Although I didn't manage to see as many artists as I did on Saturday, Sunday actually ended up being the most entertaining day in terms of music. Some of the best sets I've seen this whole year, let alone at Field Day....

EAGULLS
I actually think that I might have enjoyed them more here than I did when I caught their headline set here. It just felt a lot more relaxed, the crowd were definitely more responsive and the band really fed off this - absolutely killer set to start off the day.


DIIV
I've been psyched to see this band for ages now, I'm actually a little surprised that I hadn't seen them until now. Either way, they were awesome! Perfect for a summer morning. Their debut album Oshin sounded glorious live and their new songs from the upcoming album sounded just as strong. Of course when the bass riff to "Doused" rang out headbanging kicked into overdrive. I look forward to much more from this band.


MAC DEMARCO
The talk of the weekend! The most charming hillbilly in the world 100%. This felt like the most improvised set of the day. Most of the time it just felt like a jam session, it was so comfortable and personal. Obviously got a little bit rowdy towards the end, with hotdogs and footballs being thrown on stage and Mac being thrown off it - euphoric atmosphere.


PATTI SMITH
Absolute legend. I felt nothing but honoured to be in her presence that day. I just remember saying "it's sad that nobody really sounds like this anymore". Killer set, and it just felt so effortless. It's definitely easy to tell when an artist has been performing for a while - seasoned but fresh. To top it all off, she played the entirety of Horses - yes!


SAVAGES 
Honestly, the best set that I have seen in 2015. I can say that with some confidence. Savages are like a myth. The intensity in the tent was palpable. They're like a band you'd tell people about and they wouldn't believe you. For them to be able to start off a set with "City's Full" already suggests the calibre of their tracks past, present and future. The whole experience just felt spiritual. This is not a band you want to sleep on - outstanding musicians. Also, Jehnny Beth is a marvel to behold - my goodness! 


RIDE 
I didn't really know too much about Ride before seeing them headline but it was a nice way to end a great weekend. Chilled out summer music. Although a lot of their songs sounded very familiar, I'm sure that I haven't heard anything by them before. Cool old/new discovery for me.

Last week (14/03/14), I went down to Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath (a place that I'm finding myself far too often), to see As Elephants Are. I can't remember the last time I was in a room with so many rolled up t-shirt sleeves, oversized jumpers and Fenders - you could just smell the indie. Songs from Bombay Bicycle Club, The xx and Tame Impala playing during the intervals said enough. I'd never heard of either of the support acts prior to the gig so was looking for something to catch my attention.

New Bays stepped on stage and definitely caught my attention. They smashed their (surprisingly long) set. I knew that they must've been a local band - the crowd was absolutely loving it - a few brave souls dancing at the front and everyone else bopping about and swaying in time with the music. Their final song "They'll Never Know" really left a lasting impression. It was a tough support act to follow so I was hoping that second support act LIME's set didn't turn sour (pardon the pun)...

Considering how indie the whole atmosphere was, the promoters made a bit of a mistake booking LIME for this gig. They came thrashing in with their slightly more noise rock/punk fast paced riffs and startled the crowd. Before the end of the third song they'd managed to clear out at least a quarter of the room, one lad taking out earplugs as he left (not very hardcore \m/). LIME's set wouldn't have been out of place at last week's Eagulls gig but for this gig it was hard for a noise rock sounding band not to stick out like a sore thumb. Although they were a little sloppy at times they played a solid set and other people's opinions aside - I actually liked them. Kind of timid, but they just got on with it and played good music. Always nice to come to a gig and get something that you weren't expecting.

As Elephants Are came on soon after and definitely showed us why they were the ones headlining. They were super confident and just great really. Even though New Bays drew a bigger and more enthusiastic crowd that night, As Elephants Are smashed it. Also, despite a bit of feedback from the lead singer's two mics - yes, two - there was just a great vibe. They played through hits "Crystal" and "Kingdom" amongst others, and their drummer!! I have never seen a drummer play a right handed kit, left handed and hit every single beat so perfectly - even whilst having somebody adjusting their kick drum mid set. All in all it was just a really good set. The crowd was really more merry than hyped I'd say, but it was nice.

Overall Rating - 7/10


Here are some pictures from the night...

A couple of weeks ago (4/3/14), I went to see Eagulls play at Hare & Hounds, Kings Heath. I was really pumped for this gig because my friend saw them the week before and said that the set was killer, I was getting pit withdrawal and after listening to their debut self-titled record, there was nothing I wanted more than to hear it played live.

When I stepped into the venue and had a look around I saw an unexpectedly older crowd and a completely expected male-dominated crowd, but I didn't think much of it. The first support Virals came on and opened up the gig nicely. Chilled, and occasionally feedback laden indie rock tunes that had the crowd swaying a little bit, beers in hand. The set was little subdued but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and the band themselves seemed to be lost in their instruments from time to time - all round a very solid set. Will be interested to see what they're like in front of a festival crowd if I get to catch them at this year's Field Day.

Next up was Autobahn - the crowd tentatively shuffled forward a few more steps. Autobahn didn't waste any time and got straight to the pounding riffs. Although they played a pretty fast paced, powerful set - the crowd barely nodded along (aside from a few enthusiastic headbangers and fist pumpers), but I thought that would soon change when Eagulls stepped on stage...

George Mitchell and co. skulked on stage looking a little more tired than psyched but as they checked their instruments and their mics, I knew that the set would be anything but. The crowd finally edged up close to the stage, being careful to not tread on the almost sacred logo banner strewn over the front monitor. George took a few swigs from his bottle of wine and with a quick signal to the sound guy they came straight in with "Nerve Endings"... and the crowd barely responded. I couldn't even tell whether they were quietly appreciating the music or whether they were just plain bored, but they clapped and cheered at the appropriate times and stood silently waiting for the next song. It was definitely not was I was expecting.

Mitchell's vocals were turned down a little low too which made him hard to hear over the thumping drums and scuzzy guitars. Either way "Moulting" and "Coffin" still riled me up and hit hard. It was a little disappointing when George had to say "There's not much movement guys" and thank God that I was standing by some guys that were ready to mosh. Before long, eight or so of us were throwing each other about and leaping around a small circle to "Tough Luck". Although it was only a small proportion of the crowd, this did have me smiling and singing along - there was a great feel from the pit, it was just a shame that everyone else was kind of stationary and distant. Nonetheless, we leapt about for a couple more songs, the few that remained, shoving each other with all that we had left, before they ended the set ridiculously abruptly with "Possessed". They did not even reach 10 songs by the time they started packing up and striding off the stage.

The crowd finally piped up and practically had to beg them for an encore. George stepped back on stage to play through "Council Flat Blues", but the whole thing just seemed a little bit tired from both the band and the crowd. I don't know - Eagulls certainly deserved a much better and more energetic welcome that night because they have so much to offer live. I just think that the crowd's vibe brought the whole performance down that night, but of course that hasn't changed my opinion about Eagulls' talent. Great band, dead crowd.

Overall Rating - 6/10


Here are some pictures from the night:

February was a pretty good month for albums and you can see some of the albums that came out towards the end of the month here. However, new month, new music - so let's see what March has on offer...


PHARRELL WILLIAMS - GIRL
Since his huge hit with the Despicable Me 2 Soundtrack and massive input on Daft Punk's Random Access Memories, Pharrell has been hot on the music scene. Now that I think about all of the music that he's put out to date he does generally put out a lot of "feel good music" and I'm hoping that's what I'll get when the album drops today.

EAGULLS - EAGULLS
Leeds bred punk rockers have had major successes this year and this is only their debut! If their record continues to soar the way that their career has then hopefully we'll be hearing a lot more of them. They're currently on tour and this record drops today - definitely look into getting a copy or two.






METRONOMY - LOVE LETTERS
This band already has a pretty fabulous back catalogue if I do say so myself and so I'm excited to hear what they put out next with this fourth album. After hearing "I'm Aquarius" it did definitely grow on me - I hope the album does too! Love Letters drops on the 10th of March.






MØ - NO MYTHOLOGIES TO FOLLOW
I have been raving about MØ since around this time last year. After watching her get bigger and bigger and finally seeing more people recognise her talent, she is ready to release a full length, and I am more than ready to hear it. Another record to look forward to on the 10th of March.





ARCHITECTS - LOST FOREVER//LOST TOGETHER
LONG awaited follow up to Daybreaker from what I've heard of the album so far, both lyrically and musically it's among the best things I've heard in a while. They are currently on tour and I know that this record will produce a corker of a show! Have a listen on the 11th of March.






FOSTER THE PEOPLE - SUPERMODEL
I genuinely hope that this sophomore album is able to excel where their debut Torches fell down because the first half of that album was great in my opinion but the second half was very sub-par. Looking forward to a more consistent album on the 18th of March.







SHAKIRA - SHAKIRA
Colombian goddess Sharika is back with a few new poppy tunes for us to dance around to in clubs. After her collaboration with Rihanna on "Can't Remember To Forget You" I can kind of assume that the rest of the album will follow the same catchy song theme. However, I suppose that I'll find out on the 25 of March.





DARLIA - CANDYMAN EP
This trio has continued to impress me since hearing their track "Queen Of Hearts" and writing about them here. I'm actually really excited for this EP to drop because if the title track "Candyman" is anything to go by, it should find it's way to my Most Played list pretty quickly. Have a listen on the 31st of March.






KAISER CHIEFS - EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION & WAR
The Kaiser Chiefs have been quite quiet recently and I'm hoping that that's a good thing and that it's meant that they've been able to work on this new record to a point where it's their best to date. But I suppose we can find out what they've been up to on the 31st of March.




 

BAND OF SKULLS - HIMALAYAN
A band that I've actually only recently gotten into and this will be their third studio album so hopefully this means that I don't have too much catching up to do. I'm excited to see what a full length record sounds like from them on the 31st of March.






March is always a huge month for albums! Check out what gems came out last March here and have a look at what else you can expect later this month below...
 
Imogen Heap - Sparks, Lea Michele - Louder, La Dispute - Rooms Of The House, Enrique Iglesias - Sex + Love, Tycho - Awake, Johnny Cash - Out Among The Stars, Memphis May Fire - Unconditional, The Pretty Reckless - Going To Hell, The Men - Tomorrow's Hits, Kylie Minogue - Kiss Me Once, and Timber Timbre - Hot Dreams.