Archive for July, 2010

Review: Indietracks 2010 – Sunday

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Friday and Saturday can be found here.

SUNDAY

Stumbling out of the Travelodge at dawn (around 10:30), it was decided that Sunday would be the day that things were really mixed up.  By which I mean we went to Sainsburys for breakfast instead of Tesco.  It cost a little more, and the service was a little bit slower, but it was rather more tasty, so that’s a good result I think.

Shambling onto the site just before the first bands on, it was time for another superb new discovery.  are a Scottish band that were apparently playing their first gig in England, and they couldn’t seem happier about it.  I went into them with a sense of trepidation given the song they included on the Indietracks CD featured rapping.  Which may be the one genre that still absolutely doesn’t fit in with Indietracks.  Fears were quickly dismissed though as the band turned out to be rather more poppy than expected, and by the time they reached the aforementioned song, I was even willing to go with it.  As was everyone in the shed it seems.  If there was one band I kept hearing about again and again that people seemed to love, it was Be Like Pablo.  Hopefully big things, and more gigs in the south, await them in the next year.

It was over to the main stage next where were playing in the self-titled “Legends slot”.  Now rather shamefully, this was my first Validators gig (though I have seen Dinosaur Planet!), and it was awesome just how much the whole crowd was into them.  The band run through what was essentially a greatest hits set (along with a few from the new record of course) including Hey Hey 16k, My Boss Was In An Indie Band Once and the highlight of the set, Do The Indie Kid, which actually featured almost the whole audience following the steps.  Hibbett also found time to conduct a “social media experiment” mid-set, so if you were wondering why everyone at Indietracks suddenly tweeted “Happiness” on the Sunday afternoon, that would be why.

There appeared to be a crowd in the merch tent afterwards, and venturing in, it was a delight to discover performing a acoustic set in the corner.  There wasn’t really anything new here compared to their set yesterday, but it was nice to hear that their songs work just as well in such a stripped down fashion.

were apparently the hit of the festival in 2009, playing a stunning set to a packed out church, and this year they were back, but in the shed where a huge number had turned out to see them.  If I’m honest, they didn’t do very much for me.  Nothing really wrong with them, and I can see that their garage rock kind of sounds would work well on record, but I left the shed feeling pretty cold toward them unfortunately.  Kind of hard to not respect a band that plays in capes though.

There was a gap in the schedule at this point, which meant it was time to explore the surrounding railway and it’s museum, something I missed entirely last year.  While dusty, the museum provided a welcome relaxing and quiet break from the festivities.  There’s even a lovely little narrow gauge railway that will run you out into the countryside and back again too!

Back to the shed for , a band that I still can’t be certain if they are taking the piss or not.  Utterly shambolic and ramshackle, the band power through a set that barely clocks in at 25 minutes, and manage to find time to get a Dire Straits cover into that.  It’s all over the place, and a complete mess, but it’s horribly entertaining.  You’ve got to admire their drumming skills at least.

are band that have risen quickly through the indiepop ranks over the past year.  They were well received at London Popfest in February, and even managed to nab themselves a decent slot at Latitude the weekend previous to Indietracks.  As a band, they always seem rather nervous on stage, and still somewhat shocked that people have turned up to see them, but it only adds to their charm.  The band bound through the songs from their debut album, even throwing in some new ones along the way that get an equally welcome reception.  By the time they bring out Brad from One Happy Island to add a little trumpet to one of their new songs, the audience are eating out of their hand, and a future Indietracks headline slot is surely inevitable.

are an odd band.  I first heard them a year ago and couldn’t really stand them.  Then at London Popfest I actually quite enjoyed their set, and since then I’ve gone on to get both of their albums.  Their recorded output doesn’t manage to live up to the show that they put on live though, or rather, how much front woman Helen really throws herself into the performance.  The songs from the new album turn out to be the unexpected highlights though, with current Heavenly-esque single Tights in August and The Habit Creep sure to be amongst this year’s indiepop anthems.

After that there was just time for a little before it was time for my Indietracks to come to an end.  Sadly work commitments meant having to leave before the headliners took to the stage.  This was very unfortunate at the time, but the band played a secret gig last night (as George Washington’s Penis no less) that I was able to get to, so all is right in the world once more.  Huzzah!

Indietracks still remains my favourite festival on the musical calender.  I’ve mostly written about the bands in these posts, but there’s so much more that makes it what it is.  Primarily how friendly just about every single person you meet is.  Bands wander the site and mingle with everyone else (leading to lovely chats with MJ Hibbett, Eddie Argos and at least one Smitten, amongst others), and even the volunteers who work on the railway.  You’d think they would be entirely baffled, if not slightly put out, at this descending on them every year, but every single one of them seemed lovely.  I even managed to have an excellent conversation with an older man who quite happily told me about how he usually restores the train but is perfectly happy to be here directing cars and picking up our rubbish this weekend.  In amongst stories of hotels at Heathrow Airport.

Of course, discussions about just who should play next year are already in full swing, but honestly, it doesn’t really matter.  If the Indietracks team came up with a list of 50 bands I’d never heard of before, I’d still go, perfectly trusting in their abilities to select ideal bands and put on a perfect weekend.

Review: Indietracks 2010 – Friday/Saturday

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I love Indietracks.

In preparation for writing this, I’ve been concerned that anything I say is just going to be horribly gushing.  I’ve gone over the weekend again and again looking for negatives to include in this.  I didn’t come up with very much.  This is a festival that can seemingly do no wrong to me, and what’s written below will reflect that.

With that said, let’s jump aboard the train toward the Midland Railway Centre in Derbyshire for a look back at this year’s Indietracks.

FRIDAY

I skipped out on the Friday opening of the festival last year, a decision I immediately regretted upon getting there, so this year I went for the full experience.  Granted this meant a lovely drive up on the M1 on a Friday afternoon which took a mere five hours.  Friday is more of a preview of the weekend rather than a proper day of it’s own.  Only the main stage is open, with only three bands playing, but it’s enough to let everyone get settled in for the weekend ahead.

By the time I got in to the site, Veronica Falls were already about halfway through their set, meaning I missed out on a debacle that apparently saw their soundcheck being confused for their actual performance.  Now I quite like (or rather I like Found Love in a Graveyard), but the rest was pretty much lost on me, so most of the time was taken getting reacquainted with the site itself, and admiring the two hot air balloons that decided to pass over the site at the same time.

Next up were Allo Darlin’, a band I have spent the last year or so raving about, and have managed to see a record five times in the past six months.  I was a little concerned about seeing them as I couldn’t really get into their set at the Luminaire on the previous Wednesday, but any worries were quickly dispelled by just how much they threw themselves into it, and how much the crowd reciprocated.  One of the best things about Indietracks is how happy almost every band seems to be to be playing there, and nothing summed that up more than the massive grin Bill Botting had on his face throughout their set.  All of the usual favourites were busted out, from The Polaroid Song (which had some added Walk Like An Egyptian) to Henry Rollins Don’t Dance to Dreaming, which saw Max from The Smittens ably taking over the male vocal duties from Monster Bobby.  By the time the enthralling Tallulah was brought out (a brave move in a festival environment), it felt as if they could easily be headlining the festival as a whole.  Yet we’re only two bands in.

The Friday headliners come in the form of Eddie Argos’ side project Everybody Was In The French Resistance… Now!.  Art Brut were a mildly controversial choice as a headliner last year, but Argos’ enthusiasm for the festival and it’s music along with a superb performance seemed to win everyone over.  This year he had to convince people to go with a band that spends it’s time “responding” to other people’s pop songs, including many that no one has ever heard of it.  It’s a tall order for sure, and it’s one of the reason I’ve yet to be won over by the record itself.  Somewhat inevitably though, Argos takes to the stage with such excitement that it’s hard not to be pulled in by him.  While it seems at times that the stories between the songs are more fun than the songs themselves (the lead in to Billie’s Genes, a response to a certain Michael Jackson classic, was a particular highlight), you end up going along with it completely.  It’s clear that Argos feels at home at Indietracks (he cites sadness at having to miss MJ Hibbett and on the other days) even if his music isn’t necessarily the same.  By the time the band finish up with Formed a Sideproject (“we’ll make Israel-Palestine worse”), it’s almost inevitable that he’ll be back again next year in some form.

SATURDAY

After a quick Tesco breakfast, I was back on the site bright and early which enabled me to raid the merch tent, where I ended up walking out with 6 Fortuna Pop! CDs for a mere £20, and then got an extra one for cheekily asking if I got a free gift for being the first buyer of the day.  Can’t believe that worked, but it goes to show just how lovely indiepoppers are.

The first band of the day were in the train shed.  I wasn’t familiar with them beforehand and went along partly because they were the only band on that early and partly because the drummer sent me a cheeky tweet asking me to.  I’m quite glad that I did though, as while they weren’t the most spectacular band I saw all weekend they were rather enjoyable.  I was particularly impressed by their bowling shirt style uniforms too.

Over to the main stage for , who turned out to be first great surprise of the weekend.  Indietracks was the first I’d ever heard of them, and their slightly awkward banter between the songs revealed that they were perhaps the most local band of the festival, with the lead singer having grown up “just down the road”.  Their songs were fun and poppy too, ideal for the bright Saturday afternoon that the day was developing into.

After a quick gander at (also enjoyable), it was back to the main stage to see , one of the bands I was most excited about seeing.  Their Getting a Life With… EP has been one of the best releases of the last few months.  While the start seemed a little shaky, by the time they reached their hit I Don’t Like You (‘Cos You Don’t Like The Pastels), any doubt had been removed.  Their pure joy and enthusiasm to be playing (including a rambling anecdote about how they have to thank) made them all the more enjoyable.

There wasn’t much on after that for a while so it was time for a cursory wander of the site.  That was until I could hear playing on the main stage.  Now I had no idea who they were, only that they sounded utterly insane even from a distance.  Songs were being powered through at seemingly the wrong speed, so it seemed prudent to check them out.  Little could have prepared me for the sight of five Spaniards in bright pink satin jackets playing like there was no tomorrow.  Now, I say five, but what I actually mean is four, and a fifth member who didn’t appear to be playing any kind of plugged in instrument, just running around on stage pretending to play things and having the time of his life.  This reached a head with him leaping into the audience to dance with a girl the band decided to dedicate a song to in very broken English.  The whole exercise was batshit insane but quite possibly the highlight of the festival.

are an American band who managed to tear up The Luminaire on Wednesday night, managing to win over an entire crowd of people who had likely never heard of them beforehand.  Their power to do this had me looking forward to them even more, and they didn’t disappoint.  It only takes one great performance to completely win you over with a band, and that managed two in the course of a few days had me quickly shifting from somewhat appreciating them to them becoming a band I’ve had on repeat ever since I got back.  Those only familiar with their recorded output might have been surprised by just how much they managed to rock, to the point where they managed to make their keyboard collapse during a song.

I’ve never been able to get into beyond one or two songs, and the little bit of their set that I managed to catch didn’t do much to change that opinion.  Thankfully it was time for next though, even if they decided to play a Just Joans song as part of their set.  Oh well.  Not that can do wrong at Indietracks.  The band are playing for their third year in a row, and rightfully so.  If any band sums up the festival more, I have yet to discover them.  Pure fun from start to finish, and as a band they certainly get the uniqueness of the festival too.  Everywhere you looked all weekend, you’d see a Smitten singing along to another band or having a chat with someone.

Continuing our run of bands from the US were Genius, a band I’ve quite enjoyed on record but have read mixed things about live.  I only caught part of their set, but what I did see was pretty good, even if the acoustics of the shed worked against them (as they do everyone really).  Far from being dull performers, they seemed to be enjoying themselves while playing, and the crowd seemed to be convinced.

Back to the main stage for Ballboy, who were the headliners in the eyes of myself and probably a number of others playing.  I simply love Ballboy.  Utterly, utterly miserable songs that manage to sound wonderfully upbeat when played live.  A lot of this is aided by the charisma of Gordon McIntyre, who always has a fun story to insert in between the songs.  The biggest laugh of the set came after he decided to dedicate the next song to a guy in the crowd celebrating his 60th birthday before realising that the next song was actually I Don’t Have Time To Stand Here With You Fighting About The Size Of My Dick.  Later in the set, Elizabeth from Allo Darlin’ was brought out to perform the monologue on A Europewide Search For Love.  It sounded a bit strange at the time, and didn’t seem to really work, but the more I watch it back on Youtube now, the more I like it.  Which is exactly the cycle I had with the original song itself too.

After that, it was time for the actual headliners, .  Who are a band I know absolutely nothing about beyond vaguely knowing their top five single Crash.  So they fell a bit flat with me unfortunately.

Not that this was it for me on the Saturday though.  Still time to make an ass out of myself yet.  Toward the end of The Primitives, we decide to visit the campsite disco being operated by Pic ‘n’ Mixx.  So we ventured down the lane to the campsite and stumble around the campsite looking for said disco.  Eventually a security guard rolls up on his buggy thing and I’m thinking we’re about to be kicked out given we’re not campers.  Instead, I chance asking where the campsite disco is, and not only does he tell us, he offers us, even though “I’m not allowed to do this”, a ride on his buggy down to it.  We’ve taken the piss this far, so why not go the whole way.  Onto the buggy we jump, leading to perhaps the funniest exchange of the weekend:

Security guard spots my press badge.

“So, you’re press then, are you?”

“Err, yes..”

“That’s one of your lot unpacking his tent there.”

Because you know, everyone with a press badge is sent up from the same place and we all know each other.  I feel a bit mean though as the guy was incredibly helpful, particularly given we’d effectively trespassed into his campsite.  Which leads to the real kicker.  We arrive all set for the Pic ‘n’ Mixx disco around 10:30pm.  And then discover that it started at midnight.  So we wander back to the festival site, hang out at the discos there a bit, and then wander back to the campsite and get in past the crack security team (“Have you pitched your tent yet mate?”  “Yes..”) where we hang around for a bit before retiring back to the hotel.

SUNDAY

Will not be included here.. This has taken me far longer to write than I originally intended and I’m already running over 2000 words, so I’m going to split this up.  Friday and Saturday here, and Sunday with any various anecdotes will follow tomorrow.

Edit: Sunday review here!

Indietracks 2010 in photos

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Once again, Indietracks was an absolute delight.  The proper review (you know, the one with words and stuff) will follow tomorrow, but here are the fruits of my photographic labour:

Latitude 2010 in photos

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Had a lovely time at Latitude yesterday.  sounded superb, I was pleasantly surprised by and Belle & Sebastian proved once again why they are the greatest band ever.  Really liked the festival as a whole too.  So many random little things going on as you explore around.  Which is about as detailed as a review as I intend to write.  So here are some photos:

Live: Los Campesinos! // The Garage, London

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This will likely be less of a review and more generally excited babble about how much I enjoyed this gig.  Because I did.  It seems that ! can’t disappoint me live.  And this was my fifth time seeing them.  First time was the epic show that had me, a friend and 150 A&R types at their first London gig in 2006.  Second was at the Spitz in 2007 which also had the mighty Sky Larkin and Nosferatu D2 playing their final show.  After that it was the utterly insane Reading 2008 performance, and then their Electric Ballroom effort later that year.

First up were the brilliant though, who I was also seeing for the fifth time.  Walked into the place a few minutes into their set and they were already tearing up the room.  They ran through a good chunk of Grace and the Bigger Picture, as well as, if I’m not mistaken, at least one new one.  The inevitable highlight though was Gareth Campesinos! joining the band onstage to take lead vocals for a storming rendition of Criminals.

Next up was Frankie & the Heartstrings.  They were alright.  I suspect I would have enjoyed them a bit more if I’d actually known any of their songs beforehand.

It was clearly Los Campesinos! that everyone was there to see though, and that carried over to an incredibly boisterous performance.  The band opted for a greatest hits package, including songs that hardly ever get a live airing, which made the night all the more special.  The International Tweexcore Underground, My Year in Lists and Knee Deep at ATP were all busted out, along with a good chuck of Romance is Boring.  On record the differences between early LC! and current LC! is becoming increasingly pronounced, but live they throw themselves into everything with equal verve.  The gentler songs from four years ago manage to have the same energy as the current ones do.  A lot of this is down to the way Gareth lets loose on every single song (including the inevitable taking to the crowd), and I’m sure he must have lost about half of his bodyweight in sweat by the time the gig was over last night.

A brilliant gig all round.  Below you’ll find a new version of Romance is Boring taken from the new Los Campesinos! EP that went on sale last night.

MP3 Los Campesinos! – Romance is Boring (Princess version)

The All’s Well That Ends Well EP features four new versions of songs from the Romance is Boring album.  It’s available directly from Wichita Recordings, or at selected record stores.  By which I suspect “selected” means all three that are still open.  10″ only, of course.  And labels wonder why they struggle for sales..

Website / Myspace / Twitter

The 1959 Hat Co. – Awesome Sneakers

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I don’t think there’s a label out there I like more than WeePOP!  Virtually everything they release is incredibly good, with releases in the past from Allo Darlin’, , and pretty much anyone else who is anyone in the indiepop world.  As such, they are one of the few labels where I’ll gladly listen to anything they put out, even if I’m not even vaguely familiar with the band in question.  Which is exactly the position I found myself in with , of whom I had heard absolutely nothing of before listening to their three song release here.

The lead single (below) immediately pulled me in though, pulling off the double header of sounding both summer dreamy and jangly at the same time, both of which will win points with me.  Amber Brown Assembly Line explores the abstract with a slightly 80s kind of sound, while Midst of Seasons is a gentle, breezy way to bring the proceedings to a close.  While the other two songs of the release never quite match the highs of the title track, both are worthwhile.  As a whole, Awesome Sneakers is an excellent little release from a band I look forward to hearing more from in the future.

MP3 The 1959 Hat Co. – Awesome Sneakers

Awesome Sneakers is out now on the ever excellent WeePOP! who also have new releases out by Stars of Aviation and Let’s Whisper.  Super!

Website / Myspace / Twitter

The Grave Architects – The Bike Song

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really don’t sound like anything I’d expect a band (presumably) named after a Pavement song to sound like.  The first part of the song might just get away with it.  A little on the quaint side perhaps, but what do you expect for a song that starts “the first love of my life was not a girl, it was my very first bike”?  It tells a fun little story of learning how to ride a bike and falling in love with cycling.

Then about a minute in, it turns into, of all things, a rap epic.  Yes, rap.  And somehow it gets away with it.  Nothing I can say here is going to do justice to a terribly white man with his fluorescent shirt and cycle helmet rapping about evil motorists cutting him up.

Of course, that’s not it.  It then decides to just rock out a bit, proclaiming, with full earnestness “I love my bike!” over and over.  It’s all utterly stupid, but every time I watch the video above I find myself grinning from ear to ear.  I think my favourite part of it is actually watching the people biking in the background and their reaction to the singer’s antics.  Brilliant stuff.

Most crazy of all?  This is a radio edit version of the song.  There’s a full version that runs nearly eight bloody minutes on their Myspace page.

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Indietracks: A video history

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We’re now precisely two weeks out from this year’s Indietracks, which seems to be rather rapidly approaching now.  Given the amount of time I spend ambling around Youtube looking for videos from the past festivals, it seems prudent to style a post out of them.  With that, I now present a brief video history of Indietracks, from the very first in April 2007 right up to last year’s event.

April 2007

Not that much online for this one, which is perhaps to be expected.  There’s some footage of Pocketbooks performing Falling Leaves in the station building by the platform (that hasn’t been used for more recent events).  There’s also this nice little clip of people dancing on the platform which already shows the event looking like the one we know today.

July 2007

There seems to be even less online from the first proper Indietracks festival unfortunately, though there is this nice video of Cats on Fire playing in the shed.

December 2007

The Christmas Twee events held in December have seemingly been abandoned these days, but from this little clip of a Christmas disco with people dancing to Belle & Sebastian, they look like they were rather fun.

July 2008

The second proper Indietracks, and seemingly the one where video started to become more prevalent in the audience.  headlined the event, topping things off with a superb performance of Donald In The Bushes With A Bag Of Glue, which also features an excellent introduction from Gordon asking the obvious question: “Why are Coldplay so famous?”.  2008 was also the year where the impromptu performances became common, and have remained a fixture ever since.  There’s Allo Darlin’ playing on the platform, The Smittens having a go at it too (as well as covering I’m A Believer) and Andy from Pocketbooks covering Belle & Sebastian on the platform late at night.  There was also this rather interesting example of dancing from the main stage.

July 2009

This is the first Indietracks that I was actually at, which will explain any factual errors in this post up until this point.  It also seems to be the one that had video galore.  There’s way more than those below dotted around, so go and explore if you’re interested.  Some highlight performances included Cats on Fire, The Smittens, Zipper, Lucky Soul, Camera Obscura and The School.  Cats on Fire also feature in what is just about my favourite Indietracks video ever.  The band’s performance of Higher Grounds in the shed along with the gleeful dancing from everyone there completely captures just how fun the place can be.

Other fun random things from last year include the impromptu Tallulah Gosh reunion in the marquee, Moustache of Insanity playing on the moving train, La Casa Azul with his half-insane, half-brilliant show and Disasteradio with his entirely insane show.  There’s also this nice Pocketbooks video that features a sighting of me at 2:41, some audience participation from Eddie Argos of Art Brut as well as the band’s encore that they clearly weren’t prepared for given the blue jacket.

You know what I’m going to miss most of all this year though?  The llamas.

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