the sunshine underground

Reviews

• 

  Redfest- 2 day tickets...

  by Audiofrog

  on Wed, 28 Jul at 14:14

  ---

  Redfest is held annually on Robins Cook farm in the town of Redhill, only 30 minutes from London…...

  Read More

  Redfest is held annually on Robins Cook farm in the town of Redhill, only 30 minutes from London… just far enough to make you feel like you’ve left the city, but close enough to make it viable as a two-day festival. Now in its fourth year it has a reputation for putting forward the brightest and best upcoming talent just before they hit the big time, including acts like Laura Marling, Blood Red Shoes, Silversun Pickups and The Whip who have all played there in the past.

  We discover that this year is no different as we set up camp at the main stage and get through several really impressive acts across the two days. It seems a pity there’s a real air of disinterest from the festivalgoers who have an average age of about fifteen. For large parts of the day there is no one to be seen apart from little pockets of body painted, drunken teens and hippy families. It’s unfortmate because there’s a lot of talent on show and one often gets the feeling that the bands are not thrilled with the lacklustre response from the audience, who have come here for two things, Enter Shikari and Hadouken! And with occasional exceptions they’re saving every last shred of energy with the intention of utterly losing it at the end of the night.

  It’s not the best organised festival I’ve ever been to. The sound from the strangely soundtracked “beer tent” sometimes overpowers the mainstage, the entire festival is beset with sound problems and the security staff vary between being Draconian in their enforcement of “safety measures” to an almost criminal level of negligence. None of this matters though. The small, amateur-ish feel of the festival adds to its charm and everyone genuinely seems happy and chilled out and friendly, including the bands.

  Day 1

  For us day one starts with garage rockers, Little Fish. I really like their boot stomping, bluesy rock and vocalist, Juju Sophie’s big punky vocals but they have the misfortune of playing just as Enter Shikari emerge from their tour bus to sign a cfew of things and almost everyone who has bothered to turn up this early rushes the fence sectioning off backstage, leaving them with only a couple of mildly interested kids. I get the feeling that they’re slightly misplaced at a festival where the headline acts are dance-metal fusion bands.

  LightsGoBlue, however seemed to draw the crowd back with their brand of electro-pop-punk. Unsurprising when they’ve toured with Enter Shikari and Hadouken! before. It’s a bit generic for my liking but I’m probably not the target audience.

  After that I end up spending almost two hours sitting on a bench with Sam McTrusty, front man of Glaswegian rockers, Twin Atlantic, talking about the perils of letting a record company have its way and the dichotomy of choosing between stratospheric success and staying true to yourself and what you have to go through leaving your friends and family for half the year. In the end we decide on doing it on your own terms, fighting the good fight and relying on your guitarist’s navigation skills when the sat nav breaks in the Czech Republic… interspersed of course with tales of drunken mayhem and misspelled fan tattoos on the road from Enter Shikari’s Chris Batten, who ends up joining us. We even net an invitation to the Enter Shikari after party on their tour bus.

  Floors And Walls are next, bringing a highly energetic blend of MC-ing, funk and rock. In some ways they remind me of a very young Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Their front man, Alex Adams, is effortlessly charismatic and it’s hard not to get sucked into his powerful posturing.

  There doesn’t seem to be a particularly big Twin Atlantic fan contingent present but it takes the Scots rockers no time to win over the crowd. With songs made for fist-pumping and big enough for stadiums, they sweep up everyone in their path. Three songs in, the apathy has disappeared and they’ve whipping everyone up into a frenzy

  It all bodes well for Enter Shikari who hurl themselves on stage with No Sssweat, larger than life and putting on the kind of show that’s a fan’s wet dream. My own personal feelings about their second album aside, it all sounds amazing live and in between onstage break dancing, throwing themselves into the audience and cartwheels, they have finally lived up to the buzz of anticipation that has been in the air all day. The festival has turned into a heaving mass and appears to be frightening the security staff who are so vicious that they draw complaints from the band. By the time they close with Ok Time For Plan B, I’m deaf, everyone is bathed in sweat and I can only imagine what carnage unfolds in the campsite.

  We sneak off without returning to the tour bus. I’m almost 30 and if we’re going to be back tomorrow, I need my sleep.

  Day 2

  On Day 2 we unfortunately miss The Theory Of 6 Degrees but they have to be mentioned for the fact that the band members are only 13 and 14 years old and manage to charm the whole backstage area plus they have the coolest merch out of everyone.

  Kurran And The Wolfnotes are the perfect antidote to the heavy hangovers that seem to be flooring most of the revellers. I lie back and enjoy their laidback folkly melodies and Bright Eyes-esque sound. Once again the audience seems less than interested but fortunately the band doesn’t seem too bothered.

  Unlike The Paris Riots who appear be shocked that they’re not drawing more interest. Vocalist, Toby Connor’s, sneer becomes ever more pronounced, fortunately not doing anything to distract from his beautifully soulful voice. There’s something about him that makes me think of Jim Morrison and that can never be a bad thing.

  The lovely Tiffany Page is next, drawing the (mostly young male) audience back from the shady spots they’ve been snoozing in. With her heartfelt songs about love and loss, it’s easy to identify with her but it’s all a bit cheesy and middle of the road and despite all of her efforts to come across as an ass-kicking rock chick, I don’t think Joan Jett or even Hayley Williams have anything to worry about.

  Little Comets have a disastrous time with their sound. Something has gone wrong between the sampler and the sound man and vocalist, Robert Coles , isn’t having it. But even his frequent rants at man behind the desk cannot distract from the absolute gorgeousness of this band. From Coles’ impressive vocal gymnastics to their mad hodge podge of sound effects, percussion and dark, dark lyrics, they are perfect. Without question the find of the festival and by the end of the set we’re singing along to their catchier than fleas choruses.

  The sound doesn’t get any better for The Sunshine Underground and they’re forced to stop halfway through their first song to resolve their issues but once they get going, they’re on fire and despite their slightly geeky appearance, they have an effortless cool that can only come from years of experience playing together. Craig Wellington’s vocals are immense and their groovy indie sound has everyone dancing from start to finish.

  And that leaves only the infamous Hadouken! to close the weekend. Hadouken! are unmistakably cartoonish. In sound, appearance and action they are larger than life… and much bigger than the average band. The audience is of course fully aware of this and where there was once an open field there’s barely space to move as every single festivalgoer is moving in an undulating wave of excitement. Unfortunately this seems to be too much for security to contain and a crowd surfer is dropped over the barrier onto her head while they look on from the outskirts. One can only hope she’s alright. I leave having been converted to the clan of H! There is no better way the festival could have ended.

  6/10

  Redfest- 2 day tickets...0.3 event