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BIG
REUNION
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Summer
is drawing to a close, the final Bank
Holiday of the year usually being
the signal that the holiday and outdoor
festival season have concluded… And
yet, what’s this? Open-air music festivals
continuing to go off well into September,
blimey! Sounds like an excuse for
yet another month of fabulous entertainment.
The
sun and heat may be less intense
(though you never know in the UK),
but nevertheless there’s a new found
confidence in the British weather.
Either that or organisers are beginning
to believe all the ‘scorched earth’
stories in the media, or else believe
in the myth of us being a hardy
race happily content to bathe in
mud baths or shelter in tents as
rain torrents turn campsites into
quagmires (salted porridge for breakfast
everyone, it grows hair on the chest
– girls may be excused). And all
this for the sake of yet another
glimpse of the Kaisers, the Yeah
Yeah Yeahs, the Subways and the
rest, all twinkling on the distant
stage in late afternoon.
Actually,
the real reason for this September
music weekender flourish is the
crowded calendar – there are now
just so many competing festivals
that every single weekend is mapped
out by at least one, often a handful,
of competing happenings. In effect
the 300,000 who COULDN’T go to Glastonbury
this year, due to it taking a deserved
sabbatical, have been spread at
an average 30,000 a time over at
least ten other similar carnivals.
Has there ever been a year like
it, for music? Sales of records
may be slowly subsiding due to piracy
and download culture, but intense
interest in new music and, especially,
live performance, has never been
greater, in the UK, probably anywhere
on earth, ever. And the seemingly
endless onslaught has been mostly
been broadcast live, or in extended
highlight packages, on the various
BBC TV channels. Yet are we all
music-ed out? Not likely.
And
so, although soon to turn indoors,
there are still a number of increasingly
important musical weekenders to
be found taking place right on into
the latter part of September. OK,
so the August Bank holiday weekend
delivered a million people to the
Notting Hill Carnival in west London,
100,000 over two days at the Loaded
In The Park events in south London
and Cardiff, 45,000 at Creamfields
in Cheshire, 80,000 at Reading,
something similarly monstrous at
Leeds… but they have not proven
to be the final hurrah for outdoor
festivals…
Nope,
September – a time preceding the
departure of hundreds of thousands
of teen and student types to university
in October - has now become ripe
for cultivation. We’re a hardy bunch
when we need to be (have tent, prepared
to get sodden, what doesn’t kill
you makes you stronger etc!) Actually,
contrary to worldwide opinion, the
UK isn’t a rain soaked island most
of the time, especially in the south
of England (it would be a brave
promoter to put on an outdoor event
near Manchester mind you). So yes,
why not?
The
opening weekend of the month saw
Glasgow putting on the INDIAN SUMMER
party in Victoria Park, sporting
such acts as YEAH YEAH YEAHS, ANTONY
& THE JOHNSONS, THE FALL, YOU
LA TENGO, GANG OF FOUR, HOT CHIP,
GUILLEMOTS, BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE,
MR SCRUFF, MOODYMAN and lots more…
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That being
followed of course by the Rob Da Bank
inspired BESTIVAL on the 8th to 10th
weekend, a three day event that essentially
grew out of the spirit of Da Bank’s
Sunday Best – a laid back, eclectic
Sunday afternoon soiree that began in
the little bohemian Tearoom Des Artistes
restaurant-café in Clapham, south London,
in the late 90’s. Bestival has emerging
quickly as a sort of sub-Glastonbury
bookend to the summer, taking place
on the Isle of White at Newport (as
if trying to capture a bit of the hippy
spirit of the original Woodstock era
rock festivals held on the island in
the late 60’s, for as many as 500,000).
Bestival is somewhat smaller of course.
There are eight stages and varied live
entertainments styles, with theatrics
and cabaret, arts and folksy stuff joining
the DJ culture and the live band stuff.
Acts on board include SCISSOR SISTERS
marking their return to performance
prior to their second album release.
Then there’s the evergreen 80’s duo
the PET SHOP BOYS, fellow 80’s indie
rock legends THE FALL, 70’s folk-rocker
JOHN MARTYN, 80’s Latin popster KID
CREOLE & THE COCONUTS, 70’s punk
pioneers THE STRANGLERS, 80’s clever
dicks SCRITTI POLITTI, then all those
new fangled young band things like THE
YOUNG KNIVES, LONG BLONDES, LILY ALLEN,
and DJ type bods such as CARL COX, HERBERT,
SASHA, DJ MARKY, DJ YODA, KRAFTY KUTS
and ASHLEY BEEDLE… to name but a few. |
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Yet that’s
not all… THE END OF THE ROAD FESTIVAL
follows the weekend after Bestival,
on the 15th, 16th and 17th of September…
And sure this might REALLY be the
last outdoor harrah for the UK? Taking
lace near Salisbury on the Wiltshire/Dorset
borders it’s intended as a more ‘intimate’
happening, with a 5,000 capacity…
The acts are contained on two music
stages, plus other areas for comedy,
film, workshops and all of those other
new-fangled new-age type worthy entertainment
things that any self-respecting ‘alternative’
festival scene should sport these
days. Acts are vast in number, a great
many of them of the acoustic type…
singer-songwriters galore, headed
by names like RYAN ADAMS on a UK festival
exclusive, plus BADLY DRAWN BOY, BRITISH
SEA POWER, ED HARCOURT, RICHARD HAWLEY,
JOSH RITTER, GUILLEMOTS and scores
more.
A
fabulous outdoor summer season,
for sure… Glastonbury certainly
opened the door to a vast array
of alternative ideas simply by not
taking place. Let’s see how many
return next year…
In
the meantime the party doesn’t stop,
with more weekenders taking place
all winter, primarily in holiday
camp locations. The long-running
SOUTHPORT SOUL WEEKENDER is primed
and ready, as always, for the Pontins
resort. FANTAZIA’S ‘INTO THE WONDERLAND’
is an extreme hardcore event going
off on September the 30th in Glasgow
at BRAEHEAD ARENA & WATERFRONT,
with three arenas and artists such
as BABY D, SL2, NEOPHYTE, RAMIREZ,
PUBLIC DOMAIN, ELLIS DEE, EASYGROOVE,
PAUL ELSTAK, SLIPMATT, HIXXY, BREEZE,
JEREMY HEALY, ALISTAIR WHITEHEAD,
JOHN KELLY and so forth. The HARD
DANCE brigade also have the three-day
TIDY event - TWX THE MISSION - at
Pontins, Prestatyn, North Wales,
on OCTOBER 6th, 7th and 8th. These
three events signal the return of
club culture in Weekender style
for winter, as if they’ve all returned
from long summer sojourns abroad...The
likes of JUDGE JULES, TIDY BOYS,
ANNE SAVAGE, ANDY FARLEY, LISA PIN-UP,
LEE HASLAM, PAUL GLAZBY, ROB TISSERA,
AMBER D, MATT HARDWICK, BK, ORGAN
DONORS, CHRIS LIBERATOR, NICK SENTIENCE
and the rest.
A huge
number of smaller one-night ‘reunion’
type events start to kick off any
time now, all related to summer
holiday gatherings from the Med.
Ibiza is foremost in this game,
with September again enjoying a
rash of ‘Ibiza reunion’ parties
for every club promotion imaginable,
despite many of them, bizarrely,
not even having held regular parties
in the summer clubbing capital.
It also flies in the face of the
fact that Ibiza’s big closure -
for clubbing purposes – doesn’t
actually take place until the weekend
of October 1st, when the legendary
Space Closing Party takes place,
followed by a few days of debauched
mayhem at CD10 and other smaller
locales. Meanwhile, back in Blighty,
October traditionally goes haywire
with yet more Ibiza reunion events,
especially ones that are primed
to attract the ‘worker’ hordes who
by then have mostly returned to
safety.
The
new UNITED KINGDOM of IBIZA WEEKENDER
is taking place in mid-October at
the Butlins Resort in Bognor Regis.
It’s a novice post-summer ‘reunion’
event on the south coast of England
that seems to have taken its lead
from the format originally employed
by the BIG REUNION when that monster
first began six years ago, with
all the participants of this new
weekender having close connections
(or at least in some cases claiming
to) with the party island. There
are DJs representing the Amnesia,
Privilege, Space, Eden and El Divino
venues, though some appear slightly
tenuous. But major promotions such
as Miss Moneypennys (with Jim Shaft
Ryan) and Garlands (with Dave &
Huey) have got involved and there
is a strong Bora Bora connection
in the form of DJ GEE, who is of
course was the famous resident there
for eight years until departing
before the current/recent summer
season began.
Legendary
ALFREDO, is also at the UKIW event…
Now more familiar from his Manumission
stints each week in Ibiza, the Argentine
DJ was actually the 80’s resident
at Amnesia when the likes of Paul
Oakenfold and Danny Rampling claimed
to have been inspired by his eclectic
‘Balearic’ mix of club sounds and
which caused they to return to London
and create/hype the monster that
quickly evolved into Acid House
and the club revolution (there was
of course a rather important input
from the Manchester scene at the
Hacienda too). Good too see Alfie
in the UK. JOSE DE DIVINA will represent
Space, MAR-T from Amnesia, ALEX
P and BRANDON BLOCK make reference
to the old skool Ibiza, which Radio
One’s DAVE PEARCE, along with SONIQUE
and ANGEL plus the likes of DANIELE
DAVOLI, MARK WILKINSON and ROB ROAR
are there.
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THE
BIG REUNION is the biggest Winter Music
Festival of all, with its 9,000 capacity
at Skegness Butlins Entertainment Resort
(the UK’s largest holiday camp). Despite
the name the BIG R long ago ceased to
be just about the ‘reunion’ aspect,
since at least half the attendees in
recent years have been there simply
because they know it’s always an amazing
event. There’s no doubt though that
the re-gathering of the holiday clans
play an important role in making it
so good natured and fun, since their
instant familiarity creates a happy
atmosphere from the of on Friday night.
This is what makes this event so extra
special. Already THE DADDY of such music
happenings in the dark months, this
year the Big Reunion has expanded to
TWO separate weekenders on consecutive
weekends (many people have booked for
both!) The first takes place on the
final weekend of November (24th to 26th),
with the second taking place a week
later in early December (1st to 3rd).
Naturally
doubling the capacity to 18,000
or more means that the event hasn’t
yet entirely sold out two or three
months prior to taking place, as
has been the case over the previous
two years. The expansion, a double-up,
was seen as the only logical solution
to cater for overwhelming demand,
thus tickets can still be obtained
for this one later than usual, though
not for long, with the best quality
on-site accommodation having already
mostly been snapped up for both
weekends. The BIG REUNION event
sells itself though, this being
the 7th year of them organising
a phenomenon that, while it initially
concentrated upon club culture in
its early years, is ever-evolving,
so now incorporates an impressive
array of live rock, featuring many
of the leading acts of the new British
Indie wave in their own dedicated
arena under the ROGUE INDIE banner.
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ZANE LOWE
of BBC RADIO ONE is appearing and
hosting, alongside XFM’s EDDY TEMPLE-MORRIS.
COLIN MURRAY of Radio One DJ is also
on board. 14 live rock acts are already
confirmed, acts chosen by promotions
manager MATT ROGERS, and which will
have fans salivating… cutting edge
artists such as THE SUBWAYS, LONG
BLONDES, THE YOUNG KNIVES, THE RAKES,
THE PADDINGTONS, THE DATSUNS, NOISETTES,
DREADZONE and, I believe, the ever-rising
HOLLOWAYS. Need I say more?
YES,
I DO NEED SAY MORE… News snippets
on some of the rock bands playing
the Big Reunion include - The next
LONG BLONDES single is 'Once
And Never Again', released on 23rd
October, this being preceded by
their first headlining UK tour beginning
in September. THE YOUNG KNIVES have
just had their ‘Weekends and Bleak
days (Hot Summer)’ single issued,
plus their debut album ‘Voices Of
Animals And Men’ on 21st August.
THE DATSUNS third studio album,
entitled ‘Smoke & Mirrors’,
is to be released on 2nd of October,
with the first single off it being
‘System Overload’ preceding in on
18th of September. They also are
setting off on a UK tour from about
now, then off to Europe in October.
THE SUBWAYS also you’re the UK during
September. ARCANE (Rogue Indie &
Exile DJ) will be DJing between
many of the bands at the BR’s as
well as in the separate Exile room
on the Fridays.
On
the DJ front, all angles are covered,
as always… Radio One’s JUDGE JULES
is there for the TIDY parties, as
are LISA LASHES, EDDIE HALLIWELL,
ADAM SHERIDAN and ALEX KIDD. Manchester’s
GOOD GREEF promotion deliver FERGIE,
MARCO V, SCOT PROJECT and MATT HARDWICK.
Underground Garage comes from TRINITY,
with EZ, ROMEO & LISA MAFFIA,
DENZEE, JAYDEE, SIMON SEZ… KINKY
MALINKI bring House stars like HOXTON
WHORES, AUDIOWHORES, SOUL CENTRAL,
SLAMMIN BOYS, GRAEME PARK… TWICE
AS NICE’S smoother R&B and soulful
Garage has lined up STEVE SUTHERLAND,
MASTERSTEPZ, ARTFUL DODGER, SEMTEX,
SCOTTIE B, SPOONY, SHORTEE BLITZ,
DJ LUCK & MC NEAT, FIRIN SQUAD,
ACE & INVISIBLE, RICHARD BLACKWOOD…INNOVATION
get URBAN with darker DRUM &
BASS type beats and pieces courtesy
of MICKY FINN, BRYAN GEE, TOTAL
SCIENCE, L DOUBLE & The FUNKY
DRUMMER, MODIFIED MOTION, SHY FX,
KENNY KEN, DARREN JAY, CRISSY CHRIS,
FUTUREBOUND, MC GQ, plus SKIBADEE
& MC FLUX… HELTER SKELTER bring
on legendary old skool jocks RATPACK,
SLIPMATT, VIBES & DOUGAL, DARREN
STYLES and DJ SY… GARLANDS bring
the paaartaaay on with their resident
duo DAVE and HUEY, along with JAY
FUNK and ROB BRYNE.
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Meanwhile
RETRO celebrates its massive 17th year
as a regular weekly event in November,
so the whole month sees them partying
harder than ever, a series of events
which includes the two Big Reunion Weekenders.
This will be the third (and fourth!)
time they’ve hit Skeggy during their
celebration period as the longest running
UK club promotion. Although now spanning
a whole host of venues – mostly across
the north of England, plus foreign locales
such at Pacha in Ibiza, the event has
also returned to its original home in
Burnley, where it all began initially
back in 1989 as a one hour end of night
celebration of House Club hits. They’ve
maintained that policy of playing post
1988 club classics… though obviously
the choice involves 18 years of big
hits now, rather than the original 12
months. And that’s why Retro marches
on and on, able to evolve and remain
ever-fresh – there are always NEW old
hits! |
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Retro
are also evolving in the sense that,
while PAUL TAYLOR (proud to say he’s
been a professional DJ since the early
70s) is still the main man, his son
BEN TAYLOR has now begun DJing regularly
alongside him, so that, not only is
it an event all about vintage DJing
and club sounds, but one also about
the next generation. Tall Trees in
Yarm, near Middlesboro is still the
main Retro event each month, with
5,000 cramming into the massive out-of-town
hotel and venue complex, but the return
to their home town of Burnley at FUSION
has seen the event pulling huge numbers
of retro-clubbers from the days when
it first emerged at Angels, joining
the newer faces. Over the summer they’ve
also started a new night in Huddersfield
at the lovely Tokyo venue.
Many
thought it a huge risk when Retro
moved their main European excursion
– in Ibiza – from the headlining
event at Eden in San Antonio, over
to Ibiza Town at Pacha as part of
a night involving Renaissance and
Deep Dish, but by all accounts it
exceeded their expectations, with
the fans showing great support,
while a newer, more cosmopolitan
crowd was added to the Retro mix.
Meanwhile over in nearby Majorca
Retro also changed venues, this
time to Bora Bora in Magalluf, which
really worked for the summer ‘worker’
crowd there.
LOVEFUNKY is what they referred
to as “Retro’s funky little sister”,
and has already built up a strong
residency at the striking Empire
venue (an old theatre) in Middlesbrough.
So confident are Retro in the event
that they’re also installing it
at Fusion in Burnley from October
onwards.
BIG
REUNION GOES TO THE MOVIES is the
style concept, offering ample excuse
to dress up in outrageously over-the-top
HOLLYWOOD blockbuster style, in
order to match the remarkable stage
sets and entertainer costumes. The
BR is, always, fancy dress heaven…
be there.
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