Set in the rolling Gloucestershire hills, 2000 Trees has quickly developed a reputation as the UK’s best independent festival with a line-up that covers the whole spectrum of alternative music, and with some spoken word events and podcasts thrown in for good measure. With several stages stacked to the brim with talent there’s some difficult decisions to be made in terms of FOMO (fear of missing out), but with clash finder in hand, we’re determined to uncover the best that Trees has to offer, so without further ado…let’s rock!
Wednesday 9th July
With plenty of sunshine on order, the omens are looking good and we seem to have struck gold with Other Half. Fronted by a Freddie Mercury look-alike, they get my weekend off to a rather noisy start. Hailing from Norfolk (but we won’t hold that against them) they create a sound that is far bigger than their constituent parts. Their sound has a touch of classic American hardcore; beneath their unbridled rage there’s a strong sense of groove which render their songs very moshable. The predictable political posturing sows seeds of division, but overall Other Half go down rather well.
We go right back with Blood Command vocalist Nikki Brumen here at The Midlands Rocks, having interviewed her during her tenure with demonic Aussie crew Pagan (here), and her talents are equally suited to Norwegian noise merchants Blood Command. Her energy and enthusiasm are highly addictive and that turns their set into a very collaborative affair, especially so when she invades the crowd for a touch of surfing, initiating a swirling pit, the centre of which is a huge banana (it is fancy dress weekend after all). It’s one of the most surreal things I’ve ever seen (but also one of the best) and means that B.C. have set the bar extremely high for the rest of the weekend.
Ahead of an appearance on the main stage tomorrow, Meryl Streek plays a more intimate show on the Word stage this afternoon. He’s found the profanity button and he’s pressing it hard to deliver an expletive-filled performance. He delivers a socially conscious brand of punk that explores the inequalities in his native Ireland (and beyond). He’s all over the stage like a bluebottle on amphetamine and when accompanied by a hard-hitting drummer, things tend to veer towards overdrive. It’s full on and feisty, he places his foot firmly on the crowd’s collective neck and keeps it there for 30-furious minutes. Things don’t get much better than this.
Panic Shack are a quartet from Cardiff who are waging war upon a male dominated music industry and when armed with an armful of raucous tunes, there’s every chance they are going to win. Fusing raw punk fury to a pure melodic sensibility, theirs is a sound that’s an intriguing tension of opposites, but most of all, it’s fun and this immediately adheres them to the crowd as they perform all sorts of exaggerated dance routines that lampoon cock rock corporatism. The kind of punky yoga they perform suggests you shouldn’t take them too seriously…but you definitely should.
Bringing a 1980’s crossover vibe, Grove Street arrive bristling with nervous energy and put the hard into hardcore. They bring a touch of aggro to proceedings with a sound that conjures images of Suicidal Tendencies tussling with the Cro-Mags. It’s the perfect admixture of metal and punk; it’s punk played with metal musicianship and metal without all the cheesy lyrics. The result is an explosive affair and one that radiates waves of danger. Having supported luminaries such as Agnostic Front and Sick Of It All, Grove Street are well equipped to step up as headliners in their own right.
The organisers of 2000 Trees have done a great job in not only selecting a diverse bill, but also in the way that the festival has been curated; the bands fit together exceptionally well and bringing down the curtain on the Word stage in some style are The Meffs. They’re a duo from Essex comprising of Lily (vocals/guitars) and Lewis (drums/backing vocals), and they create a wall of sound that belies their reduced numbers. They display an obvious chemistry and as the burning sun starts to set over the Gloucestershire hills, The Meffs set the stage on fire.
“Are you ready to get this party started?” scream Hot Milk by way of introduction, and it’s something of a rhetorical question because the crowd are well up for it and as soon as the first note rings out (and I mean the very first note) the crowd pump their fists and hold plastic pint glasses aloft in affirmation. Hot Milk hail from Manchester and you can draw a clear lineage from Joy Division to Dub Sex, yet they definitely have their own thing going on. It’s an almost indefinable quality that sets them apart from their peers, but these songs are made for moshing and dancing (preferably at the same time) and Hot Milk get all but the frail and infirm up and strutting their stuff. Delivering masterclass in how to headline a festival, it feels as if the band can hardly put a foot wrong and truth be told, life doesn’t get much better than Hot Milk closing the Forest stage and my guess is that next time we encounter this crew, they’ll be bringing down the curtain on the main stage.
Thursday 10th July
After yesterday’s exertions with Hot Milk, I find myself bright eyed and bushy tailed (well, almost) in time to catch Terminals kicking the first full day of Trees off over on the Neu stage. I’m picking a definite ‘90s vibe in their modus operandi that captures the essence of Live and Radiohead. It’s a sound that veers between the lithe and the crushingly heavy and it traps the listener somewhere in the middle. They’ve pulled in a big crowd (despite the obscene hour) and their set makes the perfect gateway into Thursday at Trees.
As their name suggests, Uncertainty are a mangled tangle of contradictions. With both Pride and Palestinian flags hanging from their speaker stacks they fill the gaps between their songs with long political rants and that means their set never gains momentum, and as such they fail to connect the dots. As opposed to Terminals who played to a full tent, Uncertainty have a quarter of the Axiom filled and it gradually diminishes as their set continues. Uncertainty need to ring the changes and streamline their approach somewhat if they hope to make headway in the cut-throat world of music.
If Uncertainty want to know how to progress, they could do a lot worse than taking a few notes on Youth Killed It. They’re bang on point from the moment they hit the stage: “Are you ready for a good time?” screams their vocalist, well, of course we are. They magically transform a Thursday morning into a Saturday evening with a set songs that sparkle and fizz with panache. Their vocalist drips charisma, but it’d be unfair to single out any one member, the whole band are on fire and you can almost the sparks flying from their heels as they unleash tracks such as ‘Lovely Day For It’ (a live debut for this number) which signpost a bright future. Future headliners? You better believe it.
Evidencing what a far ranging remit the Trees organisers operate with, Grief Ritual deal in a blackened brand of metal, yet this is one band who refuse to be painted into a corner and they deliver a sound which fractures and sends shards of razor sharp sonics shooting in every direction. There’s some really neat ideas going on from the guitar lines to the unorthodox drum patterns and that makes for an experience that never ceases to amaze. Their sound reaches the very periphery of the site, and as a collective unit the band create an earthshaking experience and one that doesn’t leave many standing.
Alien Chicks have travelled some crazy miles to be here today and they certainly haven’t come all this way to take prisoners. In fact, they’ve made the journey worthwhile and prove to be a fun and feisty proposition who are powered forth by a bass player who appears to have a rocket plugged in his ass. It’s never knowing in what direction they’ll veer next that makes them such an intriguing proposition and they bounce around like a silver ball between the bumpers and operate with a kind of controlled chaos. Amid the pines that surround the Forest stage, the Alien Chicks appear to be extra-terrestrials but ones that’ll be welcomed back anytime.
Locked, loaded and primed for action, Rifle fire off a ferocious brand of post-punk. They certainly look the part and arrive attired in black slacks, white socks and grey button-down shirts. They sound the part too, and come armed with a punchy sound, it’s a riff heavy, blocky thing that’s pieced together to create an impenetrable wall. It’s a sound that radiates a kind of violence and reminds me of the Sex Pistols in their very early days. Imagine The Mekons overdosing on meth and you’d have something approaching the fiery rhetoric with which Rifle operate. Nice.
A bilingual band from Pontypridd, Chorma have come to slay the Neu Stage and fuse garage rock and math-rock into a boisterous sound that exists somewhere between the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Gossip. Despite the sonic fury with which they operate, there’s a strong focus on the song and a lyrical suss that suggests a wisdom beyond their years. Barrelling along at 100mph, Chorma’s set is over far too soon but wherever they go next, it is bound to be interesting.
Appearing like a thief in the dead of night, Bandit are very much inspired by the whole Britpop movement and treat us to a sublime set of songs that sit easy on the afternoon air. While it’s true that they aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel, there’s plenty of neat ideas going on and their songs are bursting at the seams with invention. In a way, they feel slightly out of place amongst all these punky, alternative bands, and are tailor made for the biggest stages and on the strength of this performance, it’s only a matter of time until they get there. Their sound is huge and atmospheric and demands that thousands of voices sing along, and in that respect they are perfect fodder for Trees fertile ground.
Vexed are an alternative metal crew who deal in the hard stuff; it’s the kind of sound that could floor a rhinoceros and is a musical pummelling that offers little in the way of redemption. There’s not one second wasted, no banal between song banter, the band preferring an approach that offers no quarter and takes no prisoners. As the temperature outside the tent reaches boiling point, Vexed raise the heat by a few degrees. As the old bands start to shuffle off this mortal coil, it’s time for a new breed of bands to drag metal kicking and screaming into the future, and Vexed are poised to lead the charge.
Delivering that no nonsense brand of rock ‘n’ roll which the Aussies do so well, DZ Deathrays have a sound that can draw a lineage through AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, The Hard-Ons and the Dune Rats, yet these influences are merely a springboard towards something new and DZ Deathrays have a unique thing going on. It’s a feisty kind of set and one that draws all eyes (and ears) towards the stage. From their early days as dive bar, dance-punk misfits to the current incarnation as main stage maestros, one thing that has been constant throughout their career has been the quality of their songs and that means their set this evening has been an energetic affair, and one that doesn’t disappoint.
Spaced are another band who appear to be onto a good thing. With a unique guitar tone and a vocalist performing all sorts of gymnastics (both physically and vocally), this gang make for an arresting spectacle. However, they’re another band using the stage for political sloganeering, so much so that it eats into their allotted time and they could have treated us to two more songs in the time spent postulating. Of course, every artist has the right to use their platform as they see fit, but Spaced express the kind of sentiment we’ve heard many times already (and it’s only Thursday afternoon). More songs and less talking would have made Spaced a more enticing proposition.
Hailing from the south coast (Brighton), Lake Malice were a real revelation, one of those bands you stumble across at a festival and will remained burned upon your memory bank forever. Fronted by charismatic singer Alice Guala and guitarist Blake Cornwall, Lake Malice are a genre-defying bunch who mix metal, industrial, pop and punk into previously unheard forms. Accompanied by dancers who perform intricate moves, Lake Malice are both sonically and visually arresting. Spreading the good vibes around the Neu tent, they ramp the energy levels up to boiling point with both band and crowd inciting the other towards greater insanity. The whole sound and aesthetic surrounding Lake Malice means they were always going to be onto a winner, and they’ve certainly made more than a few fans tonight.
Hailing from the Isle Of Wight and following in the footsteps of Level 42 (only Joking!), Grade 2 are a rather nifty punk rock trio. With plenty of fire and skill, they infuse their brand of punk with an unashamedly punk sensibility and this renders their tunes very earwormy. Original tunes such as ‘Tired Of It’ evidence the healing, unifying power of music and locks everybody present into a singular groove. Another pleasant surprise thanks to 2000 Trees, Grade 2 are now on my watch list, and they should be on yours.
Over on the Forest stage it’s the same Bambi Thug we saw supporting Babymetal recently (reviewed here), only more risqué and sexually suggestive, kind of like Madonna…only for Generation Alpha. “Controversial” is a word that perfectly applies to the artists known as Bambi Thug and polarises opinion between admiration and detestation. However, no matter what camp you fall into, there’s no denying that Bambi Thug is an accomplished artists; the vocals are strong and true and fill the outside space perfectly while the dance routines are highly choreographed and convey a lot of meaning. There’s no doubt that Bambi Thug will continue to divide opinion, but no matter into what camp you fall, you can’t deny their artistic merit.
Kneecap are another band who court controversy and their appearances at 2000 Trees was touch and go for a while. After their controversial appearance at Glastonbury and upcoming court hearing, it would have been quite understandable if the organisers had felt the pressure and dropped the band from the bill like a hot potato. However, the festival’s support for the band had been unwavering, so there was always a good chance that the band would hit the main stage tonight, and it all conspires to create an air of expectation as we count down towards showtime and a sea of people stream towards the stage. A sea of Palestinian flags and Irish tricolours flutter in the quintessentially English country side as we await the band and as the band’s slogans appear on stage a huge roar fills the air and that becomes a deafening silence when the band finally burst onto the stage. However, speaking as a hip hop aficionado, it feels as if Kneecap are bringing nothing new to the party, even their political rants are merely dressed up in new colours. There was a time when rap was truly revolutionary (think Run D.M.C.’s Raising Hell and the Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique) but if feels as if Kneecap have put things into reverse and the chants of “Fuck Kier Starmer” (right on, man) are merely old currency with a new sheen. Yet, those loyal to the cause are lapping it up, and there’s no denying the effect that Kneecap have on their fans and if we were to judge music solely on the reaction that music causes in people, then Kneecap are onto a winner.
