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March 2012, Issue 20 is a big issue for me, it sees my feature article on Laura J Martin making the front cover.
Honestly, I'm not sure who enjoys the news more, me or Laura J. The colours look absolutely beautiful against the pink border of the magazine...
Issue 20 March 2012 - Laura J Martin - Threshold Festival - Photo by Mike Brits
The interview is at Threshold Festival in Camp&Furnace in Liverpool. A draughty night and a whiskey in hand...
AS WE HEAD deep into the freezing belly of winter, it could well prove hard for some to build up the gumption needed to drag themselves to a weekend festival, let alone muster the enthusiasm to set off to the draughty warehouses of Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle. However, for those who wrapped up in their winter layers and headed to the Threshold Festival, there’s a strong possibility that one surprise awaiting you there was “one-man band”, Laura J Martin. More refreshing than a hot toddy and turning the chilly room into a theatrical spectacle performance, her set will have left you dreaming of warm, mid-summer nights in festival season.
This is my first review for Bido Lito! Magazine in Liverpool, it was printed in Issue 15 September 2012. I ran off to Sandbach for the day to review Cloud 9 festival...
CLOUD 9 IS NOT just a day festival, it is an education on how to cram as much music as possible into your ears in just twelve hours. Game on.
Holding six tents/stages and a few food and other miscellaneous stalls, (Vajazzle Area, anyone?), on the normally-sleep Love Lane Farm in Congleton, the tiny space contains a amazing array of artistic talent.
The first tent you stumble upon, houses The C.A.L.M Stage, from the admirable charity of the same name. wasn't the best music of the bunch. This is the scene of one of Cloud 9’s highlights, despite not singing a note or playing a record, the DJ set of HappyMonthday’s groovester BEZ, cooks up an atmosphere that is practically tangible. Even though he spends the whole time bug-eyes and pogoing about, his ‘performance’ is still vitally effervescent. if you missed him, you missed a treat.
Heading to the Eskimo Mojito Tent high on Bez euphoria, I want and expect big things from ONYX AND CRAKE with their experimental DJ, and mixed vocal performance. Unfortunately their own, over-inflated sense of their music ruined what could have been a talented act. Teaching this duet on how to make an appearance at this stage is MARK ABBOTT as he busts out an Electro/Jazz/Swing DJ set with his song Slippery When Wet being the pinnacle. Take note Onyx and Crake: this guy was the shit.
Next door in The Dome tent MEDICINE 8 are a surprisingly lovely discovery, getting everyone moshing around, just in time for the sun to pop its head out of the clouds. SCRATCH PERVERTS take control of the stage a little later and make it hard to leave - too much talent and not enough time.
The Headculture Tent, representing another worthy charity, brings a nice change of pace to the raving from the other tents. The whiskey-swilling LUKE BROXBURGH is the name to remember from this stage’s performances, if only for the fact that his fan base fills the tent to the brim. His flawless cover of Gym Class Heroes’ Cupid's Chokehold, proves that no one should be wary of performing a well-placed cover at a festival. Aside from Broxburgh’s fans this is the festival’s busiest tent, and not without good reason. Headculture pulled out all the stops to bring something extra to the bill of chilled out acts, with face painting and a giant game of Connect4 on the go adding a bit of fun, to draw in the crowds and raise some awareness for the Headculture charity.
Credit to the festival organisers with the main stage set up as it is definitely the place to soak up Cloud 9‘s offerings, be it rain, intermittent flashes of sun or the acts on show. Earlier on when there were rays to catch THE MINX and THE PARIS RIOTS are easily the standouts. As the night draws in the bigger names begin to dominate. Leeds’ THE SUNSHINE EFFECT put in a good performance, but it’s topbillers THE FUTUREHEADS who prove the most entertaining and deserving of their headlining spot. Making time for some crowd banter and bursting with personality on every tune, they were (unsurprisingly) brilliant from start to finish. The rain falls harder and harder, but high energy tunes like Struck Dumb and Robot, help to make sure that no one's spirits are dampened. If anyone was unfamiliar with these Makern indie stalwarts beforehand Futureheads, Hounds Of Love makes sure that no one present will be forgetting them anytime soon. Without doubt the highlight of their set, if not the entire festival, the band's usual crowd involvement antics are the perfect way to bring a grinning end to a headline set.
How do you follow that? The Euphonic Stage, which has been a non-entity all day, comes into its own as the last port of call for festival revellers as the site of Cloud 9’s closing silent disco. Quite simply, you need not associate yourself with anything else, because this is the best way to finish a festival, day-long or otherwise.
Read the review in its original format here http://www.bidolito.co.uk/issues/issue-15 ('flick' to page 27).
Leeds Blog Day Three - The Storming of the Bastille
We're just going to start by saying that of all the festivals we've ever been to, this is by far the cleanest we've ever been Never underestimate the perk of a shower, even in a campsite it's just a bit glorious really!
We set off purposefully striding along to see PALMA VIOLETS this morning but we're looking at the clash finder and it appears that FRIENDS are playing in the next tent along. What do we do?! We decide that this isn't really a problem and just hot foot it to the NME stage in time to catch Friend Crush - top seller on iTunes over the past couple of months and our favourite. Watching Sam Urbani (Vocals) dance and squeak her way around the stage in a Russian Admiral hat is an excellent way to start a Saturday in general, never mind a festival.
The NME stage isn't our haunt for much of the day but we're intent on keeping it mostly indoors as our necks are completely sunburnt from the day before. So we seek solace in the Festival Republic tent and don't plan on moving for the next few hours.
Luckily the cream of the crop is playing at Festival Republic, we start discussing it between ourselves and reckon that they should have their own flag and become a bit independent. They've definitely got a case because the tent is swelling from the amount of people, even for LUCY ROSE, who represents the blandest booking of the festival. Imagine Colbie Caillat and Taylor Swift, watching paint dry. She's more boring than that, but we're determined to stay in our good spot for ALT-J (you should know we're typing on a tablet and it doesn't have an alt-j function, dash it all).
We Are Augustines
It's good to have a bit of a dance to Breezeblocks, it feels like the boys have breathed some life back into the tent and we're really starting to gear up for our favourite lads from that Landan, BASTILLE.
Like fan girls/boys we scramble to the front to try to get a picture of Dan (lead vocals, keys) but as soon as Icarus comes on the teenage oestrogen in the room knocks us flying. So we decide to just become part of the fun and have a good jump around. Last time we saw the Bastille boys live they played in Liverpool's own Mojo to a modest crowd, fast forward to today and there's hundreds of people in front of them shouting their lyrics with their arms outstretched. Their performance too is so tight, and it's clear the year hasn't been spent twiddling their thumbs, they work hard and it shows.
Lovely to see their new single Bad Blood live along with one of the songs from their Other People's Heartache Mix Tape (and our personal favourite) What Would You Do, originally by City High. Later on we meet up with the boys and commend them on playing covers in their set, and they tell us that they think doing these covers is a good way to introduce new people to their music and we completely agree. You can hear more of our chat with the boys on the Bido Lito! Sound Cloud later in the week, including news of their upcoming gig in The Stanley Theatre in October.
After negotiating our way out of the backstage area, it's surprisingly difficult and frustrating to get out of, we sadly head to see FOSTER THE PEOPLE. It's what you have to do when you're with other people who like a band you don't, but we go with a positive attitude to watch Pumped Up Kicks, but we still leave thinking it's a bit shit. My festival companion loves it though, so every cloud. What's genuinely brilliant is that when we poke our nose into the Lock Up stage to watch OUTFIT we're lucky to see anything at all, absolutely rammed it is, what a way to end the night.
We've woken up this morning on Day 4 with the sun shining and we have another delicious Bold St. cappuccino in our hand and I think it's time we went to see some more music. THEME PARK are on our radar today, we hope they're as amazing we think they'll be, and then we're off to mix it up with MODESTEP. Variety is the spice of festival.
If you see us wandering around come and say hello and we'll give you a Bido Lito! tag, you'll look dead cool.
Well then! What a start to the day: it's not raining, our heads are nice and clear (thank goodness), there's an acoustic guitar quietly playing outside our tent and when we go in search of breakfast there's Bold St.Coffee. It's absolutely brilliant to have a little slice of Liverpool here, particularly with the coffee they're known for and we couldn't be happier to see them.
Plenty to do this morning, but first things first we're going to walk about how glorious the sunshine is today! Sunglasses are parked on our noses and it looks like the only time we'll even think of removing them is to ensure that we don't get go-faster stripes.
By the time we get to the NME tent it's onto being too warm really but the tent continues to fill in its flocks to watch OF MONSTERS AND MEN. If you don't know them and their hit Dirty Paws, they're an Icelandic outfit with quite a substantial arrangement of band members. From looks they're reminiscent of Arcade Fire, but from sound they're an aurally pleasing mix of Cat Power and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. Straight on lovely really and after having a chat about it we decide the male lead vocalist looks like he gives good hugs.
With this friendly thought in our minds we run off to the main stage for BAND OF SKULLS, and get chills of pleasure when they do a cheesy guitar solo. Yes, they do that a lot and it does make us want to play guitar hero but Sweet Sour is an absolutely class song - no denying it.
Seasfire
At one point we're dandering about feeling a bit sad about DJANGO DJANGO's flat performance (gutted) when we stumble across Bristolian band SEASFIRE on the BBC Introducing stage. Standard band set up from first glance but they have a pianist basically playing classical scores on top of their sound, rock/pop/hip-hop. They're a multipack of genres but it seems to be working so we're not going to knock it!
Taking a bit of a break from music we go tagging pink exclamation points around the guest area. It doesn't take long for people to start asking us for tags and the pink pages word to spread, and we meet some lovely people including local man Len Horridge - absolute hero he is. Just going to drop in here as well that we stumble across wunderkin Rae Morris' brother, Will who is keen on getting a tag and talks to us enthusiastically about SoundCity and some of Liverpool's best live venues. He also shares his curry with us, what a gent!
After feeling underwhelmed with TALL SHIPS at this years SoundCity, we're keen to see them tonight to change that opinion, as their following is credibly massive. Thankfully we're not disappointed. It's the only time all day that any of the stages have trouble with mic/speaker feedback and the boys get it bad. But, they manfully power through and get raucous cheers and applause after playing new single Gallop.
We turn then to the main stage, yes, we've caved and we're dancing and singing along with Dave Grohl. Say what you like but when a man is that age and still that energetic, you've got to respect it. Also the 15 year old version of us is still a little bit in love with the drummer and we just can't deny ourselves that silly little pleasure.
The rain has given out at this stage and it's continuing on through to this morning. It's sort of good though as we know our tent is definitely waterproof now - there's always a worry isn't there - and we're just back from having a shower. Yes, a hot shower! At a festival!
So it's fresh bodied and clear minded that we're readying for going to watch PALMA VIOLETS today at the Festival Republic stage. If they're even half as good as their show in Leaf last month we'll be thrilled, bring on the music.
Oh, the freebie in the headline there was the chips one of the catering staff gave us after we Bido Lito! tagged him. Get in.
So here we are at Leeds Festival, I'm not sure if anyone is aware that I'm here but if you've been victim to my email auto response nightmare this probably isn't news. What is news however is that despite not packing a rainmac I'm still completely dry - don't always believe the weather forecast folks - it doesn't always rain!
In true fashion we manage to get here impeccably early, too early really as our press area isn't available for check in until an hour after we'd arrived. Thinking that we're the only ones who are unfashionably in attendance, we chat to one of the rent-a-cops who informs us that over 10,000 people had rolled through the gates the day before. Who goes to a festival two days before it starts? Who!?
Onto the festival fun! Our campsite is an absolute haven, double entrances/exits with toilets that are almost nicer than ours at home (almost but not quite). With our schedule of the night's entertainment in hand and our tent erected, off we pop to the main area to see what's kicking off.
You should know that at this stage it's rained twice and as it goes rainmacs are incredibly difficult to come by - we even go to Tesco at one point and instead we gain a new friend on twitter. But finally we stumble across a stand selling them and a very friendly man who gives us money off because we noticed he was eating Sunflower Seeds, which are a rather sensible and underrated snack.
So with a handbag full of those we turn our attention to the BBC Introducing stage. Sadly we've turned too early as Yorkshire's "finest" comes in the form of CHINA RATS, Yorkshire are definitely in full force, clapping and singing along. But from an objective point of view they are basically a poor man's version of The Strokes/The Arctic Monkeys/The Kooks. And you don't want to be that.
Thankfully sanctuary comes in the form of LITTLE COMETS, playing hits from their album, In Search Of Elusive Little Comets, released last year. We love those boys, fun and frolics are the order of the day when they're around and if that isn't festival spirit, I don't know what is.
Being the first night there isn't much music on, so we find fun in an old favourite: yes kids Leeds has a waltzer! Pretty sure I've strained a stomach muscle from laughing and I definitely have a bruise on the back of my head. My festival companion/audio recorder extraordinaire has strained his back too but we're planning on a trip to the waltzer stand every day. Those and a trip to the cinema tent to see Batman: The Dark Knight, yes I think it's safe to say Leeds is rather fun.
We've brought a stencil and some paint, so make sure you keep your eyes peeled for Bido Lito! tagging around the place.
This is the first and only festival blog I have written so far, it was for Bido Lito! Magazine at Leeds Festival 2012.
Hurriedly typed in a tent and probably the only work I've ever uploaded un-proofed but it was great fun.
A daily blog was a brilliant way to review bands, take photos and do some branding marketing on the go;
I took a cereal box template, punctured a Bido Lito! Logo through it, took some pink paint and set about 'tagging' people with the Bido Lito! Branded Pink exclamation mark. See below!
It was a fun way to tell people who weren't from Liverpool about the magazine and get a cheeky network on the go too.
Blogs for Days 1, 2 and 3 will follow in separate posts.
This is one of the earliest pieces I've ever written from November 2011, it was a short article on the now chart-topping band, Bastille.
It was written for the online portion of High Voltage magazine in Manchester in their 'New Noise' section.
Whilst not being the best written piece of work, I'm attached to it. I discovered this band very early on through a recommendation from a friend and writing this before the UK charts went Dan Smith mad, does feel like something of an accomplishment
BASTILLE - New Noise
IF YOU'VE HEARD this band’s music already, no doubt your ears will be smiling for it. If you’re one of the, far too many who haven’t, it’s important that you find the few releases they have, and sit with bated breath craving more from them.
Mostly from around London, the four-piece who are Bastille are gaining much respect around the underground music scene already from their peers. It’s hardly surprising, as everything about the band suggests that they are going to be huge when they politely smash into the spotlight.
Currently touring/gigging to promote their ‘Laura Palmer’ EP, the band are pulling surprising amounts of ‘word perfect’ fans into venues. This is where the beauty of the band lies, when you hear one of their songs, you’ll want it playing seamlessly for days, everywhere you go. Why is this you’re asking, well, take the track ‘Flaws’ as an example, pick it apart and what have you got? Lyricism that most people will never be able to achieve, a staccato keyboard intro, drum effects that are designed to keep you in time with the music and best for last, Dan Smith’s vocals. This man, has the most distinctive voice in music at the moment: clear as a bell and laced with layers of harmonies, he’ll have you practicing in the shower wondering why you’ll never sound like that.
When you see tracks like ‘Overjoyed’ live, it changes the way you listen to music because of how the boys perform. They are completely in time with each other and you’re glued to what they’re doing, because they’re the kind of band who render rooms into dumbstruck and goose bump-skinned silence. They are true perfectionists, and is the reason they are gaining so much respect, this you’ll see for yourself as your ears stroll around their tunes. A cheeky surprise on their youtube channel is their cover of City High’s, ‘What Would You Do?’, give yourself a little treat with that one.
Honestly, it’s hard to do justice to these boys without gushing, but when a band are engaging and unquestionably exceptional, as they are, you’re always going to be a bit overexcited. These boys, are a force to be reckoned with, whatever way you discover them it’s guaranteed they’ll leave you wishing everyday was Bastille day.
This was a piece I wrote in 2012, published to peter guy.merseyblogs.co.uk (Getintothis) which I worked on with my good friend, Steve Cooper who happened to be pretty nifty with a camera.
At the time, Buskers in Liverpool were under threat from the council to pay for street performing licenses. This piece sparked a huge response that led to a public campaign and a petition, that was signed by enough people to ensure that buskers can now perform for free...
Go around the corner to Church Street and busking is in full force, the street is literally draped with a constantly changing stream of performers. Most of them are working to show that Liverpool isn't just about The Beatles, other musical heritages run through the city, and it's important to them to help people remember that.
One such personification of this is a young Danish busker, with a fiddle. This girl brought a breath of fresh air to the reasons behind busking with one sentence, 'People forget that Liverpool is part of a large Irish tradition.'
For her, busking with a fiddle is a way of bringing that influence back into people's minds and adding to the atmosphere of the city. She is a particularly good example of why people love to busk here, because she says she feels appreciated.
People not only stop to listen to her, but they tell her, her fiddling is a welcome piece of sanity against the busy nature of city life.
his, is the centre of why so many people come to Liverpool specifically to busk, people will listen to them play, but they also compliment them. Almost every street musician will tell you that the response they receive from the local scousers is unfalteringly friendly.
And, it seems that this, is what boosts musician's confidence enough to be able to busk in the first place, they know people want them here.
This is none so true as for The Hope Street Busking Band, which is basically a pseudonym for, the three friendliest buskers in the city.
Talking to these men about their passion is an eye-opener, because they busk as their only source of income and it seems it's incredibly lucrative for them. Agreeing with our young Danish busker, they say that the positive response from tourists, and from Liverpudlians is outstanding.
It's easy to see what they're talking about. Hardly a person walks past without stopping to drop some coin into their bag, or stand and listen while they're singing.
As it goes, these boys are quite the network hub, they have professional business cards and been involved in making a TV advert about Liverpool.
Having been approached by television channels and asked by tourists on advice on where to go out or to eat in town, clearly Ste, Francis and Alun aren't just buskers, they're a public service.
They absolutely love it as well, give yourself a treat and have a little chat with them on Church Street, they'll be more than happy to talk to you.
There is much debate about whether you need a license to busk in Liverpool, you will find it hard to get a definitive answer from anyone.
Whether you ask buskers, the council or your internet search engine the answer will be split down the middle. It seems though, that there can be quite a fight to hold onto particular spots during the day, particularly on Bold Street.
So the opinion on the need for licensing, is again completely up for debate among buskers. Some, like the man who plays the hang drum (you can't miss him!) have auditioned in front of the council, to receive the right to busk in a particular spot.
He and others are told that as long as they're not too loud or causing an obstruction, they remain free to busk at their leisure.
However, it seems difficult for these buskers to fight their corner, for their spot due to the lack of concrete 'ownership'.
This is exactly why some performers want more support from the local council, while others enjoy the freedom of being able to move around to different areas of the city. They say this luxury would be stripped from them, if a strict licensing policy were put in place.
Certainly, new or sporadic acts turning up for the day couldn't happen anymore, such is the opinion of 19-year-old, Dextor Hoff - the travelling busker.
This young lad uses busking as a way of journeying around all the cities in the UK, he says that it's the best way for him to go everywhere he wants to see and he has been doing so, successfully, for five years.
Dexter is one of the many who continue to return to Liverpool streets, because of the inherent welcome he feels when he's here.
'People in London will walk straight past you, pretending you're not there. But here, in Liverpool, people stop and notice you.'
He's got a quippy little sign beside him as he busks, so maybe he appeals to the fun nature that emanates from this particular public. The reasons for him, are plentiful and he hopes to continue to feel free to breeze in and out of Liverpool, being a part of it's active culture.
General response from the public and shop-owners, particularly those on Bold Street is: busking is a part of what makes this city so nice to live in, let's have more of it.
So many people have let performers busk in their shops, and are more than happy to let them do so again.
This is because Liverpool is a creative city, there's no denying it, everything from the architecture, to the way people dress here is an art form. It makes sense then that busking is so popular, where else would it, or could it be as accepted and encouraged than in a place that is so vibrant with music.
The street is a stage we can only hope that buskers continue to take to, as they help sustain a wonderful tradition of Liverpool life.
View the article in its original form here: http://www.peterguy.merseyblogs.co.uk/2012/05/why-does-liverpool-love-buskin.html
