2000 Trees 2024 - The Review

And so to another 2000 Trees. It seems every year I push to get here earlier and earlier, and still manage to miss a host of bands. Even aside from work commitments, the semi-final stopped any thought of doing the whole 4 days, but with Wednesday attendees getting to see acts such as Exit Child, Pet Needs, Lambrini Girls, The Wytches, and Dream State, I’ve no doubt they felt it was worth it.

This year, the narrow morning miss with an 11am set was Overpower, but having missed the opportunity for some cheesy power metal to start the festival off, The Menstrual Cramps justified our swift arrival with a brilliant display of in-your-face, uplifting angry Riot Grrl. Loud, feminist, gender-rejecting, pro-abortion, they’re one of the bands that I feel help define the modern wave of punk, and the size and energy of the crowd in the Neu tent shows I’m not alone in that.

We headed towards the main stage for The Oozes, but realised they’d been replaced, and while the sounds of Cherym were entertaining enough, with a full timetable planned for the weekend, it felt like a good opportunity to finish sorting the tents/arrival out. It doesn’t take too long, and we’re ready for Dead Pony, who fill out the main stage with some vibrant, angry pop-punk, sung beautifully and powerfully. There’s no rest though, with a plan to try and catch at least 13 bands over the day, we dart over to Axiom to catch Enola Gay, with their intense, almost-droning chugfest of guitar noise another excellent catch. Knife Bride offer our first genuine metal experience of the weekend, pulling in hints of industrial and prog into yet another powerful set, rippling with joyous anger. Over in Neu, we’re seeing Nobro next, and it’s more shouty feminist punk. Excellent stuff, but with a packed tent and the hot weather, I relish the opportunity of a spare seat just outside and chill with a pint. 

An almost break is appreciated, as Casseyette are next, and this is yet another stunning performance, melding electro-pop beats with rock riffs and powerful vocals. It’s infectious, catchy, and utterly relentless, as is our schedule, and we’ve got the largest gap between stages to cover to get to the little Forest Stage, which takes a whopping 5 minutes. Such a distance. In previous years, this wooded area has had more of an acoustic bent, serving as a supplementary stage with a more chilled vibe than the rest of the line-up, but this year the bookings and sound has been aligned to the overall sound. I’d enjoyed the disconnect in the past, but Kite Thief show this decision was no mistake, with a performance full of driving riffs, but with a subtle backdrop of intricate melodies, almost akin to the soundtrack of a horror film.

Our stage hopping continues back to Axiom, to catch the last 20 minutes of Spanish Love Songs, whose wry lyrics and uplifting indie-pop sound provides a sharp and delightful contrast to the punchy anger that’s dominated the day so far.

During a full day like this, a brief gap in bands is a key opportunity to grab some food. Our first pick this weekend is some South African Bunnychow, a giant portion of chilli stuffed into half a bread loaf, with a bit of sour cream and garlic bread on top. Filling, genuinely spicy and absolutely delicious. I was a little surprised to find Kids in Glass Houses are still going, but their early evening main stage set provides enjoyable background entertainment as we munch down.

The less energetic sounds continue, where the occasional spark of more intense post-hardcore accents soaring indie to make Manchester Orchestra sound drift delightfully across the site, almost bringing the start of the evening glow down with their music.

Back to the Forest for Los Campesinos! who were playing their first festival performance since 2016, and woah this was rammed. The stage was clearly far too small for them, not just in terms of how packed the crowd was, but the seven members barely had space to boogie with their twee noise pop. It sounded great though, joyous, exciting, and refreshing.

They were followed by our last act of the day, Alt Blk Era, who were one of the only disappointments of the weekend. The sound was mixed badly, with the singers demanding a heavy bass, that then drowned out their growly vocals. The crowd still got into it, particularly for their 2 big hits, but I couldn’t help but feel that the missing COVID years in their development robbed them and their sound engineers of enough shows going wrong before they had any Spotify success. They’ve clearly got potential, and the two songs where the vocals and guitar managed to cut through were really good, but their live sets and show still need practice.

Trees’ late night entertainment takes one form, a Silent Disco, but unlike a number of others, they’ve really gone all-out on this. The Forest Stage hosts live bands playing through one channel, with Axiom and Cave both having DJs MCing and playing to the crowd on other channels. Add in a fairly classical metal channel filled with hits catered to the audience, and this feels like a well rounded offering.

The next morning is no rest, with another 11am start to catch Bex on the main stage. After an excellent performance in a tent last year, it’s no surprise that she’s been rewarded with the chance to open the main stage, and the bleary eyed crowd quickly get into it. She’s swiftly followed by Artio, whose dense, angry sound covers the Neu tent, before returning to the main stage for Sløtface, whose lyrics veer between wry and anger, in contrast to the more upbeat pop-infused sounds of their music.

A brief respite in bands seems like an excellent time to start on the day’s beer selection, and having got local Bristol brewery Arbor Ales in to fuel the bars this year, the quality is excellent. Two bars have a more extensive offering but one of their standard pale ales Mosaic is still an excellent choice to have across the site, and while £6.65/pint isn’t cheap, at least it’s for good local beer, and the price rises on last year seem to only reflect inflation, not corporate greed. Beer also seems absolutely essential for watching The Rumjacks with their sea-shanty infused metal a joyous early afternoon romp, and while I can’t avoid the inevitable comparisons to Alestorm, the kings of pirate metal, it’s still delightful entertainment. 

The sun is beating down harder, but thankfully our day’s schedule has a run of bands over on the shadier Forest stage. Far from peaceful though, Bobby Wolfgang’s dense, textured beats layered down on dominating angry vocals and a storming crowd presence. Everything about this performance is utterly relentless, and his set simultaneously feels like its crammed a ridiculous amount of noise and songs in, yet is over shocking quickly.

It’s a sharp change of pace for the next two bands, Loose Articles and Lauran Hibberd share many similarities, and while both acts are excellent in their own right and it feels unfair to conflate them, much of how I’d describe them feels apt for both. Sarcastic, witty, punchy rock n roll with catchy singalongs, that feels honestly fresh and vibrant in 2024.

The next act are like nothing else so far this weekend though, Blood Command are the heaviest, most powerful metal band yet, with Nikki Brumen providing the most intense death metal growling of the entire weekend, but contrasted by pop stylings to create something unique and brilliant. 

Clt Drp share a lot more in common with many other bands this weekend, but that’s not a criticism. More electronic-infused, vibrant punk, but like so many other acts of this weekend, they’re genuinely excellent, and you can easily see why they’re climbing up line-ups year on year. Something Bob Vylan have been doing rapidly. I’ve never really cared much about them on record, but live, they’re a different beast. Their driving riffs and refreshing merger of punk and grime are excellent in their own right, but add in their adorably cheeky crowd banter, and they’re genuinely brilliant performers.

The Chats are the day’s main stage headliners, and with them you know exactly what you’re going to get, straight-forward garage rock brought to the big stage with true showmanship. It’s punchy, direct, and genuinely great to see. Unfortunately I only stay for 4 songs, as I’ve got somewhere to be, to see if I can find the answer to a nearly 20-year old question. Do you ever wonder what Biffy Clyro might have sounded like if they’d got heavier after Vertigo of Bliss, instead of the more accessible stylings of Puzzle, Only Revolutions, and onwards? Enter Empire State Bastard, an extreme metal supergroup composed of Simon Neil, Mike Vennart, Naomi MacLeod, and Dave Lombardo. It’s everything it promises to be, pulverising sounds overwhelming The Cave with filthy grindcore at its most exhausting. 

One more day to go, and it’s just as relentless. The Meffs open the main stage with a frantic, unceasing set that was yet again worth the early start. Over in Axiom, Snake Eyes sound is layered and dense, before Inhuman Nature brought a true wall of noise to the Cave. Michael Cera Palin were yet another stand out, their emo-infused layered indie-math rock was wry, yet gorgeously uplifting. Hawxx bring incredible showmanship, Bowen are comparatively chill to the rest of the day, but still lively and joyous. Cauldron and Angel Du$t both live up to the intensity the Cave has shown all weekend, before Death From Above 1979 stun with some electrifying dance punk. Over on the Forest, Harpy dominates the stage with her theatrical performance and dense industrial backing tracks.

I’m a little too broken by this point to force my way into the over-packed tent, but even from outside, Creeper are doomy, stony, and utterly glorious. I’m glad I saved my energy for one last band though, as Wargasm’s show is as uncompromising as the whole festival has been. Angry yes, but there’s a delight in feeling band and crowd alike determined to put every last bit of energy they have into experiencing the set and the festival.

Punk at its core is angry, it is rebellious, but at its best, it is also joyful. 2000 Trees has once again captured all these aspects, and produced one of the best festivals on the scene. Long may it continue.

 

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