Truck Festival 15 is coming…

admin — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 20:55:02 +0000

Anyone who has listened to the IAH radio show (don’t worry, nobody else does either – check out the listen again here http://rechargedradio.com/), will know that we have a massive soft-spot for Oxford. The scene, the bands – the architecture – it’s got everything we love about medium sized cities. In fact, we love it so much we dedicated a whole show to it! Of all its virtues though it is Truck Festival we love the most.
Our favourite child from the festival family, it has always had a special place in our drunken heart – whether it be breaking into the now defunct barn to interview Alphabet Backwards, keeping a tent going with pedal power, rocking out to ChewLips in a ‘stage’ no bigger than a wendy house, purchasing ice cream from the local priest, Dead Jerichos and Spring Offensive in the Last FM tent in 2011; Los Campesinos and Blood Red Shoes on the main stage in 2010, or Joy Formidable tearing up The Barn and Chew Lips busting out awesome dance moves in 2009

But, it was whilst at last year’s Field Day that we heard that Truck was apparently no more. An actual gasp left our mouths, before a tear formed in the eye. A victim of it’s own ambition and the economic crisis, it had been consigned to the festival waste bin along with Phoenix, Electric Gardens and many others. Or so we thought! With new partners in the shape of the Y-Not festival promoters, Truck is back, marking it’s 15^th Anniversary and coming with the prospect of being better than ever! Smiles of glee all round!
With headline sets lined-up from The Temper Trap (riding a crest of a wave after their second album release and playing their biggest shows to date) and Mystery Jets (festival stalwarts who know how to bring the party), it’s also the depth of this year’s line-up that impresses and excites. Friday’s main stage sees the likes of local heroes Fixers, Irish balladeer Villagers and one-man music machine Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly hitting the stage, with the added touch of variety (in every sense of the word), coming in the shape of Australian big-hitter Tim Minchin. Saturday also keeps the quality levels turned up to 11 with the likes of Emmy the Great, British Sea Power, Dog is Dead and the The Low Anthem in attendance.

Further down the bill on the second stage sees some of the newer darlings of the new music world – King Charles, Lucy Rose, Theme Park to name a few – rubbing shoulders with the more established names of Guillemots and Scottish rockers Frightened Rabbit. Not to be out done, respected labels Big Scary Monsters and Alcopop have taken over the Barn stage lining up a stellar collection of acts including Johnny Foreigner, Spring Offensive, Gunning for Tamar, Dead Jerichos, Three Trapped Tigers and Future of the Left.
With only a couple of weeks to go we are too excited for Truck – even with monsoon weather outside the window. With one of it’s strongest line-ups for years, mixing the best local talent with more established acts, we cannot wait to get back to those rolling Oxfordshire hills, grab a pint of ale and dance ourselves stupid till the small hours.
A limited number of tickets are still available at just £69 from www.truckfestival.com
Here’s four of the best local bands, to whet your appetite.

Wichita is 10!

admin — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 21:01:27 +0000

Ten years is a long time in the music industry. Ten years is an even longer time to remain successful in the music industry, but that‘s exactly what Wichita Recordings have done. Wichita have become one of the most influential labels around, having a roster of artists including The Cribs, Bloc Party (and now Kele), Los Campesinos, First Aid Kit, Conor Oberst and Best Coast. In celebration of their tenth anniversary Wichita hosted four days of gigs at The Garage. On Monday 12th July it was Lissy Trullie, Those Dancing Days & Young Legionnaire, followed on Tuesday by First Aid Kit, Peggy Sue & Meg Baird. Wednesday was the night of the big guns, with The Cribs, Sky Larkin & Lovvers, culminating in Los Campesinos, Frankie And The Heartstrings & Johnny Foreigner on Thursday.
It‘s All Happening were lucky enough to attend the final two gigs of the week. The Cribs, performing without Johnny Marr, played their first two albums ‘The Cribs‘ and ‘New Fellas‘ back to back, for a proper hot and sweaty old-school gig. It felt like it was 2005. It felt like I was 18. It felt brilliant. The crowd were on form too, and when Gary Jarman stated in his broad Yorkshire accent ‘I‘m surprised no one has made it on to the stage yet‖, the 630 strong sell out crowd quite rightly took this as a challenge. Unsurprisingly, the security became rather busy. Lovvers had earlier ripped through an enjoyable set to open up the Wednesday night. They were closely followed by Sky Larkin who, playing several new songs from the record ‘Kaleide‘, seem to improve every time they perform.
Just 24 hours later It‘s All Happening were back at The Garage to see a lively Los Campesinos set in which they cracked out some tunes that are rarely played live anymore (‘International Tweecore Underground‘ and ‘In Medias Res’), along with the usual favourites (such as ‘You! Me! Dancing!‘ and ‘Sweet Dreams, Sweet Cheeks‘). The seven piece are a fantastic live band and this performance reinforces that further. Los Campesinos were preceded by north east boys Frankie and The Heartstrings, who have been receiving rave reviews for their passionate performances, and Johnny Foreigner who opened the night with a energetic set that included being joined on stage by Gareth Los Campesinos for ‘Criminals‘.
Wichita have been inspirational, influential and incredible. All six bands over the two nights that we attended paid tribute to the label, and stated the impact Wichita had on their careers. Thank you Wichita – here‘s to another great ten years.
If you only own three albums from Wichita…
You will be missing out. But for now, start with these.
The Cribs: Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever
One of the best live bands you will ever see, and just as raw on record.
Los Campesinos: Hold On Now, Youngster…
Complex yet cerebal lyrics, knotted together with wonderfully spangly melodies. And it has You! Me! Dancing! on.
Best Coast: Crazy For You
Shamelessly simple yet wonderful sunny songs of love and longing

johnny foreigner – and so she thinks

Truck Festival 15 is coming…

Wichita is 10!