Neck of The Woods
... what a marvellous and memorable day it has been? As the song says, ‘We’re just having a good time’. See you next year for more of the same please.
And so, under wild Norfolk skies, we entered Earlham Park, the place of many a happy childhood memory for yours truly.
The festival consisted of four stages, two of which were in a tent and there was also a double decker bus stage thrown in for good measure too courtesy of the environmental bus that had the upper deck turned into a live show case area, but more on that later.
On the main stage as the punters trundled into the park, Youth Killed It kicked off proceedings bang on the scheduled time of one thirty and they did a thoroughly good job too which could not have been that easy so early in the afternoon, but a decent sized crowd soon rallied around them at the thrill of their first live action of the day.
They were swiftly followed by the quite brilliant, The Lottery Winners from Manchester, a band that although still in their young career, never disappoint on the live stage such is their infectious nature. They are packed full of fun and joy, not to mention their great tunes. Lead singer Thom Rylance is giving the audience some stick from the off, but they lap it up as much as he is enjoying giving it out. He is as ever running at 100mph and we love him for it, he is a real man of the people that was born to do this job. Katie Lloyd on bass adds real beauty and swagger to the band and is very clearly having the time of her life as she bounces constantly around the stage, while Rob Lally proves once again to be the perfect foil for Rylance’s jokes and banter. The heartbeat that is Joe Singleton on drums just very calmly keeps it all together and gets on with doing his job. We will I hope, see, and hear a lot more from this lot in the very near future. As with any festival timings are everything and for the last ten minutes of their set they are frantically getting told to hurry up and get off! But the band and indeed the crowd are having none of it. They were absolutely brilliant, so maybe next time they appear at a festival they will get the chance to be closer to the main acts in terms of their billing whether that’s in Norwich or elsewhere for they are already very worthy indeed.
So, will it rain, will it pour, will the sun get out, will the sun keep out when it shows itself? Have I got enough clothes with me; will I get soaked? When will I have my next beer? When shall I next have something to eat? Oh, such are the dilemmas and dramas that face you on a day such as this when you’re in great company and enjoying yourself! It can be very tough indeed?
And so, let’s go and see what’s happening around the corner, on the Kilimanjaro stage where Trunky Juno are giving it out LARGE and sounding just great for it. The lead singer is looking very Kurt Cobain this afternoon in his oversized cardigan (nothing wrong with that) and they are sounding very, very impressive at that.
Straight over then to the Waterfront stage, where The Royston Club are already drawing a very large crowd and two songs in the tent is absolutely rocking in NR4. They are going down extremely well and there is no chance of getting anywhere near the middle of the tent let alone down the front. Keep it going lads, I’m off to get another beer.
And so back to the said double decker bus that I have previously mentioned. There was this young lady called Rachel doing her stuff on that top deck, playing to a couple of friends and literally a handful of people and quite frankly she didn’t seem to care how big her audience was as she was having the time of her life with her guitarist friend as she sung about failing her driving test. I take my hat off to you young lady, well done and I hope that you soon pass that said driving test and can soon throw away those L plates, in an environmentally approved fashion of course.
Scotland’s current finest band The Snuts were next up for me and they were in great form as the main area of the park now started to fill up. Lead singer Jack Cochrane informs us early doors that they don’t say a lot as they normally offend when they do. They deliver a quite belting set, kicking off with Burn The Empire and everyone is lapping them up from the off, singing at the top of their voices, it’s a quite terrific vibe that is in the air just now. Always, Maybe California, the beautiful Somebody Loves You, Elephants and Glasgow all get an airing in tonight’s ten track set list. If only it could’ve been for longer, such was their spirit the past forty-five minutes, they really brought something very special to the late afternoon and early evening here today. These boys are real grafters that have each done real jobs in their time, and they deserve everything good that is surely going to come their way, as they stick their middle fingers up, to the imminent jubilee.
Sea Girls draw an even bigger crowd and demonstrate a wide and rapturous appeal amongst the crowd, but it all just sounds the same to me! Personally, it didn’t really take me anywhere. But what do I know? Everyone else leaves the slope very happy indeed as their set closes with All I Want to Hear You Say.
Much to my surprise the crowd take a little while to come back in their droves for the amazing DMA’s but as soon as they launch into Feels Like 37 that’s swiftly followed by The Glow, the crowd starts to filter back and by the time that they are onto song three, Life Is a Game of Changing the punters are well and truly back in the zone for this truly enigmatic band from Australia. It’s a quite blistering start. D, D, D MA’s is now booming round the crowd like a packed football terrace and the band duly acknowledge their appreciation in their normal shy and restrained manner. They ooze class and coolness in abundance. A very much loved and humbler bunch of musicians you will not find anywhere in the World of that, I am sure. It’s been a classic set from them as lead singer Tommy O’ Dell heads off stage while his band mates wind the set down as we all continue bawl out the lyrics to Delete. It has been quite fabulous, a real treat to have them back in the City of Norwich so soon after their last appearance at the UEA LCR.
And so, to the main event. Did The Kooks (a band that I have trapsed miles and miles around the UK over the years to see before my daughter Lily could drive) live up to their billing then?
The answer is a unanimous, YES, they most certainly did. And wow! What a fabulous return to form.
As Luke Pritchard walks on stage, acoustic guitar in hand, the words ‘do you want to go to the seaside’ flow from his mouth and within a few seconds, from that moment on the audience are in sitting the palm of his hand hanging on his every word and singing along. It really was a very magical moment as the crowd thrilled at hearing this classic Kooks track. Seaside is very swiftly followed by See the World and Sofa Song, there is no messing around as they deliver three absolute belters straight from the off.
Pritchard soon informs us that tonight’s set is mostly going to see them celebrating fifteen years since the release of, Inside In, Inside Out and nobody is complaining at this announcement. Yet the bizarre thing is that looking around at the predominantly young crowd this evening, many of them would’ve at best still have been at primary school back in 2007 upon its release. Their debut album has certainly become something of an indie classic now and deservedly so, it brings back many good fond memories from another time for many of us here tonight.
As the evening progresses, it just feels like one song of pure joy after another right the way through the seventy-five-minute set. They find time to play something from every single album that they have made to date, not an easy thing to do, but a true testament to a great band. We are treated to Eddie’s Gun, She Moves In Her Own Way and the raucousness of Bad Habit, then it’s time for a new song (Connection) taken from the excellent new album Echo in The Dark and it fits with some ease rather seamlessly into the set list.
Pritchard is in fine fettle this evening as are his band mates and the crowd is also in quite ecstatic form at what has been a very good-natured day, with a well-behaved crowd.
It’s been one big party and sing along throughout The Kooks performance, Jackie Big Tits, Do You Wanna and then the the ever cheery Junk of the Heart put’s an even bigger smile on everyone’s faces to wrap up the initial proceedings, it’s a lovely nostalgic song to leave us with as we wait until they come roaring back for the encore to give us Matchbox, No Pressure and of course the signature tune that is Naïve.
On this form there is certainly still plenty of space left in the World of indie for The Kooks. They are most certainly back with a spark and that same old energy that we have always loved them for.
Thankfully the weather held out, well just about anyway as we head back to the car with The Kooks still ringing in our ears, I am looking forward to some warm air on my cold body. But what a marvellous and memorable day it has been? As the song says, ‘We’re just having a good time’.
See you next year for more of the same please.
