CUD – life affirming and 100% genuine

November 11, 2018 John Bownas Leave a comment

If every gig sounded this good the world would be a joyous place. CUD’s return to the Islington Academy some ten years and a handful of months after their triumphant explosion back onto the live scene was a treat for the ears – as well as the eyes. Flamboyant as ever, and basking in the confidence that having a whole set of ‘no filler’ tracks makes fully justified, the CUD band’s sound engineer dialed in his best stadium sound settings and unleashed a pure pop beast… Blasting through their best songs – many as chosen by ‘tens of thousands’ of fans in an online poll – CUD demonstrated once again how important it is for bands to deliver hooks that […]

Dubioza Kolektiv – Brighton Concorde 2

November 4, 2018 John Bownas Leave a comment

Dubioza Kolektiv are a true force of nature… This is a band who start fast and finish faster. If you want to give your festival a shot of adreneline direct to its central nervous system just wheel them on stage and let the energy flow. It’s physically impossible not to be swept up in the wake of their furious onslaught, and Brighton’s Concrde 2 crowd was up in the air within seconds as the Dubioza crew gave it everything they had. Photos by Sara Bowrey

Buffo’s Wake at Concorde 2 – photos

November 4, 2018 John Bownas Leave a comment

What a great party band to set the scene for the high-energy action of Dubioza Kolektiv! Buffo’s Wake would be a totally fitting addition to pretty much any festival stage we can imagine…

News
Photo

Ragged Bear 2018 – in photos

October 29, 2018 John Bownas Leave a comment

When your love of festivals is purely about the music look no further than Ragged Bear. No overpriced food – just pop across the road for a Subway. No overpriced beer – it’s all at that under-£4 price point we love, and they have real ale coming out of their ears. No staggering back to try and find your tent – this is a city centre event in the very epicentre of the UK. Nuneaton. And did we mention the music? The line-up never fails to delight… and here’s our gallery of photos to show what a lovely little festival this really is. Enjoy…. FULL SET OF GALLERY PICS HERE.

Wotsit Called Fest 2018 – photos

October 4, 2018 John Bownas Leave a comment

A great little DIY punk festival by the sea Two days of raucous noise and a day of hangover-soothing acoustic action in an ideal setting – what more could you want? Check out our full gallery over on our Flickr page. All photos by Sara-Lou Bowrey

News
Photo

The Funking Barstewards – Hastings Fish and Wine Festival 2018

September 20, 2018 John Bownas Leave a comment

The Funking Barstewards have been putting smiles on the faces of festival crowds since they first graced a big stage at Phoenix Festival back in 1993. Still funking it up after all these years with a greatest hits back catalogue of disco classics, the Barstewards’ most recent foray into festival land was at the annual Hastings Seafood and Wine Festival. Headining the Saturday night they lit up the tent with a set that kept young and old alike dancing from start to finish

Photo
Review

Franz Ferdinand at Festival No.6

September 10, 2018 John Bownas Leave a comment

In a weekend of double-named bands (The The, Django Django, Eveything Everything) Franz Ferdinand took up a milder alitaterative theme alongside Friendly Fires – and as a ‘double-F‘ publication our selves we wholeheartedly approve. We also approve of their position at the top of the bill on the last night of this amazing festival before (what we hope) is a one-year hiatus. Whilst The The brought a massive dose of credibility to the line-up, Franz Ferdinand entered the ring carrying a huge clutch of classic contemporary pop songs and the sort of fizzing energy that bands such as The Hives also let loose when given half a chance. As a finale to the last six years of artistic integrity at […]

Photo

Gaz Coombes at Festival No.6

September 10, 2018 John Bownas Leave a comment

It’s scary that Supergrass originally formed so long ago – but Gaz Coombes remains perennially young in a world of aging stars and his stage presence is as bright today as it was when he first stepped out in front of a microphone. Here at Festival No.6 his late-afternoon set on Sunday was up against the ire of Baxter Dury, but Gaz pulled a good-sized crowd and proved once again (if ever proof were needed) that he most definitely still has that magical spark.

Photo

The Charlatans – acoustic and orchestrated at Festival No.6 2018

September 10, 2018 John Bownas Leave a comment

The result of a collaboration betwen Tim Burgess and Festival No.6’s composer in residence, Joe Duddell, saw the central Piazza of Portmeiron village treated to 30-odd minutes of sultry strings backing the chirpy vocals of The Charlatan’s front-man. Rounding the session off with a cover of The Cure’s ‘Caterpillar Girl‘ was a deft stroke of genius, and we only hope that the festival will return on full throttle in 2020 after a planned year off in 2019.

Photo

The The steal the show at Festival No.6, 2018

September 9, 2018 John Bownas Leave a comment

There can be no doubt that The The‘s headline set on Saturday night at Festival No.6 was THE standout moment of a weekend that delivered on almost every level – despite the weather being her usual cruel self. For everyone in the main stage crowd who grew up listening to Matt Johnson’s quintessentially thoughtful lyrics and luxuriating in his powerful production skills, this all-too-short 75-minute set was as close to time travel as the laws of physics permit. Thrown back into the political maelstrom of the mid-80s, the words still echo true all these years later and remain both relevant and poignant. It was just a shame that the curfew was so strict – but at least the finale of […]

News
Photo

1 2 3 … 57 »