Set amongst rolling hills and encircled by lush forests (hence its name), 2000Trees’ geographical isolation is the perfect analogy for the festival’s ethos. Defiantly independent, it is safely ensconced far away from the whims of big business and as such has a freedom to book bands they like, rather than being beholden to commercial considerations. Case in point being this year’s line-up, a delectable smorgasbord that covers the whole spectrum of alternative rock, and with a few unusual additions, this year’s Trees promises to be the best yet.
Wednesday 8th July
It has been a joy to watch Wednesday at Trees grow from its humble beginnings to become an integral part of the festival. With just two stages, there are no clashes, and the difficult choices that this creates mean Split Dogs get the weekend off to a rowdy start and set the Forest Stage alight with a sound that harnesses the rage of early Black Flag, and on a sweltering hot day, they raise the temperature a few extra degrees.
Having created quite a buzz with their debut album, it feels as if Love Rarely are standing on the cusp of greatness, and a testament to this is the vast crowd they’ve pulled for their early afternoon show. It’s standing room only inside the Word tent as the band deliver a selection of spiky and angular songs, each one drawing the listener deeper and deeper into their intricate maze as they squeeze every drop of emotion from each note, and that makes them a hard act to follow.
If anyone can continue the frenetic energy Love Rarely left in their slipstream, then Karen Dió can. Sold-out shows in London and stages shared with Sum 41 and Wargasm find Karen full of confidence, bouncing around the stage as if she has springs in the soles of her shoes. Coming armed with a bunch of certified earworms; Karen soon wins the crowd over with a feisty performance that sends waves of effervescence echoing through the pine trees dotted throughout the Forest stage. Good sounds and good vibes.
Combining elements of ’80s hardcore and ’90s indie rock makes Bruise Control an intriguing proposition. They hit the stage like an unstoppable force of nature, and when their vocalist makes the first of several sojourns into the crowd, things really go into overdrive. It doesn’t take long for a circle pit to erupt, a great visceral thing that sucks all into its vortex, and when the guitarist crowd-surfs whilst simultaneously playing a solo (and without missing a note), it ensures that the energy the band expend is returned twofold.
Delivering a punky brand of rap, lazy comparisons could be drawn between Hyphen and Bob Vylan, and whilst they both cover similar lyrical ground, Hyphen definitely has his own thing going on and displays razor-sharp MC skills over some of the sickest beats known to man. ‘I Said What I Said’ is a verbal barb aimed at far-right politicians; the crowd require little goading to sing along, and with each song beating a path straight to your cranium, Hyphen makes for an unforgettable experience.
Blackgold are an enigmatic and mysterious proposition: each band member is hidden behind a mask, and there’s a strong focus on the music. When the music is as good as the nu-metal maelstrom they serve up, that’s exactly where it should be. When the band appear, it feels as if someone has detonated an explosive device and they send shockwaves radiating throughout the Forest. Covers of the Beastie Boys’ ‘Intergalactic’ and Cypress Hill’s ‘I Ain’t Going Out Like That’ raise the chaos levels exponentially, and the covers nestle next to original tunes like ‘Crazy World’ quite effortlessly. 24 carat Blackgold.
There’s something of a black magic ritual surrounding Venus Grrrls. With a drummer beating a strange tattoo and a theatrical vocalist throwing strange poses and moving with savage grace, they are a band that looks and sounds like they’ve emerged from a New Orleans opium den (although they’re actually from Leeds). They soon cast a spell over the crowd, locking us all into a singular groove with hypnotic rhythms and insidious beats, and it’s understandable why they recently enchanted the nation via a sold-out tour. Main stage mayhem awaits.
The first of two sets The Dirty Nil will play at this year’s 2000Trees finds the band in a more pared-back mode. With a distinctly dressed-down look, the band treat us to a covers set that shines and sparkles in a way that their stage outfits used to. Opening with Metallica’s ‘Hit The Lights’ and Cheap Trick’s ‘Surrender’ makes the perfect one-two punch, and when the band throw the Misfits’ ‘Last Caress’ into the skillet, it’s akin to listening to the coolest mix tape you’ve ever heard. I never thought I’d encounter Van Halen’s party anthem ‘Unchained’ at Trees, yet it really works and closing with a classic from AC/DC sends things into (maximum) overdrive. ‘Let There Be Rock’… indeed.
Another band with a stripped-back aesthetic are Dublin-based crew Sprints. They boil their sound down into its purest form, and it is from here that they gain their power; there’s a serious lack of fluff, and that turns the spotlight upon their driving rhythms, and they sweep the listener along like a skier caught in an avalanche. It means that they fill every cubic inch of space, and with a lyrical bent that’s just as arresting as their sound, Sprints build an impenetrable wall of riffs, slabs of sonics built upon each other that become towering structures that make you feel dwarfed in their shade. At once familiar and original, it’s not an easy path that Sprints walk, but they do it perfectly.
From supporting Hanabie to slaying Download to closing the Word stage at Trees this year, it has been quite a journey for Lake Malice. What’s most impressive is that the band have achieved everything with a handful of singles and plenty of hard work, and with their debut album set to drop in September, it seems their trajectory is going to continue on an upward curve. It is all feeding into the band’s confidence, and tonight they totally own the stage, becoming a trio that locks in tightly to create a sound far bigger than their constituent parts. As many heritage bands shuffle off to the great gig in the sky, an increasingly urgent question is who will be the future main stage headliners, and Lake Malice could be the answer.
You could say that 2016 was a pivotal year for the Canadian punk rock band PUP. Not only did they complete successful tours of Europe and North America, but they also released a career-defining opus in the shape of ‘The Dream Is Over’ album. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of those times, PUP deliver a special set (the first of two appearances at 2000Trees this year) that finds them performing that album in full, along with a selection of other choice cuts. As night falls, the Forest stage really comes into its own, providing the perfect frame as the stage lights fill the air and create an enticing aesthetic that evokes any number of folk tales or fairy stories. When PUP arrive, they are welcomed like returning heroes (which they pretty much are) and, aided by a warm and lustrous sound, deliver a set that punches all the right buttons. We are big fans of this kind of show, not only for the nostalgia factor, but for hearing those songs with the oomph and added urgency a live show brings. That’s precisely what they serve up tonight, delivering a masterclass in stagecraft that suggests PUP have come of age.
Thursday 9th July
After yesterday eased us into the Trees vibe, today finds the rest of the stages opening up and the festival hitting top gear. Our first visit to the Marshall Stage is a good one and finds Highdrive blowing away a few hangovers with a sound that melds shoegaze to ’ 90s-infused alt-rock. Wrapping the listener up in a fluffy painkiller buzz, Highdrive have energised us for the rest of the day.
With all the stages in shouting distance, it is only a short walk to the Cave where Silo are serving up a melodic brand of hardcore. The band have a shared chemistry, locking in tightly to ensure their riffs connect with full force, serving up a sound that ululates like a stormy sea and with waves that sweep us along with gravitational pull. A solid set, and they get bonus points for sporting a Death t-shirt.
Kicking things up over on the Axiom stage are Tooth, a band that brings to mind classic Placebo; they are spiky and jittery, yet also very tuneful, and their songs have an adhesive quality. It’s a strange kind of familiarity that Tooth have and stumbling across their set is akin to running into an old friend. All the twists and turns that characterise their songs are handled with consummate ease, meaning Tooth have struck a nerve.
The North-East of England is an area known for breeding hardy folk, and if proof were ever needed, look no further than Long Goodbye. Despite having EP and song titles presented in lowercase, there’s nothing underwhelming about this metalcore crew, and they serve up thirty minutes of pure, unadulterated musical violence. As such, many look punch-drunk when leaving the tent at the set’s conclusion, but great art is rarely pretty.
After Long Goodbye’s brutal beatdown, Ashaine White’s set over on the Marshall Stage acts as a soothing balm, spreading the love with a bunch of songs that connect with the crowd on a deep, primordial level. The voice of an angel, accompanied by a rhythm section that stomps like an angry Golem, creates an intriguing tension of opposites, and the closing couplet ‘Let Me Down’ and ‘Whole Lotta Me’ will live long in the memory.
Our first visit to the Main Stage is rewarded by the musical juggernaut that is Saint Agnes. Beneath the blazing sun, this London-based crew bring a decidedly dark aesthetic, the title track from their latest album, ‘Bloodsuckers’, being particularly potent. Vocalist Kitty A. Austen leads the charge, but it would be unfair to single out any one member because they each resemble a whirling dervish, putting the crowd on the ropes and tracks such as ‘The Ghost’ keep them there for thirty furious minutes.
“Are we ready to have a belter?” screams Happydaze by way of an introduction, and the answer is very much in the affirmative as fists pump the air and the crowd strut their stuff to the irresistible beats. ‘With You’ is the opening shot and evidences a band who find happiness within melancholy; there’s a bittersweet nature to songs such as ‘Go Wrong’, and also a magnetic pull which means the crowd grows as their set progresses, and by curfew the tent is bursting at the seams, and hundreds of people can’t be wrong.
I’m sure the souls comprising Still In Love would baulk at the term “supergroup”, but as they contain members of Dead Swans, Throats, Last Witness, Brutality Will Prevail and Bring Me The Horizon, no other word will suffice. They pool all their experience to serve up a ferocious sound with the band stomping all over the stage like they are trying to put out fires. It’s a no-holds-barred, take-no-prisoners set, and one that offers no quarter as the band departs in a blaze of sonic fury, which is exactly how they arrived.
Hailing from the artistic hotspot that is Brighton, Snakes Eyes are a power duo who don’t take themselves too seriously, but you definitely should because they deal in a rather quirky sound that never fails to pique the interest. There’s so much interesting stuff going on that their set becomes a sensory overload, yet a high point is undoubtedly replacing the wall of death with one of hugs, and you can feel the good vibes radiating around the tent. This is probably the most fun you can have with your clothes on.
Bright sunshine isn’t the only thing Mariachi El Bronx has brought from Los Angeles; they also have a Tex-Mex sound deeply rooted in Hispanic culture and music. They’ll be back later today in full-on punk mode (as The Bronx), but they are the perfect band for this moment in time, the brass section giving them a spaghetti-western feel; it’s so authentic that we expect Clint Eastwood to appear, chewing a cigar at any moment. Operating as an octet gives them a huge sound, and it floats easily upon the warm air and the final track ‘Revolution Girls’ is a sublime slab of music, one of the best, regardless of genre.
You might expect a band titled Lemonsuckr to be rather sour and bitter of taste, but it transpires they are very sweet indeed. Lemonsuckr have a sound that finds lines intersecting at impossible angles and dictated by unorthodox rhythms. They are a band that marches to their own beat, and it turns out there are many who want to fall in line with their unusual sound. If you are the type of person with two left feet, then Lemonsuckr deliver beats you can dance to.
Perhaps the greatest thing about 2000Trees is its ability to unearth fresh and exciting talent; a band doesn’t need a deep discography to play here, and case in point being Bleech 9:3. With just a few singles doing the rounds, the band have been given a prime-time slot on the Cave, and they’re making the most of this opportunity by attacking their instruments with great gusto, presenting a sound that is hard and muscular, but also has a strong melodic sensibility, the result is a set of songs that will become indelibly branded on your memory bank. You have been warned.
On the final date of what has proved to be an exhaustive tour, Pool Kids drain the tank to treat us to a set that sparkles and flickers like light fractured on an azure lake. The band plays with such joy and delight that we can forgive them any toll the road might have taken (most notably croaky voices). In fact, Pool Kids have such a bounce and buoyancy that I fear they might float away at any moment, and they probably would if it weren’t for hard-hitting drummer Caden Clinton, who acts as an anchor and reins the band in with his circular playing. Their original tunes really hit the mark and leave us eagerly awaiting their return.
Those who’ve spent the day in the vicinity of the main stage might be worried that they have sunstroke and are seeing double because several members of Mariachi El Bronx return to the Axiom stage, this time in full-on hardcore punk mode as The Bronx. If the band are feeling exhausted after their appearance on the Main Stage earlier today, then it doesn’t show because The Bronx are in full-on attack mode. A musical explosion sends sonics shattering in every direction. Their enthusiasm is highly contagious, and things get a little too crazy when one punter climbs the scaffolding in the centre of the tent, and the sound guys pull the plug so things can calm down a little. However, the mayhem is in the right spirit, and no one gets seriously hurt, but there’s no denying that there’s a flammable quality to their songs, which are tinder which feeds the flame. Bold and bombastic, that’s The Bronx.
Delilah Bon is no stranger to us at Devolution Magazine, having graced the cover of Issue 56, and it’s great to catch this most original of artists here at 2000Trees. Since that cover story, Delilah has appeared at festivals such as Download, honing her attack into a red-hot laser beam; powered by indignation, rage and a sense of injustice, it feels that Delilah Bon is here to right a few wrongs and the message contained within tracks such as ‘Chop Dicks’ carries a lot of resonance. After years of misogynistic “cock rock”, it feels as if Delilah is here to recalibrate the scales with songs such as ‘Times Up’ and ‘Dead Men Don’t Rape’, the latter being something of a musical exclamation point, ensuring that Delilah Bon won’t be forgotten in a hurry.
That headliners Alkaline Trio had to pull out of 2000Trees at short notice (due to serious illness) disappointed many, but with Don Broco boldly stepping into the breach at the last moment, any feelings of disillusionment are soon blown away. With little to no prep time, Don Broco are on the ball from the very first note, a tightly wound spring that unravels to reveal a sound that fuses electronica, metal and post-hardcore perfectly. After topping the bill a few years ago, I’m sure that Don Broco didn’t think they’d be back so soon, but it feels that both band and crowd are overjoyed that they’re here, and you can almost feel the waves of affection that radiate between the two. It’s a tight set that they deliver, with the bass and drums combining to fire with machine-gun rapidity, the guitars are razor sharp, and the vocal harmonies (an integral part of the band’s modus operandi) are the stuff of Brian Wilson’s dreams. It all adds up to an infectious affair and one that gets the whole crowd jumping and singing in unison, and that’s the greatest gift music can give.
Friday 10th July
It must be hard for a band to get fired up for a set at 10:30am, but if Iota have any such problems, then it doesn’t show because they are bang on point from the very first note and hit the ground running with a bombastic sound. Their vocalist delivers a versatile performance and is backed by a band that’s equally adaptable, suggesting a bright future.
Prodigal (sons) make a welcome appearance at Trees and arrive encased in a ball of glorious feedback and soon get the crowd jumping around (it’s that sort of music). Throat-shredding vocals, pounding drums and serrated guitars are just the ticket for a Friday morning, the band throwing themselves into their set with great gusto and looking like they might faint from exhaustion at any moment. Great stuff.
A quintet that peddles a rather nice alternative rock/emo amalgamation, Guillotine have an insidious sound that entwines the crowd and lingers in the air like cigarette smoke. They make an understated entrance, yet it’s no less powerful for it, the vocals being very heartfelt and emanate from the depth of the singer’s soul. The tracks debuted from their forthcoming album signal a bright future.
Bratakus are a band who live up to their moniker (in the nicest possible way) and, having travelled all the way from the Scottish Highlands, haven’t come to take prisoners. So, it’s a shame some technical gremlins interrupt their first song, yet they soon jump back on the ball with original tunes such as ‘Turnstile’ helping this duo create a sound that is far bigger than their constituent parts.
You might expect a band titled Glass Bridges to be a delicate, fragile collective, yet nothing could be further from the truth. While they certainly have a softer side, the band deliver tunes like ‘Pain’ that are at once heavy and melodic, laden with chart-bothering potential. On the strength of this performance (and 1.5 million streams), it is only a matter of time until Glass Brigades smash into the mainstream.
Writing songs about B.D.S.M. (and why not?) God Complex have a supremely heavy sound that’s befitting of such subject matter. Not surprising as they operate as a sextet and produce an industrial-influenced brand of hardcore-infused metal that’s akin to a hammer smashing a skull. The vocals are a demonic growl, the riffs are barbed and tossed around like grenades, whilst the rhythm pins the crowd to the floor like gravity. There’s no mercy shown as the band delivers a thirty-minute beatdown. Nice.
Heavy as hell, yet lithe enough to sidestep easy categorisation, Footballhead are a multifaceted beast. Often, they’ll use feedback as a weapon against the crowd; at other times, they’ll treat us to beautifully ethereal moments where guitars shine and shimmer like stars in a crystalline sky. It’s a neat tension of opposites and is indicative of their whole approach as the lithe and the heavy are balanced in perfect equilibrium.
Not only is 2000rees a well-run festival, but the stages have been well curated: no two bands inhabiting the same sonic space have been placed together, which ensures the whole event flows smoothly, and, as such, it feels as if Higher Power are made for this mid-afternoon slot. They’re unafraid to throw a thrash solo in the mix like Suicidal Tendencies; then they’ll turn on a sixpence and then swing with a groove-laden stomp. A moving target that’s hard to pigeonhole, and today they barely put a foot wrong (just like their career, in fact).
On their studio recordings, House Of Protection operate with a “no rules” ethos, a feeling that nothing is out of bounds, and that’s something carried over into the live environment. A new project from Stephen Harrison and Aric Improta, two unique artists who serve up an organic sound, is one you feel could grow and evolve in any direction. It’s this air of unpredictability that holds the crowd’s undivided attention as thrashy numbers like ‘Godspeed’ set the tent alight and ‘Fire’ does a similar thing to the surrounding fields.
Call Me Amour have obviously been hitting the caffeine because they arrive with all guns blazing, and when vocalist Harry Radford joins the crowd to lead a circle pit, things go off the radar. It’s one of several sojourns he makes into the crowd, and on a day that’s seen some vivacious performances, Call Me Amour take things to a whole new level. The Marshall tent has been baking in the sun, yet the raised temperature isn’t fazing Call Me Amour at all. The energy the band expend is absorbed by the crowd, each riling the other on towards greater insanity. They say time flies when you’re having fun, and here’s your proof.
With a name that conjures all sorts of pleasant images, Saturdays At Your Place serve up an equally satisfying sound. They’ve songs that capture moments in time; they’re musical Polaroids that are vivid and evocative and come with an effortless sing-along quality (even if you don’t know the words). The tent is packed to capacity as people crane their necks to catch a glimpse of a band that is very much on the rise. They’re the type of group that gets the whole crowd involved in their show, and in our age of fragmentation, that’s got to be a good thing.
Another band that demands crowd participation, Free Throw have been making the world a better place since dropping their debut album in 2014.It’s a frenetic energy with which they operate; the band are all over the stage like a rash, treating us to a bunch of emotionally charged songs that are delivered in an emotional manner. Think American Football after imbibing methamphetamine, and you’d have something approaching Free Throw. Like birds of prey waiting for the optimum moment to go in for the kill, Free Throw strike at the optimum moment and depart in a blaze of glory.
Looking like they’ve just stepped out of the 1970s and armed with a classic rock sound, Jayler’s inclusion on this year’s bill has raised a few eyebrows, the band having an aesthetic more in tune with Bloodstock and Download. Yet, the event organisers have never been ones to play by the rules, and the fact that people say they shouldn’t be on the bill is all the more reason to include them. Jayler’s inclusion has certainly added an extra spice to the line-up, and their brand of good-time rock makes a nice change of pace from the more emotive, earnest type of music usually associated with Trees. With their rich, treacly sound, Jayler are tailor-made for the Marshall Stage with plenty of lovely slide guitar (such as on ‘Riverboat Queen’) and songs like ‘Over The Mountain’ that emanate from the Deep South (of the Midlands). The UK’s answer to Dirty Honey? You better believe it!
“Ginger. Ginger, Ginger!” the crowd chants as we await the arrival of the Great British institution that is The Wildhearts. As the band continue the tour which constitutes their long goodbye, every show they play becomes a potent event, a gathering that can’t fail but to bring a tear to the eye. The world will certainly be a darker place when the band are put on ice, but life is for living in the now, and it’s hard to be downcast when The Wildhearts are on stage and delivering a selection of oven-ready anthems such as ‘I Wanna Go Where The People Go’. Ginger’s (in)famous dog Maggie makes an impromptu appearance mid-set, then it’s back to the rock action as old classics nestle next to the new, with ‘Maintain Radio Silence’ being particularly potent. The band’s latest album, ‘Satanic Rites Of’ proved to be a career highlight, and that makes their impending retirement all the more bittersweet, but one thing’s for certain: there’ll never be another Wildhearts.
After a lengthy hiatus, Arcane Roots made a welcome return with the ‘A Wave, Across The Sea’ single, and since then it has very much been full steam ahead. It is the first time for many seeing the band live, and that means there’s a certain amount of tension filling the Axiom tent as we await the band’s arrival. When Arcane Roots finally arrive,, it finds post-hardcore and math rock colliding in the most delightful way, the band delivering a complex but accessible sound that ties the crowd up in all sorts of knots. Arcane Roots are a power trio in its purest sense (i.e., powerful) and, like Rush, Budgie, or Motörhead, create a sound that is far bigger than their constituent parts. With the stage punctuated by blood-red lights, Arcane Roots proceed to deliver a set that ebbs and flows perfectly, hitting heady highs and looping lows, and proving that their decision to return was the right one.
Formed in 2005, this is the year that finds Welsh post-hardcore crew Funeral For A Friend celebrating their twenty-fifth anniversary, and what better way to mark this milestone than with a headline set at Trees? The band certainly think so and have assembled a set that’s tailor-made for their more hardcore fanbase. Their 2005 album ‘Hours’ turns twenty-one in 2026, so half of the set’s songs are culled from that record, and two kick off the show in fine style, namely ‘All The Rage’ and ‘Streetcar’. Pint glasses are held aloft in affirmation, and the field in front of the stage becomes a seething mass as the crowd shows their affection in the best possible way, namely by moshing and stage diving. In fact, the band’s pop-infused brand of metal, rock, and emo makes songs such as ‘Bullet Theory’ tracks you can both dance and mosh to, and they get all but the firm and frail on their feet and shaking their stuff. There are a few surprises up the band’s sleeve, most notably the inclusion of cuts like ‘She Drove Me To Daytime Television’, along with a guest spot from Neck Deep’s (more on them later) Ben Barlow, who adds his considerable talents to ‘Juneau’. It all makes Funeral For A Friend a fitting finale for Friday at Trees.
Saturday 11th July
With a sound very much in the affirmative, Ain’t get Saturday at Trees off to a lively (and noisy) start, using feedback in a way that’s very reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine and The Sundays, and Ain’t exist in that sweet spot somewhere in between. Original tunes like ‘Jude’ step to their own rhythm and ensure that Ain’t march to nobody’s beat but their own.
Powered forth by a restless type of energy, Carsick are a vivacious bunch who immediately adhere themselves to the crowd with their unique sound. With a lyrical astuteness that’s just as insightful as their music, it doesn’t take long for a good-natured pit to erupt, and it’s one that kicks up plenty of dust. After first appearing on the Neu stage a few years ago, it seems Carsick are on the right course.
Thistle operate as a trio, yet their boundless energy makes them feel like a much bigger combo. With wise heads on young shoulders, they insert plenty of slower segments into their songs, which serves to create a cool contrast with the faster ones. There’s also a strong groove underpinning everything they do, and that ensures that their set ebbs and flows to a cataclysmic conclusion.
Like the Beastie Boys, only updated for the new millennium, Frozemode have a bottomless reserve of energy, and they draw deep from their well on this sunny morning. Infinitely inventive, they’ve rapid-fire MC skills and ensure that their words are barbed and delivered over bombastic beats. As the temperature starts to heat up the surrounding fields, Frozemode increase it by a few degrees.
Lakes are a sextet who come armed with a full sound, and with some help from the engineers on the mixing desk, deliver warm, fluffy songs that fill the Axiom tent with a fuzzy Novocaine buzz. They remind me a little of American band Foxing, and their songs of love and loss make the perfect soundtrack for a balmy Saturday afternoon.
Serving up a full-on thrash-athon, Thorns are another band who are a curveball at this year’s event; their old-school thrash sound recalls boom boxes, high-top trainers and denim cut-offs, an aesthetic at odds with Trees. Yet, their set goes down exceptionally well with songs like ‘Prick’ and ‘Bad Business’ getting the blood pumping whilst the penultimate ‘Death By Proxy’ packs a potent punch.
The aptly titled Club Brat are a band here to rip up the rulebook. Discordant, but tuneful, they draw influence from post-punk (most notably Gang Of Four) and noise pop, the result being songs that are both rowdy and danceable. When you factor in a vocalist who barks his lyrics like a political treatise, you have an arresting experience and one that could stop a charging rhino in its tracks.
Another band with an appropriate moniker is Heart Attack Man. These three musicians’ live life at 100 miles per hour, being totally self-sufficient; they are defiantly do-it-yourself, and it’s an approach to life that can’t help but inform their music. As such, songs like ‘Spit’ are not only performed with immediacy, but they also have all the excess fat removed and take the most direct line to what it’s all about. Here are a trio on a collision course with a cardiac arrest.
“Heavy” is a word that applies to many bands at this year’s Trees, but when it comes to Alpha Male Tea Party, there are none more heavy. Take their song ‘Ballerina’, for example: it’s a lithe title but is accompanied by a heavy sound, typical of the duality that runs throughout their sound. Building huge sonic structures that make the listener feel dwarfed in their shade, Alpha Male Tea Party have enchanted the whole of the Marshall Stage (and beyond).
Volatile and highly flammable, Petrol Girls immediately light the fuse with their incendiary brand of punk rock, the taper quickly burns before the band explode into life with full force. They deal in a politically charged brand of punk rock that rages against everything from war to femicide; such subject matter requires an equally weighty sound, and that’s exactly what they serve up, drawing inspiration from the more extreme end of punk, most notably anarcho, hardcore and grindcore. If that all sounds a tad dark, then the band inject a sense of humour into proceedings via songs like ‘Baby, I Had An Abortion’ (but even this makes a serious point, as should be obvious). This set is a revolutionary call to arms, and Petrol Girls is your invitation to join the fight.
With an eye-watering 30 million streams across all platforms, As Everything Unfolds are a hot commodity and thoroughly deserve their lofty position on the bill. Of course, such a prominent placement also comes with an air of expectation, but if anyone can live up to the hype, this crew can. The veterans of many a festival, As Everything Unfolds, know exactly how to piece a set together, and the one they’ve assembled today ululates perfectly between all-out rockers and more restrained efforts. Fusing post-hardcore, metalcore and alternative rock into a swirling soup meant there was never any danger of things becoming staid; the band straddled the different genres and constantly mixed them in varying quantities to ensure their set was built upon shifting sands.
It’s always nice to see artists putting an original spin on familiar themes, and they don’t come much more original than Ho99o9. A mind-blowing amalgamation of hip hop, metal, punk…and pretty much anything they pull from the ether, Ho99o9 are musical alchemists who fuse different genres into previously unheard nuggets of gold. The beats are totally infectious, wriggling under the skin like a bad case of formication, and they get the whole crowd locked into a singular groove. The vocalist growls in a most inhuman way over drums that thunder like a runaway locomotive; there’s no remorse or mercy shown as Ho99o9 tightens the screws to the point of snapping. Sometimes things verge on the surreal as Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ segues into heavy drum n bass interludes, and metal rubs shoulders with rave; it’s no easy task to fuse disparate genres, but Ho99o9 have the magic touch.
I’m old enough to remember when Glassjaw were pesky young kids bursting onto the scene intent on destroying “adidas rock”, and over three decades later they are still carrying that revolutionary flame and are as uncompromising as ever. Dictating the pace of their own career means that new music can be a long time coming, which makes the music they have released all the more precious and tonight they serve up a tightly focused selection culled from just three releases. Glassjaw are a band who inspire a devoted following, and there are plenty of devotees crammed in front of the stage, punching the air in unison as vocalist Daryl Palumbo prowls and stakes out his territory. The band’s (not so) secret weapon is undoubtedly Justin Beck, who pulls some amazing sounds from his guitar whilst swaying to his own beat. Saturday is traditionally fancy-dress day at Trees, and it’s quite a sight to see a tiger crowd surfing during ‘Siberian Kiss’, but when attending a Glassjaw performance, you should always expect the unexpected.
In our age of divisiveness and division, Dinosaur Pile-Up offer a glimpse of an alternative reality; their set creates a real party vibe, and it’s the type of gathering to which everybody is invited. What’s most impressive is that the band have retained a positive vibe in the face of Matt Bigland’s ill health, a period of instability which threatened to undo all the good work of 2019’s Celebrity Mansions opus. Therefore, we shouldn’t have been surprised when the band bounced back with I’ve Felt Better, a record that was a testament to the band’s durability and also a synonym for the human condition. In short, Dinosaur Pile-Up’s travails are something we can all relate to, and it is precisely this that turns their set into a huge knees-up; it’s that and, of course, the cracking tunes which are found on all five of the band’s albums. With the crowd spilling out of the tent and into the surrounding field, Dinosaur Pile-Up could quite easily have appeared on the Main stage, yet they manage to turn this huge gathering into an intimate affair and therein lies the power of Dinosaur Pile-Up.
To say there is an air of anticipation and expectation hanging in the air as we await headliners Neck Deep would be something of an understatement. With England playing a knockout match in the World Cup, many in the crowd look like they are ready to burst with excitement, and as darkness descends over the rolling hills of Upcote Farm, the Main stage is bathed in baby blue, ice white and lemon yellow light, and that feeling of presentiment increases by the moment as the countdown to showtime moves painfully slow. So when Neck Deep finally appear, it feels as if someone has released a huge safety valve and a collective feeling of relief radiates through the crowd. Whilst Neck Deep have come a long way from their humble beginnings in Wrexham a decade ago, the band still have a touch of that wild-eyed naivety that informed their early career, and opening track ‘Can’t Kick Up The Roots’ finds them playing like it, too. Their set is a joyous celebration of live music, with the band kind enough to include tracks from each of their five studio albums (and an excitable version of the stand-alone single ‘She’s A God’). If the band’s energy isn’t frenzied enough, then they promise to rattle through their set so the crowd can catch the second half of Norway v. England. It puts us in a Catch-22situation. With Neck Deep riding a good groove and dropping bombs like ‘Take Me With You’ and ‘Gold Steps’, this is one show we don’t want to end, yet many are itching to see how the football plays out. It means there are no encores; Neck Deep’s set came to a shuddering stop with ‘In Bloom’, but however they departed, it was always going to be memorable.
Review by Peter Dennis
With Thanks To:
Joe Singh – snaprockandpop – https://www.instagram.com/snaprockandpop/
Jez Pennington – https://www.instagram.com/jezpennington/
Magda Campagne – https://www.instagram.com/magda_campagne/