Gigs and concerts

[I Bent My Wookie]

I did not see Accident Prone sadly (sober anyhow, the nights may have been different) but there's every possibility he saw the boiling hot, mess of a human I was trudging around.

Here's me finding the quickest way out of the Vukovi mosh pit.

Trees was wonderful. Fully recommend Venus Grrrls to everyone.

[wordsfromlee]

I read on the 2000 Trees FB group that a lot of people left on the Saturday because it was just too hot. As someone who doesn't handle the heat very well, the lack of shaded areas that isn't a tent has always been my one bug bare with the festival.

[d-d-d-dAz]

I caved and ended up going to Neil Young at Hyde Park.

It was too hot to enjoy properly.

I ended up hiding in shade and diving out for the stuff I wanted to see.

Van Morrison was fine... a strange mix for him. At times he was laughing and joking with the band, which is rare for the old grump, but the rest of the time he was calling for solos from musicians who weren't ready for it leading to awkward pauses, or calling for sections early and then berating the band (on mic) for missing the queue. Strange bloke. It just makes for a really difficult watch, as the band seem terrified of him.

Yusuf / Cat Stevens was superb. Incredible. He was probably the person I was least interested in going in (I love Tea and Teaser but he's never been one of 'my' artists) and he blew me away. Sign me up, I'm a huge fan now. Just a sort of really old fashioned, gentle subversiveness and real fire and passion when calling out the Gazan genocide. And he has such monster tunes. I nearly cried during Father and Son despite having no personal deep connection to it. What a tune.

Neil Young was excellent but, as mad as this sounds as Neil Young would be on my Mt Rushmore of music, I was still on a high from Cat Stevens so don't think it landed quite how it would otherwise. I'm a bad Neil Young fan, though, as I'm not as interested in the acoustic stuff as everyone else and really love his heavier grunge/garage/jam stuff. Greendale might be my favourite album. So when everyone else sort of got less interested in the set during those bits, I perked up.

I didn't stay until the end as it was still 30 degrees at 10pm and I fancied getting a head start for the tube rather than get on a packed one in that heat.

So really good, Cat Stevens gets a million out of ten, but would rather it was 20 degrees and I could have enjoyed some of the other bands and not just had to hide in the shade all day.

Edited July 13, 2025 by d-d-d-dAz

[I Bent My Wookie]

15 minutes ago, wordsfromlee said:

I read on the 2000 Trees FB group that a lot of people left on the Saturday because it was just too hot. As someone who doesn't handle the heat very well, the lack of shaded areas that isn't a tent has always been my one bug bare with the festival.

It was awful. Every shaded area ended up being so hot from just people crowding in.

It is something that needs addressing for future years.

[SuperBacon]

The advice for Heaton Park on Friday made me laugh.

"Find shade when you can"

Isn't it just a massive open park? What shade?

[Abe_Knuckleball_Schwartz]

5 hours ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

I'm a bad Neil Young fan, though, as I'm not as interested in the acoustic stuff as everyone else and really love his heavier grunge/garage/jam stuff. Greendale might be my favourite album. So when everyone else sort of got less interested in the set during those bits, I perked up.

Nice to see someone else love Greendale, it is one of my favourite albums of his. I remember buying it on the day of release as I had a job interview that day and it went really well, so I treated myself on the way home with a stop off at HMV… Got the job as well.

I actually brought the Greendale movie on eBay the other week, not seen it yet but I will get to it soon

 

 

[Devon Malcolm]

5 hours ago, SuperBacon said:

The advice for Heaton Park on Friday made me laugh.

"Find shade when you can"

Hospital treatment for sunstroke is preferable to seeing Oasis, in fairness.

[Carbomb]

Liking the love for Cat Stevens - I grew up with a lot of my mum's vinyl, and her copies of Tea For The Tillerman and Teaser And The Firecat got regular play in our house.

Got my solo gig tomorrow evening. Been taking whatever time I can spare to rehearse and work out a setlist. It's not easy; there's always some song I don't want to drop from the list. I feel like a wrestler trying to get all his shit in. 

Pretty excited for it, but bricking it a little all the same.

Edited July 13, 2025 by Carbomb
Clint Dempsey

[d-d-d-dAz]

8 hours ago, Carbomb said:

Liking the love for Cat Stevens - I grew up with a lot of my mum's vinyl, and her copies of Tea For The Tillerman and Teaser And The Firecat got regular play in our house.

Got my solo gig tomorrow evening. Been taking whatever time I can spare to rehearse and work out a setlist. It's not easy; there's always some song I don't want to drop from the list. I feel like a wrestler trying to get all his shit in. 

Pretty excited for it, but bricking it a little all the same.

What do you play?

You'll be great. It sounds like you have experience too, so easy work.

Best of luck.

Edited July 14, 2025 by d-d-d-dAz

[Carbomb]

45 minutes ago, d-d-d-dAz said:

What do you play?

You'll be great. It sounds like you have experience too, so easy work.

Best of luck.

Thanks, daz. I play folk, mainly, with the odd country track thrown in.

[SaitoRyo]

Have you seen the film Harold and Maude per chance, @d-d-d-dAz?

[BomberPat]

Guitar Wolf were fucking incredible. Just pure silly rock and roll fun. Sorry Nine Inch Nails at the O2, I've got a new favourite gig this year.

61 year old Shenji/Guitar Wolf himself did a stage dive while swinging a wired microphone over his head, and I've never seen a sound desk guy look more concerned. Because of the Guitar Wolf image and gimmick, I felt really sorry for him wearing a leather jacket in a sweatbox of a pub on one of the hottest days of the year so far, but he owned it. He kept asking for water, then immediately following it up by asking for tequila. He finished the gig by walking through the crowd, out of the front door, and collapsing on the street. Rock and roll indeed. 

[Merzbow]

I'm gutted I missed the Birmingham date, Guitar Wolf got a friend of mine on stage to play guitar and then got her to crowd surf. Looked like an amazing gig. 

I booked Sly & The Family Drone yesterday afternoon for an early Sunday matinee, we only had a week to advertise it but got a good crowd and they absolutely killed it even as a 3 piece. I think I actually preferred this stripped back set to the full band I saw year!

100% go out of your way to see them if you like the most batshit drum work and heavy almost sludge metal like jazz.

[BomberPat]

5 minutes ago, Merzbow said:

I'm gutted I missed the Birmingham date, Guitar Wolf got a friend of mine on stage to play guitar and then got her to crowd surf. Looked like an amazing gig. 

I booked Sly & The Family Drone yesterday afternoon for an early Sunday matinee, we only had a week to advertise it but got a good crowd and they absolutely killed it even as a 3 piece. I think I actually preferred this stripped back set to the full band I saw year!

100% go out of your way to see them if you like the most batshit drum work and heavy almost sludge metal like jazz.

they got someone up to play guitar at this gig too, and the guy was absolutely terrified when he realised what was being asked of him, because he couldn't play. They spent an age with Guitar Wolf trying to tell him just to jump and play one chord. Good fun regardless.

Sly & The Family Drone are fantastic, and an absolutely lovely bunch too. My other half has known them for years, so we've seen them quite a few times. I think my brother was at that Sunday gig too. 

[Merzbow]

Yeah they're always a pleasure to deal with, not to shill but this is this next gig I'm helping put on. You've likely seen viral videos of him over the past few years.