There’s a reason why 2000 Trees has won a host of awards and keeps fans returning year after year. Small enough to retain a friendly, family vibe, but large enough to attract some of the biggest names in alternative music, 2000 Trees has become a fixture on the calendar of any self respecting music fan. The organisers have really come up trumps this year and have assembled four days of music that has left us salivating in anticipation. The compact site means there’s a lot of bands to catch, so without further ado, lets get straight down to business!
Wednesday 10th July:
With the action centred in the northern portion of the site, Wednesday makes the perfect gateway into Trees and we focus our attention on the Forest Stage and getting our Trees off to a raucous start are Pet Needs. They play punk exactly how it should be played with plenty of vitriol, vim and vigour, and the result is a buoyant affair that gets the whole crowd bobbing in unison. They turn this Wednesday afternoon into a sparkling Saturday night, with each band member vying for the audience’s attention and the golden rays that Pet Needs radiate more than makes up for the lack of sun, and if Pet Needs’ performance is anything to go by, this is going to be one hell of a weekend.
After the bright glow of Pet Needs, there’s a darker, almost narcissistic light emanating from the Lambrini Girls. The great thing about music is that it’s a unifier; we can all grove to Bob Marley’s ‘Sun Is Shining’ and Van Halen’s ‘Eruption’, so when the band ask the crowd to chant a political slogan, half do (over) enthusiastically while the other half look uncomfortable, and immediately division is sown. There’s currently a war of attrition being fought in Ukraine, whilst a certified genocide is currently occurring in Sudan (150,000 dead, over 9,000,000 displaced) of which the band make not a peep. So, as to why the Lambrini Girls are so preoccupied with this one conflict in the Middle-East I shall let you conclude.
It’s been a pleasure to watch Glasgow’s Dead Pony grow, not only as people but as musicians too, and ahead of their set on the Main Stage tomorrow, the band treat us to a more intimate affair. The band are radiating confidence and pace themselves perfectly, delivering a set that ebbs and flows, creating a real party vibe, and it is one to which everyone is invited. Opening with a Prodigy sample gets the crowd in the groove and ensures that when the band arrive everybody is well oiled and in the groove. Dead Pony are a force of nature and you feel it is only a matter of time until the return as headliners, but until then they leave us with the feeling that we’ve seen something special.
Celebrating their own anniversary, The Xcerts are another band who’ll be returning to the festival later in weekend for a main stage set, but for now they hit the Forest Stage, and they do so like a band on fire. The towering pines make the perfect frame for their songs about life, love and loss, and such is the affection aimed at the band, they can barely put a foot wrong, and they don’t. Delivering a set that’s both powerful and pugnacious, tender and tenacious, The Xcets are simply Xcellent.
Despite a nail biting game of football being shown on the large screen, Dream State have pulled in a large crowd for their second Trees appearance in as many years. Plagued by several line-up changes, the band’s trajectory has been stuttering, but this period of stability has found Dream State in a rich vein of form, and the chemistry the band now has is undeniable. They’re all on fire, especially vocalist Jessie Powell who seems intent on making contact with all present. Pulling no punches and taking no prisoners, Dream State deliver an abject lesson in stage craft. Dream State? Definitely not recommended for somnambulists.
After England’s last gasp winner against the Netherlands in the European Championship, the crowd are on a natural high, and a real sense of unity electrifies the air, and this makes a set by Boston Manor a special treat (as if their appearance wasn’t special enough). Their hard, yet melodic, sound enraptures the crowd, with each song hitting like a well-aimed blow to the solar plexus. With just 60 minutes allocated for their set, time is precious, of the essence and not to be wasted and they make every second count, keeping stage raps to a minimum and their sound lean and hungry; this is music of which you can see bones poking through the skin. If you want to know why some bands are destined to be headliners whilst others are condemned to perpetual daytime slots, look no further than Boston Manor.
Thursday 11th July
Opening Thursday on the Neu Stage are Black Atlas, and they do it in some style. Using Shania Twain’s ‘I Feel Like A Woman’ for an introduction seems like an odd choice, but it works rather well and gets everyone in the right mood. Like many three-piece bands they sound far bigger than their constituent parts, and their three-point harmonies render them both heavy and sublime. A solid set of which ‘I Feel Great’ is a definite highlight and marks them as ones to watch.
The Cave is the stage where things get heavy and kicking things off with a chuggy, twin guitar assault are Overpower. It’s a hardcore fest alright; the rhythm section is the sound of two heavyweight boxers slugging it out, the vocals are red raw and throat-shredding, while the guitars are snakes eating their own tails. In short, it is everything good music should be; there’s no banal stage rants, just heavy songs delivered in quick succession. Not bad for 11am on a Thursday morning!
From the first note, and I mean the very first note, Knives are on point and are a riotous explosion of sight and sun. With a charismatic vocalist leading the charge, this crew are refreshingly hard to pigeonhole and when a brass section kicks in things really get interesting. Imagine Fucked Up jamming with The King Blues and you’d have something approaching this mob, yet it is to their eternal credit that they sound like no one but themselves and that’s a thing of which we should all be thankful.
Having travelled all the way from London, Negative Frame haven’t come all this way to take prisoners. They’re brutal and crushing, hard and crunchy (not unlike the chocolate bar) and with a powerful drummer leading the charge, Negative Frame create an impenetrable wall of sound with which to crush all in their path. Ever heard two rhinoceros mating? Neither have I, but I imagine they’d sound a lot like this crew.
Self-styled “London Queercore” band Shooting Daggers have a fast and furious modus operandi (of the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it variety) that reminds me of old-school bands such as The Restarts and D.I.R.T., yet don’t mark them down as mere copyists, they’ve a sound all of their own, and one that goes straight for the jugular. New tracked debuted (called ‘Love And Rage’, I believe) signposts a bright future. I hope they’ll break out of the parochial scene and have a more mainstream impact because they have a message that deserves to be heard by as many people as possible.
With a Turkish rug as a backdrop and a mini-bar and standing lamps (complete with tasselled shades) furnishing the stage, suggests that Arson won’t be your ordinary band. And when they appeared, suited and booted and using some Dixieland jazz as a walk-on tape only serves to challenge any preconceived ideas. The don’t look like the sort of chaps to play kick ass hardcore, but they do; in fact, the only thing they live up to is their name and they certainly set the tent aflame. When a bartender appears and serves shots to those in the mosh pit, I get the feeling that I’ve seen it all now. There’s always a dandger that the band could come off as gimmicky, but they’re bang on the money musically, so there’s no danger of that.
As last minute replacements for Death Lens, Exit Child do a good job of stepping up to the plate and deliver a loud, but intricate sound. Painting concentric circles, they’re sonic sculptors shaping sound and the joy is in not quite knowing what they’ll produce. They make good use of musical dynamics with loud and quiet sections each acting as a foil to highlight and enhance the other. Many would have missed their set yesterday so this was another chance to catch Exit Child, and in truth this bunch is to good to be missed.
Vower are a quintet who create a sound so big it can barely be comprehended; it’s a vast ocean, a nowhere ending sky or a huge, brutalist structure towering overhead and making you feel tiny and insignificant. They make good use of tonality, and utalise vocals that are raw and emotive and connect with the listener on some deep, primordial level. There’s an earthy, organic quality to their sound that breaks the shackles of formality until what’s left is a living, breathing creature and one you feel could devour the whole tent at a moments notice.
Any doubts about the prowess of Aviva are soon put to rest as the band race out the blocks and deliver highlights ‘You Don’t Know A Thing About Me’ and ‘My Own Worst Enemy’ in quick succession. The band are all over the stage like a rash and dazzle us with their vitality. They’re a pleasing tension of opposites between electronic and organic instrumentation and the result is a sound of which you can dance and mosh (although there’s more of the former going on) as the band make a deep connection with the crowd; it’s the kind of union that happens only rarely and today is a prime example of such synchronicity. The stage, bathed in neon blues and pinks, becomes the property of Aviva (at least for 45-minutes) with the penultimate ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ ensuring the band won’t be forgotten in a hurry.
There’s a buzz surrounding Grove Street which means they open to a full tent and when they arrive they evidence themselves a band who play hardcore how it should be played (with the emphasis on hard). It’s as violent as a vicious street brawl and smokes like a fresh, bullet filled corpse; the vocals are delivered with real bite and he’s a singer who recalls a young Scott Vogel (Terror). New track ‘Divided Kingdom’ goes down particularly well, as does a feisty ‘Born To Lose’, both of which mark the band as a strong contemporary force. It’s a set rewarded with moshing, crowd surfing and metalheads being held aloft and passed around on inflatable dinghy’s (really!).
Immediately after opening and debuting with a new track, Movements are hit with some technical difficulties which brings their set to a shuddering halt. It could easily have thrown the band off kilter, yet they take it in their stride and use the opportunity to bond with the crowd whom they lead in a nice little sing along. It’s something many of their peers wouldn’t think to do, and that’s what sets Movements apart. It means that once the issues are resolved, the band are straight back on the horse and doing what they do best; delivering hard edged songs to a primed and willing crowd and the two conspire to create a bombastic and unforgettable affair.
Shelf Lives are a pair of sonic terrorists, comprising two vocalists, guitar and synths, and if you want to know just how heavy two musicians can get then look no further that this combination. They throw plenty of curveballs into their set to ensure the crowd never become too comfortable; just when you think you have Shelf Lives pegged, they’ll veer off on an unexpected tangent, or they’ll stop a song mid-flow with the sole intention of taking people out of their comfort zones. Shelf Lives are like nothing you’ve ever heard before, but they’re a band endowed with longevity.
Readers of The Midlands Rocks will be familiar with the Manchester Orchestra and their cinematic sound, but what you might not know is that they become far more direct and vital in the live environment. Those affectations that recall the silver screen are very much in evidence, yet in the live arena the band become far more punchy, and case in point is ‘Shake It Out’, a track that twists and turns, taking on and discarding different forms, and the result is a track that could flaw even the hardiest critic. Yet it’s a fine line the band tread between their layered studio sound and the live environment, and it’s a tightrope they walk with apparent ease. In addition to a rabid fanbase packed in front of the main stage, Manchester Orchestra have a magnetic force that pulls the crowd towards them like metal filings and once here they get tangled in the band’s magical web. For many, this is their first time seeing the band live, but on the strength of this set, it won’t be their last.
The Pale White are one of those rarefied bands who make a beeline to your memory bank; even if you are unfamiliar with their songs, they sound strangely familiar. It is almost as if these songs have been hardwired into our brain from birth, or they are echoes from a previous life, but whatever the reason, The Pale White have the whole tent bobbing in unison. It’s a sound that grows organically, and one you feel could develop in any direction. Operating as a trio gives the band a very tight focus, yet like an elephant balancing on a basketball, The Pale White keep everything in proportion and delicately poised and it is this balance between beauty and strength which keeps things nicely in check. They’re a band more than ready to step up another level…so watch this space.
With their huge sound, The Gaslight Anthem make for worthy headliners and they arrive as all bill toppers should, there’s little fanfare, no elongated introductions or suchlike; no mess, no fuss, and the result is pure impact. To close the first full-day at 2000 Trees is a huge opportunity and it is one The Gaslight Anthem are grabbing with both hands, the band are full of confidence and this immediately gets the crowd on their side and it doesn’t take long until every fist is punching the air and every voice is singing along to their anthemic songs. The result is uplifting and quasi-religious, and dare I say spiritual, and fails to touch any soul present. They perform with a chemistry of which most bands would be envious as they ululate and shape shift, hypnotising us with their playful creativity and delivering a set that’s bursting at the seams with rock bangers and when the tunes are as good as ‘American Slang’ and ‘Red Violins’, how could they fail to please? Sitting atop this year’s Trees (not unlike a star above a Christmas tree) The Gaslight Anthem close with ‘The ‘59 Sound’, sending everyone to their tents happy, and set the standard for all who will follow.
The Gaslight Anthem Set List:
- Great Expectations
- Handwritten
- American Slang
- Spider Bites
- Biloxi Parish
- The Weatherman
- Miles Davis And The Cool
- High Lonesome
- Red Violins
- Chloe Dancer
- Positive Charge
- Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts
- Mulholland Drive
- Even Cowgirls Get The Blues
- Michigan, 1975
- Autumn
- Howl
- Mae
- 45
- The ‘59 Sound
