James Wijesinghe reviews Poltimore festival
Live Music
Live Review: The 1975 @ Westpoint, Exeter
“Rock and roll is dead, God bless The 1975,” flash the LED screens as the band finish playing ‘Sex’, the final song of the night. Only bands of the biggest ego could make such a claim, and it is frontman Matty Healy’s flamboyant, ineffable charisma that allows them to own the statement. God knows why […]
Live Review: Occupy LIVE @ Northcote House
On the morning of February 22nd, the first of the fourteen non-consecutive days of striking that have dominated the last four weeks at Exeter, I spoke on the picket line with English lecturer Dr Joe Crawford. Our assembly, guitar-accompanied, had just finished singing the famous and verbose union song ‘Solidarity Forever’, which would become the […]
Live Review: Will Hoge @ Bristol Thekla
It’s a familiar cliché, usually shared between two acquaintances and probably an aux cord, to “love all genres- well, except maybe country!”. Perhaps to label such a statement as “blasphemous” might seem a tad hyperbolic and, in the interest of journalistic transparency, there is an inevitable bias that lies with my super-fan mother. Regardless, Will […]
Afropunk London 2017 Preview
Last year saw the massively popular arts festival Afropunk move from its regular hosts of Paris, New York and Atlanta to London, bringing a wave of culture to the UK in its two-day extravaganza. Now, the festival is steaming ahead towards ‘round two’ in London on the 22nd-23rd July, bringing a whole host of some of […]
Omelettes, Girl Bands & Sneezing: an Interview with The Big Moon
Indie rock bands that are worth listening to are somewhat few and far between at the moment. The Big Moon have ideas however, with the refreshing all-female four-piece set to drop their debut album, Love in the 4th Dimension, this Friday – a record that has already spawned a number of ear-worming singles that have climbed the BBC playlists. […]
Live Review: Blossoms @ Exeter Lemon Grove
I‘m just going to put it out there: I liked Blossoms before they were cool. Admittedly, it was just a few months before they were cool — I discovered them while stumbling around Spotify in my never-ending quest for a new band to adore — but it’s still worth remembering. After all, they haven’t even […]
Live Review: State Champs @ Bristol O2 Academy
I have to say, there are very few things I enjoy more than classic pop punk concerts, so last night was a real treat. Punk band from Florida, Northbound, played us into the venue, as guys and gals in various arrays of black jeans, plaid shirts and band tees shuffled excitedly onto the floor. I’d […]
Does live music still matter?
We’ve all seen some kind of live music event. Be it Glastonbury Festival, a Coldplay concert, a group of buskers warbling covers of Ed Sheeran in the high street, or even just the Ram Jam on a Thursday night. Obviously some resonate with us as more impressive experiences than others, but often even the most […]
Live Review: Frightened Rabbit @ Bristol Trinity
Playing in a repurposed old gothic church couldn’t be any more suiting for Frightened Rabbit’s melancholic brand of alternative rock. Having grafted their way from relative obscurity with the release of Sing the Greys back in 2006, Frightened Rabbit’s latest release Painting of a Panic Attack has seen them rubbing shoulders with some of indie […]