centre venues that will range from smaller intimate 100 capacity venues to larger 1500 capacity spaces. Bands will run from 7-11pm and will be followed by DJ sets and guest appearances in clubs running into the early hours on both days.
Although the event structure is still being finalised it will include a visual art element within galleries and venues, site-specific projects and public works en-route between venues. This will ensure the visual art program is fully integrated within the festival and provide a distinct backdrop for the experience.

Event pricing and how to buy tickets and the first confirmed acts will be announced in November. To register for updates and the latest news about Hinterland please go to  www.hinterlandfestival.com or www.myspace.com/hinterlandfestival

More news as we get it..

Shellac’s Todd Trainer. The face of Halloween 2008.

You got your SCARY costumes ready yet then? No? Well you better act fast and get your thinking caps on because there is only a couple of days left until the mega ATP Release The Bats shows at Kentish Town Forum and Birmingham Custard Factory.. Yes, as well as a stellar lineup (Shellac / Les Savy Fav (London Dates Only) / Wooden Shjips / Pissed Jeans / Lightning Bolt + DJ Andy Weatherall) ATP also invite all Release The Bats ticketholders to dress up for Halloween, either as something traditionally spooky or as something to do with one of the bands. Like last year there will be Best Costume and Best Photo competitions, with prices including ATP Chalets, Polaroid PoGo Cameras and ATP goodies.

People wearing costumes should take a picture with either one of the roving photographers that will be at the venues or at the Release The Bats Photo Booth. The three best costumes on each night will win prizes including a PoGo. Images of the costumes will then go onto www.atpfestival.com/releasethebats where people will be able to vote on costumes from all three nights to find the overall chalet winner!

The best photo competition will be judged after the events through photos uploaded to Flickr at www.flickr.com/groups/releasethebats2008 and the best photo over all three nights as picked by a professional photographer will win the chalet!

There are STILL tickets available for both shows and are priced at £22.50 for London (30th October), and £18.50 for Birmingham (31st October).

Doors for all nights open at 6pm. For more information, full stage times and news updates on these shows see www.atpfestival.com.

TLOBF will be at the Kentish Town show…look out for a full review and loads of SPOOOOOKY pictures next week.

Ok, so we’re perhaps a bit late on letting people know about this. But, if you’re in Glasgow, take a strip to George square today and tomorrow for a musical event called Scotcampus Fresher’s Festival. There’s a number of bands and DJ’s playing including Taio Cruz, Attic Lights, Isosceles, the Down and Outs and Grace Emilys. The organisers are expecting around 10,000 students to come from all over Scotland for the event. Oh to be a student again…

For further information about the Scotcampus Freshers’ Festival, please visit

www.scotcampus.com or www.myspace.com/fresherfestival

The Acorn. All photographs by Ro Cemm.

Some time round about the start of the month, I heard a trailer on Radio 1 for Bestival which offhandedly described it as “the climax of the festival season”. And, you know, that seemed OK by me. End Of The Road may be a week later, but in its third year it’s got to be a hotly anticipated sellout that attracts a more than decent bill purely by word of mouth. The location, the clientele, the layout… it all seems just right somehow, and with the expanded, wide ranging and exotic food stalls and a few other cosmetic but helpful changes just made it all the better. Small, family friendly but not overtly so and with a few little surprises dotted around – the piano and library in the woods this year joined by a table tennis table and light-up dancefloor – it’s the sort of place you want to recommend to your like-minded friends. Not even a couple of deluges on Friday which left puddles and in time horrible sticky mud in crucial areas affected the general bonhomie. In fact, we were even treated to a double rainbow at one point.

Descriptions in festival reviews of how long it took the writer to get their tent up are more often than not tedious, so just assume I didn’t die and let’s move straight on to Friday’s music, opened by Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, trying their best to inject the joy of their 60s hooks via early Weezer and the The Shins into a small crowd on an overcast day with little success. With a felt roof over their heads Gossamer Albatross‘ take on what Zach Condon making a Beirut album based on English chamber folk revival would sound like bolsters the Hereford teenagers’ early promise.

The Young Republic

No such easy categorisations when it comes to Cats In Paris, their ADD afflicted synth glam-prog experimental cut and paste pop never quite collapsing in on itself and ending up making a very strange kind of sense. TLOBF favourites The Acorn are well worth braving the first of the day’s rains for, bringing Glory Hope Mountain gloriously to life in a flurry of percussion, ensemble syncopation and graceful, joyous fleshing out of the album’s peaks and troughs. The Young Republic, who similarly won many over here last year, have changed a few members and toughened up, to the detriment of their freewheeling aesthetic – it’s telling that in a set mostly containing new material they’re most comfortable playing ‘Girl From The Northern States’ from their 12 Tales From Winter City album.

A Hawk And A Hacksaw‘s Baltic hoedowns struggle manfully against apathy and weather, while plaintive ukelele toting one man band Peter And The Wolf makes a quiet but steady impact. Despite everything she’s experienced over the last year Laura Marling, now sporting a Boris Johnson haircut, is still visibly nervous at playing to this many people but it doesn’t tell in her performance, capable of drawing ever growing audiences into her fragile world, a new song seemingly totally in keeping with the album tracks that surround it.

If Warren Ellis was any one of the things he has as his main attributes – virtuoso violinist, restless performer, king of banter, mighty beard wearer – he’d be worth watching. That he’s all four and more makes Dirty Three a weekend standout, as while Mick Turner looks implacable while doling out complex drum patterns and Jim White lays down the ambient guitar Ellis is off high kicking and swooping all round the place whipping bow across strings and making a mighty tumult emerge. You can’t turn away for a moment. In non-sequitur terms he has to play second fiddle (sic) to Robyn Hitchcock over in the Big Top, but despite the deep well of a back catalogue he liberally draws from it’s somehow unengaging.

Noah and The Whale

Mark Eitzel these days comes on like a preacher for the black humoured and betrayed, his American Music Club delivering damaged emotional bar-room alt-rock while he summons up his wild-eyed croon and attempts to either convert us to or warn us about the dark side, whichever is easiest. Akron/Family are in an improv mood judging by the fifteen minute feast of droning and screaming they begin with, during which I join the throng deciding they’d best save the energy for tomorrow.

Saturday brings the sun, and also Absentee, Dan Michaelson’s lugubrious baritone croon fronting a set half split between past and forthcoming albums without ever causing much of a spark. Folktronica supergroup The Accidental fare much better, exuding bonhomie both between (tales of near fights in Tube stations and sharing dressing rooms with The Peth) and during (warm but dark four part harmonies) songs.

Threatmantics‘ loose-leaf folk loses out to the talkers in the Bimble Inn and gas mask-clad Screaming Tea Party‘s kamikaze noise-pop seems to come from another festival entirely. No such problems of fitting in with Noah And The Whale, even if the gleeful touch they exhibited in festivals over the summer is dissipating in post-hit expectations, but a more than capable set is finished in the inevitable way, children of shoulders doing the actions for drunken acapella singalong of the festival ‘Five Years Time’. You’d hope kids will never learn to sing along with Let’s Wrestle, whose scrappily charming Television Personalities-like shambling is showing worrying signs of getting tighter.

Sons Of Noel and Adrian

The piano in the woods is there for anyone who wants to put on a quick secret gig, an offer taken up by the Willkommen Collective whose members include Sons Of Noel & Adrian, the Miserable Rich and Shoreline. They’re there for a good hour swapping around their strings-aided expansive English folk sound, having thought to bring a small amp and some camping chairs. A second, even more wayward set by The Young Republic passes by in the background.

Going on the reaction when he and his band walk on stage, Justin Vernon could have played the whole Bon Iver set on a penny whistle and had disciples flocking to kiss his feet. He doesn’t; in fact quite the opposite, as For Emma, Forever Ago is spectacularly fleshed out, somehow keeping the introspective, personal tone even when fleshed out by a full electric band involving much percussion and if anything enhancing the songs’ peaks and Vernon’s swooping voice, especially on a newly crowd interactive ‘The Wolves (Act I & II)’. New song ‘Blood Bank’ is just what a Bon Iver song written for these enhanced circumstances would sound like, and is excellent. A cover of Talk Talk’s ‘I Believe in You’, simultaneously sounded like an original and a faithful reading. By the time Vernon brings Bowerbirds on for a heartrending harmonic take on Nashville singer-songwriter Sarah Siskind’s ‘Lovin’s For Fools’ the talking point of the whole festival is sealed. Kind of.

If Bon Iver is all snow and desolation British Sea Power are woodland and foliage, by which I mean both that around the amps and that being held aloft by pockets of the audience. BSP have a 100% attendance rate at EOTR, which means they’re among friends and can take chances with a setlist that includes some surprise choices, not least ‘A Lovely Day Tomorrow’, a great song but still a B-side from seven years ago. They’re not as stratospheric as last year but it’s still a more than capable set, and even without the famously chaotic regular closer ‘Rock In A’ guitarist Martin Noble ends up in the crowd.

Bon Iver

After a set by the piano by Timothy Victor’s Folk Orchestra, essentially a very British version of the Coal Porters school of bluegrass hoedown, Low emerge in a dark mood in more ways than one, Alan Sparhawk and co turning up the amps and pedals to delicately bludgeon (a concept only modern Low can really pull off) through the purist pleasing likes of ‘Sunflower’, ‘Dinosaur Act’ and ‘Canada’ to stunning effect… until, in a fit of pique brought about by Sparhawk breaking a string right at the end of the set, he makes a half-hearted attempt to break his guitar, unplugs it, whirls it around hammer thrower-style a couple of times and launches it full throttle into the crowd to complete stunned silence. Luckily nobody was injured, but it put a dampener on proceedings.

Meanwhile The Acorn are having a go at laying waste to the Bimble Inn, the percussionist using its actual beams for hammering purposes, and the human traffic enjoying itself up the front turns into a stampede when Rolf Klausener casually mentions he has some promos to give away. Jeremy Warmsley couldn’t top that in any way, as he freely admitted, but he gave it a good go, reworking old songs, showcasing those from the forthcoming How We Became album and finishing on his kinetic cover of New Order’s ‘Temptation’.

Across at the Garden Stage Mercury Rev are turning in what by most accounts is a stratospheric set wisely heavy on Deserter’s Songs, but we’re in The Local for The Chap, a band unlike any other, taking the pared down punk-funk of prime Talking Heads and injecting electro beats, mutant art rock, odd twists and turns and enough archness to make Will Self cry, replete with choreographed shape throwing and between song conceptualising, culminating in Johannes von Weizsäcker attempting to destroy a cello merely through manaical bow sawing. Two Gallants go about things in an altogether more sedate, righteous way, Adam Stephens’ pained holler ensuring their redemption songs are requisitely passionate, especially when ‘Las Cruces Jail’ virtually raises the roof. All that’s left now is to stand outside a full to burst Local for Shearwater‘s jazz-folk Talk Talkisms and a night in the Bimble Inn featuring the Young Republic’s regular covers set and The Modern Ovens, half of British Sea Power and Brighton friends’ Jonathan Richman tribute band.

Kimya Dawson

Sons Of Noel & Adrian kick off Sunday on the Garden Stage with their ten-strong brittle chamber sea shanties full of quiet subtleties and grace. Congregation aim for quite the opposite moods with their dual primal 12-bar blues, but others do this so much better. The Wave Pictures mainline Richman too, with lyrical acumen and the odd guitar solo, and find winning over this crowd a cinch.

Kimya Dawson tries out some songs from her new children’s album Alphabutt – basically they’re much the same as her proper songs except with scatalogical alphabet references rather than relationships. A very different kind of female singer-songwriter is Liz Green, whose voice and fingerpicked blues-folk style seems to come from another age and gets the respect it’s due. The impeccably suited Jason Molina is alone on the stage cherrypicking from his most recent Magnolia Electric Co work, but in this format it settles into a torpor that only the bracingly raw garage rock with military uniform and handlebar moustache of a rare festival appearance by Billy Childish and the Musicians of the British Empire can shift. At one point Childish has to restart a song as he’s forgotten its fourth chord.

Darren Hayman has suggested that this might be the last of the Darren And Jack Play Hefner Songs shows, and if so it’s a fine way to go out, getting a decent singalong for pretty much everything. Dave Tattersall of the Wave Pictures joins in at the end for some self-conscious soloing, and he’s also on hand for Jeffrey Lewis, ukelele in hand. Like BSP, Lewis makes only token attempts at setlist populism, bar a spirited ‘The Last Time I Did Acid I Went Insane’ plus a new song about how he preferred Herman Dune when both brothers were in the band. A very Jeffrey Lewis subject, frankly.

Tindersticks

John Darnielle joins in on the “course they do!”s on ‘Do They Owe Us A Living’ at the end of Lewis’ set, but his own with the Mountain Goats begins less smoothly when he breaks a string with his first strum and holds things up for five minutes. Further problems with the mix threaten to derail a set that plenty of other performers had recommended, but eventually the quality of his storytelling shines through to conclude on a rapturously received ‘This Year’ and ‘No Children’. Meanwhile on the Garden Stage Tindersticks have brought a string section the better to complement their song noirs, if mostly taken from their most recent work. As far as I’m concerned at least, the weekend ends with a bracing Brakes set which sees Eamon Hamilton’s recently betrothed wife join him to duet on ‘Jackson’, a conclusively individualistic end to another triumphant year for all concerned. Dunno what your plans are, but I’ve got my Early Bird 2009 ticket already.

End Of The Road Festival

The first bands and events have been announced for Cardiff’s annual Swn Festival. So far, the following bands are confirmed to play the event:

James Yuill, The Pipettes, Stephen Fretwell, The Chapman Family, Martin Carr, The Boy Least Likely To, Rolo Tomassi, Clinic, Tubelord, Dananananakroyd, Indian Jewlry, Volcano!, Agaskodo Televerek, The Lovely Eggs, Serefina Steer, Pete And The Pirates, The Big Pink, It Hugs Back, Jay Jay Pistolet, Peggy Sue, Skatar, Fanfarlo, The New Tea Party, Legowelt (DJ set), Heavenly Records DJs, Young Marble Giants, Genod Droog (last ever show), High Contrast, Goldie Lookin Chain, Euros Childs, Future Of The Left, Truckers Of Husk, Joy Formidable, Jamie And The Lionhearts, Gallops, Sweet Baboo, Duffraine, The Last Republic, Rod Thomas, Gwyneth Glyn, Threatmantics, Huw MM, The Afternoons, Fred Jones, Eilir Pierce, Llwyd, Danblagroyd, Picture Books In Winter, Zwolf, The Ash And The Oak, Butterflies With Beards, Friends Electric, Random Elbow Pain, Right Hand Left Hand, Little Eris, Radio Luxembourg, Lifting Gear Engineer, Pagan Wanderer Lu, Hemme Fatale, Wrightoid, Georgia Ruth Williams, Alex Dingley, Little My, The Muscle Club, Pixel H8, Seindorff, The School, JT Mouse, Valley Lines, Orcop, The Hidden Persuader, Frederick Stanley Star, Attack + Defend, Nia Morgan, Lindsey Leven, Acid Casuals (DJ set) and Dig! with B-Music DJs Carl Forecast and Huw Evans.

Other events confirmed for the festival are:

Swn Silent Disco, Swn Cinema, Scrabble Swnday,
Sleeveface Workshops and art exhibitions from Mark James, Llyr Pierce, Sleeveface and Clwb Ifor Bach’s 25th anniversary.

There will also be three days of music conferences, talks and workshops from 13th – 16th November and a launch party on Thursday 13th November.

Swn Festival 2008, Venues across Cardiff, 14th – 16th November 2008 (with opening night party on 13th November), Wristbands – £45 + booking fee.

Swn buses will operate throughout the festival, allowing wristband holders to get from venue to venue with ease. Swn Festival also gives free programmes and timetables to all.

Wristbands allow free entry to all events on a first come, first served basis. Each event at Swn will also be priced individually for cash payments on walk up, however priority will always be given to wristband holders. The opening party on 13th November will be for wristband holders only.

Swn Festival Website

Los Campesinos!

Verdant. It’s a nice word. One the best, actually. But like, oh I dunno, holocaust, it covers just a multitude of sins. In this case, the amount of water needed to maintain such lush greens. We arrive at Green Man in the sunshine and spirits are high. I used to come round here hill walking when I was a youth and a committed outdoor type. And now I have brought my kids to see the hills, the beards and, of course Super Furry Animals. But for me the real draw of the Black Mountains this weekend is Black Mountain. I have not seen them before (a decision that is shortly going to make it clear to me that I am quite dull-witted).

So we throw up our stupidly large tent in a pretty cool spot next a tiny sign*. Being a responsible parent, I make my kids (6 and 3) a swift and nutritional tea and dive into the winebox. Then we bound off with our variously acquired glows to look for glow sticks and music. It is for sure rather beautiful here. An unnaturally terraced, grassy amphitheatre is ideal for the main stage. Everyone can see. A shocking, forgotten and somewhat ancient idea. James Yorkston or someone is on the mainstage. Very nice but not overly involving. A planned game of count the beards is soon replaced by one of find someone who hasn’t got a beard. Keeps the kids busy. A cynical ex-pop star friend of mine watches Yorkston intently for a few songs and then says “oh god, it’s all going to be like this, isnt it”.

Fuck Buttons

He is right. And, of course, wrong. There is a lot of it about fer sure, the vaguely rootsy, folky, niceness. And the bands are worse. I jest. Although the folks are very nice here. Full marks for atmosphere. I saw a lot of people sharing breakfast with neighbouring tents. Very good people skills, people.

More folksiness is left wibbling Welshly on the main stage as we head off down the middle for Fuck Buttons, who I am new to and absolutely smitten by. My son on my shoulder shouting “dance fast daddy, I want to go crazy” drew some looks, I can tell you. But he is smart. So I do. My word but it really does look like they moved the ping pong finals to a very smoky disco on that stage but Christ-in-stereo, what an amazing racket. Amazing. I get the album on my return and it is a bit scarier. In a very very good way, mind. But live they are a lot of fun. And invigorating as fuck.

Some other stuff passes by and is boring except we all love King Creosote, especially the La-di-da song. Funny men. I then palm the kids off on my long suffering wife, fire up the bong, and go climb the Black Mountain. Admittedly I am so high that, at one point, I think perhaps I really am back in 1967, but they are my NEWFAVOURITEBAND. One part Northern Soul era Verve, one part Led Zep III, and 43 parts Jefferson Airplane; they are stunning. And huge. They could only exist in widescreen. They are only beginning to reveal the point of some songs in the time it would take The Pigeon Detecitves to play all of their top selling single-cell singles. And it doesn’t seem indulgent. Or flaccid. It seems necessary. They NEED at least 6 minutes for each song. And they are very welcome to it. It is occasionally preposterous but just when you look down to check that you aren’t wearing moccassins and flowers, they utterly mock your wavering compass with a toweringly simple bazooka riff that could and does cut through a mountain. ‘Druganaut’, from the first album is a galvanising and massive moment. The crowd goes nuts. It is raining a little so I can’t tell if the folks arrived here for them or the shelter. Whatever. There are many thousands of people watching and they are all absolutely loving this. You can see it in the smiles. Thousands of guilty, guilty, happy happy smiles. Like I said, amazing. An event. And worth it for Saturday’s, ahem, challenges. You, reader, would be well advised to buy their new record. Now. This piece is over. Skip the next paragraph and get thee to a virtual record store. I think I might grow a beard now.

Spiritualized

I head back toward my tent, lingering a while to catch a bit of Spiritualized, whom I like a great deal but they are not doing it for me with their one chord wonder after Black Mountain. Like Rothko after Bosch maybe. Like I say, I was a bit stoned.

Sleep.

I wake up. Well I would have, if I had had one ounce of sleep. *I take a closer look at that little sign, while eating a bacon sandwich. It basically says “this is the left luggage tent and liable to be noisy all night. Do not camp here if you need your sleep”. It ought to have also said, “we are the biggest twats in Wales and you will not sleep but not because of the noise per se but more to do with being able to clearly hear and shudder at every mind-wrenchingly moronic word we say and will be filled with a murderous and enthusiastically euthenasiastic rage.”

Emmy The Great

So we deftly move the tent. As we do, it starts raining. And does not let up for FOURTEEN HOURS STRAIGHT, except to surprise you by briefly raining yet harder still. It is bad. Swamps erupt out of the ground. Things float. Spirits dampen. Ahem. We watch Transformers on DVD in the tent and drink wine. It is nicer than going out. Staying in is the new etc….

I pop out to catch Emmy The Great who plays to a massive crowd and charms them all, expanding her usual set with a couple of new songs and the footie scores. The band is getting goooood now but the first half is still a bit quiet. Maybe she should get Metallica’s sound people in. I love her. She is great. Her lilting songs about boys and abortions and whatnot are still as disarming and brilliant as when I fist heard them and now, with a band behind them, they are getting bigger.

Then more rain. More mud. More dullness. I retire to my tent much as I do LOVE watching drunk people fallng over in the mud. The sun sets. I catch a few shining singles of Super Furry Animals, whom I love with a passion unrivalled (Black Mountain excepted) but am too damn damp to have fun. Many of friends have fled to high ground. I go to bed and leave. For Yorkshire. It rains there too.

Super Furry Animals

Cave Singers

Archie Bronson Outfit

The War On Drugs

The National

Wild Beasts

Jennifer Gentle

Laura Marling

Bowerbirds

School Of Language

Lykke Li

More names have just been added to Concrete and Glass’ line up. The festival will take place on the 2nd and 3rd of October in venues around the very ‘cool’ and ‘hip’ Shoreditch. Lykke Li and Ox.eagle.lion.man have been added to the Thursday bill, and Friday will see the performance of Fujiya & Miyagi.

Tickets for the festival are available now with an exclusive 20% discount for students.

TLOBF will be there on the Thursday night, most probably holed up at Hoxton Bar & Grill taking in the majesty of Frightened Rabbit. Feel free to buy us drinks and peanuts.

Artists already confirmed are:

THURSDAY 2ND OCTOBER
BARRINGTONE
BASS CLEF
BLACKTAPE DJS
BLOGGERS
BODIES OF WATER
CATS IN PARIS
DEAD KIDS
ERRORS
EZRA BANG (HOT MACHINE)
FLASHGUNS
FRIGHTENED RABBIT
GROVESNOR
JAMES YUILL
KID HARPOON
LUDOVICO EINAUDI
LYKKE LI
MECHANICAL BRIDE
O’DEATH
OWL PROJECT PLUS ALOG
OX.APE.LION.MAN
PILOOSKI + D*I*R*T*Y SOUNDSYSTEM
PRIMARY 1
SEMI FINALISTS
SKREAM (DISCO SET)
THE BIG PINK
THE OSCILLATION
THE REAL HEAT
THE WAVE MACHINE
TOTALLY ENORMOUS EXTINCT DINOSAURS
TWISTED WHEEL
YOUNGHEARTS
ZUN ZUN EGUI

FRIDAY 3RD OCTOBER
ANNI ROSSI
APES AND ANDROIDS
BJORN TORSKE
CIBELLE
DAVID THOMAS BROUGHTON
EURO’S CHILD’S
FAIRMONT LIVE
FLIPRON
DAVID DEVANT’S MR SOLO
FUJIYA & MIYAGI
HOLY GHOST REVIVAL
IAIN ARCHER
JAMES HOLDEN
KIM HIORTHOY
KIMMO POHJONEN
KWAING CREASITE & HMS GINAFORE
LET’S WRESTLE
LINDSTRØM
LIZ GREEN
MAGISTRATES
MATHEW SAWYER & THE GHOSTS
MICHACHU
ONE LITTLE PLANE
OREN MARSHALL
PETE AND THE PIRATES
PORT O’BRIEN
REDSHAPE
ROZI PLAIN
SCREAMING TEA PARTY
SELFISH CUNT
SKY LARKIN
SND
SWEET BABOO
TELEPATHÉ
THE PICTISH TRAIL
THE REAL TUESDAY WELD
THREATMANTICS
TOM RODWELL
TRUCKERS OF HUSK
TV ON THE RADIO
VLADISLAV DELAY
ZAN PAN

Perhaps our favourite festival here at TLOBF (except for ATP); The End Of The Road, held at the lusicous grounds of the Larmer Tree Gardens in Dorset has sold out! The three day which features some especially amazing acts this year (see, The Acorn, Micah P Hinson, Bon Iver, Calexico and Wildbirds & Peacedrums) takes place 12th September – 14th September. If you really really want to go, but have missed out on tickets we would advise you not to get into a bidding war on eBay – where the tickets are being sold WAY above their face value. Instead, head on over to EOTR’s Facebook Group here where some jolly nice people have some available at face value or less.

For those of you who are going, we’ve been sent a nifty stage time list that you can view here and print out so you can plan your weekend in advance.

Incidentally, two lesser known, but equally awesome acts Woodpigeon and The Young Republic will be playing some London shows around the time of the festival. Dates are:

WOODPIGEON:
6th Sept – The Luminaire, London
7th Sept – Colchester Arts Centre
8th Sept – The Captain’s Rest, Glasgow
10th Sept – Tripod, Dublin (supporting Calexico)
11th Sept – Queens Hall, Edinburgh
12th Sept – Oxford Academy
13th Sept – The Leadmill, Sheffield
14th Sept – End of the Road festival
16th Sept – The Lamp, Hull
17th Sept – The Junction, York
18th Sept – Cumberland Arms, Newcastle
19th Sept – Red Rooms / The Bodega, Nottingham
22nd Sept – Instore at Rough Trade East, London
23rd Sept – Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, London

THE YOUNG REPUBLIC:
11th Sept – Westgarth Social Club, Middlesbrough
12th Sept – End of the Road Festival
13th Sept – End of the Road Festival
15th Sept – ULU, London (supporting Mountain Goats)
16th Sept – 100 Club, London (headline show + support: Arrows of Love)