Post by stesync on Sept 10, 2007 22:12:56 GMT
Get Loaded in the Park, Clapham Common, London
Sunday 26 August 2007
Featuring - The Streets, Dirty Pretty Things, The Go! Team, The Rumble Strips, The Automatic, & iForward, Russia!
Reviewed by Steve Sync
Still recovering from the V Festival weekend, I was looking forward to a quiet bank holiday weekend. I had to work on the Saturday, so I took it easy watching the box on the Friday night. Phone goes, it’s a pissed DJ Alf and Dave Taxi (Ex Rhyl southerners) “Alright Son, get yourself down to London tomorrow, we’ve got free tickets to ‘Get Loaded In The Park’ on Sunday“. I explained that I was working and couldn’t be arsed travelling all that way for one day, but they insisted “Don’t be a boring cunt, and get your arse down here after work on the Saturday”. I declined (but this did start my cogs turning). I received abusive text messages all night but I’d made my mind up not to go. By 12 noon Saturday, I started to think about my plans for the rest of the weekend (virtually none) and the possibility and logistics of getting down to London. I thought “If the traffic was clear I could drive to London tonight in time to meet the lads out for a few beers, and do the festival on the Sunday”. Go for it! At 4pm I was locking up in work, and by 8.30pm I was standing in Leicester Square on the piss with the lads, it was like being fucking teleported! After our mega tour of ‘Old English Pubs’ we ended up in some dodgy Chinese restaurant drinking Chinese Tea which was if fact Carlsberg served in a teapot poured into china cups with saucers! They’re not licensed you see, you’ve got to be one step ahead of the law! Brilliant!
Sunday morning - “That fucking Chinese Tea!” We all said as we lumbered our way to Watford train station late morning. Dave had brought some cold cans of lager with him “Just in case” which were unthinkable on the train to London, but polished off nicely on the tube to Clapham. It was 12 noon by the time we got there so the event had started but we decided to have a few drinks in a pub showing the football while we waited for a few of the lads ‘Cockerney’ mates to turn up. 3 hours and 2 pubs later, we finally stumbled into the festival arena. The general consensus was to get alcohol and go to the XFM tent which was good news for this Welsh boy who was burning in the freak blistering heat down south (No khagool needed this week).
iForward, Russia! Won the competition for most unusual band name of the day. They come from Leeds and the band all wear white t shirts with the i! logo taken from the first and last part of their name. They have a crazy front man -Tom (vocals/synth) who staggers around the stage wailing high pitched odd lyrics at you whilst wrapping himself in the mic lead and spinning round to play his keyboard. You’d expect him to un-plug himself or cause harm to himself or others with 5 metres of cable around his arms and neck, but he does seem well rehearsed! They have a bird on the drums (Katie), and without patronising her, she kept beat superbly considering the unusual breaks and changes, well done love! (Sorry, couldn‘t help it). Completing the line-up are Rob (bass) and Whiskas (guitar). When they were coming up with song titles, they mustn’t have lost any sleep as they are all mostly numbers. Set list from my memory was 13,12,18,16,7,9, and 11. They did play a new song titled, 'Don't be a doctor' (where did that come from) and they’re currently recording their 2nd album and my guess at the track list is - a, b, c, d, etc. They appear to have a worldwide fan base and tour constantly, so expect them in your area soon.
Back into the sunshine, we headed for the main stage where The Automatic had already started. We made our way through the huge crowd to get a better view and sound which was relatively easy considering how close we got to the front and compared to other festival crowds I’ve been in. With beer in both hands we all nodded along (Wayne’s World style) to their set which was alright, although what they lack live musically, they make up for visually, especially their manic synth surfing backing vocalist Pennie leaping acrobatically over his keyboards. Nearing the end of their set it was Pennie who announced what everyone had been wanting to hear all set “We’re gonna play Monster!” which brought a huge cheer/sigh of relief from all those present. As soon as they started Monster, it was like being at a different gig! We were still slap bang right in the middle close to the front, but now we along with everyone else were jumping, moshing, finger pointing, and singing all the words back at the band. This change of pace and atmosphere made that 3 minutes a real high point of the day. I expect the band themselves know deep down that they’ll never be remembered for anything but that one song, but what a song!
We were toasting nicely in the late afternoon sun, but there was no time for rest as one of our crew alarmed “We’re missing The Rumble Strips!” so we headed straight back to the tent. These are local boys (living in London) and I appeared to be the only member of our group who’d never heard of them (they did play V Festival the week before but I didn’t catch them). They describe themselves as soul/power pop but I’d describe them more like Dexy’s Midnight Runners with a little bit of Rockabilly thrown in for good measure. They have a brass section which always makes a band more dynamic visually as well as sounding great. This band were very well received by the large crowd in the tent although I must confess that they didn’t really move my musical bowels which are getting increasingly more constipated with average/same old bands. Maybe I just need to hear more of their stuff, maybe not. They are about to release their long awaited debut album ‘Girls And Weather’ which is already getting rave reviews. The band tour this autumn.
We were all a bit worse for wear as we walked back to the main stage for The Go! Team. These also weren’t in my band vocabulary but all my southern pals informed me how good they were, so we slithered our way back through the crowds for a better spec. The first thing that hits you when you see them is colour. They were very psychedelic almost like cartoon characters (or maybe we were just proper fucked!). Ninja the super fit front girl raps/sings and dances endlessly through their upbeat pop/hip hop tracks which also have a bit of a Motown feel good sound to them. Although not the same by any means, they did remind me a bit like Chumbawamba live with an array of characters in the band which dance and move to keep the audience’s attention fixed. As well as Ninja, the front of the stage also had another great looking girl Kaori who sings backing vocals and plays keyboards. After a few songs I found myself unable to dislike them as they seemed to fit this hot summers festival day down to a tee.
Lets get one thing straight, I fucking hated The Libertines, especially the fucking useless waste of a recording contract cock end - Pete ‘Please Die Soon’ Doherty. Because of the connection, The Dirty Pretty Things weren’t especially on my ‘Must See’ list this evening, but as they were 2nd on the bill we did watch the latter part of their set which actually wasn’t that bad (I think Carl Barat was held back by old smack ed!). The highlight was hearing the excellent ‘Bang Bang You’re Dead’ which I obviously knew, but didn’t know was theirs! Oh well, you have to hold your hands up sometimes.
Love em or hate em, there is something about The Streets that makes you laugh along and appreciate the ‘Chav Scenarios’ bleating out of the ‘Modern Poet’ Mike Skinner’s gob. This was a homecoming gig for the band who’ve been touring all summer. “You don’t know how good it feels to be home” Squawked Birmingham’s finest as the band finished their opener ‘Turn The Page’. It really was a band as well with live drums, bass and 2 keyboard players along with a female backing vocalist and his stage sidekick. As well as the live sound Skinners showmanship also seems to have come of age keeping the crowd interested with witty introductions and audience participation “When I say go low, you go low!“ I’ve heard all these songs before but obviously I didn’t know most of the lyrics but I was surprised at just how many of the crowd were singing along to the likes of ‘When You Wasn't Famous’ and the touching ‘Dry Your Eyes Mate‘ although I suppose in this neck of the woods, they’re all cockney anthems. I actually enjoyed their set much more than I thought I would and before we knew it they were playing their encores including lads favourite ‘Fit But You Know It’. Mike Skinner had obviously enjoyed himself this evening and got cockier and more confident as the night went on although he was maybe asking for a little bit too much participation at the end of the set by taking off his shirt and shouting “Let’s all get naked!!!”
Top gig, and what a way to spend a quiet weekend in!! Roll on next time!
Sunday 26 August 2007
Featuring - The Streets, Dirty Pretty Things, The Go! Team, The Rumble Strips, The Automatic, & iForward, Russia!
Reviewed by Steve Sync
Still recovering from the V Festival weekend, I was looking forward to a quiet bank holiday weekend. I had to work on the Saturday, so I took it easy watching the box on the Friday night. Phone goes, it’s a pissed DJ Alf and Dave Taxi (Ex Rhyl southerners) “Alright Son, get yourself down to London tomorrow, we’ve got free tickets to ‘Get Loaded In The Park’ on Sunday“. I explained that I was working and couldn’t be arsed travelling all that way for one day, but they insisted “Don’t be a boring cunt, and get your arse down here after work on the Saturday”. I declined (but this did start my cogs turning). I received abusive text messages all night but I’d made my mind up not to go. By 12 noon Saturday, I started to think about my plans for the rest of the weekend (virtually none) and the possibility and logistics of getting down to London. I thought “If the traffic was clear I could drive to London tonight in time to meet the lads out for a few beers, and do the festival on the Sunday”. Go for it! At 4pm I was locking up in work, and by 8.30pm I was standing in Leicester Square on the piss with the lads, it was like being fucking teleported! After our mega tour of ‘Old English Pubs’ we ended up in some dodgy Chinese restaurant drinking Chinese Tea which was if fact Carlsberg served in a teapot poured into china cups with saucers! They’re not licensed you see, you’ve got to be one step ahead of the law! Brilliant!
Sunday morning - “That fucking Chinese Tea!” We all said as we lumbered our way to Watford train station late morning. Dave had brought some cold cans of lager with him “Just in case” which were unthinkable on the train to London, but polished off nicely on the tube to Clapham. It was 12 noon by the time we got there so the event had started but we decided to have a few drinks in a pub showing the football while we waited for a few of the lads ‘Cockerney’ mates to turn up. 3 hours and 2 pubs later, we finally stumbled into the festival arena. The general consensus was to get alcohol and go to the XFM tent which was good news for this Welsh boy who was burning in the freak blistering heat down south (No khagool needed this week).
iForward, Russia! Won the competition for most unusual band name of the day. They come from Leeds and the band all wear white t shirts with the i! logo taken from the first and last part of their name. They have a crazy front man -Tom (vocals/synth) who staggers around the stage wailing high pitched odd lyrics at you whilst wrapping himself in the mic lead and spinning round to play his keyboard. You’d expect him to un-plug himself or cause harm to himself or others with 5 metres of cable around his arms and neck, but he does seem well rehearsed! They have a bird on the drums (Katie), and without patronising her, she kept beat superbly considering the unusual breaks and changes, well done love! (Sorry, couldn‘t help it). Completing the line-up are Rob (bass) and Whiskas (guitar). When they were coming up with song titles, they mustn’t have lost any sleep as they are all mostly numbers. Set list from my memory was 13,12,18,16,7,9, and 11. They did play a new song titled, 'Don't be a doctor' (where did that come from) and they’re currently recording their 2nd album and my guess at the track list is - a, b, c, d, etc. They appear to have a worldwide fan base and tour constantly, so expect them in your area soon.
Back into the sunshine, we headed for the main stage where The Automatic had already started. We made our way through the huge crowd to get a better view and sound which was relatively easy considering how close we got to the front and compared to other festival crowds I’ve been in. With beer in both hands we all nodded along (Wayne’s World style) to their set which was alright, although what they lack live musically, they make up for visually, especially their manic synth surfing backing vocalist Pennie leaping acrobatically over his keyboards. Nearing the end of their set it was Pennie who announced what everyone had been wanting to hear all set “We’re gonna play Monster!” which brought a huge cheer/sigh of relief from all those present. As soon as they started Monster, it was like being at a different gig! We were still slap bang right in the middle close to the front, but now we along with everyone else were jumping, moshing, finger pointing, and singing all the words back at the band. This change of pace and atmosphere made that 3 minutes a real high point of the day. I expect the band themselves know deep down that they’ll never be remembered for anything but that one song, but what a song!
We were toasting nicely in the late afternoon sun, but there was no time for rest as one of our crew alarmed “We’re missing The Rumble Strips!” so we headed straight back to the tent. These are local boys (living in London) and I appeared to be the only member of our group who’d never heard of them (they did play V Festival the week before but I didn’t catch them). They describe themselves as soul/power pop but I’d describe them more like Dexy’s Midnight Runners with a little bit of Rockabilly thrown in for good measure. They have a brass section which always makes a band more dynamic visually as well as sounding great. This band were very well received by the large crowd in the tent although I must confess that they didn’t really move my musical bowels which are getting increasingly more constipated with average/same old bands. Maybe I just need to hear more of their stuff, maybe not. They are about to release their long awaited debut album ‘Girls And Weather’ which is already getting rave reviews. The band tour this autumn.
We were all a bit worse for wear as we walked back to the main stage for The Go! Team. These also weren’t in my band vocabulary but all my southern pals informed me how good they were, so we slithered our way back through the crowds for a better spec. The first thing that hits you when you see them is colour. They were very psychedelic almost like cartoon characters (or maybe we were just proper fucked!). Ninja the super fit front girl raps/sings and dances endlessly through their upbeat pop/hip hop tracks which also have a bit of a Motown feel good sound to them. Although not the same by any means, they did remind me a bit like Chumbawamba live with an array of characters in the band which dance and move to keep the audience’s attention fixed. As well as Ninja, the front of the stage also had another great looking girl Kaori who sings backing vocals and plays keyboards. After a few songs I found myself unable to dislike them as they seemed to fit this hot summers festival day down to a tee.
Lets get one thing straight, I fucking hated The Libertines, especially the fucking useless waste of a recording contract cock end - Pete ‘Please Die Soon’ Doherty. Because of the connection, The Dirty Pretty Things weren’t especially on my ‘Must See’ list this evening, but as they were 2nd on the bill we did watch the latter part of their set which actually wasn’t that bad (I think Carl Barat was held back by old smack ed!). The highlight was hearing the excellent ‘Bang Bang You’re Dead’ which I obviously knew, but didn’t know was theirs! Oh well, you have to hold your hands up sometimes.
Love em or hate em, there is something about The Streets that makes you laugh along and appreciate the ‘Chav Scenarios’ bleating out of the ‘Modern Poet’ Mike Skinner’s gob. This was a homecoming gig for the band who’ve been touring all summer. “You don’t know how good it feels to be home” Squawked Birmingham’s finest as the band finished their opener ‘Turn The Page’. It really was a band as well with live drums, bass and 2 keyboard players along with a female backing vocalist and his stage sidekick. As well as the live sound Skinners showmanship also seems to have come of age keeping the crowd interested with witty introductions and audience participation “When I say go low, you go low!“ I’ve heard all these songs before but obviously I didn’t know most of the lyrics but I was surprised at just how many of the crowd were singing along to the likes of ‘When You Wasn't Famous’ and the touching ‘Dry Your Eyes Mate‘ although I suppose in this neck of the woods, they’re all cockney anthems. I actually enjoyed their set much more than I thought I would and before we knew it they were playing their encores including lads favourite ‘Fit But You Know It’. Mike Skinner had obviously enjoyed himself this evening and got cockier and more confident as the night went on although he was maybe asking for a little bit too much participation at the end of the set by taking off his shirt and shouting “Let’s all get naked!!!”
Top gig, and what a way to spend a quiet weekend in!! Roll on next time!