Saturday turns out to be the best of three good days of weather. 60,000 people are sunning themselves and rushing off to nothing at all. Sheffield's NEIL MCSWEENEY (13) makes a good start for the many loiterers at or near the Topman Stage. His rich lilting voice and big songs are perfect for lazing on the grass and topping up the pleasure levels. He starts the set in his usual solo mode, laying on the Celtic charm and then adds members of fellow Sheffield band BABY LONG LEGS to give it all a nice rush onwards. A weekend-long trombone theme (I saw seven or eight all told) continues from Friday with Hannah Mann doing a terrific jobshare with guitar. The band don’t compete - the songs and MCSWEENEY's voice are strong enough in their own right. But for a special occasion this is a nice bonus, done with style.
When it's their turn, BABY LONG LEGS (14) put a strong arm or two around singer songwriter The Wheel and turn out a nicely quirky, individual sound. "Hard Boiled Egg" is an indie hit if ever I heard one, but everything in the set has the strength of being what I would call "proper songs" and the band can really play. The Wheel's sitting down for the duration seems to signal a bit of unintended glumness on this festival stage, but the totally professional Norton Lees on upright bass does enough sunny smiles, vocal responses and quality harmonies to entertain a circus tent full of people from Middlesbrough. (a town I love, but which, sadly is not represented this weekend). The Gods of Division have organised Sheffield's LITTLE MAN TATE to be playing on the Main Stage at exactly the same time as BABY LONG LEGS - but a very decent crowd is there to enjoy the LONG LEGS' set.
When it’s their turn, THE AEROPLANES (15) from Liverpool can see a bit more grass in front of the stage than they would have hoped, but SPARTA and THE LONG BLONDES are setting up in competition at this point. Like all the bands on the Topman Stage, a good sound and a decent set guarantees the steady arrival of passing trade to stand, settle in and be impressed. By the second song "Slipping Away" they're showing what they can do, with a strong chorus and a big killer guitar line evoking the spirit of a Tom Petty or Eagles anthem. Dipping briefly into Oasis emulation their talent for an eight note guitar riff and a good chorus eventually wins out.
HAYASHI (16) are a major league drum and bass duo from Leeds with three very different, all top notch singers and a guitar/keyboards sampler wizard. For those not entranced by Ana, D and Mwen, (are they blind, or deaf?) Gideon's drum kit has the scale and complexity of a major landmark. Ben's electric upright bass looks good too. The groove is perfect, the set surges gradually upwards, and the crowd are moving (at 2.30 on a sunny afternoon in a field). HAYASHI are the full deal as a live dance outfit and this stage is just another gig in what looks like a seriously developing career. One of my favourites sets for the weekend. The drums are as good as it gets and bass is massive.
Oh PISKIE SITS! (17). What a wayward bunch of slackers they are. Much more than just a splinter of the unstoppable Wakefield Surge, PISKIE SITS are a Wrath records project and that alone makes them special. On this stage today though they exasperate as much as they please. Three guitars need pretty deft handling, but leader Craig Hale is dragging it around a bit, and ranting about the evils of having RAZORLIGHT headlining the Main Stage. His guitar slides out of tune and the band aren't looking as though they really want to take charge of things. Their nicely alt-country, alt-Americana-indie songs don’t really spring to life for me today, but it’s clear that there's a band here that people can fall in love with.
THE DEBUTS (18) are an entirely different proposition. At first sight they could be a bunch of nervous 14 year olds doing their first ever gig. They are certainly a new name in the Leeds/Halifax region. But from behind the restrained emotions of an imperious stare and motionless upright stance, Zandra Kleivens gradually hypnotises anyone in earshot with an effortlessly fine voice, delivered with a flautist's breath control and a knack for projection that one or two other bands might profit from. There is power in these (mostly minor key) songs that derive from simplicity and restraint. Subtly moving guitar textures, flowing melody and effective, simple drumming have something of The Smiths about them. This is a band with serious promise (and who, it turns out, have ages closer to 20 than 14).
THE IDLERS (19) from Lincoln make a shaky start with tempos adrift and what sounds to me like a mistake or two. Nevertheless, there's enthusiasm and commitment in the playing, and after a punk start they launch into something a bit Martha and The Muffins, which is always going to be welcome. When JIMMY EAT WORLD and THE ENEMY are playing only a couple of minutes walk away, life is tough for a band offering the basic starter recipes without much garnish and they struggle to hold a crowd. They thank their own supporters (who have encouraged them throughout) and finish the set to some cheers.
|
TWISTED WHEEL (20) have come from Oldham, and a big crowd of regular fans have turned out to shout for them. They 're a well-practised trio with their own mix of snarly punk clichés and more contemporary observational songs about life on the fringes of transient city social life. The fans offer the pointed fingers and raised hands of salute, and there's the loyalty of shared streets and experiences in the air. But it doesn’t turn into the joy or flipped out excitement that the best bands have brought to this festival. Edgy stuff.
Flamboyance, hearts on sleeves and a singing medieval cellola player (Rebecca Dumican) are just part of what Leeds' Dance To The Radio newbies GRAMMATICS (21) put out into the early evening air. Owen Brinley is the centre of attention: his swooping falsetto voice and his twitching, short-attention-span moves have some of the qualities that made Patrick Wolf such a joy later in the evening. He's bubbling with excitement and the band are stirring it nicely with plenty of ideas that are still tantalisingly fresh and (maybe) in need of more regular outings and more artful connection. The fragments are fizzing around in a primordial anarchy and some asymmetric dancing is establishing itself in the crowd. Exciting and creative stuff.
Like GRAMMATICS, SKY LARKIN (22) had also played on this stage during Thursday night as part of the Festival warm-up party laid on by their Dance To The Radio label. Their recent gigging work rate is showing the benefits. Katie Harkin has never looked better, and never sounded as authoritative, vocally or on guitar. The band can pound and drive as hard as they like now (they always were the little beasts of indie rock) and Katie just soars above and around it. Shifting, restless guitar chords tell one story, Katie sings the other, and it feels like proper rock and roll with graduate cool as well as emotional heart and soul. A couple of new songs in the repertoire suggest that the characteristic SKY LARKIN sound is being hauled up through yet another layer. Strong stuff.
MIDDLEMAN (23), (24) could hardly be a better headline for Saturday night. They have the songs, they have the smiles, they have the crowd. The just look so damn right up there and grass or no grass the crowd are taking a bounce-along lead from the magnetic bass player Little Lee. The word had gone around that his pre-gig stage fright had been severe during the day. Watching him hold his head up, all massive grins for the crowd and shaking dreadlocks to the heavens, it’s impossible to credit the tales. Happiness on rubber legs is more like it. The band's recent top twenty indie single "Blah Blah Blah" is a dance pop hip hop classic - but what tonight reveals is that all their songs have that perfect, impossible simplicity that matches tune, lyric, attitude and dance potential to the same clear wavelength. A laptop full of samples and a real time drummer with perfect click track technique take meticulous care of the flow and all we need to do is yell along with every chorus and fling some limbs about. MIDDLEMAN'S harmony singing is strong and note perfect. How could we possibly have better fun than this? Joyous stuff.
|
