NATPLA

Music Blog

[natpla]

THE GARDEN

Wednesday  20:00, Scala, London 22/3/17

This show was so long ago now that I can’t remember the ins and outs of it very well. However, I would feel as though I was living a lie as someone who occasionally writes about gigs if I omitted Krista Papista from this blog having personally witnessed her live in the flesh.

KRISTA PAPISTA.

Literally what the fuck. In all seriousness, Krista Papista needs a TW. Never in my life have I come across anything this close to a visual depiction of a mental breakdown. I understand that there must have been something acutely conceptual going on here, but to the layman watching Krista Papista fall over her own gyrating hips half naked on stage howling along to an array of disjointed pop sound effects this was just too much to take in. Everything from the dramatic hurling to and fro to the dangerously low- rise skin- coloured leggings was awkward. It was too intimate. It was uncomfortable. The pathos evoked was too intense.  

The performance got even weirder when Papista played her hit single ‘Boom Boom Bonny’, accompanied by a projected compilation of family photos. Not Papista’s own family. Too mainstream. These were pictures of the infamous ‘too good looking to be behind bars’ prisoner Jeremy Meeks, duh. What the lyrics ‘chase it chase it, grab it grab it’ have to do with Meeks or his immediate family, I can’t fathom. Although, after re-listening to Boom Boom Bonny online I gather that Papista’s protagonist also has a run-in with a prison cell, so maybe that’s the connection, but I doubt it’s that simple.

Maybe the problem here was the spectator. Maybe I just wasn’t ready (not that I was the only one to recoil…). I wouldn’t be surprised if Krista Papista is actually a genius, only to be truly understood on a higher plane of maturity and consciousness than that which I am currently operating. Who knows. One thing I will say is that Krista Papista was very punk and very badass.  Also her use of conga interludes in between the trash- pop (not meant to be as insulting as it sounds) was actually quite good.

2/10

THE GARDEN

Fletcher really stole the show for this one. Not sure whether it was his birthday or something, but he was literally bouncing off the walls and had at least three of his own numbers which pleased the crowd very much. Also not sure of his whole ‘gone wrong’ aesthetic what with the face paint and the wig and the gloves and the fur hat, but I always have been a big fan of the Mighty Boosh.

9/10

Also, speaking of trigger warnings, Scala needs one above their fucking bar.

[natpla]

SHOPPING

Thursday 20:00, DIY Space For London, London 19/1/17

Shopping are a three-piece post- punk band based in Glasgee. [Following Some careful accent monitoring I have decided that none of them are actually Scottish. I don’t think this changes anything though, so that’s fine, just another southern band in the the city- state scene]

Having travelled all the way from the west country for this gig AND braved walking for ten minutes on my lonesome through a labyrinthine south London council estate to get to the venue, I was frankly expecting nothing less than perfection from ‘DIY space for London’ and the entire evening ahead. This ‘space’, I soon found, was a hipster haven in the heart of the #endz. Everyone kind of looked the same but not really- all the men had ginger handlebar moustaches and the women were all freakishly clean looking, all no makeup and alpaca cardigans. Also the toilets were unisex… it was that kind of jam.

Things didn’t go entirely to plan as I ended up missing the first band Shecket, who I was really excited about seeing after listening to their EP online. Another time, perhaps. Next up were Pinkgrip, also a new band to the #SCENE (coincidentally #scenekid was also their #aesthetic). Pinkgrip were as fucking gnarly and snarly as it gets, with the singer using her darth vader inside voice to shout loads of angry things like ‘I’M A LITTLE BUG’ at a million miles an hour. Whether this was intended to be deeply ironic or not, it was incredibly entertaining. Pair this with a saxophone, drums, bass and guitar and you’ve got a pretty solid punk band. Slightly disappointing finale however, in that the band covered ‘God Save The Queen’ (Sex Pistols version, obviously) and forgot half the lyrics [/riffs../chords../even the saxophonist refused to join in on this one]. Just as I was beginning to wonder whose idea it was to end the set in this way, the guitarist burst in to rockstar solo mode and started playing his instrument behind his head with his eyes closed. Busted.

After another band who we will not mention for their own sakes, it was time for the main event: SHOPPING.

I had my vegan lemonade in hand and I was ready to dance the night away. This was it. Four bars in and I had already decided that Rachel Aggs was the best guitarist I had ever seen. I didn’t care that she would only play sequences of the same five notes for the next hour, that was irrelevant, everything was irrelevant, my journey was worth it, the band sounded even better live and this, I realised, was all I could have asked for. Shopping were in another dimension to the unnamed band before them, another universe a gazillion lightyears away. The members’ interactions with one another on stage were fluid. Billy played the bass like it was an extension of her body and Andrew made singing/ talking/+ drumming look like a piece of piss and not at all as painful as had been suggested by the previous band. ‘Straight Lines’ was a standout tune for sure and had me marvelling at Rachel’s guitar playing for the nth time. How does she get away with not playing chords? How do they sound so good? Why are they so likeable? Why do they live in Scotland? Where did I even hear that they live in Scotland? 

Though they played what felt like the whole of ‘Why Choose’ apart from faves ‘Wind Up’ and ‘12345′, Shopping also managed to fit in some new bangers from their forthcoming album. This left the hipsters hip hopping all over the shop. A great atmosphere and a superb gig. 

9/10

Who knew all it took was a simple riff, leaping bass and some spikey vocals? And no, we will never be sick of ‘Wind Up’, thank you. 

Also s/o to Megabus for £8 return.

[natpla]

LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Sunday, 19:00, The Barbican, London 18/12/16

Something a bit different for the festive season, plus who doesn’t love the LSO, Mozart and Tchaik? I for one love all three. The evening commenced with a performance of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No 1, with Nikolaj Znaider of the Mariinsky Orchestra in St Petersburg on solo violin. The orchestra comprised of the first four desks from each string section (all standing, the shorter members on podiums which was lol), with two double basses, two horns, and two oboes. Melodies were simple, resolutions were predictable, as is always the way with Mozart.

The relationship between the soloist and the chamber orchestra was just spectacular to watch. Znaider clearly had a very heavy bromance going on with the leader, thanking him before and after pretty much every movement. This was unsurprising however, as the leader was just brilliant. He played in a way that was certainly more expressive and impassioned than Znaider, regardless of the fact that his part was being mirrored exactly by at least seven other players at any given moment.

After a great applause (which was notedly absent between movements- this was clearly one well- rehearsed audience) we were ready for Concerto No 4, which was largely of the same ilk as no 1 in all honesty. Here we were treated to some pretty heavy chromaticism which was probably my least favourite part of the concerto due to the uneasiness and discord it created. It just didn’t really seem to fit in and was all over a bit too quickly to make a real point. Criticism aside, the first half was filled to the brim with both virtuoso playing and conducting by Znaider, who made Mozart’s simple melodic constructs look difficult, and his highly-complicated cadenzas look facile.  

In the second half, we were joined by the rest of the full London Symphony Orchestra for a real treat- Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 4. This symphony is a whirlwind of emotion for the audience, the player, and certainly the composer for whom the music depicted the moments leading up to real- life crisis.

Znaider downed his violin and donned his baton for this one, presenting us with an erratic and even comical style of conducting unlike anything I have seen before. Aside from the music, it was fascinating to watch the actual level of involvement that each instrument had throughout the piece. For example, there are sixteen first violins, who play pretty much constantly whether it be the main melody, a call and response between string sections, harmonic accompaniment, or a whole movement of pizzicato. At the other end of the spectrum, you have the singular piccolo player, the timpanist, or even the guy whose sole job is to play the cymbals, or the guy next to him on the triangle- I kid you not. I started paying attention to how these musicians prepare for their solos. The piccolo player had to warm up her instrument with her hands for a while before she played, the cymbal player had to be nudged by the bass drum player when it was his turn. The pressure to get it right must have been immense.

The music itself was great, the opening was a bit wobbly in the horn section, but that was soon forgotten as we were taken through the anguish and turmoil that the symphony depicts, some moments making us hold our breath and others making us want to applause before the proper time. There were, however, no tears, which can only be a testament to the playing and not the composition. One look at the LSO’s busy touring schedule and you can see why- with at least three concerts a week all performing different repertoire it us understandable that not every performance on their tour will be as awe inspiring as the last.

8/10 for troublesome trumpets and torpid tears

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SIMPLE THINGS FESTIVAL 

ONE WORD REVIEWS

Saturday, various venues, Bristol 22/10/16

ALDOUS RH

 Amusing

THREE TRAPPED TIGERS

Mathsy

SHAME

Disobedient

LICE 

Moist

BAD BREEDING 

Angry

TWIN PEAKS

Frustrating

DEATH GRIPS

Overrated

LAKOTA (Various,12-3am)

Droll

[natpla]

GOAT

Monday 21:15, SWX, Bristol 19/10/16

[[originally posted on Epigram http://epigram.org.uk/music/2016/10/goat-swx-1910 ]]

With more cultural fusion than the pan-global buffet at Zsa Zsa’s Bazaar, Goat are in a league of their own. Natalie Pla catches a fleeting glimpse of mysterious world music supergroup as they turn SWX into a circus for one night only.

Earlier this month, Swedish fusion masterminds Goat released their third studio album Requiem. Judging by the title, and the penultimate track ‘Goodbye’, critics were left to speculate for themselves as to whether this would be the band’s farewell album, and thus this UK tour their last. Reading between the lines is something that seems to come hand in hand with the band, who have been shrouded (quite literally) in mystery since the release of their debut album ‘world music’ in 2012.

If you are familiar with the Goat, then it is likely that you have seen them touring the festival circuit over the past few years, playing everything from Glastonbury to Greenman to Field Day earlier this year.

At SWX, the big-top vibe was definitely felt. This was Syndicate like you had never seen it before… clusters of glittery trustafarians tripping on psychedelics dotted the former stomping ground of rugby lads and high-heel wearing socialites. The diehard Goat fans were also out in their masses, some with homemade outfits to match the performers’ on stage.

I should mention at this point, that the identity of Goat’s musicians is unknown, with all members opting to don somewhat culturally dubious garbs and elaborate masks so as to enrich the musical experience rather than detract from it.

One particular fan stood out from the crown brandishing her own totem (a goat skull on a stick made from white gaffa tape) and dressed in her own faux animal skin outfit. She looked as if she was expecting a Bacchic revel, pounding her thyrsus on the ground to the beat of the support act Josefin Öhrn And The Liberation in anticipation for the main event.

When Goat do finally come on stage, they ease the audience into the set by dipping in and out of their lighter, folkier tracks from Requiem such as ‘Union of Sun and Moon’ with its iconic vernal flute/ pan pipe before displaying their true fusion capabilities with the likes of ‘Goatfuzz’.

It is clear Goat have so much more to offer in a live setting than in recordings, with some of the jams only hinted at on the album lasting far longer in performance. The guitar riffs in ‘Goatfuzz’ in particular are greeted with furious head- banging from the crowd, and sound more reminiscent of Led Zep than the Afrobeat rhythms the band are famous for encapsulating.

Up next, music from their debut album ‘World Music’ is played, really creating a frenzied, hungry atmosphere within the audience. Gone are the soft pan pipes, which are replaced with the singers’ shrill yet perfectly intonated wails of ‘Let it bleed’ whilst the light display heightens the liminal aspect of this semi-spiritual experience.

The two singers perform dazzling synchronised routines with ribbons and sticks (not unlike the diehard fan’s totem, although with a touch more authenticity) at times forming a two- headed entity as they move together as a unit.

I notice that there is a lull in audience momentum at one stage, where one of the singers has raised her bangled arms above her head at the front, conducting the first few rows into some sort of stupor… are we transcending?

Next, Goat play what is arguably their most famous hit, ‘Run To Your Mama’, which has such rhythmic power that the djembe is doubled up with the guitar (the guitarist, by the way, is wearing a black phantom mask and a matching bucket hat) to mimic the driving sound of the Indian tabla, all interspersed with power chords.

After an encore with some hits from middle album ‘Commune’, the gig ends with the two singers leaving the stage, probably exhausted from leaping around and singing for an hour and a half. Finally, the attention focuses on the rest of the band who have a 10-minute jam to round the session off. Behind the vocals, you are reminded of the 60’s psychedelia that underpins the sound of this otherworldly outlet. An outstanding performance indeed.

9/10 

(minus one point for not playing Diarabi and having to spend the first 10 mins getting to the front)

[natpla]

SPARKLING

Monday 20:00, The Crofter’s Rights, Bristol  3/10/16

Sparkling are a 3 piece from Cologne comprising of  brothers Leon and Levin Krasel on lead guitar/ vocals and drums, Luca Schüten on bass. Tonight they play alongside ‘Buckfast Crimewave’ (psudonym for one of Bristol’s biggest bands in recent years ‘Spectres’, who aren’t used to playing support and so changed their name in what one can only imagine is out of fear of losing street cred), Yo No Se and LICE, who headline the show. 

Things get off to a slow start at the Crofter’s and I manage to get a chance to chat with the boys, who seem humbled by the prospect of touring the UK despite the fact that it is notoriously shit for looking after international bands. With no rider, no accommodation, and little remuneration, it is unclear as to what Sparkling will get out of this overseas jaunt apart from exposure, which I guess is as good a reason as any. It turns out that one of the brothers is at art school, and has been given a hefty maintenance grant with which they have decided to tour their new music..  A sad reminder of how great Europe is- most of us know that that sort of thing would never happen here, even before #brexit.

Anyway, after rambling on about our respective cultures and the awesome CD design that the boys have come up with to reflect the core of what their EP ‘this is not the paradise they told us we would live in’ encapsulates (the cover is a warped mirror, see what I did there), it is time for them to play. 

Immediately, I get the impression that this band are far more indie than post- punk, which is a tag that they seem to be often affiliated with. Reminding me a bit of Jamie T (a la Sheila), the singer and guitarist bounce up and down like firecrackers at the front of the stage while the drummer pounds his (/ LICE’s) instrument. Sparkling have a unique style.. so unique that they really do seem to utilise the same musical formula for most of their repertoire. Not to say that this get’s tiresome at all, but it does sometimes feel as though the singer is always teetering on the edge of letting loose and going a bit nuts, but never quite manages to allow himself to get there. The style in question is quite simply short rhythmic strums on the guitar which form the melodic basis of the song, an accompanying fast paced heavy drumbeat, and vocals that, I hate to say this, feel very Germanic in their rigidity and accentuated kick. Is this a winning formula? I couldn’t possibly comment, but one cannot deny that there is not a note/word/ beat out of place for the entire performance- the band are tighter than something really tight, like a jam jar that you can’t unscrew.  

The contrast created between aggressive lyricism and classic indie chords leaves the audience slightly stunned in Bristol, but you can’t help imagining that in Germany, Sparkling must be used to far livelier gigs than this, probably with nicer people, a nicer paycheck, and nice warm meal inside them before the action.  A stand out number of the night was definitely ‘Something Like You’, the first track of their EP, which I would recommend looking up, if only to marvel at its glorious visual aesthetics.

6/10

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GUADALUPE PLATA

Tuesday 21:30, Start The Bus, Bristol 20/9/16

When I first saw that Guadalupe Plata were playing for free at STB I thought sick, a band from Spain are playing around the corner and its FREE ergo it will be great. I listened to the band online and I thought fantastic, they sound great too! In hindsight, what I was really thinking was omg yay I get to hear that smooth sultry Spanish accent..

Fast-forward to the gig and Guadalupe Plata are playing a set full to the brim with rockabilly type bluesy jams lasting 9 mins a piece and MINIMAL VOCALS. That’s right ladies and gents, you heard it here first, no effing vocals. The aesthetics were on point; rugged looking Spanish men with artisan instruments- the bass player using a single string setup that looked as if it had been fashioned out of a shoebox and an elastic band. Sadly, the music fell a little flat for me after a while, and even the string bass lost its novelty and started to look a bit pretentious. Having said this, GP’s sound was undeniably danceable and although I sort of wanted to have a bad time due to my overwhelming sense of disappointment at the lack of Spanish, I couldn’t help but dance to the music these cowboys were making.

As the set was drawing to a close, something of a miracle happened. I forgot to mention that Bristol’s Spanish scene were out in full force and fucking loving it, and also that Start The Bus was pretty rammed considering the following one imagines an underground Spanish band would have in Bristol (Hinds are obviously excluded from this thought process). Guadalupe Plata were hiding something, a special treat for the encore of ‘Otra! Otra!’ being shrieked at them by the group of Spanish bands at the front. The surprise in question was ‘Milana’, a golden nugget of perfection, totally embodying everything I could have possibly wanted in a song, and the best possible ending to the night: twanging hillbilly guitars, wailing sleazy vocals about the love of a woman named Milana, and a thrashing drum beat to meld it all together. Lovely.

In the Wild Wild West, these guys could have been the perfect addition to a rowdy scene in a dusty saloon, the Texanesque sounds providing the backdrop to a standoff between rival sheriffs and their mates. In the Wild Wild West Country on the other hand, lo siento pero I can’t say the performance had quite the same effect.

5/10

Also note to self: probably best not to review a band on at half 9 when you have been on it since 4pm- Guadalupe Plata could have been truly amazing and probably were. Well done.

[natpla]

HAPPY MEAL LTD.

Saturday 23:30, The Cave Club @ The Moth Club, Hackney 3/9/16

I would like to say that since I last saw them in the Copeland Gallery Happy Meal Ltd have come on leaps and bounds. Well, they haven’t. To be honest, just like one imagines consuming an addictive drug is like, nothing beats the first time. Back in June, the only things missing from the Happy Meal Ltd experience were a sizeable audience and suitable venue. The music itself was faultless. This time around, by the time the band strutted through the doors a full hour late, the audience had trebled in size and were hovering over the stage like hungry flies buzzing around wet cat food on a hot summer’s day. The demographic was still largely the same; art school kids with a few more industry heads and general punters. A tall man in a floral wife- beater standing front centre stands out in particular- his energy and presence making him appear to be an extension of the band. Whether this is strategic or not, the shapes he cuts certainly help to get the crowd riled up for the first number: Choo Choo.

It’s pretty miraculous, them being a large band, and serving as a melting pot of so many genres, that Happy Meal actually sound good. True, the atmosphere on stage seems a little tense, with each member surpassing the next in outlandish fashion statements and novel ways to play their instruments (the pianist’s tropical yellow number is particularly eye-catching), yet this only further propels the almost feral essence of the performance. Because they really shouldn’t, this really shouldn’t work. The drummer has added an electric pad to his kit for Christ’s sake. Choo Choo serves as an example of their brilliance. The song begins with singer Henry teasing ‘ch ch ch ch..’ before proceeding to narrate the story of a train that goes off the rails. The track is full of ups and downs, relying heavily on the synchronicity of the drums and bass to keep momentum up, and allowing the shambolic polyphony the band creates in the climaxes to take over while Henry births “Choo Choo!!”. And then of course, there’s the tunes that have actual dnb surprises lurking in them (admittedly, these moments sometimes linger a little longer than they should), not forgetting the ska and glam rock infusions, all causing Henry to hurl his body into a series of dramatic poses and driving the unsuspecting crowd ape.

By the end of the set, Happy Meal Ltd. had everyone in the audience wailing where’s Joanna with such a passion that for all I know I could have been the only one there that was not acquainted with the woman herself. It would be lazy to say that Happy Meal Ltd. are like a glam rock spin on the Birthday Party, like Marc Bolan meets Nick Cave meets Adam Ant meets Genesis P Orridge meets Jehnny Beth. So I’m not going to. See what I did there. Happy Meal Ltd. Are breaking all the rules in this game, and it’s about bloody time too.

9/10

[[8/10 for being late and not playing a longer set. + 17.5% for being musically sublime. ]]

[natpla]

MELT DUNES

Thursday, 20:15, Strong Island Recordings Presents: Taman Shud, Shacklewell Arms 28/07/16

As usual, I was late. Initially Melt Dunes' obliteratingly dark psychedelic sound was so overpowering that I found myself migrating to the back of the room where it was safe and a bit quieter. Following the first song, the much more palatable 'What's Your Name' (one of the few tracks that the band have actually released online) came as a complete musical surprise. What you quickly realise about Melt Dunes, or at least what I recall thinking as I searched the floor for my eardrums, is that they're not really about the vocals, or the guitar, or the bass.. everything just seems to exist as an afterthought to the overall sound. At the Shaklewell, the sound in question was impeccably tight and pretty much seamless- only a couple of breaks were taken to re-tune throughout the set and the band seemed to operate a strict no crowd banter policy. It was easy to feel like an outsider peering through a keyhole at this series of private lengthy fast-slow psych jams, often only based on a couple of notes. At times the rich timbre and synchronicity of the music was astounding and an air of simplicity was given off that probably wasn't actually that hard to come- by. One of the highlights of the set was a twisted waltz played on keys, really reiterating the doom n gloom side of psych that this band seem to represent. It's funny because the band I had actually been excited about were Taman Shud. After listening to Melt dunes though, the 'necro- psych' of the legendary headline act was a lot harder to stomach, so I decided to get the last train home.

A fantastical surprise; psychedelic rock's scary older brother.

8/10

[natpla]

HAPPY MEAL LTD.

Saturday, 22:00, Very Love Presents: Cultural Capital, Copeland Gallery 09/07/16

Down an alley in Peckham you'll find the Bussey Building, around the corner from which sits the Copeland Gallery. Not knowing quite what to expect from the evening ahead, I had braced myself before getting on the overground, knowing full well that this night could either be really weird and/or really great or just really cringe. As it happens, it surpassed all these expectations. I must have gotten distracted by the yuppies sipping cocktails in the courtyard outside because when we got in I found myself totally unprepared for the first installation of the night i.e. a petite woman with a shaven head and closed eyes sat on the floor in what looked like a very uncomfortable position in front of me. Time to leave any inhibitions with the doorman and embrace this shiny bubble of art school utopia before it popped in my face.

VeryLove's musical lineup was as eclectic as the art, with a mixture of DJ sets, bands and sound installations. Opening act Oscar Boyle- Think: The Birthday Party's Nick Cave meets Heath Ledger's Joker incarnate- was unrestrained, passionate, and probably on something. Joining Oscar on stage was his resident mover and shrieker, (also) wearing a suit and makeup, who captured the audiences attention with his provocative, angular steps and demanding vocals. Turns out the duo had only met that day, and the set was mostly improvised.

After Oscar Boyle came stellar performances from Cosmo Pyke and VeryLove. When the crowd cleared, the singer (Henry Chisholm?) of Happy Meal Ltd. could be seen clearing the area around the stage meticulously, making sure every dismembered mannequin and half-drunk can of Red Stripe was in the perfect position and not an inch out of place. I only mention this because during the band's first song, Henry hurled himself into these pristine installations with a force that flung him off the stage and onto the floor. The rest of the band's aesthetics were amazing, and again, clearly pre-meditated. Even the on-stage fight that was to break out later between its members seemed to exaggerated for effect.

As for the music, the whole thing felt like some sort of Bacchic revel. The frenzied repetition of lyrics, screeching guitars and out of the blue dnb breakdowns really made the audience lose their shit from the get-go. Stand out tunes included 'Choo Choo' and 'Music', the latter probably incorporating the most dnb out of the set. This innovative fusion of dnb/ dubstep and punk was evocative of Orange County twins The Garden in places. On the other hand, 'Joanna' was probably the most melodic number, featuring a ska jam in the guitars as Henry wailed about the violent murder of the subject. As the final song ended, the dub siren that had been a key feature in the last couple of numbers persisted and we realised that it had in fact been the Copeland Gallery's smoke alarm the whole time, set off by copious amounts of both mechanical and man-made smoke. We took this as our call to leave and revel in the glory of the gig on the last train home. Three sad night busses later, the ringing in our ears was gone but in no way forgotten.

Obscene Art School Dandy Punk. Happy Meal Ltd. are a must see.

10/10

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THE MAGIC GANG

Thursday, 20:45, The Dome, Tufnell Park 07/07/16

Classic anthemic indie trash. Not my cup of tea but the crowd went mad for it, so props to them. I didn't stay long enough to give them a proper listening to so they could actually have been amazing. I'm sure they weren't though.

Before they went on my sister and I were advised by a seventeen year old clad with an amethyst earring and matching gurn that The Magic Gang sounded like someone wanking over a chorus pedal. I dont know enough about guitars to judge this statement fairly, but the sentiment was received loud and clear.

2/10

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SHAME

Thursday, 20:00, The Dome, Tufnell Park 07/07/16

This gig was originally part of Hyde Park's British Summer Time Festival, however due to 'unforeseen circumstances' i.e. British weather, the organisers moved it to the Dome. This changeover turned out to be a godsend, as I can't imagine the atmosphere the Dome added to the night achieved in the vacuous flatland that is Hyde Park.

Shame are a band renowned on the scene for their hair-raising live performances and this particular show was no exception. Unfortunately I missed the start of it (I had probably been in Tufnell Park for about an hour at this point, not really sure what happened there) but upon arrival it was evident that things were already well underway. Frontman Charlie stood leering into the crowd performing his ritual pleasantries “Thank you, thank you, such beautiful people... thank you to every man, woman, child, and everything in-between” with a theatricality that was to prevail throughout the rest of the set- at some points I almost expected him to don a top hat and tails and start waving a cane at the audience. Perhaps another time. For the most part, the sound was tight. Every instrumental gap was savoured and every intelligible lyric enticed the listener to pay closer attention to what it actually was that was being proclaimed from the topless figure bouncing off the walls in front of us. Shame truly had the crowd in the palms of their sweaty hands. At the pinnacle of the frenzy (the stage was invaded, guitars were unplugged, sticks were dropped) you could see the band members break face to catch a glimpse of the hungry creatures they had created around them. Impressive stuff considering they only knew about five people in the audience. I only wish Shame had been higher up the bill so that I could remember individual numbers a little better. Stand out tunes: Gold Hole and Gone Fisting.

Acrobatics, antics, and aggression. Shame need to release something substantial soon or their fans might hunt them down and eat them for lunch.

8/10

[natpla]

TAME IMPALA

Saturday, 20:00, Pyramid Stage, Glastonbury 2016

Tame Impala are one of my favourite easy-listening psych bands. I say easy- listening not as an insult but so as to compliment Kevin Parker's genius. The thing with Tame Impala is that pretty much all the songs on their main albums Lonerism and Currents are massive bangers. This in mind, we were all very excited for their Pyramid Stage debut at Glastonbury this year. KP came on just how we had imagined he would, all barefoot, straw hair and wafty vocals, and the rest of the band were on point too (apart from the keyboard player who was unashamedly hungover af). The set started with some of the anthems from Currents such as Let It Happen and then moved on to crowd pleasers like Daffodils before playing older material from Lonerism. Elephant went down very well as did Feels Like We Only Go Backwards, but hits such as Half Full Glass of Wine were sadly left off the pre-Adele setlist. The crowd was reallly packed where I was standing just in front of the barrier, with some KP fans refusing to budge so much as an inch to the right or left a whole twenty minutes before the show started. This battery farm- style atmosphere definitely added to the overall effect of the music, with well known numbers given an extra sense of KP comradery as everyone sang along with reckless abandon and smiled gleefully at the person next to them.

Lesser known/ more instrumental numbers however, reminded you that you were in fact standing on one foot, your bag was too heavy, that girl right in front of you with the giant space buns really was obscuring most of your view, your friends had drifted, and you needed a wee again.

Really enjoyable but slightly let down by crowds- the thing about being so good is that everyone wants a piece of ya!

7/10

[natpla]

PARANOID LONDON

Thursday, 02:00, WOW! Stage, Glastonbury 2016

I first heard about Paranoid London in Bristol, seeing them on the line-up for the day festival LSTD. I am a big fan of the band Warmduscher, AKA the side project of Saul and Jack from Fat White Family fronted by singer Clams Baker AKA Mutado Pintado, the MC who has provided the vocals on Paranoid London's most recent works. Sad that I missed them at LSTD, more than anything I was intrigued to observe Clams/ Mutado's transformation from frontman to MC in this new Acid House setting. He sure as hell did not disappoint. Neither did Quinn Whalley/ Gerardo Delgado - whichever half of the original Paranoid duo laying down the beats that night.

The tent was packed, the atmosphere was electric and the Acid House was thumping. At first the synthy techno- style bass took some adjusting to. Its repetitiveness was otherworldly, and to be honest we had just seen Redlight which probably wasn't the best pre-listening going, but then Mutado's smooth commentry came in as if to guide us through the trip. I can't quite recall the exact setlist that night for various reasons, but I'm pretty sure that Pintado's feature hits 'Eating Glue' and '300 Hangovers A Year' were played, along with some Paranoid London solo mixes. All in all I had a great time and can't wait to see them again.

The mix of spoken word commentry and acid house beats is unlike anything I have seen before, Mutado all the way!

9/10

[natpla]

WARMDUSCHER

Sunday, 17:00, The Crow’s Nest, Glastonbury 2016

Warmduscher are a band based in London comprised of some of the guys from Fat White Family, Paranoid London and the bassist from Childhood. Their music is loud, messy, and unrestrained. I last saw Warmduscher at The Windmill in Brixton on July 30th 2015 where things got slightly out of hand to say the least (probably the craziest gig I have ever been to) and have followed their movements as a band for some time.

Warmduscher played at The Crow’s Nest at Glastonbury this year, a smallish tent at the top of a steep hill which happened to be covered in a fresh bout of mud at the time of my clamber to the summit. After painstakingly crawling up to the top I arrived to find that my two favourite songs The Salamander and Uncle Sleepover had already been performed and I had in fact missed 15 minutes of the set. This post-climb depression was quickly overcome by the powerful current of Warmduscher’s shambolic sound dragging me under. Dirty guitar, thrashy cymbals, manic hollering vocals, ineffectual synth and some gross bass. Just how I like it. The set even had a comedic twist with guitarist Saul bolting off-stage as soon as he thought the set was through -two whole songs early- only to be ushered back by a sympathetic Clams.

Great stuff, only wish I had seen the whole set.

7/10