Saturday
August 11
Leicester-boys
The
Screening are by-numbers, modern indie rock with
big potential to make it big – their songs have an anthemic quality
and they perform with a rock-star swagger, which could see their success
rocket to the size of their very obvious egos.
Kitty,
Daisy and Lewis are a right rollicking, rockabilly
riot. Their time-warp 40s/50s rock n roll, swing and country and western
sounds are perfect summer-fun. They switch instruments which include
a piano, lapsteel guitar, banjo, double bass, ukulele and accordion
with ease. The whole affair is uber-energetic and gets a hippy-dude
in orange trousers dancing his little socks off (he wasn’t wearing
any socks, but you get my point).
Jeremy
Warmsley is a torch-singer working in the lo-fi,
post-punk world of genre-mashing. His introspective lyrics of lost-love
and life in general are complimented by angular rhythms, funky guitar
parts, electronic sounds and pop-hooks which are maybe a little to ‘arty’
for their own good. Warmsley is all too aware of the screaming need
for some added depth in this post-Libertine rock abyss, but despite
the obvious try-hard aspect of his efforts he cuts an impressive live
performance. A simple piano duet is truly captivating and ‘The
Young Man Sees The City As A Chessboard’ begins as a dubby jam
becoming a quality slice of powerful guitar-pop.
“Are you ready for some SKA!” the answer to that particular
question is always “Yes, too bloody right I am” and Jazz
Jamaica prove exactly why. What could be better than
basking in the sunshine listening to a jazzed-upped version of ‘Liquidator’.
Note-perfect musicians float through a bevy of massive, jazz-infused
ska and rocksteady numbers. A cover of the James Bond theme is amusing
and endearing before the band pay homage to Motown with Jr. Walker’s
‘Shotgun’ extended and give the good-old Jamaica vibe. This
is real unifying music and everyone has smiles on their faces, they
end with Millie’s ‘My Boy Lollipop’ which is greeted
with cheers. These soon turn to boos when the announcer states they
can’t do an encore.
If your front-man can’t make the gig, you pull out don’t
you? Not if your reformed indie-chancers Cud
you don’t. Cud Karaoke may be highlight of the weekend (certainly
a one-off) as a selection of fans front the band one track at a time
treating us to drunken vocals, misplaced rock-star antics and inexplicable
dad-dancing. “This is surreal” exclaims bassist William
Potter, which it is, but it is also a true festival gem with Cud’s
indie-funk classics getting some incredible (if bizarre) re-workings.
Maps
bring on a sensory-overload with their subtle shoegaze atmospherics
and downbeat electronica. Lynchpin James Chapman has turned his bedroom
aural experiments into a fully-blown and mind-blowing, full-band, live
experience. Maps sound is omnipresent – glorious vocal melodies
intertwine with layers of electronic blips and beats violated by crashing
live drums. This band don’t need performance trickery simply the
aural tapestry being unwound underneath the giant video projections
and pulsating lights. I’m left shattered by the sheer brilliance
of it all.
Low
take the tempo down to where their name suggests, erm…low. The
mesmerising beauty of their simplistic modern, psychedelic, lo-fi, folk
proves their status as one of the world’s most enduring cult acts.
What exactly happened during the !!!
set? The band entered by leap-frogging each other as the drummer kicked
in with a heavy-as-lead beat and then they launched into the most explosive
twisted-funk, disco-punk madness known to man. Front-man Nic Offer dances
like Mr Humphries with ADHD and whips the whole place into a frenzy
– the groove is addictive and the only option is to dance. !!!
may just be the best live band in the world, at least during their set
it’s hard to think otherwise.
by
Chris Marks
Friday
Sunday
