considering the fact that i still don’t really like london, i’m definitely spending way too much time down there. this time though, i had not only one or two but quite a few really good reasons to make my way to london. when we booked our tickets (last year in october!) for bushstock festival, no one really thought that this one-day festival would lead to an entire week of gigs. but there we were, arriving in london on friday, june 1st, ready for seven incredibly busy days and nights ahead of us. here’s a little recap of the first day at bushstock festival.
what: bushstock festival (presented by communion)
where: various venues around shepherd’s bush, london
when: 2 june 2012
who: marcus foster, mystery jets, matthew and the atlas, daughter, fionn regan, paul thomas saunders and many more
highlight(s): juan zelelada, bear’s den, jamie n commons
dog is dead @defectors weld
having seen dog is dead only once before (when they supported bombay bicycle club last year), i was quite intrigued to see how their live performance developed. lead-singer rob milton still delivers such unique vocals that it’s very hard not to like their music. beautiful harmonies make their indie sound even more special. overall, dog is dead are definitely one of those up and coming new and fresh bands that are not to be missed. bushstock couldn’t have started off in a better way!
jp cooper @shepherds bar
rae morris was about to follow dog is dead at defectors weld and i would’ve loved to see her again, but i felt it was sort of my responsibility to support my local artist instead. so instead of seeing rae again, i went to the shepherds bar to catch jp cooper's set and of course he didn’t disappoint me at all. i absolutely love his voice. his sound is even richer when he’s accompanied by his band, which thankfully was the case this time. the double bass and the subtle drums add so much to his songs that seeing him live simply makes you want to drift off into another world. it’s always a pleasure to see jp cooper live.
juan zelada @shepherds bar
every time someone recommends a band to me and i don’t bother to check them out and then, after seeing them live, suddenly realise i love their sound, makes me want to kick myself. juan zelada belongs in this category. a friend of mine suggested him to me a while ago and i didn’t take the time to have a proper listen. big mistake! juan zelada and band probably delivered the most fun and entertaining set of all the acts we saw at bushstock. originally from spain, now based in london, he sings in english and basically gets everyone to dance the second he starts playing. he reminded me a bit of jamie cullum, especially the keys in don’t you hold me down, and basically showed everyone in the audience a good time. if someone in the shepherds bar was still sitting during his set, they definitely missed out on something great.
ellen & the escapades @shepherds bar
i’ve heard many many things about ellen & the escapades before, so i was quite looking forward to their set. nevertheless we had to leave after two songs, so i can’t really say too much about them. from what we did actually hear, the only thing i can say for sure is that i preferred the female to the male vocals (which rarely happens). the two songs we actually caught didn’t impress me much but i will keep an open mind, especially since they’re supporting the travelling band on their uk tour later this year. i’m looking forward to seeing a proper set then.
bear’s den @st. stephen’s church
bear’s den… the first major surprise of the day. we basically had absolutely no idea what to expect, they totally blew our minds (well, mine at least). once those three blokes came on stage, i thought this might get a bit loud but no, that was not the case whatsoever. mellow folk melodies, beautiful harmonies and soothing lead vocals sure made their set very special. unfortunately they don’t have anything officially released at this point but their lead singer told me that they expect their first ep to come out in september. so mark your calendars people, bear’s den will no doubt be big soon!
lanterns on the lake @st. stephen’s church
another one of those bands that i’ve already heard so much about but never got around to actually checking out, and to be perfectly honest, i’m glad i didn’t. even though my friends liked them very much, they bored me. i really don’t get what the big deal is with lanterns on the lake. the female lead vocals were nothing special, there was no range in her voice and the fact that her microphone was too high for her, so she always had to stand on her toes to actually reach the mic, simply annoyed me after a while. i guess their sound sort of fitted the atmosphere in the church but other than that, i wasn't impressed at all.
pale seas @shepherds bar
my opinion about pale seas is probably somewhat similar to the one about lanterns on the lake but not quite as drastic. the fact that they had a female drummer added immensely to that little bit of stage presence that they actually had. ordinary voices, ordinary sound… nothing that would be stuck in my head for days. i’m gonna spare you the lame band name jokes now.
jamie n commons @shepherds bar
this gentleman might as well join the same category as juan zelada. recommended to me a wee while ago, i didn’t care to check him out. another big mistake! we saw jamie in the audience when we walked back into the shepherds bar and by his looks, i expected something completely different. once he started singing the preacher, i was in a bit of a shock – considering the fact that he is only 22 years old, you’d think he was singing playback cos his voice sounds way older than he actually is. you’d imagine some grey haired dude up on stage and certainly not someone with long brown hair and a hat. knowing now how amazing his folk-rock sound is, i regret it even more that i wasn’t able to go to the dry the river gig at scala last year when jamie n commons was supporting – lesson learned. thank god he’s coming to the haldern pop festival in august… very much looking forward to that!
bastille @defectors weld
after jamie n commons, we rushed through the rain to ginglik to catch marcus foster. it’s fair to say that i stayed for about two minutes (it was beyond hot in there!) before i decided to leave and see bastille instead and as it turned out, that was a pretty good move. my friends stayed at ginglik and braved the tropical temperatures in there while i had a brilliant time at defectors weld. i came across bastille only once before (they were supporting keane in paris a couple weeks ago), so again, i had no idea what to expect. when i arrived at the venue, they were already a few songs into their set and the atmosphere was great. people obviously enjoyed themselves and bastille very much. besides one drunk chick, everyone else seriously seemed to be more into the music than the alcohol which was nice, especially since it was already quite late. on their facebook page, bastille state “other” as the genre they belong to – quite right i think. i’m not sure how i’d describe their sound. just have a listen yourself or even better, catch them live if you can and bring your dancing shows. you’re in for a treat. bastille were an absolutely awesome end to a fantastic day at bushstock!
7 gigs in 7 days? hardcore!
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