Warrington Winter Music Festival 19/11/11

Nov 222011
 
The stocks live at warrington music festival

The Stocks - Festival Headliners

Winter has well and truly got its icy grip on us all now in the midst of November. It’s a time when we’re ready to spend more time indoors than stand outside, so then why the hell has Warrington Borough Council decided to book another music festival in these winter times? Because they’re still damn good to watch, that’s why. Twelve bands graced the stage over an eleven hour period. But could they break the ice and draw the crowds out from the warmth of their homes?

In a word yes.

Throughout the day’s festivities are a variety of acts, from folk bands to rock n roll stars, many a great local band graced the stage and performed brilliantly in the plummeting temperatures. The afternoon line-up was good, but it’s at the night shift where Warrington’s big guns come out to play, and boy did they not disappoint.

The first band to kick off the would-be headline slots was the amazing Bill Davro. Their brand of summer pop could thaw even the coldest audience members up with their infectious material, and again for the second time this reviewer was left impressed with them. ‘Winter Is Over’ made us all feel like we were on a beach again listening with a cider in hand at a late sunset. Throw in some covers, with their set staple of ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ and a great cover of ‘All I Want For Christmas’, (seriously Mariah, screw Bieber-foetus face, get Bill Davro to perform with you) and you had a sure-fire great set. Joyful. 4/5

Second head-liners was Exile Parade. The last time I saw this band perform they had a genuine horror show where nothing went right for them. So was they any different this time round? Well as the old footballing analogy goes, form is temporary, class is permanent. They nailed it this time round. Gone were the overly long epics, in was the rock n roll you so desperately wanted to hear. Old favourites like ‘Fire Walk With Me’ hit like a bullet, and new track ‘Hello Blue’ sounded great. And in a rare sight, front-man Lomax actually kept his shirt on (It must have really been cold). Not perfect mind, but much, much better. 3.5/5

Now the final support band was a band that has been around for a while on the Warrington music scene but has somehow evaded this reviewer’s keen ears. Well all I can say is why I didn’t check them out sooner I don’t know, because ‘Dropscience’ were a revelation. Much like Bill Davro, they just want to see you move your feet, albeit in a rave kind of way. Imagine if The Prodigy, Madness and The Wailer’s had a musical love-child, there’s how you get Dropscience. They managed to get the crowd really going after an already impressive warm-up from the previous two bands. They really know how to write a great bpm-raising tune. Not everything’s perfect, sometimes the vocals sounded a little off, but to be honest it’s hard to care when they have great sounding tunes like ‘Cocaine Nation’. Also just touching on that Prodigy influence, they ended with a killer cover of ‘Out Of Space’. Rave-tastic 5/5

Finally headlining this festival was The Stocks. The last time they were reviewed they were dogged by technical gremlins left right and centre, yet still managed to put on a great performance. Well no such nightmares this time. The sound was perfect, and so were The Stocks. Front-man Luke Scott’s voice sounded angelic at times, and they’re set was equally saint-like. No bullshit, no bravado. Just simply amazing 60′s influenced rock n’ roll, with songs like ‘Third Degree’ and ‘Lure Of The Cure’ highlighting this. They’re a band that have tunes that stick in your head. Personal favourite ‘Bring The Light’ comes to mind, as it’s hum-worthy echo-driven guitar riff takes you on a trip you don’t want to forget. And they also gave out presents during their set. What’s not to like? 5/5

Warrington has many, many flaws. From Kerry Katona to Rebekah Brooks, Warrington has failed the public miserably. But with the town’s summer, and now apparently winter music festivals, some of that lost pride is being clawed back. It shows when we want to do something, we can actually provide something great. Roll on next summer.

Mike Glover 2011 (@Like_Mike10)

Featured YouTube video – Dropscience – “Gangsters Daughter”

Interview with… Bill Davro

Nov 182011
 

Bill Davro

Bill Davro play at the Warrington Music Festival tomorrow, we caught up with them earlier in the year, asked them some questions, which they answered:

Q. How would you describe your music?
A. Bill Davro is like a fizzy drink. It would be the classic Coke taste blended with Caribbean fruits and a hint of Cream Soda.

Q. Who is the bands biggest influence?
A. There is no main influence really, it is the mix of all the different things we like and find interesting. It’s very diverse and hard to pin down.

Q. If you were to make one ‘Rock star diva’ request for a dressing room before playing the biggest gig of your life what would it be?
A. Potato and corn based snack buffet which would feature all flavours, but probably a rehearsal room so we could warm up (sensible!)

Q. What can fans expect when watching the band play live?
A. Bill Davro ‘grab you by the waist and moves your hips’ our gigs are designed to be as exciting and upbeat as possible. We go for the Ramones ‘1,2,3,4!’ GO! Approach.

Q. Do you have a particular favourite venue to play?
A. We love playing outdoors, I think it’s our natural habitat. A nice field, a big PA and some sunshine and we are happy.

Q. What is the bands greatest achievement up to date?
A. We are playing Kendal Calling for the 2nd year running, so we are quite pleased about that. It’s a great festival really good feeling about it.

Q. What would you say the bands favourite track to play live is?
A. We are really enjoying our new single which is realised next month, ‘winter is Over’ it really gets us moving.

Q. What other Bands excite you in Warrington?
A. We are great friends with The Ambersons we are quite similar in many ways. We like feel good music.

Q. And finally, if you could compare the band to any popular cartoon character who would it be?
A. Yogi Bear

And finally…. the music video for “And Even Though”

Spector – Picket Fence of Sound

Nov 132011
 

New band Spector music video for What You Wanted

Spector

The ‘generic middle of the road indie’ bandwagon never really goes away, it just drives along in the background waiting for another group of hip middle class looking scenesters to have a go at being the leaders.  All of them wanting to try the driving seat, pretending to be proper rock stars for a while, before letting a genre with more substance effortlessly over take them on the inside.  They then take up a real life job where they can tell their new friends about the rock and roll antics of a previous life, or if they truly were middle class, they might use their connections to score a job at a record label or recording studio.

On the face of it Spector fall into this stereotype.  Their name alone suggests they are aiming higher then they will ever reach, and their front man Fred Macpherson has all the credentials of a readymade indie front man – having already attempted to board several hipster bandwagons with a couple of previous bands.  Not to mention a slight romantic allegiance with the daughter of the lead singer from the Boomtown Rats.  Bands whose debut single launch attracts the attention of people like Tom Vek and Florence Machine are asking to be viewed with scepticism, as it seems like they are getting a bit of help from some kind of falsely perceived status.

But should any of this matter if the music they make is good?  The debut single in question, “Never Fade Away”, is one of the better debut singles from a middle of the road indie band.  They stick to the song writing blueprint of slow burning potential indie rock anthem, following in the path of The Killers and more recently White Lies, and manage to create something of a mellow stadium tune, if the stadium were Brisbane Road.  They have said in interviews that their music is something between The Killers and Kanye West, but there is no evidence of the latter as yet, leading to the thought that they threw Kanye West in there to sound more left-field than they actually are.

Our featured YouTube video is their second single “What You Wanted”, which is slightly more upbeat than their first effort, and includes a nice enough chorus that wouldn’t sound out of place in a Kanye West, sorry, Killers track.  If there is to be a small indie revival then these guys may well be near the front of it, along with The Heartbreaks and maybe even a rejuvenated Electric Soft Parade, who still don’t seem to want to get a real life job and tell stories of minor rock n roll triumphs.

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