Jesus, good lawd. Its 1:30A.M and I have only just got around to trying to tackle this massive review. Its been a pretty heavy day. A pretty damn good day too, 14 bands were observed. I usually would want to stay out until I am incapacitated or until there is nothing left to do. Carefully Planned day 1 has left me roundly content to get on home and tuck into a nice bowl of Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes before bed in preparation for tomorrow.
Honourable mention Carefully Planned smooth running and super cool booklet/ timetable, those things were invaluable.
So we started of our day in Gullivers checking out openers Frau Pouch. This is a trio that we are well aware of, they have been recommended to us by several other band folk and they have been firmly on our radar for a while. So we took our first opportunity to catch them live with aplomb and we were not disappointed. They play their tunes with a jovial disregard and carefree attitude which would make it difficult to cast any kind of critical comment upon and I honestly wouldn't even think of doing that anyway. Frau Pouch are just a tubular pack of endearing cats with fun songs and an infectious energy that sucks you right in.
Honourable mention Carefully Planned smooth running and super cool booklet/ timetable, those things were invaluable.
So we started of our day in Gullivers checking out openers Frau Pouch. This is a trio that we are well aware of, they have been recommended to us by several other band folk and they have been firmly on our radar for a while. So we took our first opportunity to catch them live with aplomb and we were not disappointed. They play their tunes with a jovial disregard and carefree attitude which would make it difficult to cast any kind of critical comment upon and I honestly wouldn't even think of doing that anyway. Frau Pouch are just a tubular pack of endearing cats with fun songs and an infectious energy that sucks you right in.
As Frau Pouch were running a little late, we took a quick opportunity to go and catch up on the latest hardcore releases and vegan cuisine in that sweet ass record shop/ eatery V Revolution, the Northern Quarter is truly awesome, but more on that as we go on. Next we checked out Playacting in Kraak. It is so cool to take several turns down a few back alleys and all of a sudden nip into a doorway that leads to a room of hidden delights, that is exactly what Kraak offers every time. Playacting are a vibrant 2-piece that stand away from the standard of such a formation, they weren't pure riffage but they weren't your average acoustic act either. They hit a level in between that appealed to just about everybody in the room. They can simmer nicely through their songs and all of a sudden hit a melodic rise that takes standard folk music to a higher level. In short I'd say they were folking energetic..sorry.
We headed back over to Gullivers not knowing who we would be seeing since the stage was running late, total kudos to ACPF and the Gullivers sound team though because they had caught straight back up, by act 3! Now that is competent gig organisation right there. So we caught all of the delicious Antlez. Hailing from Hartlepool they may be one of town's finest exports since Jeff Stelling. Each song is an upbeat, spiralling combination of smart guitar, rumbling rhythm and spirited vocals. Their live set leads to several rapturous moments that the ever growing audience got right behind. The lead mans rapport with the crowd was also a key to their largely enjoyable set.
We took an opportunity following Antlez to go and get some dinner, we were waylaid however by my favourite shop ever, Vinyl Exchange. I got Endtroducing by DJ Shadow for £2 and Cope by Manchester Orchestra for a fiver. BARGAIN! We then went to some joint down the road, Manchester Coffee Co. for a spectacular panini.
We then headed to Soup Kitchen, which is a simply superb venue, to catch Glossom. These guys played one of our launch shows last November so we are well acquainted with them. This is a live set that you could never get bored of seeing though. I get halfway across the stage and lose count of how many members they have, but I think it is 7. They gel together as if it is as simple as one man playing the triangle, as their mesmeric textures cascade over the audience like a waterfall.
We then headed to Soup Kitchen, which is a simply superb venue, to catch Glossom. These guys played one of our launch shows last November so we are well acquainted with them. This is a live set that you could never get bored of seeing though. I get halfway across the stage and lose count of how many members they have, but I think it is 7. They gel together as if it is as simple as one man playing the triangle, as their mesmeric textures cascade over the audience like a waterfall.
Gears are switched in Soup Kitchen as the visceral, rampant energy is about to be brought in the form of Silent Front, USA Nails, Screen Wives & Wot Gorilla? Holy hell. That spells definite trouble right there. Silent Front stepped up first, unleashing a deluge of fuzz-riffery, spewed out vocals and blitzkrieg drums. In whatever medium you catch Silent Front, they are a force to be reckoned with, I'm talking scorched earth baby.
The crowd is ticking over very nicely right now too and I believe that the 30 minutes between sets that ACPF have allowed worked a treat, it meant we could nip over and catch another act between sets. Maximum giggage! So we hooked up with our old friend The Castle. Another great venue, a tight room at the back of a terrace pub, more intimate than if you got to finger one of the band members. Anyway, we caught Puzzle, they came from Liverpool and had a humble yet attentive audience in front of them. They were enjoyable but lacked an edge that would stand them apart from bands of similar ilk. Still their catchy, well-layered songs impressed me enough that I wanna checkout their recordings, so fair play.
Moving on we knew that we were going to have to batten down the hatches and brace ourselves for an onslaught of sound. Turns out there is no preparation for the pure bastard-fuckery of USA Nails and Screen Wives. Between the 2 bands I think they put the structural integrity of Soup Kitchen to its ultimate test. USA Nails, potentially my favourite band of the day so far, weren't just heavy, they were obese. Vitally though, they were coherent. Anyone can be loud, the skill is sounding good too. Screen Wives are another band we have put on in the past, total gents off stage, total fucking monsters on it. Their drummer literally must have racked up a 20,000 beat combo per song. Ridiculous.
Our first stint in Mint Lounge came when we caught Post War Glamour Girls, they play extremely competent indie-rock but then again most Leeds bands do, it is a pretty fervent and fairly underrated city for the ald music. PWGG do not let the side down here and they keep a large crowd very happy.
The large crowd keeps getting larger and larger and larger and then a bit larger for good measure. At this point I am simply in awe at the amount of people who have turned up for a D.I.Y, metropolitan festival that exhibits purely unsigned and independent bands. It is heart-warming, encouraging and and down right inspiring to see.
So the biggest congregation of revellers that I seen the whole weekend have gathered for That Fucking Tank. Now I knew well enough about TFT that they shouldn't be missed but other than that this was a brand new experience. About 3 songs into their set, realising that they don't have vocals, my mate turned to me and said "Fucking hell, there's no singing, how is there such a huge crowd when there is no singing?". I didn't have a response, I know generally music of mass appeal has singing. So I take my hat off to TFT for achieving such a goal with limited resources, however, after seeing them live it becomes clear why their garner such popularity. They are a feast of earth shaking power that can't be questioned.
Not to be kept away for too long we went straight back over to Soup Kitchen for Wot Gorilla? Our only prior awareness of this lot coming from Monster Sound booking them for their next show at the end of the week. We can't wait to see them again. Harking back to earlier when I mentioned about being coherent not just loud, Wot Gorilla? harnessed this as if it were a very obedient horse. I could draw so many comparisons to the brit-rock bands of the mid 00's and many others but I try to avoid 'sounds like's', so all I'll say is please go check them out and see how good they are for yourself.
Back to Kraak to catch some uber-oddness from a.P.A.t.T. Widnesian connections and a lengthy career behind them and all, the only previous I have known is a mock METTOL!!! song they did a YouTube video for, so I was not expecting 100%, hardcore, unadulterated electro-dance fun. The most unique, individual and refreshing band of the day and perhaps the one band that can stand alone in style and description.
Over to Gullivers for one of YB!'s most anticipated acts of the weekend Samoans. We were not let down at any point by their expansive, gritty, prog-math-rock goodness. Now oddness from a band who are intending to be odd is one thing but the bizarre situation us, Samoans and the rest of the Gullivers crowd found ourselves in was a whole different ball game. Scene; Samoans are whirring through one of their bangers and on the side of a well spaced crowd in the modest sized room is a couple rounding a home-run. Samoans, not wanting to ignore the elephant in the room quip, "I don't know if you are cheering us or these guys, they're really going for it". Rather than respectfully leave and take their lip-locking to a more private location, the couple then begin to give abuse to the band and just about anyone in the vicinity. Samoans did extremely well to remain dignified and professional and even adopt the incident into their audience interaction. Bar that one strange situation, Samoans were, as expected, superb. We're going to be chasing those guys down very soon.
And so to Saturday's finale, our new favourite band, Sweet Deals on Surgery. Although we had to squeeze this set in between arduously hunting down the Whiskey Jar and not wanting to miss our train, we managed to catch just enough of SDoS to confirm our undying love for them. They have tunes, the most important thing in music, great tunes. Live they performed them brilliantly and were well worth the drunken, ambling dart back to Oxford Road station.
Carefully Planned #4 day one. You have took us to our limit, thank you. Bring on Sunday.
Words; Krystian Hudson with support from Mike Rogers and Liam Dunning
Words; Krystian Hudson with support from Mike Rogers and Liam Dunning