BlackBud

Blackbud – John Peel Stage, Sunday

My how things are beginning to change for Blackbud, there are Blackbud stickers all over the site promoting their appearances here at Glastonbury and half the audience have stickers on their bags or backs. Before Jo and Co. take to the stage some girls are handing out Blackbud badges and the stickers and the crowd is gathering, though a few are wearing Hard Fi T-shirts expecting them and not Blackbud to be playing.

Blackbud have already had a Glastonbury of changing fortunes, their first Other Stage performance was cancelled due to the horrendous weather on the opening morning of the festival. Their fantastic acoustic session at the Glastonbury Inter@ctive geodesic dome in the Dance Village was streamed straight out over the net. Then they played a glorious jam session in the Late ‘n’ Live lounge to their adoring fans and now they have an extended set due to Hard Fi cancelling, but mix ups in the Press Office and the fact the Q Daily line-up is so old it’s showing signs of fossilisation means that some of their fans have no idea they are playing the John Peel Stage.

At least the weather has dried the access to the tent enough for people to get into it to watch them and there are also hastily erected signposts leading the way with stickers and marker pen arrows. The band are made welcome by the John Peel stage MC who he says is fed up of introducing them on this stage and hopes that from now on they’ll be appearing on bigger stages at future festivals.

Blackbud start well with Jo playing on a big shiny Gibson and those in the crowd that haven’t heard them appear very impressed. Even most of the Hard Fi fans on realising their band isn’t playing stay to enjoy Blackbud. With tracks from The Livewire Ep - Forever, Lost in Time and 158 showcased and the band all enjoying being on stage and the usual chemistry working between all three their playing gets more confident rapidly and there’s always a big build up for that last chord of each song.

Jo changes guitar for his more trademark Fender and there are none of the usual sound problems, in fact the man on the sound desk does a fantastic job of bringing us a well balanced sound. As the band meander through some new tracks Days Passing Away and Barefoot Dancing are fantastic new tracks and show how much they’ve developed as a band. Heartbeat and Sitting By The River have the crowd again aware that they are watching someone great who could have the whole Pyramid swaying along to these tracks.

The set is over all too soon despite its extended length and my only slight criticism is that the band still aren’t willing to talk to the audience much, to engage us more they are still happy to let the music do the talking. Wow, and what talking it was, the crowd may have been slightly more subdued than they were in 2004 but I put that down to the fact it’s Sunday and the festival has taken its toll a bit. There was still a larger crowd and as I made my way to the Tolpuddle Bar for a beer I was surprised at how many were outside the tent listening to them in the sunshine.

Let’s hope in 2007 we are all in the sunshine to enjoy Blackbud’s music and I personally can’t wait for another EP of the new music showcased here this afternoon.

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