Glastonbury Festival Emerging Talent Competition 2009
Friday 3rd April 2009
The ale has run out on this the second day of the competition and with the clocks going forward the competition starts in daylight, not that we'd know in this venue with its black out curtains and great sound, and lights, it could be the middle of the night.
Up first is The Gentle Good, now there were no fiddles last night (for a change), here, now that's rectified with a string quartet. Singer Gareth Bonello plays Paul Simon style finger picking on guitar, and the songs are harmonious and delicate, they're gentle even. These are, we're told based on old Welsh folk songs, and we even get a song in Welsh too, the songs are very mellow, to be honest a little too mellow for me.
We Have Band liven things up. Live bass, keyboards, drum kit and a clever bit of programming, with loops, and masses of percussion. This trio make a lot of noise, but it's pretty tuneful sounds. Darren Bancroft makes full use of his drum kit, and the sounds they make has my brain reeling as I scramble to identify a wealth of ifluences. They're certainly different, a mix of live artschool and well chosen samples. Although, when girl Dede sings it draws obvious comparisons with The Ting Tings, although this band have much more to offer. They might not be the finished article, but they're brimming with potential. In one song they seem to cram the whole of 'Now That's What I Call Eighties Seminal Music' into one 'best of' mix of samples, loops, and sequences behind the live performance.
The Mojo Fins follow them up, and bring their prog rock to the stage and I feel it's an uphill struggle to engage us after the previous band's energy. They're a bit Dire Straits, and it all sounds a bit dated all of a sudden. On another night it might have impressed but right now it seems a little flat. The music is well crafted and the guitar work deft, I struggle to identify what exactly isn't working for me about it, perhaps it's the quiet self indulgent vocals.
If this were the Bestival band finals they'd have found their winner in the next band - Hope & Social, a lively blue blazer wearing, horn sectioned octet. They know how to win over a crowd, we all get given kazoos and it's a chance to join in with their happy tunes. They do sound pretty good, 'Shout It Out' has a good vibe about it, and we all join in. A well polished performance, even with the gimmicks, highly enjoyable oddball festival feel good band. When it came to the end of their performance, I have my money on them to win.
Sub-Universe bring their 'On A Bus' from YouTube to the band finals, it's a big hit at my daughter's school. A likeable collective of rappers bring their youthful fusion of lyrics and rave beats to Pilton. There's a fair bit going on in the mix of drum'n'bass and I quite like their off kilter style, word play and enthusiasm, it would be good to see upbeat rap at Glastonbury this year.
Last up are Yr Ods, and their singalong indie pop, well it would be singalong if I spoke Welsh, but it sounds nice. It's the first time in year's that there's been no international world music act, and I momentarily wonder if this is the token gesture. Yr Ods music is good indie pop. I found that only being able to join in on the 'Ah Ohs' because of the language barrier left me wanting more. I'm sure more familiarity with the material would have enhanced even more my enjoyment of this band.
And so we waited for the judges to decide, I felt it was a fur horse race with either Stornoway, or Maura Kincaid from the first day, or We Have Band or Hope And Social from tonight.
After the judges finished their deliberations festival organiser Michael Eavis gets up on stage and announces the winner of a main stage slot are We Have Band, and that all the bands will play at this year's festival, they get a free ticket, and he quips, they might even get paid.
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