Leeds Festival

Photo from Leeds Festival official website

Leeds Festival 2015 - Wishful Thinking

With the announcement of Metallica last night, I was left feeling disappointed with what could have been a fantastic end to the day.

With speculation of Foo Fighters, Libertines, the Strokes, or Blur, I would have been over the moon with any of them.

However it was rock legends Metallica that will be headlining main stage over the weekend in August. Not my cup of tea but it is certainly an amazing scoop for the festival.

With Manchester Orchestra, Pierce the Veil, and Wilkinson also announced, this announcement couldn't have got any worse for me.

If it wasn't for the fact that the back from the wilderness Jamie T being announced, there was a high possibility that Leeds Festival wouldn't be happening for me this year.

After missing Jamie T a couple of weeks ago in Newcastle I am desperate to see him. Maybe Metallica will change my opinion of them.

I was in the same situation this time last year with the Blink 182/Courteeners announcement. I hated Blink 182 but loved Courteeners, similar to my love for Jamie T and dislike to Metallica this year. Since seeing Blink 182 live they have become one of my favourite bands.

It is strange what seeing a band live can do...

I guess the rest of the line up will impress me, personally I am hoping for the likes of Tame Impala, Kasabian, Jaws, Wombats, Drowners, and others that I could continue listing forever.

My real hope though is Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds to headline. If Kasabian can headline Glastonbury (the best British festival by far) then surely NGHFB can headline Reading and Leeds? I hope so anyway...

We will have to keep alert for further announcements and I'm sure hundreds of bands will be  rumoured between now and then.

Who do you think will headline or simply just play at the festival. Let me know your thoughts on Twitter.

Courteeners - Heaton Park

Photo from Leeds Festival's official site. No copyright infringement intended.

Courteeners - Heaton Park - June 5th 2015

With the potential to be the gig of the year, Courteeners will entertain a 20,000 crowd (no doubt sell out) at Manchester's Heaton Park.

With speculation of the venue, many on Twitter suggesting Old Trafford Cricket Ground as well as the more intimate venue of the Night & Day, it was confirmed this morning that Heaton Park will host Courteeners homecoming gig!

I (along with thousands more) were gobsmacked that a Manchester date wasn't announced on the Concrete Love tour of this year. Fray confirmed that this wasn't a tease but that something special would happen in Manchester next year.

He has followed up his word magnificently.

Being the first band to headline the venue since Manc legends The Stone Roses, the pressure is on to fill Roses' boots, as well as for the Courteeners to top their Castlefield Bowl gig.

After impressing the masses headlining the NME/Radio 1 tent at Reading & Leeds Festival over the summer, then blowing the crowd away at their own headline gigs over the past month or so, the least you can expect from Fray and the boys is a world class performance.

Throughout this past Concrete Love promoted tour the band walked off stage several times due to flare and smoke bombs being let off by the crowd. I assume that playing an outdoor gig will stop them from doing this. The atmosphere will be insane if pyrotechnics light up the Manchester sky.

If the line up is as impressive as their Castlefield Bowl gig then the crowd will be getting excellent value for money. Courteeners alone are worth the admission of £30, but there would be nothing worse than an announcement of disappointing support.

This could possibly the last time we see and hear from Courteeners for a long time so surely they will intend on going out with a bang. For a band who receive minimal airtime, Courteeners have established themselves through social media as well as playing as guests for Morrissey and the Killers to name just two.

With four albums released it is inevitable that Courteeners set list will consist of both quality and quantity.

The Heaton Park crowd has only been set as 20,000, however Heaton Park is much larger than this so expect an extended allocation if/when Courteeners sell out.

As far, it is between Foo Fighters' stadium tour and this Heaton Park Courteeners gig that will battle it out for gig of the year.

Tickets are on sale Friday at 9am from the usual ticket sites.

DO NOT MISS THIS ONE

Catfish and the Bottlemen - Live Review

Catfish and the Bottlemen - Academy, Newcastle (15/11/14)

Callum Thornhill

A full UK tour sold out, endless festivals this summer, and recently back from the USA - is there any stopping Catfish and the Bottlemen?

Judging on their performance last night in Newcastle, the answer is no!

Phenomenal from start to finish, the Llandudno (plus Geordie Bondy) four piece are a must for any live music enthusiast.

Playing hits from debut LP, the Balcony, Newcastle welcomed Catfish and the Bottlemen with open arms.

Opening with pre-album single, Rango, this set the tempo for the follow up of Pacifier (also released as a B Side to Homesick).

The Balcony was performed in full and band frontman Van McCann was soaking up the atmosphere created by the 400 sell out capacity crowd.

After touring with Little Comets last year, a period where Catfish and the Bottlemen gained a lot of exposure, the two bands became close. It was a touching moment when McCann invited Matt Hall of Little Comets to join the band onstage.

Hall and the band performed Kathleen, a Record Store Day release on limited seven inch, and did a fantastic job doing so.

As all of the Balcony was performed, fans had the chance to hear their favourites for the first time since the album was released in September. Their last UK tour was pre-Balcony era. These included Business, Sidewinder, and one of the very first singles the band released - Homesick.

An acoustic track of Hourglass was witnessed by the crowd. A real opposite of what we had witnessed prior to this track. It was still great to hear regardless of the lack of jumping around.

Highlight of the evening for me was when 26 was played. Hearing my favourite track whilst standing at the barrier in such an intimate venue was a special moment.

Closing with the same song that the Balcony does, it was time for Tyrants.

With an extended intro, extended outro, and mind-blowing instrumentation in-between, Catfish and the Bottlemen left their stamp on Newcastle's O2 Academy.

They return in March and I guarantee that tickets will sell out very soon! Buy there here: Catfish and the Bottlemen - Newcastle Tickets.

Here is a snippet of Hourglass before Van McCann decided that the crowd should sing their hearts out to it: 

Kooks - Live Review

Kooks - Academy, Newcastle (10/11/14)

Callum Thornhill

Playing an array of hits from past and present, the Kooks entertained a sold out Newcastle crowd last night.

Since the release of debut album Inside In Inside Out in 2006, the Kooks have pleased ears worldwide with their upbeat indie anthems.

I missed the Kooks at Leeds Festival this year so getting a ticket to their north east gig was a must!

This tour was presumably to support the latest album Listen, however no Kooks gig is complete without hearing the classics that got them where they are now.

Support came from Walking On Cars, a rather 'pop' band that got the crowd in a cheery mood for the headliners.

Opening with Around Town, the set list couldn't be faulted from start to finish. Including new tracks Bad Habit, Westside, and It Was London allowed them to showcase the new album and not turn it into a solely greatest hits gig.

Comeback single, Down, was also included in the set list. Fantastic to hear live.

The crowd were loving the new album, however the real highlight for me (and most others no doubt) was hearing She Moves In Her Own Way, Always Where I Need to Be, as well as the more mellow Seaside.

The highlight for me was my favourite Kooks track of all time - See The Sun. I was overwhelmed but surprised that it was included on the set list.

I had a sneak look at a set list from the Brighton gig and saw that Naive was the final track of the night. Did this kill the anticipation? Not at all.

Naive brought back memories of listening to the Kooks in the park at dusk with old school friends.

The Kooks will always be welcome in Newcastle and any other village/town/city but have they got another album and tour in them? Judging by the energy that Luke Pritchard gave I'd certainly say so!

Have you seen the Kooks on this tour? Or before? Or have tickets to see them this year? Let me know your thoughts on them on Twitter

Honeyblood - Live Review

Honeyblood - Cluny, Newcastle (2/11/14)

Callum Thornhill

Playing hits from their debut album, Honeyblood came to the Cluny in Newcastle.

The female two piece of Stina Tweeddale and Cat Myers played in the tiny Newcastle Cluny, a gig that had been rescheduled from September after former drummer Shona McVicar departed.

It was well worth the wait!

With their mellow vibe combined with a foot tapping rock n roll, a packed crowd enjoyed the performance and it is inevitable that next time they play in the north east it will be at a bigger venue.

Currently touring with Superfood on the NME New Breed Tour and supporting Catfish and the Bottlemen on the second leg of their sold out UK tour, this was perfect preparation for Honeyblood.

Released in July, the debut album is surely a contender for album of the year. It was played in full last night and sounds even better live.

The set was opened by Fall Forever, a track that beautifully showcases Tweeddale's vocals. From this point on the crowd were nodding along and tapping their feet.

Released in October last year, Bud is a track on the album so was played last night. I managed to get this track on a limited edition pink vinyl. It is almost as beautiful as Stina Tweeddale...

The B-side to Bud, Kissing On You, closed Honeyblood's Newcastle set. In between Bud and it's B-side were massive hits like Choker, Joey, and current single Killer Bangs.

For me personally, it was Super Rat that stole the show. Easily my favourite track by Honeyblood due to the witty lyrics and drum/guitar combination. Everyone seemed to sing along to Super Rat too, making it even better.

Hopefully the NME tour and their appearances with Catfish & the Bottlemen will give Honeyblood the exposure they deserve. A real talent and a pleasure for the ears (and eyes).

Listen to a snippet of Bud here..