WORDS AND IMAGES DESH KAPUR
SATURDAY TRAMLINES
It had rained all night and Sheffield was damp but it had stopped as we made our way to the Festival grounds for day two of Tramlines, the start had been delayed due to the amount of rain that had fallen overnight, but hopefully, it would be a rain-free Saturday
Arriving at the showgrounds it was full again, the rain hadn’t seemed to put anyone off or dampen anyone’s spirits, but it was muddy and the festival organizers had done an amazing job to even get the festival open.
Again my list of bands and artists was pretty full for the day, October Drift, Chappaqua Wrestling, Stone, High School, Blossoms, and Courteeners were just of few of the acts I was hoping to check out.
My first port of call was T”Other stage for October Drift, a four-piece from Taunton and a band that is starting to gather some momentum and apparently, they put on one hell of a live show, October Drift have their collective feet firmly planted in that Seattle sound of the early 90’s, heavy anthems tailor-made for festivals. Deep vocals and booming guitars, thumping bass and pounding drums, but also clever surprisingly catchy pop-edged choruses. The band performance was electric with every member of the band giving it everything they have, frontman Kiran was all over the stage, in and out of the crowd and at one stage climbing up the rigging at the side of the stage, what a great way to start the day.
Staying at T”Other stage for the next band on the list is Chappaqua Wrestling a band that was formed in Manchester in 2017 and is now based in Brighton, they have been making a name for themselves with a string of very well-received singles and I was looking forward to seeing what the talk was all about. The band were very polished with big driving indie guitar riffs and chorus to match, the dual vocals of Charlie Woods and Jake Mac work perfectly together and are a real feature for me. The lyrics are political and insightful in the right measures, the band has something to say, and it’s all wrapped up in a nod to show gazing bands such as “My Bloody Valentine” and “Slowdive” definitely another highlight for me from the weekend So, if you’re looking for a new guitar band to breathe life into your indie record collection, Chappaqua Wrestling could just be the band for you.
Next up were one of the surprises of the weekend Prima Queen, the project of singers, songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Louise Macphail (Bristol) and Kristin McFadden (Chicago, USA). Their brilliant take on indie, folk, with country and pop was completely refreshing and enjoyed there set a lot
Then it was time for Stone a band with a big reputation right now, creating a buzz having built a reputation on their live performances and they did not disappoint with their brilliant take on indie punk layered with insightful lyrics. Stone served up their brand of Indie Punk and Social commentary wrapped up in 3 minutes of the foot to pedal, raw music bangers and it was great!! In this often somewhat stale and stagnate British music scene young bands like this are an absolute must. Live Stone is full-on, electric and in your face and they make no apologies for it. This is Rock and Roll, Baby!!!
A quick drink and it was to the main stage for Stockport’s finest Blossoms who kicked the indie level right up to 10 with a tight set of punchy, chorus driven Indie Pop/Rock, confident and impressive, their songs are full of melody, hooks and singalong choruses, mixed in with low slung groovy bass lines and synths And lead singer Tom Ogden is a true frontman, charismatic and enigmatic at the same time.
We just had enough time to quickley head back to the Leadmill stage to catch vibing Australian three-piece High school, and they were impressive, overtones of Joy Division and New Order with sharp guitars, synths and keys, i wish we could have watched more than the 3 songs but we needed to make our way to the main stage for the headliners
So it was time for Saturday’s headliner Courteeners, and fair to say they were brilliant, the best I’ve seen them in ages, it was a non-stop trip through the band’s back catalogue but leaned heavily on their debut album St Jude, which in my humble opinion was a masterstroke, fan favourites Cavorting and Acrylic, ignite mass crowd sing a long and when they played Not Nineteen Forever it was biblical, brilliant band and a brilliant way to end Saturday night
And as we walked home the heavens opened, what was tomorrow going to bring?
FOLLOW COURTEENERS
FOLLOW BLOSSOMS
FOLLOW STONE
FOLLOW CHAPPAQUA WRESTLING
FOLLOW OCTOBER DRIFT
My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago and married my childhood sweetheart and life is good.
