Artists I liked

Wolf Alice, Seamus Fogarty x2, The Radiophonic Workshop, Ed Dowie, Gaygirl, Peach Club, Hotel Lux x2, Yak, Shame, Spindle Ensemble, Michael Price, British Sea Power, Spook School, Diet Cig, Dream Wife

Artists that were okay

Keeva , Maple & Rye, Bedouine, The Wedding Present, Siv Jakobsen, Paul Carter, Martin White, Hexmaze, Skinny Girl Diet, Blood-Dope Honey, J.W.Paris, Baby In Vain, ILL, Will Stratton, The Weather Station, Sorry, Waterfall Boys, Bellow Fellows, Hannah Nicholson

Artists I won’t be going out of my way to see again

Dipper Malkin, Danilogue, Rhythm Method, Namlo

Best Gig

Possibly the most fun gig of the year was the Diet Cig and Spook School gig at the Moth Club

Best new band

Hotel Lux

Albums of the Month

• Relatives in Descent – Protomartyr
• Strange Peace – METZ
• Carry Fire – Robert Plant

Best photo

The confusion was in some ways great for us. I’ve heard the venue they’d originally chosen, isn’t great. But if they’d moved it earlier, they would have easily filled the East. As it was, East was half empty. Several people walked up on the night and managed to bag tickets. It’s a real pity. As it was, the half-full crowd, many of whom were enthusiastic teenagers created an atmosphere, unlike any I can remember at Rough Trade. Wolf Alice are clearly picking up a very young and enthusiastic crowd. They’re going to be big..

That’s my one memory of the evening. Wolf Alice put in their usual high energy set, even crowd surfing at the end. But I kept thinking as they were playing. If things go well, then they won’t be playing venues like in London too often. So I felt privileged to catch them one more time before the academy circuit takes them. If you can catch them in the next few weeks while they tour record stores promoting their new album, they’re definitely the band to watch. So catch them while you still can.

I’m not trying to pretending to be ‘feminist friendly’. I’m as sexist as most males. Ellie, the lead singer of Wolf Alice is extremely attractive and it’s part of what makes the band so interesting. But as the Savages have been pointing out over the last year when they’ve written about how they are not an ‘all female’ band, they’re simply a bloody good band. Wolf Alice are the same, a bloody good band and you can only be that if you’re all talented.

You can see from the photos, Ellie’s happy to use her sexuality as part of the band’s image. It’s easy to see this in a cynical way. But the young queue outside the venue before the gig was probably 70% female. Teenage girls aren’t seeing Ellie in a cynical way. They’re seeing a young women with a fantastic voice, strong stage presence, fronting a great indie band and seeing her as somebody to aspire to. The twitter feed the next day was full of girls saying how great the gig was.

I guess what I’m trying to say, is that it’s a great pity if people get distracted from seeing a talented band who seem to be getting better and better as each month passes. Simply because they’re fronted by a female.

Tonight, Wolf Alice were a band bigger than the venue. I mentioned in my last review, that they have everything needed to become a big band. They have a very accessible sound and they’re fantastic live. Ellie’s vocals tonight were even better than I’d heard previously with some interesting little ‘screams’ being added to tail off certain phrases and it’s this constant development of their lie act that’s helped them over the last 18 months expand their audience with every festival performance. It’s pretty amazing that they’ve just sold out the O2 Shepherd’s Bush and tonight managed to fill the Junction in Cambridge, despite the fact that they’ve yet to release an album.

Everything about tonight’s performance was great and the young crowd clearly loved the gig, moshing and crowd surfing throughout the gig. As I left the venue, I heard many expressing that it was ‘the best gig ever’. While I wouldn’t go as far as that. It was a really good gig.

Support tonight was also good. Cambridge’s own Bloody Knees opened the night with a very energetic, direct performance and the Magic Gang were also good.

The Magic Gang

The Magic Gang

Bloody Knees

Bloody Knees

At the end of the gig, both support bands came on the stage. It was fantastic to see three bands on stage enjoying the last evening of a tour where they all appear to have bonded. It was lovely to see these three young bands, who’ve all got a decent future clearly, enjoying themselves. To me, this is what music’s about.

Bloody Knees diving into the crowd at the end of the gig

Support for the night was from Dingus Khan, an enthusiastic group of misfits who seemed to be really enjoying themselves playing music. Although I wasn’t keen on their music, it’s great to see bands who really don’t care and just go for it and enjoy themselves.

The next support act was Kins. Bland.

This was the closing night of the UK leg of Wolf Alice’s tour and also their hometown gig. I was surprised to find them playing lots of new material tonight. It all sounded nice but there wasn’t anything with the immediacy of say Blush. But all sounded like they’ll make good album tracks.

Ellie sounding (and looking) great

The only downer on the night was that I managed to hurt my finger in a crush when Ellie came to the fence right next to me and all the kids surged forward to try and get near her. Two weeks later, it still hasn’t healed!

Support was from Gengahr and a pretty decent Superfood.

Genghar

Superfood

Wolf Alice

Wolf Alice