All week we had been nervously watching the weather reports hopin’ & a prayin’ that the sun would come out to play for Lovebox last Saturday.  Thankfully it did but then so did the rain just as Florence & The Machine took to the stage.  It didn’t dampen spirits though with the enthusiastic crowd lapping up the variety of acts performing throughout the day.

We arrived at Victoria Park around 1.30pm just as 12 year old Chipmunk (ok ok so he’’s apparently 19 but he looks 12 to us) was finishing his set.  To be fair he was giving it his all despite playing to a crowd of about 10 people.  It looked very much like the main acts would be the only ones capable of dragging people away from the Relentless dance area and fairground rides.

To be honest from our perspective it was very nice to be able to sit down and relax with a few beers around the main stage area without being trampled by a sea of crazy festival goers. This definitely seemed to be the vibe with Lovebox – relaxed, fun and not too crowded early on which was great when all you wanted to do is chill out with your pals.

Up next on the main stage was VV Brown.  We love VV here at UK Music Jobs and think she deserves more credit and respect than she gets.  She’s been pummeling the festival circuit, including a stunning Glastonbury show, giving well received performances but the big problem is that while people know who she is, they don’t know her songs.  VV is evidence that without Radio 1 airplay mass audiences just aren’t going to connect with you at this level. Despite that she’s a great performer and threw herself into the set with Crying Blood (both original and excellent reggae version), L.O.V.E & current single Shark In The Water going down fantastically well with the audience.

Mr Hudson was up next and was OK if slightly underwhelming for me.  I’ve heard lots about the man and while I think he has a excellent voice and bucket loads of charisma (plus his band are tight) the songs are just a bit bland and unexciting.  He did work it though and had the crowd going so its proof enough that his kind of mainstream, uber slick pop has mass appeal.

The retro tinged sound of Rumble Strips seemed to be a perfect choice for a late afternoon main stage appearance.  The crowed had consumed enough beer in the limited sunshine to lap up the shimmery, summery guitar sounds of this interesting indie/pop band.  I do wish the lead singer would look as if he actually wanted to be there though.  Always helps.

So then came a 22 year old singer/songwriter and former performing arts teacher to inject the first bit of blinding star quality of the day.  Florence & The Machine had drawn the biggest crowd with anticipation mounting for her to deliver a set to match all the hype.  She did and then some.  Running out on stage looking stunning and clutching a glass of white wine she jumped straight into a performance rich with drama, emotion, laughs, excitement and bloody brilliant tunes!  Cosmic Love is my favourite track of the entire album and I could quite happily listen to her sing it live everyday.  The emotion and throat tightening pathos she conveys is immense for one so young.   She finished off with her rousing cover of ‘You’ve Got The Love’ which had every hand in the air and so many smiles and wafts of good vibes that I sense it won’t be long before she’s the headline act.

I always thought Duran Duran were an odd choice for a headline act so I made my way over to the Gaymer’s Stage to catch Friendly Fires.  I’m not going to say much because if you were there then you already know just how brilliant their set was.  Quite simply the best live band I’ve seen in the last five years.  Their songs are immense, gorgeous nuggets of electro/indie/pop deliciousness.  Go and see them live whenever and wherever you can. They’ll make you happy. I promise.

So that was our Saturday at Lovebox.  For a mere £46 this has to be the best, friendliest, most organised music related day out of the year.  We recommend you get yourselves along next year.

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Like all my greatest music festival reports, it’s late

The trouble is, where do you begin with Glastonbury….? The huge international guests? The breaking bands playing in every nook ad cranny? The sheer size and scale of one of the UK’s largest music events?

From the off, the atmosphere was electric. We arrived a day before the acts officially began to settle in, and every hour or so a wave of cheering soared across the campsite. I never realised that people enjoyed pitching tents so much. That certainly set the pace, and the exploration begun. The first official band was Massimo Park, and they kicked off the proceedings with a combination of their hits to get everyone in the mood. Moving on, the Greenpeace Airport made me feel slightly guilty about my June/July schedule (ORD – LHR – ORD – SNA – SFO – ORD), but I soon (kinda) forgot when I realised there was entertainment (and cider) available there. The Little Tremors had a great intimate crowd with them, and their lively music aided a summery afternoon perfectly. Heading over to The Park we found an explosive Zane Lowe vs Mike Skinner set that even an impossible to enter tent and the first drizzle of rain failed to dampen. Kings of Leon’s ‘Sex is on Fire’ and Switch’s ‘A Bit Patchy’ being two major highlights. We then went to catch a friend-of-a-friend recommendation, The Gentleman’s Dub Club, who served up tight grooves, big bass and a party atmosphere with great crowd control, completing a fantastic opening day of music.

Friday kicked off with breakfast at The Whip, although I felt they failed to recreate the energy of their dance-rock-hybrid hits as a live act. Heading over to meet Deepgroove and Paul Woolford, the audience was a bit sparse in the various dance tents (it was still only 1pm), and so an early lunch and a walk over to the Pyramid Stage ensured we had a great spot for N*E*R*D. This is where the unbiased report wavers, as I’ve been a huge N*E*R*D fan since their first album, and consider their songs inspiring for some of my own projects. In other words, they were one of my highlights. The whole band was tight, people were up on stage busting out their best MTV moves (apart from one guy who thought the music was perfect to can-can along to, hugging with Pharrell). A short (wet and muddy) walk to peek in at Skream and Benga totally destroying a now packed Dance Tent was swiftly followed by a memorable performance by Crazy P in the Guardian Lounge.

The class acts are so diverse and in such quick succession, it left a great impression on me as Glastonbury being a very complete festival. I somehow managed to get a great spot as Jason Mraz in the Acoustic Tent, in amongst the screaming 13 year-old girls, and along with very talented supporting musicians, he moved the crowd along very well. A short stroll via the Glade Tent to check out the live electronic dance grooves of the Bays (this time without Jimpster, but with the added vocal magic of Beardyman), and I was ready for my Friday night highlight. Q-Tip. Being 20ft from the front was a great help, and the latest album never leaving my playlist meant that I had a fantastic end to a hectic day. Inspiration overload was complete.

VV Brown and Watermelons. Not her new band, but an unexpectedly satisfying start to my Saturday morning, my hunger filled (for both new music and breakfast respectively). It’s not that I was expecting little of VV, simply that I had only discovered a track of hers accidentally about two weeks prior, and I didn’t know what to expect from a new, young act, and was pleasantly surprised. Failing to get anywhere near the Rolf Harris tent(!), we went back to see Dizzee Rascal at the Pyramid Stage. Having been around for a while now (we were discussing if he was past his best. Your thoughts?), there were many a shout-along lines we could join in with. Another venture to The Park on a friend’s recommendation brought me to the sounds of the Beatbox Orchestra, doing battle with DJ Yoda, supplying backing for Jarvis Cocker, and a whole number of crazy things I never thought I’d hear!

I decided to get some rest, before a sunset show with Bon Iver, surrounded by campfires and enjoying every second of their acoustic folk-rock soundtrack. Refreshed, fed and watered, I headed over to explore Shangri-La, the after-hours crazy dace village of Glastonbury. Small streets and stalls fought for my attention, and provided all kinds of weird and wonderful Glasto moments, whilst meeting new friends and failing to find old ones (James! Buckers!) in the Mad Max mirage.

Sunday I wanted to explore more of the site, and may have missed the wonders of Status Quo in doing so, but I wanted to see more of the Glastonbury spirit, so I wolfed down a veggie breakfast from a Juke Joint with people passed out in the stall next to me, and headed over to the Green Fields. Free fruit, A Wishing Tree, pedal-powered music machines, and a general explosion of creativity was on offer to keep us entertained. The sun even came out to grace my shoulders with a (still visible) tan-line. A short walk through the Circus area, full of (psuedo)naked art classes and 1920s boxing matches, and we were ready for our next music fix, that being The Destroyers. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a 15-strong group of musicians charging around to gypsy-folk-fused-with-samba, but I strongly suggest you do. Mr Scruff over in the dance tent helped things get moving along nicely into the evening.

Our final night was yet another memorable one. The anticipation of the big finale was so huge, that we got to the main Pyramid Stage for Blur very early, leaving me with enough time to try and finish all my whisky so as to not have to carry it home (I succeeded). I had missed out on seeing Blur in my high school years, and having only recently re-united, this was a great opportunity that I didn’t want to miss. Much singing along to Girls and Boys ensued, followed by much jumping along to Parklife, and an emotional Damon Albarn taking charge of the crowd, tens of thousands strong, and leading them into a non-stop A capella of Tender, prompting two deserved and appreciated encores.

To sum up, my first Glastonbury was a real eye-opener, and I’ll make sure that it won’t be my last.

Lee Jarvis.

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Its been all over the news for the past few weeks and now members from UK Music Jobs are getting involved in the One & Other fourth plinth project in London.

Conceptualised by sculptor Antony Gormley, people from all over the UK have been invited to occupy the empty fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, a space normally reserved for statues of Kings & Generals.  The person will become an image of themselves and a representation of the whole of humanity.

Every hour, 24 hours a day, for 100 days without a break, a different person will make the plinth all about them.  Individuals are allowed to use their alloted time as you see fit.

Lawrence Reed and his collaborative partner have composed a piece of music entitled ‘The Ebb of Acrophobia’.  Acrophobia is derived from the Greek ‘akron’ (peak) and ‘phobos’ (fear) is a fear of heights and is extremely common. Lawrence suffers with the condition so this composition is an attempt to reflect the state of mind and physical condition of the living sculpture on the plinth and, through score, signals and improvisation interpret his changing state where the outcome is largely unknown.

Lawrence has been advertising his project on UK Music Jobs and as a result a number of our musicians are heading down to take part.  Anyone is welcome to join in with the idea being that you can play without qualm or hesitation and have fun.  The pieces are instructional but in terms of guidance accuracy is not prerequisite.  All the musicians performing are reflecting the mood of the acrophobic on the plinth however the conductor will brief the orchestra 15 minutes before midday and before each new part of the composition.

For full details check out Lawrence’s website here - http://lawrencereed.com/

If you can’t make the actual event then remember you can watch the whole performance online on the One & Other website;

http://www.oneandother.co.uk/

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LIVE GIG REVIEW

ARTIST – Florence + The Machine

VENUE –  Rough Trade, Brick Lane

Well by now pretty much every music fan in the country will have heard  about 22 year old London singer/songwriter Florence + The Machine.  Hyped to the max over a year ago (something our UK music press just love to do) she has been proclaimed and acclaimed without any real chart success even winning an absurd critics choice Brit Award with only one single.  None of her tracks released so far have seriously dented the top 20. Latest single Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) has been buoying around the top ten without finding its feet so is she simply Little Boots part deux?

No, thankfully not. Florence has most definitely some big musical chops.  Her performance at Glastonbury (while not as astonishing as some would have you believe) demonstrated her star presence and a bizarre but beguiling combination of Amazonian fierceness with little girl charm.  More importantly the music is very good indeed but not quite great.  Comparisons have been plentiful with Kate Bush but honestly I doubt there is a track on her debut album (very good also) that people will still be singing in 20 years.  This doesn’t mean that Flo has failed, far from it.  What she has done as stuck to her guns, created an image and sound that is distinctive and credible while getting on with winning over both press & public alike.

In many ways she reminds me of a female Patrick Wolf.  Both have a strong Celtic & bohemian vibe to their music.  He is far more anti-establishment perhaps indicative of how female singers flourish more under record label management than male in the industry.  What they both possess however is a sense of individuality and the ability to genuinely connect with their audience through sweeping, emotive, epic tunes.

Last nights performance at Rough Trade was a nice little showcase of a few of the lesser heard tracks from newly released debut album ‘Lungs’.  Amusingly Florence nipped out to use the toilet after her sound-check and passed us all in the queue.  No one really noticed it was her despite the trademark flaming red locks and black hot-pants and then she nearly tripped going into the bar next door.  As amusing as this might be she mentioned it as soon as she got on stage and it simply added to her charming persona.  She doesn’t take herself too seriously and when she smiles and giggles you can’t help but fall under her spell. Then she starts to sing.

There is no question that her style and voice is marmite but no one can fault her technically. Her vocal range and enchanting delivery of the story is the stuff of which powerhouses are made. The material focuses heavily on the emotional high’s & low’s of relationships and as Florence stated  ’this one is about those times were you just go completely crazy when you break-up with someone. Just me then? OK….’. You get the impression that these lyrics are absolutely her personal view and she’s hoping you’ll get it but if not enjoy it anyway.

‘Between Two Lungs’ was the 1st track and it kicked off things nicely  with her powerful voice ripping through the crowd.  Up next was the anemic White Stripes esq. anthem ‘Kiss With A Fist’ which isn’t about her own experience of domestic violence she cheerily informed us but rather about an aggressive, passionate couple she used to see around Camberwell.  Hard to tell whether she was telling the truth or simply teasing the press but regardless it got everyone singing and clapping along.  ’My Boy Build’s Coffins’ is a gothic fairytale both quirky and twisted with a bittersweet sting in its tail… ‘one of these day’s he’ll make one for you’. Great stuff.  You can imagine  her writing songs for a Tim Burton movie one day.

Hurricane Drunk and Drumming Song were good if not particularly memorable while the highlight the wonderful ‘Cosmic Love’ shows why she has all the potential for greatness.  With its Arcade Fire style drums and impressively assured vocals, this is perhaps the most challenging yet rewarding song on the album.  It lifts you to a point where your threatened with a massive chorus but instead it leaves you teetering on the edge without sacrificing any of the power or potency. Genuinely thrilling.

Dog Days Are Over and current single Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) were perfect choices to end the set with and she delivered both with ebullient energy and precision leaving the crowed wanting more.  True sign that a star has been born, coifed, media trained to the hilt and thrown out there for our consumption.  I think she’ll do just fine.

**** (4 out of 5)

Matt Williams

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