‘END OF THE ROAD FESTIVAL’ – LARMER TREE GARDENS, WILTSHIRE 30.8.23 – 3.9.23
Along with the ‘Green Man Festival’, the ‘End Of The Road Festival’ is one in every of my present favourites. It jogs my memory of how ‘Glastonbury’ was about thirty-five years in the past, earlier than it was televised. It was an occasion that was attended by like-minded folks reasonably than by individuals who wished to go as a result of they’d seen the competition on TV. Also the invoice didn’t embody pop megastars drafted in to fulfill the TV viewers.
This is a component three of our ‘End Of The Road’ experiences. If you missed Part One it may be discovered HERE and Part Two might be discovered HERE.
End Of The Road Festival – Sunday third September
And so Sunday on the ‘End Of The Road Festival’ arrives. It’s one other extremely popular day as I crawl out of my tent to affix the opposite visibly wilting competition goers. Today Wiltshire may most likely give Arizona a run for its money.
DIVORCE
My first task in the present day is to overview Divorce, a 4 piece alt-country / grunge band from Nottingham. Bassist and vocalist Tiger Cohen-Towell says that she’s going to by no means put on leather-based trousers to a heat competition once more. Tiger: It’s not heat. It’s bloody scorching!!! I need to confess that while I can hear the grunge influences of their music, I’m struggling to listen to any alt-country. Still, not less than they’re not describing themselves as “p*st-p*nk”, as nearly each guitar band within the UK appears to be doing in the mean time.
What I can detect nonetheless, are massive hints of a people affect. They do one notably quiet track, accompanied solely by one guitar, which to me sounds for all of the world like Fairport Convention! So folk-rock reasonably than alt-country. That would possibly simply be me although. What I might say is that they’re an effective way to start out the day, and are worthy of additional investigation, leather-based trousers or no leather-based trousers (guess they’re actually PVC!). Divorce are on tour throughout November and December. They help Willie J Healey at Brighton Chalk on ninth November (Tickets HERE), and have their very own headline present at London Social on the twenty second November.
Divorce setlist:
1. ‘Services’
2. ‘Right On Time’
3. ‘Sex And The Millennium Bridge’
4. ‘Chip’
5. ‘Birds’
6. ‘That Hill’
7. ‘Eat My Words’
8. ‘Pretty’
9. ‘Checking Out’
divorcehq.co.uk
INDIGO SPARKE
Indigo Sparke on the Folly is subsequent on my hit listing. Indigo is an Australian singer/songwriter from Sydney. She accompanies herself on her Epiphone semi-acoustic. This is quiet delicate music that deserves to be listened to correctly, and by and enormous the viewers (The Folly is fairly busy in the present day) is quiet and respectful. Indigo appears to almost effortlessly maintain the viewers in her fingers. She has a wonderful crystalline voice paying homage to Joni Mitchell, and has materials to match. She has already launched two albums: ‘Echo’ (2021) and ‘Hysteria’ (2022) so already has a considerable physique of labor behind her. Having mentioned that, she closes her set with a Cat Power cowl. Today is her final dwell date of 2023. Hopefully she’ll be again within the UK earlier than too lengthy.
Indigo Sparke setlist:
1. ‘Pluto’
2. ‘Sad Is Love’
3. ‘Why Do You Lie?’
4. ‘Carnival’
5. ‘Burn’
6. ‘Golden Ribbons’
7. ‘Everything Everything’
8. ‘Cross Bones Style’
linktr.ee/indigosparke
PICTURE PARLOUR
After a brief break I return to The Folly for Picture Parlour, a 4 piece shaped in Manchester however now primarily based in London. They comprise Katherine Parlour on guitar and vocals, Sian Lynch on bass, Ella Risi on guitar and Michael Nash on drums. They’ve been creating some appreciable waves in recent months, and for excellent purpose – they’re a really thrilling new band! They have some wonderful materials and seem to give you new songs on a regular basis. For instance, ‘Dial Up’ was solely carried out for the primary time on the ‘All Points East Festival’ on the finish of August. They’re fairly uncommon in that they’re an indie band with overt traditional rock influences. Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rumours’ may be very a lot a touchstone.
Today’s efficiency is effortlessly vibrant. They sound like they’ve been collectively for years. They end their set with their first single, and certainly the primary track that they wrote: ‘Norwegian Wood’ (no – not that one). This has a component of grunge to it – what’s to not like?! Picture Parlour are highly effective and tuneful, and effectively value trying out. Considering they’ve solely been collectively slightly over six months, they’re very spectacular certainly. They headline BBC Introducing at Kings Cross Lexington on fifth October, after which help The Last Dinner Party on their UK tour, additionally in October.
Picture Parlour setlist:
1. ‘Moon Tonic’
2. ‘Gala Day’
3. ‘Sawmill Sink Hole’
4. ‘Judgement Day’
5. ‘Dial Up’
6. ‘Neptune 66’
7. ‘Ronnie’
8. ‘Norwegian Wood’
linktr.ee/pictureparlour
PANIC SHACK
I stay at The Folly for the gloriously effervescent Panic Shack. I’ve seen them a number of instances now, and so they’re a completely wild dwell band. They begin with ‘Baby’, which incorporates the pleasant line “there’ll be a baby-shaped hole in the wall”. ‘Mannequin Man’ follows, the place they maintain model kind poses throughout the center eight. ‘I Don’t Really Like It’ is brooding, insistent and rightfully severe. All goes swimmingly till the facility fails throughout ‘Jiu Jits You’. David Bassey carries on enjoying the drums, and the band do some dance, which they later describe as a “panic dance”. However, it quickly turns into clear that the restoration of energy isn’t going to occur imminently, so the band go away the stage, saying they’ll be again in 5 minutes.
The lights come on and the band return, going straight again into ‘Jiu Jits You’ the place they left off. The band inform us that they’re “f*ckin’ roasting”. Well sure, we’re too. The Folly just isn’t the good venue temperature-wise. During ‘Meal Deal’ the facility goes off once more. Unfortunately this time it’s a case of ‘game over’. The band take care of these energy outages with humour, good grace and professionalism. Ultimately it’s no reflection on them. What we’ve heard this afternoon has been sensible! They play the ‘Mutations Festival’ in Brighton on third November – Tickets HERE.
Panic Shack proposed setlist:
1. ‘Baby’
2. ‘Mannequin Man’
3. ‘I Don’t Really Like It’
4. ‘Jiu Jits You’
5. ‘The Ick’
6. ‘Jelly Baby’
7. ‘Meal Deal’
8. ‘Who’s Got My Lighter?’
9. ‘Cash Piggy’
linktr.ee/panicshack
ALLAH-LAS
I wander over to the splendidly bucolic Garden stage for Allah-Las. I’d seen them eight or 9 years in the past at a few festivals, and for some purpose had discovered them slightly disappointing. Well, no matter elicited that response from me then, it doesn’t occur in the present day. Their traditional American faculty rock actually hits the spot. Guitarist Pedrum Siadatian performs a Steinberger guitar. The solely different particular person I’ve seen utilizing one within the final thirty-five years or so is Steve Hillage. They had an excellent status again within the day, however quickly fell from favour. Pedrum does some fabulous slide work on this one.
Today they’re joined on keyboards by Frank Massey, who they describe as their “musical mentor”. Frank handles some lead vocals. It ought to be famous that lead vocal duties are shared fairly liberally across the band nonetheless. It’s fairly uncommon to discover a band with two guitarists the place there’s fairly a agency line of demarcation between who performs lead and who performs rhythm. In the Allah-Las Pedrum Siadatian performs the majority of the lead, while Miles Michaud largely performs rhythm, though he does play some lead often. Pedrum and bassist Spencer Dunham swap devices at one level. The Allah-Las flip in a reasonably good set, one which reasonably makes me change my earlier opinion of them. I’m not totally certain whether or not it’s them or simply my ears which have improved!
linktr.ee/allahlas
KING GIZZARD & THE WIZARD LIZARD
I subsequent head over to the Woods stage for what would be the remaining act of the competition for me: headliners King Gizzard And The Wizard Lizard. I noticed them for the primary time at Alexandra Palace in March, and so they completely blew me away. They proceed to do precisely the identical factor tonight. This isn’t simply psychedelic rock, that is progressive psychedelic rock with loads of different parts thrown in as effectively. This is music that an viewers can turn into completely immersed in. The band solely have an hour-and-a-half tonight. I may fortunately watch them for 3 or 4 hours.
I heard someone criticising the band earlier in the present day, saying that there was “too much noodling”. That’s type of the purpose although. Whether that is rehearsed or whether or not it’s improvisation I’m not totally certain (I think that it’s the latter), nevertheless it’s actually superior. This band will make time stand nonetheless in case you enable them to. When they play it looks like nothing exists exterior of the gig which you’re watching. You and the band are within the second and nothing else actually issues. Perhaps they’re the true inheritors of The Grateful Dead’s freak flag. There’s loads of different influences in there too: notably Pink Floyd and Hawkwind. Perhaps a little bit of Gong as effectively. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard are so prolific that it’s unlikely that you just’ll hear the identical set twice. Likewise except you’re an uber fan you’re unlikely to know all the pieces that’s within the set. That doesn’t matter although, as a result of their materials is of such a excessive customary that so long as you just like the band, you’re unlikely to listen to something that you just gained’t like.
It’s not like their materials lacks selection both, removed from it in actual fact. For instance, one track is totally synth pushed, with no guitars in any respect. Towards the tip of the set they inform us that they’re going to show the amount up “because it’s the last show of the tour, and we don’t give a sh*t!” Well, that’s completely positive by me! If you’ve by no means seen this band, then I can’t advocate them extremely sufficient. Their dwell reveals aren’t fairly like spiritual experiences, however they’re not far off. Give them a strive – they could find yourself being your new favorite band!
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard setlist:
1. ‘The Dripping Tap’
2. ‘Iron Lung’
3. ‘Hypertension’
4. ‘The Garden Goblin’
5. ‘Magenta Mountain’
6. ‘This Thing’
7. ‘Converge’
8. ‘Witchcraft’
9. ‘Gaia’
10. ‘Gila Monster’ (with ‘Gaia’ reprise)
kinggizzardandthelizardwizard.com
Thus, for me, the ‘End Of The Road Festival’ 2023 ends. There are a few shock reveals in a while, however my tank is now empty. It’s been an outstanding competition: nice music, good folks, good meals, to not point out the Cider Bus. Roll on subsequent yr!!!
Book your ‘End Of The Road’ 2024 Festival tickets HERE.
endoftheroadfestival.com
