George The Poet

Wireless Festival 2015 Full Review

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Thousands flocked to Finsbury Park this weekend for popular festival – Wireless. Each year the festivals line up is spectacular, Summer Festival Guide headed over to check things out. With over 40 acts on both  Saturday and Sunday; including Ciara, Jessie J, David Guetta, Nicki Minaj, Avicci and Kendrick Lamar, Wireless was sure to be a festival not to be forgotten.
 
With the sun beating down on Finsbury Park Saturday's sold-out show, started to fill out almost immediately. As the crowd flooded through the gates of Finsbury Park, they were greeted by a high-spirited Conor Maynard who kicked started Saturday on the main stage, whilst KStewart and Ady Sulieman took to the other two stages. 
 
Raleigh Ritchie and Tinashe later took to the main stage and both performed equally good sets. Raleigh got the crowd jumping around and seemed to genuinely enjoy it just as much as they were enjoying him. Tinashe performed a great up beat set from her latest album Aquarius. Summer Festival Guide caught up with Raleigh Ritchie back stage where he told us about his love for performing, festivals and Game of Thrones.
 
Indiana took to the Pepsi Max Arena where she slowed things down a bit and performed a very mellow set. Fans swayed as the singer performed tracks from her latest album – ‘No Romeo’ and she drew in the crowd however the singer sped things up a bit towards the end of her set and the crowd loved it. 
 
Whilst waiting for Mary J Blige crowds flocked to numerous food vans to refuel. Ranging from Chinese to Mexican, Vegan to Steak Grills and Lebanese to Caribbean food the crowd were definitely spoilt for choice. Mary J Blige dived straight in to her set list starting with her hit song ‘Just Fine’. The crowd immediately jumped to their feet and started dancing. Mary J had the crowd dancing for the whole 45 minutes of her set. With a great set list and her high-spirit Mary J had the crowd eating out of the palm of her hands.
 
Gorgon City and Childish Gambino later took to the main stage. Whilst Stormzy took to the RE: WIRED stage. Gorgon City's up beat set had the crowd dancing with range of hits including 'Stronger', 'Rather Be' & 'Real Love'. 
 
The mult-talented Childish Gambino ran out onto the main stage next and it wasn't long before he was shirtless and belting out 'Crawl', 'Worldstar' and more from his back cataloge of albums.
 
Stormzy had a huge crowd for his highly anticipated set performing his latest tracks to a very appreciative crowd who sung their hearts out word for word. 
 
As the crowd waited for Kendrick Lamar yet again they headed for the food vans and the bars to refuel and rehydrate. Kendrick took to the stage performing many tracks both old and new including 'Backstreet Freestyle', 'Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe' and 'Swimming Pools (Drank). The crowd loved Kendrick and Kendrick loved the crowd. Avicii wowed crowds when he later took to the stage and saw what had been an amazing day off with an equally amazing set and a spectacular light and firework display. 
 
Sunday afternoon saw Wretch 32 kick start the day off on the main stage with an impressive performance. Also kicking off the day around the park was Samm Henshaw on the Re: WIRED stage and Kiko Bun in the Pepsi Max Arena. Summer Festival Guide caught up with Samm Henshaw backstage and he was just as happy and full of energy off stage as he was on. 
 
Charlie XCX, August Alsina and Clean Bandit were the main stage line up for the afternoon. Whilst Arrested Development, Ciara, Pusha T and Rae Sremmurd took to the Pepsi Max Arena. Leaving Damage, Jacob Plant, Tove Stryke, Jaden & Willow Smith, Elliphant and Shakka to entertain those at the RE: WIRED stage. 
 
Charli XCX with her trademark Sucker heart prop and full band on stage rocked the crowd with her hits 'Sucker', 'Breaking Up', 'I Love It'.  Full of energy and with the sun pelting down on Finsbury Park, Charli had the crowd singing with her throughout her entire set!
 
Ciara was off to a rocky start with her mic being switched off for the first 15 minutes of her set. However that did not stop the crowd from singing along to the popular singer's songs and enjoying the show Ciara provided. Jaden and Willow left the crowd slightly befuddled with a rather unusual performance. However the crowd soon perked up when willow performed popular hit 'Whip my Hair' and Jaden shared a new track with the Wireless crowd. The sibling duo were full of energy and provided a good performance, aiding each other throughout.
As night began to fall, crowds were left disheartened when the festival organisers shamefully admitted that Nicki Minaj was running late due to travel complications and that they had lost touch with the award winning female rapper. It was later announced that Nicki and David Guetta had mutually agreed to share the set time which crowd's responded to with boos. 
 
When David Guetta took to the stage half an hour after the announcement crowds went wild as he started his set. The light show Guetta provided was spectacular and he managed to win back the crowd with popular tracks, smoke, confetti and fireworks. David Guetta continued for a further 40 minutes before Nicki Minaj finally made her entrance and crowds seemed to have forgiven the female rapper within an instance. 
 
Nicki continued to work the crowd and performed popular songs including 'Truffle Butter', 'Only', 'Moment for Life' and 'Anaconda'. Adoring fans sang and danced the night away enjoying the all-round amazing show Nicki delivered. Nicki Minaj was the perfect act to round off the Wireless weekend she left the crowd on a positive high and closed the show with a tremendously great performance.
 
Photos from Saturday at Wireless Festival
 
Photos from Sunday at Wireless Festival

Reading & Leeds 2015 Announce Alternative Stage And Transgressive Takeover

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With eight weeks to go until the Festival gates open, the line-up for the Alternative Stage at Reading & Leeds has been announced. With tickets for both sites still available there’s never been a better time to buy a ticket. On top of the already huge line-up including headlinersMumford and Sons, Metallica and The Libertines comes a host of the best in comedy and alternative talent from the UK and beyond plus the annual after-hours takeover from Transgressive Records.
 
Heading up proceedings on the comedy front is TV favourite Milton Jones, whose regular appearances on ‘Mock The Week’ along withmultiple Radio 4 shows has made him the leader of the pack when it comes to deadpan comedy. With sidesplitting one-liners aplenty, his Reading & Leeds performance is not to be missed. Bringing the jokes outside of the 140 character limit, Rob Delaney will also be making appearances at Reading & Leeds, proving his worth as an acclaimed stand up comedian after finding fame through making jokes on Twitter. Also heading for Leeds will be Adam Buxton of BBC6 Music fame who will perform his BFI London show BUG. TV joker Russell Kane will also be bringing his hugely popular brand of comedy to the festival, offering a rare chance to see the funnyman outside of the huge venues he’s already playing around the country.
 
With a line-up also including the brilliant ‘Stand Up For The Week’ regular and star of BBC’s Twenty Twelve Sara Pascoe and Canadian Comedy star Katherine Ryan who was a breakout star on Live At The Apollo both of whom who you’ll have seen on Never Mind The Buzzcocks, QI, Have I Got News For You and Mock The Week. They are joined by wild haired standup and Virtually Famous TV star Seann Walsh, fast rising UK star Daniel Sloss and ‘Show Me The Funny’ finalist Tiffany Stevenson, The Alternative Stage is truly one of the must see parts of the festival.
 
The comedy bill expands even further with the delightfully cutting Stephen K Amos, the hugely inventive Abandoman, Radio 1 star Tom Deacon, the man from TV’s Uncle and Heavy Entertainment; Nick Helm, panel-show favourite the hilarious Holly Walsh, the fearlessly funnySuzi Ruffell, metalhead Andrew O’Neill, comedian and captain of ITV’s Reality Bites Joel Dommett, online superstar, fantastic comic and Beyoncé enthusiast Luisa Omielan, impractical joker Paul McCaffrey,Viral Tap and Xtra Factor star Matt Richardson, Edinburgh 2014 Best Newcomer Award winner Alex Edelman, BBC regular and break out star Dane Baptiste, Magician and Comic just returned from dazzling Las Vegas the side-splittingly funny Piff The Magic Dragon, sketch icons Wit Tank, fast-rising star David Morgan the newly announced co-host of ITV’s SafeWord, and finally everyone’s favourite from Channel 4’s Mr Drew’s School for Boys teacher and rapper, Mark Grist.
 
The famous Alternative Stage is far more than just another festival comedy tent though, as it bills some of the best in forward thinking music and spoken word. Fast gaining a name as one of the UK’s most vital talents after appearing on the BBC Sound of 2015 longlist, George The Poet will be bringing his incredible, realistic, unafraid hybrid of spoken word and hip hop to the festival, which is sure to be an unforgettable moment of the weekend. Another huge name joining the bill is Jaguar Skills who will be spinning some of his most notable, eclectic, multi-genre mixes, alongside London-based electronica and Techno producer Max Cooper who is making his Leeds Festival debut. 
 
On top of this, Transgressive’s annual takeover brings together another hotly anticipated late-night line-up to Reading & Leeds. Fresh after celebrating their 10th anniversary at the festival last year, the independent label is bringing another specially curated bill that is their biggest yet. Hi-jacking the Saturday and Sunday nights in Leeds, the stage will run from 9.30pm until late, featuring a host of emerging and established talent throughout the weekend. Grime hero Wiley will be bringing his fantastic and ferocious live show to the tent in the wake of his critically acclaimed album Snakes and Ladders, released at the end of 2014 to huge fanfare. Looking to the future stars of the genre, Novelist will be also be making an appearance, while the likes of Jackmaster, Madame X and DJ Target will get crowds moving throughout the weekend.
 
Transgressive will be taking over Reading by bringing Dj-ing talent to a Silent Disco in the Alternative Stage courtesy of Alt J, Palma Violets,Peace and BBC Radio 1's Huw Stephens and Jen Long, which looks set to be nothing short of spectacular.
 
All of this sits alongside parties from Buttoned Down Disco and a series of extra special DJ sets from The Libertines’ Gary Powell and The Kooks’ Hugh Harris for Propaganda.

Common People 2015 Full Review

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Bank holiday weekend in Southampton, all the cool kids are down at the beach right? Wrong. This weekend there’s a new festival on the scene brought to you by the wonderful wizards behind Bestival and Camp Bestival and it’s called Common People. Held on the beautiful Southampton Common smack bang in the middle of town, it’s easy to get to and find places to stay, family friendly and with an eclectic line-up sure to please each and every person in your squad.

Saturday sees the likes of George The Poet energising the main stage whilst the rolling thunder of The Portsmouth Batala band is going strong in the foodie area, and people are soaking up the sunshine and sipping pitchers of cocktails on the grass. Around the corner from the Uncommon stage hides the exciting kids area, featuring a tiny chair-carousel, a massive inflatable slide and a whole host of activities from crafts to stilt walking. A group of dads are also haphazardly trying to one-up each other with their hula-hooping skills.

Over on the main stage The South Sea Alternative Choir are looking decidedly mod but are banging out some classic covers from the likes of The Beatles and Blur. The VIP area is awash with sunbathing bodies on the woven canopy beds and the arena is starting to fill up for the masked Ninja DJ, Jaguar Skills. Jag’s set starts out loud and heavy, mixing in his musical influences and pop culture references, The Prodigy’s ‘Omen’ makes an appearance, as does the festival’s (already much played) namesake tune ‘Common People’ from Pulp. Black Sabbath’s ‘Iron Man’ gets a round of applause from the Dad contingent, and everyone loves a bit of Faithless ‘Insomnia’. It’s a powerful set, if a little weird to witness in the daytime, instead of a dark grimy warehouse. 

DJ Yoda is up next, a Bestival stalwart who usually has an incredible AV show, which was advertised but doesn’t seem to have materialised. Nonetheless, Yoda’s mixes are seamless and the guy just looks permanently happy. From Macklemore to The Sugar Hill Gang, Chic to the Sesame Street theme, DJ Yoda just knows how to deliver a great set.

Following Yoda comes De La Soul, who spend the first few minutes of their show joking with the crowd and calling “Can all the photographers, all the journalists down here, just put their cameras down for a second and put one hand up in the air… and get down” as well as teasing the VIP area saying “VIP? We don’t do that bullshit”. Their no-nonsense style brings out the gangsta in the crowd, and there are random gang signs being thrown up all over. 

Around 8pm appears to be dinner time in the south, as the queues stretch out in front of each food outlet, but the offerings are better than your average city festival. No dodgy burgers or disappointing noodles to be had here – it’s gourmet grilled cheese for us (brie, pear and walnut) from a little independent trader, washed down with a cocktail from the Day of the Dead Cocktail Bus.

Big Top headliners Waze & Odyssey are going off and the stripy tent is bouncing as the sun goes down. The Main stage welcomes firm festival favourite and long time Rob-da-Bank pal Norman Cook, also known as the epic Fatboy Slim. Bringing out a choir to intro ‘Eat Sleep Rave Repeat’ is a touch of genius and something completely special, even to those who have had the pleasure of seeing a Fatboy Slim show before. With his creepy white mask torn off, and signature Hawaiian shirt out and proud, Norm hypes up the packed arena with a host of hits and mixes at ear-bleeding levels, and everyone loves it. There’s something pretty exciting about seeing parents and teens raving alongside each other, covered in neon paint and totally lost in the music together. Giant inflatable balls are thrown out for ‘Right Here, Right Now’ and the crowd is going absolutely mental. Finishing up with lasers and another choral rendition of ‘Praise You’, it’s clear that Fatboy Slim has made Common People his own, and to top it off a barrage of fireworks breaks out as the sitewide exodus into town begins.

 

 

Read our Fatboy Slim review here

Sunday starts out a little cooler and there are decidedly less people in early, though judging by the state of some of last night’s revellers, that may be down to hangover recovery in nearby hotels and homes. Over on The Uncommon Stage a decent crowd has gathered for young bid-winners The Costellos who thank everyone for coming out to see them, before diving headlong into a fun and energetic set.

People are dancing on benches and drinking cocktails out of hollowed out watermelons over at the Day of The Dead bus, whilst the West End Kids put on a great main stage show. It’s a pretty clever and creative idea for the early slot at a festival actually, something that is lively and entertaining but can be sat and watched, it’s a wonder more festivals haven’t yet tried it. DJ Craig Charles wants everyone to know that his alter egos from Red Dwarf, Coronation Street, Takeshi’s Castle and Robot Wars are ‘not him’, and that he’s just a DJ who loves to play funk and soul. Despite a bit of a mishap repeating ‘Uptown Funk’ at the beginning, it’s a set that dragged the masses from their bums to the front for a good old boogie.

Following on comes the unstoppable and lewd force of The Cuban Brothers. For those who’ve never seen them before, it is a life-lesson in exactly what the watershed exists for. The cheeky chaps bounce around the stage break dancing and throwing shapes like there’s no tomorrow, with a couple of big jumps and lifts from One-Erection and Kengo-San, some head-spinning and of course an almost-nude run around the gangway by Miguel. Archerio in a lycra fringed onesie is an image which could haunt a child, but luckily his moves are memorable and there are more than a few kids worryingly trying to imitate his twerking. Miguel carries a kids-only chant for “Kenny… the bastard” before making up his own little ditty about touching husbands’ wives whilst they go to the bar… #miguelitomumtouch. Yelling “I’ve had five punnets of nose-whisky” to explain why he can’t run for Mayor of Southampton, Miguel drops into ‘Mike for President’ and the crowd is loving it.

Next up, Kitty, Daisy and Lewis are joined onstage by enough equipment to power the London Philharmonic, which they swap and change frequently. They do a good job and play some truly beautiful music, but in terms of atmosphere, it is a bit of a comedown after the wild abandon of The Cubans. Hot band of the moment, neo-punk rockers Slaves strut onstage and launch into an aural assault of drums and riffs that would be right at home with Vyvyan and Rick from The Young Ones. Gurning like bosses they get everyone amped up, but it might be a bit more of a style over substance situation. At least ‘Cheer Up London’ is an anthem for those who’ve travelled down from the city.

Stand out performance of the day goes to BBC Sound of 2015 winners Years and Years. The unassuming electro-popsters take to their first ever festival main stage and completely blow everyone away with their mix of soulful style of house beats and beautiful vocals. ‘Titus’ and ‘Eyes Shut’ have the (extremely young and female) front row screaming at the highest pitch, and when lead singer Olly really gets into it and winds down to the stage – the mood is electric. New single ‘Shine’ is a surefire hit, and their already fan-favourites ‘Real’ and ‘Kings’ are standalone incredible. 

Band of Skulls bring a rock and roll edge to the proceedings with ‘Hoochie Coochie’ and tell the crowd “We’re so proud to be here for the first Common People, thanks to Rob for inviting us, we hope this goes on for a very long time”. ‘Sweet Sour’ is raw and brilliant, but ‘The Devil Takes Care of His Own’ is the standout song of their set.

Up next Clean Bandit clearly have a following as a slight delay sees people chanting for them to come on, and ‘Come Over’ gets a warm welcome as we say goodbye to the last snippet of sun-sun-sun-sunshine for today. Jess Glynne collaboration ‘Rather Be’ is the final song of an amazing set, and seems like a perfect sentiment for a Sunday afternoon of revelry, especially considering it’s a bank holiday tomorrow. 

As a black curtain is raised over the main stage, it’s time for the final act of the first ever Common People. The ever bonkers Grace Jones is a breath of fabulousness that comes from years of not giving a single eff what anyone thinks of her. Striding on in an ensemble that can only be attributed to the tale of the Emperor’s New Clothes, and high heels, Jones proves that she is the ultimate performer, gadding about the two layer stage and winding with an extremely buff male pole dancer. Hits ‘La Vie En Rose’ and ‘Pull up to the Bumper’ go down well, but it’s her combination of ‘Slave to the Rhythm’ and her mad hula-hooping skills that set the night alight. Grace Jones has been there, done it, got the tshirt and discarded it for a thong. As the fireworks explode over the Common, it’s clear that Rob-da-Bank and crew are onto another winner. With Bestival, Camp Bestival and Bestival Toronto all still to come this year, Southampton has had the first tasty smackerel of this summers’ winning formula, and it is spectacular.

Read our review of Grace Jones here