Posted by kluster on April 15, 2010
Splendour in the Grass is turning the big one oh. At the risk of erring towards hyperbole, we couldn't be more excited about the Splendour in the Grass 2010 line-up. Last time the festival had us this interested was in 2008 when we were able to watch most of it side of stage. Yes, we admit it, we are festival snobs.
But we digress. Without further ado, may we present the line-up for SITG 2010:
• The Strokes
• Pixies
• Ben Harper and Relentless 7
• LCD Soundsystem
• Goldfrapp
• Broken Social Scene
• Grizzly Bear
• Yeasayer
• Mumford & Sons
• Band Of Horses
• Foals
• The Ting Tings
• Hot Chip
• Passion Pit
• Florence and the Machine
• Scissor Sisters
• The Temper Trap
• Laura Marling
• Band Of Skulls
• Surfer Blood
• The Drums
• Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
• Jónsi
• Ash
• We Are Scientists
• Richard Ashcroft and the United Nations Of Sound
• K-Os
• Alberta Cross
• Two Door Cinema Club
• Midlake
• Delphic
• School Of Seven Bells
• The Magic Numbers
• Frightened Rabbit
• Angus and Julia Stone
• Empire Of The Sun More...
splendour in the grass, the strokes, pixies, lcd soundsystem, goldfrapp, broken social scene, grizzly bear, yeasayer, mumford & sons, band of horses, foals, hot chip, passion pit, florence and the machine, scissor sister, the temper trap, ash, the drums, black rebel motorcycle club
Posted by kluster on February 8, 2010
I take my job very seriously. I don't believe in lollygagging and always arrive at a show with pen in hand, notepad in fist, ready to record. It’s an old habit and has developed over time to become something of unconscious gig-rating system. It goes something along the lines of this:
If I leave a venue with less than one of my Moleskin pages full of barely legible notes the band have played a below-average set. One to two: average. Three to four: now we’re talking. Four and above: getting close to top 10 rating. I walked out of Mumford & Sons with a cramp spreading across the palm of my right hand last Wednesday night and a rather squished seven pages filled. Here’s the abridged version of what they contained:
Jonathon Boulet opened the show with the kind of youth and young manhood-filled enthusiasm that is testament to his 21 years; delivered in the form of various extended instrumental offerings and, among others, the crowd-friendly ‘A Community Service Announcement’. The assembly threw said enthusiasm right back at him.
Mumford & Sons stepped into their set with the kind of no-fuss attitude that belies their musical complexity, launching straight into a pensively delivered ‘Sigh No More’. The evocative ‘White Blank Page’ was delivered with the same sincerity as two days prior, during the Sydney leg of Laneway Festival. And so on and so forth through what initially appear to be almost the same set list as played at the aforementioned festival. More...
mumford & sons, oxford arts factory, jonathan boulet
Posted by kluster on February 5, 2010
For the last few years running St Jeromes Laneway Festival organisers have proven that they know how to successfully curate an independent music festival. Thankfully 2010’s efforts allowed them to maintain their unsoiled reputation. We use the word thankfully because we all know how ugly a festival line-up fall from grace can be. Yes, Big Day Out, we are looking at you.
We managed to squeeze in quite a few bands during the course of the day and not one disappointed. The new venue provided ticket holders with more room to move - in space imparting a rather 20th-century-institutional vibe - and the fact that all stages were completely removed from one another meant that they each ended up developing a vibe of their own.
Speaking of institutions, Whitley, post beginning their set with sounds twinged with musical grandiosity, admitted there could think of no better place to play than somewhere reminiscent of an insane asylum. Over on the Clock Tower stage (Playschool imagery, anyone?) Scotland’s Frightened Rabbit were warming up with a spot of ethereal guitar-driven indie rock. ‘Keep Yourself Warm’ rounded up what proved, for us, a pleasing first-time FR experience.
Wild Beasts win Kluster’s non-existent award for Most Pleasant Surprise of The Day in The Form of a Band. Stepping out onto the stage to the sounds of an extended si-fi-esque voiceover they won over the audience with their delightfully discombobulated sound – encapsulating theatrical vocal lines, pulsating beats and windswept hair served on a bed of singer swapping, with a side of Jamaican undertones.More...
laneway festival, giveaway, florence & the machine, the xx, whitley, frightened rabbit, wild beasts, mumford & sons, daniel johnston, black lips, radioclit, eddie current suppression ring
Posted by KB on October 21, 2009
Festival season is just around the corner, and today we got the first taste of what's to come for the new and improved Laneway Festival.
You'll need to check the festival website for details of dates and places in your city, but we can give you the lowdown on what to expect on the musical front:
Echo & the Bunnymen, Florence & the Machine, Black Lips, The XX, Daniel Johnston, Sarah Blasko, NASA, Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Hockey, Dappled Cities, Mumford & Sons, The Very Best, Radioclit, Wild Beasts, Whitley, The Middle East, Kid Sam and Dirty Three.
Phew! To say we are excited would be an understatement of the grandest proportions.
Tickets go on sale Friday October 30 at 9am from GreenTix.
laneway festival, echo & the bunnymen, florence & the machines, black lips, the xx, daniel johnston, sarah blasko, nasa, eddy current suppression ring, hockey, dappled cities, mumford & sons, the very best, radioclit, wild beasts, whitley, the middle east, kid sam, dirty three