Tag: Orielles

Electric Fields Festival – Part 2

This week I shall continue the tale of our attendance at the 2018 Electric Fields Festival in Drumnlarig Castle in Dumfries and Galloway. It was a three-day event, but we decided to head up there for Days 2 and 3 which were the Friday and the Saturday thereby missing Orielles, Ride and James amongst others on the Thursday’s roster.

I now had an extra hour on my journey with the initial leg from Manchester to Preston where I picked up Jez Catlow and Uncle George en route. We then decamped at the Booths Café in Fulwood and nursed a cappuccino whilst awaiting John Dewhurst finishing work. We all then dived into John’s transit van with the additions of his brother’s Paul and Tony who were also in attendance.

Now, fate and timing had dealt us a kind hand due to the fact that Paul’s sister-in-law Bernie had recently opened up a bed and breakfast in Dumfries located centrally near the train station. She generously offered to provide lodgings and fed and watered us for the weekend, a lovely lady she was!   

The Electric Fields ‘Red Stripe’ posse. Image Credit Tony Dewhurst.

On arrival, we had a skelp around some of the town’s hostelries before jumping into a cab down to the festival entrance point. We slid down the hill and it was a green tinged and pretty location, and the weather was thankfully behaving itself.

They had pronounced themselves as being encompassed within the boutique festival category, and the set up reminded me of the Connect Festival I attended at Inverary Castle back in 2007. They also had the huge bonus of a real ale tent which provided a welcome alternative to the frothy Tennents Lager!

It was quite a small site, and the acts played across two areas, the Main Stage and BBC Introducing Stage. I have struggled to find a day bill listing so am going to rely on my memory as to who I think played each day.

First up were Out Lines who are on Mogwai’s Rock Action label and are a collaboration of Kathryn Joseph, producer Marcus Mackay and Twilight Sad’s James Graham and they had recorded their one and only album ‘Conflats’ the year before.

There was then some psych-pop from Hallo Maud, MC rapping from Lady Leshurr, indie rock from Soccer Mommy and ex Coventry University students Feet, hip hop from Edinburgh’s Young Fathers and a perennial festival appearance from The Coral.

I witnessed a decent country folk set from Tracyanne & Danny who were a collaborative project consisting of Tracyanne Campbell from Camera Obscura and Danny Coughlan from Crybaby. There was a fun performance from the old troubadours Idlewild who I was witnessing for the seventh time and then Teenage Fanclub who fitted into the day like your old Arran sweater!

The most enjoyable set of the day was from Public Service Broadcasting. They were in fine form and the best I have seen them, and they had just recently expanded their sound to include sporadic blasts of joyous brass which only enhanced the sonics of their performance. There were then some predictable taxi shenanigans, but we eventually made it back to our digs.   

On the Saturday we attended a couple of pubs on the other side of the river to make it easier for a tax pick up. In one hostelry there were a posse of disgruntled Queen of the South fans, Dumfries football team, who had left the nearby ground in disgust when they were 4-0 down to Ayr at half time!

Idles on stage. Image Credit www.pinterest.com

I saw a portion of the Horrors set and some rock/dance crossover sounds from Makeness which consists of a UK based producer called Kyle Molleson. The latter has recently had his biggest tour so far with a support slot with Unknown Mortal Orchestra. I also caught a noisy performance from Brighton band Black Honey and a couple of tracks from Noel Gallagher & the High Flying Birds on the Main Stage.  

My favourite three acts of the day were on the BBC Introducing Stage with first up being Baxter Dury. He has chiselled out of a music career for himself and moved away from being famous just for the fact that he was Ian’s son. Next on were Sunflower Bean, a three-piece from New York who I thoroughly enjoyed with their swirly sounds, reminding me of Fleetwood Mac and The Orielles.

 The undeniable highlight was Idles who are a proper throwback band with their socially conscious ethos, passion and glorious intensity. They pour everything into each performance and must be absolutely exhausted afterwards. The only downside was that we had already booked a cab for a specific time which resulted in only catching two thirds of their show, and I never yet seen them again!  

The New Bazaar. Image Credit cdlh.co.uk

The day’s music wasn’t finished though as when we landed back in town, we headed to Dumfries New Bazaar. The pub’s main claim to fame was that it was the location of the formation of the aforementioned Queen of the South and there is a plaque to commemorate that first formal meeting on 26th March 1919. On the night we saw a local band called Nearly Not Guilty which wrapped up nicely the weekend’s entertainment.

Manchester Venue 31 Night and Day – Part 3

In my humble opinion the most criminally underrated band over the last 15 years is a band from Norwich called Sennen. They formed in 2002 and were named after a Ride track and have produced five excellent albums which I return to on a regular basis. They are in the post-rock Mogwai mould with a softer side and they produce hypnotic music with hushed shoegaze harmonies.

I think what has hindered them is their aversion to touring and in those 19 years of existence they have not yet totalled 150 gigs, UK Subs and Status Quo would probably hit the total in a calendar year. Prior to me becoming aware of them they played the Cellar Bar in Blackburn. I was aware of a Deaf Institute gig but couldn’t attend but in retrospect was glad I didn’t make it as it transpired, they only did a short post-midnight set.

Thus, when I heard they were playing Night and Day on Easter Monday in 2010 I ensured I would be in attendance. I recall Uncle George and I trying to find somewhere beforehand to eat in and around Rochdale Road near the Wing Yip supermarket and we ended up in a little noodle bar. The area we were scouring that night is now unrecognisable as it subsequently turned into the regentrified Ancoats area.  

Rather sadly, there cannot have been more than 20 people in the venue. Despite the band being somewhat rusty I thoroughly enjoyed their 45-minute set. I also had a parlay with them afterwards and they turned out to be genuine down to earth lads. They were supported on the night by Rarely Spun.

See the source image
Sennen. Image Credit Last FM.

The following year we saw Slaughter and the Dogs, the old punk band who formed in the local suburb of Wythenshawe. They were in very good form with a terrific crowd interaction and it was a fine gig. The night ended in chaos as we miscalculated the time and subsequently missed the last train from Victoria. This resulted in an expensive cab home on a very filthy rainy night, and I was very glad to land home that night!

In 2018, I attended a gig there with my North East correspondent Jamie Young. We had a pre gig visit to the infamous Marble Arch pub and a pizza in the Mackie Mayor food hall. The band in question was Black Delta Movement, a psychedelic garage rock outfit from Kingston Upon Hull. Regretfully, it was a disappointing set and they were outshone by the support band Mr Strange, an engaging three-piece band from Isle of Wight.  

Later that year, I went to see the Orielles from Halifax accompanied by Gill and one of the brightest people I know, Dr Laura Buckley. The bands fortunes were on the upswing at that point, but they honoured a commitment to play Night and Day which was gracious of them. They have a quirky off kilter sound but were an enjoyable watch. They were supported by a mournful downbeat set from Laetitia Sadler, who is better known as a member of Stereolab and Le Price Maori.

Saving the best to last was one of those random gigs that you very rarely encounter by catching a remarkable band at the inception of their career and you know instantly it is a privilege to be there. At the Dot to Dot festival in 2018 we happened to wander into the venue just before a very early performance from Dublin’s finest Fontaines DC.

See the source image
Fontaines DC on stage. Image Credit Irish Times

They wandered on and had a captivating presence with lead singer Grian Chatten prowling the stage like a caged tiger and the band in perfect synch behind him. They only played a 30-minute set (perfect pint supping timespan) but what a fabulous half an hour they produced. Algarve Ray was also in attendance and he looked as awestruck as me after the gig!