Reviews

Iron Maiden Review at Sonisphere 2014

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Stamping his mark early today Bruce Dickinson flew his WW1 plane around the festival which hypnotized the crowd, this surly got Sonisphere ready for Iron Maiden's two hour set. Different to the spitfire flying across at last years Download although this year Bruce flew himself. Iron Maiden tops worn by every other person today proved the people of Sonisphere were very excited about this set. The bands opening started with the screens showing ice burgs which had a link to there wintery stage set visuals. "Start Moon Child" kicked off the set and kicked off the crowd as well. Backdrops were different to each song and signature Eddie appeared in his few different forms. One being with his head blow off and fire coming out to top off Iron Maiden's, Iron Maiden. A few other of their hits kept the crowd engaged from the start to finish of the set; 'Can I Play With Madness', 'Aces High', 'Seven Sun of the Seven Suns' and lastly but certainly not least, 'Sanctuary'. Fire, bright lights, sparks and fireworks fled the stage all the way though the set making it even more spectacular than it was. The bands image was interesting as they wore there own merchandise tops so they pretty much matched the crowd. Nearly everyone was singing along, even children which proves Iron Maiden's legacy to carry on this timeless, classic band to even noughties / teenies kids. This by far was he best performance seen at Sonisphere so far, can anyone else pull this off on Sunday?

Photo courtesy of Sonisphere

Sonisphere 2014 Saturday brings a mix of acts to Knebworth

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Sonisphere wasn't shy to mix up the line up they had in store today. Starting with Ale Storm from 11.35am, an early start for an incredible turn out. Many pirate dance moves later "Lets drink a lot of drink." Shouts LEAD. Followed by sound checks in Japanese ready for Baby Metal to hit the stage for their first UK tour, the performance surly had a complete different feel compared to what is usually played. Baby Metal kicked off there set with a star war themed visuals with a narrator telling a fictional story about the band. Next up was Chas and Dave, then Ghost with Antherax and Frank Turner following behind. Although Frank Turner claimed "This music is what I fucking come from" after him mentioning he grew up listening to Iron Maiden. None of these bands even touch on a similar genre type but I guess the one thing they all have in common was there invitation to perform here. So, was this the weirdest binary of sets Sonisphere has ever had?

Photo courtesy of Sonisphere

Rudimental and Kanye West review at Wireless 2014 – Saturday

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As Saturday rolls around, its been raining overnight in London but as the afternoon hits, the clouds slowly make way for sun as we hit Finsbury Park for Wireless Festival again.  As Drake cancelled, Kanye West will once again headline the London leg of Wireless and after yesterdays performance, we were hoping he might take note of the negative reviews and change things up today.

Running slightly late, a jewel encrusted mask wearing Kanye West kicks off with “Black Skinhead” and then into “I Don’t Like”.  Kanye changes things up to pay tribute to Drake who can’t be here and his deejay spins out a few Drake hits which go down really well with the public of whom most are disappointed is not here.  Kanye continues hit performance and his set is almost a replica of Friday night and we await the moment he begins his daily rant.  As “Clique” kicks in, Kanye once again pauses for a moment before telling the crowd about his issues with the media and how they portray him.  He then proceed’s to tell the crowd that they are “his clique”, and the music thunders back in as Yezzy finishes up this “Clique” verse.  There was a pattern occurring as Kanye belts through “Can’t tell me nothing”, “New Slaves”, “Power”, “Stronger” & “Runaway”.  Its at this point on Friday night Kanye kicked off his rant and the crowd was praying that he didn’t.  However this is Kanye West and he does what he wants, regardless of the boos which can surely be heard up on the stage.  As I stand by, numerous crowd goers begin to filter out stating, “I can’t believe he is doing it again”.

For me personally, the festival stage is not made for Kanye West, his sets belong in an arena.  At a time when thousands have paid to hear good music, the last thing they want to deal with is a 10 minute rant.

Rant over Kanye West, he smashes through hits, “Diamonds from Sierra Leone”, “Jesus Walks”, “Touch the Sky”, “All of the Lights” & “Bound 2”.

Overall minus the rant, you can’t knock the performance that Kanye gives, its energetic and the crowd join in to rap and sing on all his songs.

The rest of the Wireless day is packed full of massive artists and we managed to catch Rudimental, Wiz Khalifa, Labrinth, Azealia Banks and more.

London’s own Rudimental brought their full stage production to the Wireless main stage and as the sun shone down on London, the lads from London trawled through their hits “Give You Up”, “Right Here”, “Free” and their massive smash hit “Feel the love”.  Special guests John Newman and Ella Eyre joined the Rudimental boys on stage for “Not Giving In” and “Waiting All Nite” respectively.

Photo courtesty of Wireless Festival – Andrew Whitton

Wiz Khalifa brought his typical cool stage presence to the main stage and had heads bopping for the hour long set as he entertained the crowd with “Bout Me”, “Man of the Year”, “”GangBang”, “Roll Up”, “We Own It”, “Young Wild and Free” and crowd hitter “Black and Yellow”.

Another local London lad, Labrinth always knows how to work the crowd and he did just that at Finsbury Park.  Always dressed to impress, Lab’s biggest tracks of the day are “Let the Sun Shine”, “Earthquake” and “Beneath Your Beautiful”.

Over in the Pepsi Max stage, the likes of Knife Party and Pretty Lights bring draw the electronic dance music fans to the tent.  The Boombox stage also hosts D&B artist Wilkinson, as well as All About She, and girl group M.O.

So another day at Wireless Festival is over, and with Bruno Mars and Outkast to headline tomorrow there is still a hell of a lot to look forward to.  See you in the park tomorrow!

Photo courtesy of Wireless Festival – Rachael Wright

Sonisphere 2014 Friday Review – Prodigy

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Limp Bizkits' fail of the night.

"Now you know what time it really fucking is. Limp Bizkit in the house, you ready for this." Screams lead singer Fred Durst after three lovely ladies harmoniously sang Rolling, introducing the band to the stage. Enticing the audience with Faith, the crowd enthusiasm rose. The excitement from fans came to a slight stop after a little hiccup from Durst, completely messing up what day it is. "You guys to get your Saturday night on?" Confusion, and a short moment of silence from the crowd the singer quickly styled out a response of "Well it's Saturday night in my book." This wasn't the only blip the Durst randomly shouted 'Oh, Shit' in the middle of his set. Whether these mistakes were a result of one too many, or just a lack of communication from the bands media side we will never know. I have to admit these were soon forgotten after the bands incredible stage presence and claiming thing such as "What a pretty fucking crazy crowd tonight." Anthrax over lapping their time slot with Limp Bizbit and performing on the Bohemia tent which was proving to be pretty dam popular after the tent was so full security was stopping people from entering, surely Anthrax needed a bigger stage.

Friday's Headliner: Prodigy.
The band everyone has been anxiously waiting for all day, 21.20 finally arrived and the fans loudly welcomed tonight's first headliner Prodigy. Entering the stage with a epic entrance, creating suspense after emerging from the smoke covering the stage the crowd were ecstatic to see and hear the first glimpse of the band. 'I can't fucking hear you!'  Sending the crowd into euphoria with "Breathe", the rain starts to lightly fall as Prodigy head into "Jetfighter".  This did not put a downer on the crowd epically after seeing all of the burnt faces in the crowd. Forcing the crowd to go crazier than they already were, it was fair to say the people of Soniphere did not stop moshing, dancing, jumping, fist pumping, air guitaring, which could of been to do the metal cover the band slightly adjusted a few of their own songs to fit with the genre of Sonisphere. The band defiantly pulled this off after slowing down "Thunder" giving it a deeper bass, Prodigy defiantly get points for these adjustments. Finishing their set with the massive anthem "Smack My Bitch Up", Prodigy return with the crowd still buzzing with an encore of 'Take me to the Hospital', "Hyperspeed", "New Beats", "Their Law".  Keith Flint is forever engaging the crowd with phases like "I know you know what to fucking do and All you people at Sonisphere where the fuck are my prodigy people, A little more music, turn the fucker up". The stage presence of the band as a whole were truly incredible; the visual topped it off. With little stage art but the way the band was shown on the screen was edited in a surreal kind of way. Showing the band live in different effect such as negative, black and white and mirroring, which made it look as if this was pre recorded as a short art film. The array of coloured lights reaching the night sky gave the band greater performance. This band lived up to its name, and was for sure the best performance  of the night.

Pharrell & Kanye West close out Friday at Wireless Festival 2014

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Wireless Festival returned to London to host another set of superstar artists at this ever popular UK Festival.  Taking place over two locations this year, the other being Birmingham, the 2014 edition of Wireless organised a huge set of headliners including Kanye West, Pharrell, Drake, Bruno Mars and Outkast.

However due to a last minute cancellation, Wireless fans were disapointed to learn that Canadian hip hop mega star Drake was not going to perform to due health reasons preventing him from travelling to the UK.  Not to worry however as Kanye West agreed to headline both Friday and Saturday in London whilst Rudimental would play an extended performance in Birmingham.

London turned on the weather for Friday and the main stage hosted Foxes, Iggy Azalea, Tinie Tempah, Pharrell Williams and Kanye West.

Kanye West's return to London drew a sellout crowd in the new home of Wireless, Finsbury Park.  The sound of barking dogs signals “Black Skinhead” from West’s latest album Yeezus.  As the sun began to set a silver masked Kanye appears on the stage with the crowd giving him a huge cheer.   Taking control of the stage, Kanye moves straight into hits “On Sight”, “I Don’t Like” and then his massive anthem from last year “Mercy”.

Photo courtesy of Wireless Festival – Andrew Whitton

It wouldn’t be a Kanye performance without a bit of banter and a message to the crowd stating that the media are unfair and portray him in a negative way.  As the boo’s start to arise through the crowd, he says to the Wireless crowd “You guys are my clique” and then belts out “Clique” immediately drowning out the boo’s with the crowd singing his chorus.

Going through his back catalogue, notable tracks, “Stronger”, “Nigga’s In Paris”, “Run this town” and more keep the Yezzy fans happy as the sky turns grey and a few drops of rain start to fall.

Kanye’s pulling power and popularity is notable visible as the majority of the 40,000 crowd watch his set, but his mid performance rants don’t help the festival crowd and you visibly notice that they start filtering out.  Kanye will head back to the Wireless Main Stage tomorrow so lets see what he has to offer up then!

Before Kanye took to the stage, Pharrell performed to a massive crowd whist the sun was shining down on London town.  Complete with his trademark hat, white tee and jeans, his performance is well received performing numerous tracks from his latest album Girl and a number of collaborations he has done through the year.  Kicking off with “Lose yourself to dance”, Pharrell had the crowd singing the whole hour and it was only appropriate that he ended with “Happy”.  The similes of the fans said it all, well done Pharrell!

Pharrell Williams Wireless Festival 4th July Tracklist:

  • Lose yourself to dance
  • Come get it Bae
  • Frontin
  • Hunter
  • Larilyn Monroe
  • Hot In Here
  • Jump Jump
  • Rockstar
  • Lapdance
  • She wants to move
  • Beautiful
  • Drop it like its hot
  • Know who you are
  • Hollaback Girl
  • Blurred Lines
  • Get Lucky
  • Happy

Photo courtesy of Wireless Festival – Scott Salt

Tinie Tempah also gave an explosive set, but what else do you expect from one of the UK’s biggest artists.  Tracks performed from both Disc-Overy and Demonstration showed that there is a reason this is Tinie’s fifth appearance at Wireless.  He takes control of the stage and gives the crowd just what they need in a crazy hot day in at a summer festival, some great tunes to dance and sing to.

Friday’s Wireless has come to an end but this is just the beginning of the weekend and we look forward to seeing  the likes of Rudimental, Wiz Khalifa, Labrinth, and more!  Lets just hope the weather plays nice and there isn’t too much rain!

Stevie Wonder at the Calling Festival Review

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Second day at Calling Festival. Festival goers traded yesterday's wellies, trek shoes and umbrellas for sunglasses, sun cream and hats in Clapham Common. Most of us are still getting over Aerosmith rocking performance but we are very impatient to listen sunday's amazing line up. 
 
Today's crowd is quite different from yesterday's: younger, we swapped the rock chick outfits for a more chilled and flower power look. By the time Calling Festival starts with performances from Jetta and JJ Rosa, we quickly realized that we should have brought the umbrella instead of the sun cream.
 
On the Pepsi Max Stage, Will Heard starts the show with a cover of Destiny's Child "Say my name" and engage with the crowd immediately asking to sing along. He shared his excitement to see Stevie Wonder as well as funny anecdotes. Will Heard is funny and seductive during and between songs. Despite fans begging for "the sun don't shine" he kept it for last! 
 
Running to Main Stage to see James Bay, a talented 23-year old singer-songwriter. He brings a new voice to music with a voice mixing warm tones, fragile high notes and folk twist. He was performing "If you ever want to be in love". Wearing a big hat hiding his face, holding his guitar, James Bay seduced the crowd with his humble and shy comments between songs as well as his great vocal range and delicate lyrics. He sang "let it go" giving an honest and emotional performance. 
 
Around the Main Stage, Stand Up to Cancer stand is pretty busy with a group of girls taking photos next to the Hoff's poster.Michael Kinawuka is arriving on stage back from Glastonbury with muddy trousers. His earthy voice warmed us from the start despite the rain. Outside his repertoire, he sang  his favorite song: Jimmy Hendrix "Waterfall". One of the last songs was "Home again", which really pleased the crowd. While waiting for Paloma Faith's to enter the stage, I meet James Bay near the Magnum Ice cream van. Surrounded by fans, he is shy and friendly, very grateful of all the postive comments from his performance earlier.
 
While looking around, a lot of families come to Calling Festival. However, there is no real space or activities for children. Except for the space in the dedicated Guest Area, it would be great to have activities for kids next year.
 
By 4pm, It's raining heavily in Clapham Common. No one is really discouraged but we are all impatient to see Paloma Faith. Blanckets on the floor become shelters and umbrellas pop up like mushrooms. Paola Faith's crew, wearing tartan outfits, arrives first. Then she makes her big entrance wearing a huge white feather hat, even bird nest like, tight rubber skirt and a lace crop top. She performed her biggest hits and got the crowd laughing, clapping and singing. 
 
Another act to watch: Norma Jean Martine. I remember her performance at Montreux Jazz Festival and am really looking forward seeing her at the Calling Festival. Her voice is like no other: powerful and broken, jazzy and blues. She is 21 from America but moved to London last year. Listening to her work, you can see her Nashville blues influence. She opens with "No more Alone" which makes her very emotional at the end. Her vulnerability and honesty about being homesick seduces the crowd who shares support and cheers. She then starts singing "Still in love with you" and puts the crowd at her feet until the end of the performance.
 
Jack Johnson arrives on stage and brings his Hawai cool vibe to Clapham Common. There's no rain and the crowd is mainly sitting in blanckets enjoying the show and clapping. Over to Pepsi Max, Flyte, new Indie Funk band from London,  is performing their last song "faithless". The lead singer, Will Taylor, is a charming performer, engaging with the crowd. 
 
The sun is back and Clapham Common seem completely packed. The queues to the loos are endless and water points and food stands are very busy. People are coming in mass for the 2 last acts: Gregory Porter and today's headliner Stevie Wonder. 
 
Gregory Porter is the last act at the Pepsi Max stage. Porter won the 2014 Grammy for best jazz vocal album with Liquid Spirit. The fans arrived early not to miss a thing. Gregory Porter is a powerful baritone – velvety voice mixing blues and jazz rich rich tones and delicate control in nuances. He performs mainly songs from his latest album such as "on my way to Harlem", "Be Good", or "Liquid Spirit". His charisma and stage presence wowed the audience immediately. There is a wisdom and kindness coming from him and the audience is very receptive. He is also surrounded by amazing musicians Chip Crawford on piano, Aaron James on bass, Emanuel Harrold on drums, and Yosuke Sato on alto sax. He engages with the audience naturally. 
 
by 7.30pm, Clapham Common is nearly full and it is getting hard to find a space to watch the show. After a long introduction setting the mood and presenting each member of the crew, Stevie Wonder comes in playing the keytar, wearing red glasses and matching trainers, an ethnic shirt and white trousers. The opening song is "How sweet it is (to be loved by you)". Asking the audience to be part of his choir and playing the piano, he starts the intro of "Jammin Master Blaster" which triggered a general scream of excitement.  The crowd is singing and dancing until the tables in the back near the Tuborg beer stand.
 
Photo courtesy of Calling Festival
 
Stevie Wonder is now playing the harpejji and asks the audience to clap following the drums. He is definitely keeping us involved and busy! Now it is time for "Don't worry bout a thing" with a Brasilian samba edge. The bongos are running the show and everybody is dancing. Stevie Wonder shows once again the strength of his vocals as well as his witty sense of humour between songs asking now the crowd to sing "like we mean it". We all start singing and clapping for " Just enough for the city" and finished A capella with "Ebony and Ivory". He then asks "what can we do for the fun of it ?". It's the beginning of "Part time lover" and Stevie Wonder leaves us amazed by his impressive vocal range from deep tones to high notes and gets us all on our feet. Follows a unanimous crowd pleaser "Signed, sealed, delivered, I'm yours". Trumpets and Saxophone lead the intro of "Sir Duke" and the crowd is still dancing and singing. In order to slow things a bit, Stevie Wonder gives a very delicate performance of "you are the sunshine of my life" with a caribbean sound twist. He has a witty sense of humour and plays along with a delighted audience. After "My Cherie Amour" and "I just called to say I love you", he pays a tribute to the late Bobby Womack letting his longtime backing vocalist Keith John sing "if you think you're lonely now". It's time for a cover of the Shirelles' song "Will you still love me tomorrow" with a zouk arrangements. For the last song, Stevie Wonder is joined on stage by Richie Sambora, just back from Glastonbury who takes his guitar and performs with the band "Superstition". Thank you Stevie Wonder for your energy, amazing performance and generosity. It was a great end of a 2-day festival full of talented acts. See you next year, Calling Festival!

Calling Festival Review: Aerosmith rock Clapham Common

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If you're in London this week-end, there is a lot going on around the Capital. If you love music, your choice is pretty clear: Set sail for Clapham Common's shores and drop the anchor at Calling Festival. Headlining tonight was America's greatest Rock and Roll Band and Rock veterans: Aerosmith. But before this epic show, there is a day packed with great acts.  

On the Main Stage, The 3 Dudes opened the show : With bags of energy and confidence, Sam, Jack and Roger Ploch are the three teenage brothers behind the 3 Dudes. They sang their main title Superheroes, as well as cover such as Blur's Song 2 amongst other titles. 

Running towards the Pepsi Max stage, Chantal Claret is performing. She is very happy to be part of Calling Festival and surprises the crowd: witty, funny, cursing at times, and a voice to die for. What a performer! In the middle of her performance, she sang in the middle of the delighted audience, a song dedicated to the dads called "The pleasure seeker". She also included more recent songs like "Bite your tongue" and Light it up". Dancing, making faces, jumping, Chantal Claret pleased the crowd throughout her performance and felt very honored to perform at the Calling Festival as Aerosmith was the first act she saw on stage.

Where to get a bite to eat? Calling Festival provides an impressive choice: from Thai food, to Mexican, with Crepes, or Strawberry and cream, It will satisfy all tastes and wallets. We opted for Saul's Hog Roast for lunch but Mrs Gauthier offers a mouth watering menu as well. For a sugar treat, Churros Garcia is a very popular option as festival goers are queuing all day.

Back to Main stage for Heaven's Basement: the lead singer, Aaron Buchannan has a great engagement with the crowd and even shyly attempted a handstand supported by some daring fans. They don't hold back in their performance and are also very humble. Throughout the show, the crowd was smiling, jumping, dancing. I really enjoyed the song  "Nothing else to lose" and will follow this band from now.  

By the time Radkey is ready to start, It is raining quite heavily but the crowd keeps the spirits high and wants to listen the three brothers from Missouri. Dee, Isahia and Solomon Radke a.k.a Radkey are listed amongst the bands to watch by the Guardian. Even though their style is more grunge or 80s hardcore than rock, the vocals are far from metal. Dee Radke has a punk crooner tone. Check out some of their powerful songs like Romance Dawn or Cat & Mouse. 

Heading back to Pepsi Max Stage for Tax the Heat: I have been told and read that this is a band to watch! Four smart-dressed lads producing ballsy rock music. The venue is fully packed by fans but also festival goers looking for a shelter who won't believe their luck finding this gem of a band. Alex Veale wowed the crowd with his amazing vocal range and energy. He also cracked jokes between songs like Fed to the Lions or Caroline. There was a queue waiting outside Pepsi Max Stage; all of us were charmed by these boys from Bristol.

On my way to the Main Stage, There is a group of women celebrating a Hen Do. They chose the Calling Festival as the perfect event because the bride-to-be is an avid fan of Aerosmith. They had matching outfits and tshirts made for this occasion.

On the Main Stage, Richie Sambora is performing. Wearing very tight red trousers, a leather vest and a red leather jacket, Richie charmed his fans as soon as he arrived. He performed some classic songs of his last album Aftermath of the Lowdown but the highlight was the long guitar solos and instrumental performances especially from guitar queen Orianthi Panagaris.

Another highlight of the day was Thunder. A lot of fans travelled from around the UK to Calling Festival to see them perform. As they were about to start, a ray of sunshine reappeared as well and more people seemed to have joined the event. Danny Bowes really engaged with the crowd. Everybody was singing, clapping in unisson. Some songs generated gasps or screams like She's so nice. The last song "love walked in" was the crowd pleaser and closed the show on a high note. 

Now back to Pepsi Max Stage for Walking Papers. The venue is already full with the crowd clapping and screaming. The American band from Washington was introduced on stage using a Enio Morricone track with castagnetes. Each member of the band was announced but the crowd really went for it when Duff McKagan arrived on stage. Even if Walking Papers were formed in 2012, Benjamin Anderson, Jeff Angell, Barrett Martin and Duff McKagan are experienced and recognized musicians that don't need introductions. The crowd was excited and screaming wanting more songs. 

Heading back to the Main Stage, I only had the time to watch the end of Joe Bonamassa's performance. His blues voice, guitar solos and amazing musicians surrounding him never disappoint. The Jezabels, Lonely the Brave, Toseland, No Hot Ashes and Yellowire completed today's line up! The crowd was getting bigger, tightly gathered opposite the Main Stage and our minds were now focused on Aerosmith. The weather was also playing up but the sun came out three minutes before Aerosmith came on stage. We enjoyed a pink sunset over Clapham Common tonight and everybody was happy and excited. 

Photo courtesy of Calling Festival

The veteran 5-piece rock band arrived on stage to rock Clapham Common. They.Steven Tyler's entrance was epic arriving on stage dragging his microphone stand. Wearing leather pants, leather vest and animal print scarves and shirt he wowed the crowd with his psychedelic dance moves and flaunting his scarf in the air like a bull fighter and his cape. Opening the show with "Mama Kin", the crowd already at their feet. Before starting "Love in an Elevator", Steven Tyler used the camera close up to do a massive burp. The tone is set! After  Joe Perry's "Oh Yeah", we all started singing "Cryin" during which Steven played the harmonica and used his leopard scarf as a headband. When did he have the time to do that? Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, a.k.a the Toxic brothers showed us that music is about friendship and a group of mates making music together. Their voices did not change over the years and are still harmonious and powerful, their songs timeless and ageless. The Demon of Screamin' went down and sang with lucky and hysteric fans "Same old song and dance". During "living on the Edge", Steven invited his friend Richie Sambora to sing along as he was in the crowd. The biggest crowd pleaser was "I don't want to miss a thing": Everyone from front row to back of the park was singing and smiling. They decided to perform a song from the Beatles "Come Together" a la Aerosmith! The cover was amazing, followed by "Dude looks like a Lady" and "Walk this way", which made everyone dance in the park. we thought it was the end but Aerosmith came back for a beautiful piano version of "Dream on", Joe Perry playing the guitar standing on the white piano. the very last song was "Sweet emotion" with a big finale with confettis and Steven Tyler with fluorescent face paint. Aerosmith are always the band who deliver the goods and tonight was no different. I was seduced and overwhelmed by the generosity and energy of this band who are still eager to give an epic show and entertain the fans. They get so much love and respect but it is nothing compared to what we lived tonight. Everybody left smiling, singing, dancing from Clapham Common and it was all because of these Bad boys of Boston. 

Skrillex @ Eden Sessions Review

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Back once again to raise the roof in a quiet little corner of Cornwall is The Eden Sessions. Held in the futuristic agricultural experiment, The Eden Project – these one night concert spectaculars have seen some incredible names grace the stage in front of the Biomes over the years, and this year sees the likes of Ellie Goulding, Pixies and Elbow top the bill. 
 
However, tonight is the night Eden comes alive with a dose of electrifying bone-shaking beats from misfit messiah DJ Sonny Moore‎, aka Skrillex.
 
‎After a heavy-handed search by the mass of event security (we are told that quite a lot of 'interesting' items have turned up already and that searches have been significantly upscaled for this particular night of the sessions) we head out to take in the view of Eden from the top of the hill. Giant caterpillar-like Biomes nestled in a lush valley of vegetation are the sci-fi lovers wet dream, and with their burst looking skylights you could almost imagine some kind of alien escape scene. As we stroll down towards the stage and café area, a screeching man flies past attached to a perilous looking zipwire.
 
The cafes offer pasties, burgers and sweet potato fries (all Eden specials of course, no rubbish festival food here) and the hippy-tastic Carrot, Lemon & Sesame burger with a dollop of extremely hot Eden-made sweet chilli sauce is exactly the kind of meal you need before you spend a few hours raving in a garden.
 
The arena itself faces towards the hillside and visitor centre, with the Biomes making for a stunning backdrop, and the curved amphitheatre has a grassy area for reclinin‎g, which many people are doing in the sunshine.
 
Warm up DJ's Chris Lorenzo, followed by Tchami are perfect for the event, a nice mix of heavy drum and bass, and samples of stuff everyone knows to get us in the mood. Running in to join/take over from DJ Tchami, Skrillex in his signature black uniform, black scruffy hair and black Wayfarer sunglasses – looks so out of place at the vibrant Eden, but gets down to business straight away with devastatingly loud bass-drops.
 
Jumping atop the deck rig as flame and smoke canons erupt, Skrillex yells "Yo everybody is participating, I wanna see your hands up like this"‎ and initiates a side-to-side wave from the crowd, whilst simultaneously keeping the music going and smoking a cigarette.
 
As an artist who travels seamlessly between songs and samples, it can be difficult for fans to snatch a bit of tracks they know, but Skrillex makes sure the major favourites are included in snippets all the way through as he energetically leaps and bounces through the set.
 
After a particularly weird set of VT's involving aliens and computer error messages, the opening scenes of Disney's The Lion King appear on screen, accompanied by a heavily remixed and scratched version of 'The Circle of Life' and Skrillex screams "Light it up Eden" to an ecstatic crowd.
 
‎Fan favourite 'Kill Everybody' goes down a storm, with everyone up and dancing, throwing clothes and shoes to the floor in an attempt to be more free, and Skrillex wears his white headphones around his forehead like a halo as the sun dips on Eden.
 
‎For ex-girlfriend and ex-collaborator Ellie Goulding's Skrillex track 'Summit' the stage is filled with stars and white beams of light, but the wonder is short lived as the song is well and truly clipped short in favour of 'Vikings' and 'Rock and Roll'.
 
Calling "Shout out to mother nature for giving us a beautiful day, no rain! Shout out to eden for saving mother nature"‎ Skrillex gives the frenetic crowd what they want, 'First of the Year (Equinox)', samples of MGMT's 'Kids' and some seriously heavy basslines.
 
With Nyan-cat floating across the screen, the night drawing in and the lasers getting sharp, 'Kyoto' is enough to flutter the eardrums of the furthers alien planets, and 'Bangerang' (with a little sample of 'Work It' by Missy Elliot in there) as expected gets the biggest roar of the night. During a 'crowd participation' moment where Skrillex implores everyone to "…get low! We're going to blow this shit into outer space and colonise mars‎…" the true nature of the night is shown – everyone is joining in, ready to go big on the beat.
 
Skrillex's "Shout out to those twin kids, dudes! Start them young! When I was 9, my dad took me to see Metallica, I loved it. Speaking of Metallica, is anyone going to Glaston-berry?" is met with tumble-weed like silence‎ but his appreciation of the Project "So blessed to be invited to Eden, did you guys see that biodome over there? That shit blew my mind" is met with rapturous applause.
 
'Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites' have people dancing like they aren't being filmed… which they are, you can catch it on Eden's youtube channel… and Skrillex closes out this session with an abrupt but warm departure. Despite the crowd chanting for mo‎re, it's the end of the night, and the mass of sweaty bodies and red grinning faces say it's been a damn good night.

Beverley Folk Festival Review 2014

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With sunshine predicted, headlining acts such as Billy Bragg, Lau, Chaz & Dave and father/daughter folksters Martin and  Eliza Carthy, there was nothing but a good do in-store for this iconic folk festival in it's 30+ year. Last year the festival had successfully moved to Beverley Racecourse to allow for a burgeoning number of people wanting to attend. 

Friday evening was off to great start when the Nick Rooke Band livened up a fairly sedate crowd with their cheery, energetic tunes. The 1500 capacity tent was full and almost entirely seated. The band did a great job of energising everyone.
 
Next up was Billy Bragg. He not only entertained with familiar and new songs, but was making the audience guffaw with anecdotes and observations about 'folkies'. Complete with a cup of herbal tea in hand. Whether or not the tea was staged I didn't really care and neither did the audience, we were loving it.  His style was so relaxed and humorous you had to remind yourself you were listening to a progressive icon. Fantastic stuff.
 
After a few navigation problems, due to no signposts anywhere on site, I made the discovery of extremely talented The Sail Pattern from Halifax. Good fortune as their songs and melodies really livened up another crowd and the mood was good. Something akin to Stornoway, with powerful sea shanties and excellent harmonies. They delivered a diverse set list that really showed off their many talents. 
 
On to the concert and dance marquee to catch French band La Vent Du Nord.  Surprisingly this marquee was also seated which was  odd given it was a called the dance tent. But not to be perturbed by this the band encouraged festival goers to throw their chairs to one side and dance. Some of them got up as a result and a spontaneous ceilidh style dance emerged at the front of the stage.  Things were looking up. By the end of their jolly set even the seated were jiggling or waving their arms or both, but the chairs remained firmly in place. 
 
After a promising start to the weekend with some fantastic entertainment I was looking forward to a more lively Saturday. 
 
However, despite having some excellent bands playing into Saturday afternoon and evening there was a noticeable lack of festival atmosphere around the site itself. This became clear when I made a visit to a crowded Paddock View bar where comedian Shaun Hughes was running through his stand up routine. After lots of laughs and the signing of his poetry books,  (his poetry was actually very good) the crowd simply disappeared. I went on to watch brilliant performances from The Duncan McFarlane Band(main tent), Katie Spencer (emerging talent) and finally Mànran (dance tent), who again got everyone on their feet. Yet, somehow, after each event the audience dissolved into silent and empty fields. Strange. 
 
Despite the perfect weather and spare capacity most entertainment was in three marquees and a handful of scattered about rooms that formed the racecourse buildings. If you wanted to sit and chat, outside, there was very little provision and mostly no entertainment. Enjoying a sunny solstice evening in a typical festival atmosphere between your chosen acts was near on impossible. I thought this was a real shame and for me it cast a gloomy atmosphere over the really good things about the festival. In desperation I even tried to get into an advertised workshop. On finding the room up some stairs and at the end of a corridor there was no one there -not even a workshop facilitator. 
 
The festival organisers sell day tickets, they also sell single event tickets which may explain the quiet if most people are visiting for succinct events. Beverley Folk Festival undoubtedly has a reputation and an excellent line up, but what about the things that don't go on the timetable? What about other activities and things to do? It is a festival after all and potentially festival goers are around for three days 24/7.  It would be a great shame to not give a more rounded festival experience. Having looked at the website again on my return I see they have fringe events in the centre of Beverley, with a free shuttle bus so perhaps this is where I went wrong. Instead of waiting on site I should have taken a break on a bus and back again. Sadly not for me.   
 
The rest of the festival line up was, you guessed it, amazing, but  I borrowed a good book for the waiting times in-between. Perhaps something to think about for next year? I hope so, as this was one of the better smaller festivals I've been to for the line up alone.
 
Enough said, Put t' kettle on, it's time for a cuppa herbal tea.

Download Festival Review 2014

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Download: Europe's biggest spiritual home of metal, rock and post hardcore. This year's line up was a diverse range of classic punk to death core such as Linkin Park, Aerosmith and Avenage Sevenfold. For many years Download has bought fans from across the country and surely caters to a diverse range of age groups for up to 90,000 fans. This year's Download had a lot of celebratory elements such as dedicating the main stage to the legendary Stephen Sutton after his amazing efforts for fundraising in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust. His dream was to attend the festival which he acomplished in 2013. Stephen unfortunately passed away last month after his battle with cancer. In rememberance, on Friday, during an interval, the whole of the festival gathered and engaged in a one minute applause as well as his signature 'thumbs up' sign.

 

Photo by Danny North @ Download 2014

Friday –

Welsh band Skindred debuted at Download in 2006, this year was their fifth appearance and front man Benji Webb claims “We present the UK in Music.” Skindred’s original and iconic genre of mental, dancehall, jungle and punk had an elaborate twist when they mixed the Harlem Shake with their set. As any Skindred fan may know Newport Helicopter is a tradition of taking off their tops and spinning them around in the air. Next on was Black Label Society, and although the crowd didn't seem as involved as Skindred’s performance, the incredible talent of the guitarist made up for it throughout the duration of their set. Rob Zombie took to the main stage for this year's opening headliner, Avenege Sevenfold. Robs Zombie's promise to pull off a spectacular performance did not disappoint. Crazy attire, makeup and hair was awash with leathers, hippy flowing tops, dreads, awfully applied tribal style face makeup which all complimented his stage presence which was truly remarkable, hence the term "so bad, it's good". After this performance, the main arena started to progressively fill ready for Avenged Sevenfold. This being their first time headlining at Download, the band have slowly built up their name over the past 14 years to be one of biggest mental names in music today. The band stated “It feels amazing. It’s a true testament to our fan base for putting us there.” Their opening revealed the amazing Hail to the King tour set visuals, which wooed the crowd topping it off with fire and fireworks. Avenage Sevenfold really did suit being a headliner. Their performance was jaw-dropping and captured even for fans who are more fond of their older albums such as 'City of evil', their self titled album 'Avenged Sevenfold' and 'Waking the Fallen'.

Photo by Danny North @ Download 2014

 

Saturday –

Bowling For Soup, who are celebrating their 20th anniversary together, drew in the crowds with their popular classical punk, especially with there 90’s hits such as ‘Girls all the Bad Guys Want’ and ‘1985’. Bowling for soups high demand and their array of well loved hits these were the only band allocated two slots, one being on the main stage. Their hilarious banter got the crowd even more excited. The giant inflatable sheep as a stage prop which they also had on their 2011 appearance gave the band an opportunity to do something bizarre to the sheep, which seems to be a running theme for Bowling for Soup. Predictably, Fallout Boy gave an incredible performance on their glorious return, playing a mix of their ageless anthems such as 'Sugar We're Going Down,' 'This Ain't A Scene,' Michael Jacksons cover of 'Beat It,' as well their new stuff 'My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark,' which is currently in Radio 1's top 40 Rock singles. Linkin Park closed the night and performed an amazing array of 25 songs in 2 hours including their full 'Hybird Theory' album, telling the crowd "This is a special night for us, we've never done this before." Expectedly, the turn out of fans for this was epic as this was a rare moment for fans having the chance to experience their most popular album that was released in the year 2000. After their first album the band then played singles from their new album and to finish threw a signed album into the crowd after a scream off competition with opposite sides of the stage.

Photo by Andrew Whitton @ Download 2014

 

Sunday –

Sunday kicked off with Memphis May Fire on the Pepsi Max stage that included a lot of head banging from the fans and enthusiasm from the band. Many of the band's songs include ultimate breakdowns, which result in the crowd going wild. Similar to their performance in Febuary at KoKo Camden the band never fail to produce a good performance. Later in the evening the beautiful Taylor Momsen hit the Zippo Encore stage to perform with rest of the band members of The Pretty Reckless. During the set, Taylor engaged the audience with her sexy, seductive dance moves and played the fans' favorites 'Miss Everything' and 'Make Me Wanna Die.' The festivals finale headliner and the band everyone was waiting for, Aerosmith. This being their 44th year in the music industry this band know how to pull of a bloody good performance effortlessly delivered the highlight act of the festival. Getting the crowd to sing with him, and singing to women in the crowd as well witty banter in-between song, Aerosmith was the perfect band to finish an amazing weekend of talented musicians, oddly dressed fans, careless attitude and drunken insanity. 

Photo by Andrew Whitton @ Download 2014