The Old Crown Archives -

September 22, 2017

BREVIEW: Beyond The Tracks… Saturday @ Eastside Park 16.09.17

Words by Damien Russell / Pics by Eleanor Sutcliffe

Morning has broken. Seemingly over my head. The choices of the night before, prompted by the engaging festival feel and the desire to get all dance-y, now seem like a catalogue of errors. The chance of getting breakfast slips away; I am forced to embrace the fact that lunch and a recovery pint are the only way forward.

And so, being in a pub already, this is what we do. Down the stairs, to the bar, a sandwich and a couple of pints of something light. Back to my usual self again. Ish. Thank goodness we didn’t try to do the ‘4am finishing’ after party or today may have been lost.

The Old Crown feels further away from the Beyond The Tracks festival site today, as Paul and I wend our way through the town. We make it through the entrance process to find Carl Barât and the Jackals both looking and sounding cool. They’re a good choice for the festival daytime being slightly rocky, slightly punky, and slightly indie; a good balance of appeal across the audience.

They’re energetic but not so energetic it puts my shuffling state to shame, and while no one song stands out the set overall is good. Something in their deportment keeps screaming ‘LONDON’ at me, but I would be hard pressed to say exactly what.

After this solid introduction to Beyond The Tracks’ Saturday programme, the festival’s second stage hosts Sandinistas from South Wales. Sporting a bass made more of tape than wood, an approachable charm, and punk rock to knock your socks off they’re a total change of atmosphere. Upbeat and fun, with some excellent banter from lead singer/guitarist, Dan Hagerty, Sandinistas do a great job of entertaining; Beyond The Tracks is the first time I’ve seen this band but I would be keen to catch them again.

Following Sandinistas, local lads The Twang take to the main stage. The Twang are a band I’ve heard a lot about but never seen before so, while I have an idea what to expect, I’m not too surprised to find my initial idea was totally wrong. It can happen. Musically reminiscent of The Streets in some ways, The Twang bring an urban edge to the day which, while not entirely my cup of hot beverage, does mix things up nicely.

The real star of the show is Phil Etheridge, having a laugh with the audience and swigging from a can of Red Stripe. Etheridge makes full use of the stage, which I like, and while I can’t help feeling his voice isn’t as strong as it could be, with the band covering the music and Etheridge covering the performance The Twang deliver and engaging and enjoyable set.

A quick trip to the bar is in order while The Americas finish setting up; as they get started I’m reminded why I was looking forward to seeing them. Although I’m slightly surprised they’re on the second stage as I would have expected their ‘American road trip’ styled rock to be ideal main stage material.

Somebody has to take the smaller stage though and with a solid, easily accessible sound The Americas make it their own. Still reminding me of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in some ways, they continue the trend of bands either winning me over musically or by performance, but not both; it’s unfortunate, but with each of them being tied to an instrument the performance is a little static.

I think it’s fair to say at this point that, while I try not to be biased, with three such different days it’s incredibly difficult not to have a preference in some way. So, I give up and admit to myself that this, the middle day, is almost certainly going to be my favourite of the Beyond The Tracks triptych. That confessed, I have an open mind towards The Coral while also half expecting them to follow the day’s pattern and wow me with their performance over their music.

They don’t. The Coral are pretty static visually but musically their back-catalogue shines; ‘In the Morning’, as you may expect, goes down exceptionally well. The crowd is building up now and with more people comes more applause, more appreciation and more singing along. I was never massively into The Coral when they first hit the charts and found their sound to be confusing, somehow both new and old at the same time. Something about that always put me off a little bit but seeing them live, but they win me over at Beyond The Tracks and I plan to delve a little deeper when safely offsite.

It’s pit-stop time, following The Coral, and while I hate to miss any of Table Scraps’ performance having seen them earlier in the year I know they’ll do a top job. I do wonder if it’s the wrong day for them though, and to my mind they would possibly have been a better fit for Sunday. The good and bad thing with festivals, in equal measure, is that there’s always so much going on that you can’t catch everything. Plus at some point there must be a welfare break, and right now the Persian Kitchen is calling. And then the bar.

Sadly then, the last number is all I catch of Table Scraps’ set, but the crowd seem to be fully on board and I’m sure they’ve hit it as hard as they usually do.

This of course means that Maxïmo Park are about to start on the main stage. Having reviewed their latest album, Risk to Exist, earlier in the year and not being too impressed with it, I’m not holding much hope for their live set. If I’m honest, I’m almost biding my time until Ocean Colour Scene.

What a mistake. As soon as they start I can see and hear that Maxïmo Park mean business. The sound is spot on and they look cool; proper ‘rock-star’ cool. By the end of the first song, Maxïmo Park win me over and I’ve move as close as I can get to the stage.

Paul Smith, in particular, is excellent – climbing on the monitors, striding across the stage and generally coming across like a caged tiger. The band start with ‘What Did We Do To You To Deserve This?’ and power through to ‘Our Velocity’ and beyond. My biggest surprise of the day and a band I would heartily recommend seeing live.

At this point the crowd is super dense, so there’s not much chance of getting too close to Superfood on the second stage, but they sound decent from where I can get to (which you may have guessed is the bar). Musically they make a good follow on to Maxïmo Park and while the second stage doesn’t quite offer the same opportunity for a ‘big show’, Superfood maintain both the atmosphere and the crowd set by their predecessors.

In fact, with Ocean Colour Scene ever closer to coming on stage the crowd is swelling more than ever. And although the announcement of a reduced-price Sunday ticket for Saturday ticket holders gets a mixed reaction, the crowd is clearly buzzing with anticipation for the Saturday night headliners.

They sound great too. All the concerns I had about another situation like The Twang are instantly put to bed; Simon Fowler hasn’t lost any vocal clarity or power over the years, and Steve Craddock is as dexterous on the fretboard as he ever was. More so, perhaps, as he makes everything seem effortless.

In fact they all do, yet somehow that doesn’t come across well. It’s the same situation that has occurred throughout the day; musically Ocean Colour Scene are just as good live as on the records, they’re just not very visual.

They don’t seem to have brought much in the way of staging or lighting, with the band members almost fixed to their spots onstage. Ocean Colour Scene have also chosen quite a downbeat set for a headline act, starting with ‘Profit In Peace’ which in my mind is more of an anthemic closer than an opener.

That said, Ocean Colour Scene deliver all the back catalogue bucket list hits and the crowd singing along to ‘The Day We Caught The Train’ is a beautiful thing. Clearly Birmingham still has a great soft spot for this once Moseley mob, and while the atmosphere on stage could be better the atmosphere in the audience is something to behold.

As the last echoes of the amplifiers fade away, Beyond The Tracks’ Saturday crowd begins to move slowly back towards the city centre. I find it hard to imagine anyone not having had a good time today – passing happy face after happy face as we head back to our temporary nest at The Old Crown. Two down, one more to go.

Jaws – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 16.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on Jaws, visit www.jawsjawsjaws.co.uk

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Sugarthief – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 16.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on Sugarthief, visit www.soundcloud.com/sugarthiefuk

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Carl Barât and the Jackals – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 16.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on Carl Barât and the Jackals, visit www.carlbaratandthejackals.com

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Sandinistas – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 16.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on Sandinistas, visit www.sandinistas-uk.myshopify.com

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The Twang – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 16.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on The Twang, visit www.thetwang.co.uk

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The Americas – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 16.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on The Americas, visit www.soundcloud.com/theamericasyeah

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The Coral – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 16.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on The Coral, visit www.thecoral.co.uk

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Table Scraps – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 16.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on Table Scraps, visit www.table-scraps.bandcamp.com

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Maxïmo Park – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 16.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on Maxïmo Park, visit www.maximopark.com

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Superfood – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 16.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on Superfood, visit www.superfoodjunk.com

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Ocean Colour Scene – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 16.09.17 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on Ocean Colour Scene, visit www.oceancolourscene.com

For more on Beyond The Tracks, visit www.beyondthetracks.org

September 22, 2017September 22, 2017

BREVIEW: Beyond The Tracks… Friday @ Eastside Park 15.09.17

Words by Damien Russell / Pics by Denise Wilson

The plan is simple: meet my friend, get to The Old Crown – the pub we’re staying in, check-in, pick up the tickets left behind the bar for us, head to Eastside Park, enjoy the event.

However, plagued with overdue work the preparations to get to Beyond The Tracks are not going well. What should have been leisurely packing and hearty breakfasting has instead become telephone calls and frantic typing but, nevertheless, through more luck than judgment, at the absolute cut-off of 11:30 I’m closing my flat door behind me with a few mismatched items of clothing and a toothbrush stuffed into a hold-all and I’m on my way.

Step 1: to meet Paul Gallear in Wolverhampton centre, and with timing to a ‘T’ we hop onto a train at Wolverhampton Station. The trip into Birmingham is a good one and we arrive at New Street Station with spirits high. Birmingham is surprisingly busy for that sort of time of day on a Friday and I wonder casually if many more people milling about are here for the festival.

I’m mindful of that John Fell said, in our recent interview, that about 40% of the people with tickets for the Friday are from outside the area; it does seem like too much of a coincidence to discount. We head across town to The Old Crown and check in to find that our tickets are yet to arrive. The decision is made; a warm-up pint is in order.

Our tickets are being brought by Birmingham Review’s editor, Ed King, and our anachronistic EDM expert. Sadly, we are set to experience Beyond The Track’s dance music throwback without him, as Ed is booked at another event. But with a pint prepared for his arrival, we vow to try our best to convince him to join us… Several hours and several drinks later, no avail. Ed is immovable on the subject and despite our best efforts we say our farewells, part ways, and Paul and I head on to the festival.

At this point it’s only fair to address my experience and enjoyment of dance music. Little on both counts, I’m sorry to say. I was too young for the 80’s and 90’s rave scene and coming from Wolverhampton, there was little of that sort of thing around. That being said, I’m always open to a new experience and if the atmosphere is right, it could be great.

So, somewhat delayed but still looking forward to what lies ahead, we find ourselves at the transformed Eastside Park. The site itself is set up as I had imagined; tall solid fencing surrounds the arena with the main entrance on the city side. The entrance is predictably flanked by security and there is the usual ticket collection, ticket inspection, with body/bag search 3-tier entrance system that we’re all largely used to these days. Not as heavy on security as I was expecting given the political climate these days, I must admit, but to my knowledge the event is entirely trouble free all weekend so all’s well etc, etc.

In no time at all we’re in and at the bar. Leftfield are in full swing and with the day still being quite bright it does seem a little incongruous listening to the sort of music usually hear at around 3am. Being the Leftism album performance tour, the music is more chilled out than what dance music can bring to a greenfield site, but with the festival ‘vibe’ still in full force. The field is full, not shoulder to shoulder but comfortably so, and with everyone seemingly very good natured about getting around.

Leftfield’s performance is interspersed with live vocals and songs like ‘Inspection (Check One)’ stand out from the set as having that extra edge because of it. The sky is grey and a bit drizzly but still fairly light, so while the lighting is far from lost the live vocal performances bring a welcome depth to the stage show.

The crowd are warm and receptive but if I’m honest, both they and Leftfield themselves are a little more subdued than I am hoping for. I know that the plaster ceiling of the Brixton Academy was always going to be safe at this distance, but somehow I still find myself wanting a little more. A little more bounce, a little more volume, a little more energy from the audience. I’m not sure which. But something. That said, Leftfield close their set to solid applause and pave the way for Sister Bliss to begin on the second stage.

The second stage is borrowed directly from Moseley Folk Festival, as, I’m reliably informed, are the bar and the catering stands. Not having been to Moseley Folk it’s not something that bothers me, but not giving this new festival more of its own identity seems a bit of a shame, if a forgiveable one given that it’s Beyond The Tracks’ first year.

With the crowd affording us little chance of getting close enough to see Sister Bliss in action, it becomes cocktail time, and as the strains of ‘Insomnia’ float over the field (one of my favourite Faithless songs) I can’t help but smile. I wasn’t sure if Sister Bliss would play it but I’m glad she has. Not the full song, of course, but enough.

Happily hydrated, centre of the arena and far enough back to see the full main stage in all its glory, the night feels like it’s picking up and I watch the crew building the tower of scaffold that is to be Orbital’s lighting rig and stage for the Friday night headline performance.

Orbital, brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll, take to the stage with trademark specs fully kitted out with headlights and kick straight in with ‘Lush 3’ which to me is a bit of an unusually mellow choice but gives them a long build into their performance. Plus while Sister Bliss has perhaps raised the bar slightly with regards to tempo and dynamic, she is the odd one out and Orbital and Leftfield are both bringing similar performances in many ways.

If I’m honest, I don’t feel their set ever builds much beyond that initial entrance and as track number two, ‘Impact (The Earth Is Burning)’ starts, again it’s more subdued than I was expecting. Somehow I thought there would be 8,000-10,000 people all jumping up and down and going mad but it’s far from the reality. The Hartnolls have some of the old ways still going strong, and I can see their heads bob and their hands raise through the lighting, but whether I’m a few drinks short of where I need to be I don’t know, the set just seems a bit flat.

Orbital’s main set ends with ‘Belfast’ and I expect that to be all for the evening, but to my surprise there’s an encore scheduled in. I think the Leftism experience has thrown me; while an album based set is unlikely to squeeze out an encore, I have assumed that all dance music acts play a fixed set and that’s all. Not so. Not tonight anyway. Orbital have two more tracks on their agenda, finishing with ‘Where Is It Going?’ to a warm appreciation from Beyond The Tracks‘ Friday night crowd.

A very apt track to finish on too, as Paul (Gallear, not Hartnoll) and I are decide that where it’s going now is back to The Old Crown. We’re largely dance-music’d out for the day and a nice warm sit down and a drink is in order.

I remain conflicted on the walk back ‘home’, and Paul and I have a fair old discussion about the EDM evening. A discussion that extends into several G&Ts and some Belgian Beer. In the end, I remain unconverted to dance music and electronica for now. But as the saying goes, tomorrow is another day…

Jagwar Ma – Beyond The Tracks @ Eastside Park 15.09.17 / Denise Wilson