Chazzstock

I was lucky enough to be VIP at Chazzstock festival! It was great being able to hang out in the VIP bar with a couple of the bands. Here is a review of the festival:

With all the hype over this summer’s big festivals; Reading and Leeds, V, Global Gathering and the like, it’s easy for the smaller festivals to slip through the mass media net. On Sunday 10^th June, Wolverhampton’s Wulfrun hall saw musicians and friends alike get together in tribute to the late Charlie Haddon of Ou Est Le Swimming Pool who tragically committed suicide back in 2010. Not only was Chazzstock a moving homage to a talented man, but it had a line up fit for any indie lover and the profits that were made went straight to charity. I challenge you to find an event as cool and morally satisfying as last week’s festival!

Jack Bissell, co organiser of Chazzstock, fulfilled his late best friend’s dream of putting on his own festival. Although utterly stressed out and ‘hating every moment of it,’ Jack pulled it off and created a night that Charlie would have no doubt been proud of. Jack recruited friends from the music industry and also new and upcoming bands that deserved some attention to play at the show.

Blonde bombshell, Jen Armstrong, kicked of the evening’s proceedings with a short but sweet set. With a voice as beautiful and pitch perfect as hers, it’s a wonder how she hasn’t yet made it as a huge star. Jen was shortly followed by London band, I Dream in Colour. Despite perhaps being unbeknown to much of the crowd prior to the festival, their catchy indie-pop tunes left everyone wanting more. Electro rock ‘n’ roll band, Lois and the Love were up next. Natural born rock star, Lois, rocked the crowd with her mass amounts of energy and powerful voice. Five piece electro indie-rock band, Safari, wowed the crowd with their super catchy tunes whilst wearing matching grey tie dyed tops (the best bands are always colour co-ordinated!) Front man of the next band, Ghosts, who sounded like a merge of Keane and Radiohead, interrupted their set to tell us how the best three years of his life were spent living in a van with Charlie!

Despite the lack of grass, sun, wellies and fast food stalls, Chazzstock had the same, if not better, atmosphere of a real summer festival. Charlie’s friends and family along with music fans were merrily milling about with a pint in one hand, and a cone of chips in the other – true brit style!

The Sunderland based indie band, Frankie and the Heartstrings, played a longer set than the previous bands on the bill, much to the excitement of the growing crowd. The biggest crowd pleaser was of course ‘Hunger’ which had the entire crowd ‘oh-ing’ in unison. The crowd grew even larger in anticipation for five-piece suave indie-rock band, Spector. Front man Frederick Macpherson charmed the crowd with his slick comb over hairstyle, thick rimmed glasses and deep voice similar to that of Editors front man, Tom Smith. Spector’s newest single ‘Celestine’ was received well by the crowd who jumped and danced to the upbeat rhythm. Tim Burgess left his Charlatans pals back in Northwich and performed a solo set; promoting the release of his second solo album. Super talented Tim Burgess (who was almost unrecognisable with his freshly dyed blond hair) played a successfully psychedelic/guitar rock set.

The excitement and humidity increased as the spaces between each crowd member got smaller in anticipation for the night’s headliners. Members of Tribes, The Horrors and The Vaccines were all school friends with Charlie so their performance was no doubt satisfying yet emotional to say the least. Johnny Lloyd, front man of Tribes, was close friends with Charlie which is reflected in the songs that are dedicated to him. Tribes’ debut album ‘BABY’ is essentially written about the hardship that the band went through after Charlie’s death. Johnny explained to the crowd that ‘Nightdriving’ was written for Charlie and even dedicated ‘Sappho’ to Charlie’s dad who could be seen sitting at the back of the stage, proudly swaying to the music. The crowd went wild for the Camden based timeless rock ‘n’ roll band who performed their beautifully written songs with perfection, passion and energy.

The Horrors seriously surprised me with their astonishing pre-headline performance. The almost un-definable band amazed the crowd as they performed their psychedelic beats in silhouettes. The Horrors have grown so much as a band from the release of their first album ‘Strange House’ to their latest album ‘Skying’ from which the biggest crowd pleasers were played from. The Horrors ended their set on a high as the crowd fell into a trance as they danced to the sounds of ‘Still Life.’

The Vaccines could not have ended the night in any better way. Each catchy song from their debut album was performed with immense energy which forced the crowd to dance, jump, mosh, crowd surf and sing along to almost every word. The energy and atmosphere in the room was electric! They even performed a couple of new songs which were well received from the willing crowd. Favourites were of course ‘Norgaard’ and ‘If you wanna’ to name a few.

After the Vaccine’s performance, Charlie’s family, friends, Chazzstock volunteers and organises and a couple of band members came on to the stage while Ou Est la swimming Pool’s hit single ‘Dance the way I Feel’ was played; a touching finish to a spectacular event.

Bring on Chazzstock 2013!


See the published version: http://www.hivemag.com/chazzstock-festival-review/

King Charles - Live at the o2 academy 3, Birmingham

It came with no surprise to learn that King Charles was crowned international songwriter of the year in 2009 by unanimous vote. Each track on the debut album, ‘LoveBlood’contains extremely clever lyrics that are instantly remembered against a simple yet catchy tune. His unique sound of glam-folk along with his unique style complete with wild hair, opened shirts (revealing a somewhat sexy carpet of chest hair) and a cummerbund in true monarch style are sure to be enough to secure his position as the new King of pop.

The extremely intimate venue was filled with hardcore fans of King Charles with the majority fashioning stick-on moustaches that were being sold at the merchandise stand. The whole ambience of the gig reminded me of why I love music so much; the power of King Charles’ tunes had united an extreme variation of people that would otherwise not be congregated together.

After what can only be described as an ‘interesting’ performance from the support bands, the small mismatched crowd awaited their King’s arrival. First support act, King of Cats consisted of one very angry man and his guitar. His falsetto voice carried notes of rage across the small room with a questionable hint of ironic humour. Second support act, Beta Blocker and the Body Clock played a more forgettable set with a chilled surfer-dude kind of feel.

As soon as King Charles took to the stage, I just couldn’t stop smiling. As unfortunately cheesy as that sounds, it’s true! From the folk-dance style of ‘Bam Bam’ to the more glam-rock ‘Polar Bear,’ the whole crowd enthusiastically wiggled their hips and sang along. Charles seemed truly overwhelmed at how his fans were singing back all the lyrics from his album after just three weeks of it being released! King Charles performed almost every song from the album and even specially dedicated ‘Coco Chitty’ to all the ladies. Not only did the crowd sing and dance, but they energetically clapped along to the calypso beat of ‘Lady Percy’ too. They again showed their appreciation as they shouted lyrics and chorused ‘we want more!’ in anticipation of the inevitable encore where we were treated to a beautiful solo acoustic of ‘Love is the Cure’ and his own rendition of Billy Joel’s political song ‘we didn’t start the fire.’ King Charles used his song writing talent to bring the song up to date with lyrics more fitting to this era.

With the dedicated cult following that King Charles has already obtained within such a short time of the release of his first album, I think it’s fair to say that he really is the next big thing. 

See the published version: http://www.danceyrselfclean.com/live/king-charles-live-at-the-o2-academy-3-birmingham