It’s July, this year’s festival season is fully underway now, and we find ourselves back in scenic Cheltenham for the ever-wonderful 2000 Trees Festival. One of the alt world’s most beloved summer festivals, this year’s bill is crammed full of up and coming talent arena-filling giants, all gathering at Upcote Farm to dazzle and delight its passionate attendees. Put on those sunnies and grab a bev from the bar, we’ve got some bands to see…
Words: Dave Stewart. Photos: Paul Lyme and Penny Bennett
Inhuman Nature
If coffee isnât kicking you into gear for the final day of the festival, perhaps some axe wielding, battle jacket-donning, fist-pumping thrash will do the trick. Like Gatecreeper but with a little less fuzz, Inhuman Nature are a no-holds-barred metallic storm and theyâre here to deliver a sharp shock to the festivalâs early risers. They put on a very enthusiastic and high energy display, and though it isnât fully matched by the crowd they still put on a sledgehammer display. There is some chaos though, most notably a midday circle pit that includes a banana, a hot dog and Bert from Sesame Street among its ranks, and the band somehow manage to keep stern straight faces. The tent is criminally quiet, but those in attendance are treated to a pulverising dose of sonic caffiene.
HAWXX
HAWXXâs music is about as inclusive, uplifting and loving as heavy music can be, and their unfiltered aggressive delivery beckons a lot of people into The Cave to catch their set. They stomp across the stage with attitude and confidence, and it gives the entire set a powerful aura thatâs near impossible to turn away from. With a set full of brutally low riffs juxtaposed by angelic vocal hooks, itâs a seriously hard-hitting display, let down a little by the muddy sound. Their vocal harmonies are on point, though, and theyâre most hypnotic during âThe Death Of Silenceâ where their stunning four-part acapella completely silences the tent. They bravely finish on a brand new unreleased song that they only finished yesterday; a feral and risky way to end a set, but one that pays off.
Press Club
There is so much energy spilling out of Press Club as they take to The Axiomâs stage that itâs impossible to not be enveloped by it. The band dominate the tent with an eye catching show that showcases a lot of their latest record âEndless Motionâ as well as all the biggest and best from their catalogue, and itâs such a joy to watch. Vocalist Natalie Foster bounces across the full width stage while delivering her impassioned and adrenaline-fuelled vocals, and the crowd give back every drop of effervescence right back to her. She repays them for their enthusiasm by leaping into the pit for the stunning âSeparate Housesâ, the entire floor jumping and moshing around her as the band lock into their groove back on stage. If that wasnât enough, during set closer âSuburbiaâ, Foster climbs the stages central steel beam and empties her lungs while swinging from its side, and she has everyone’s undivided attention while doing so. The set is further proof that thereâs something in the Aussie water that makes good bands, but above all, that this band have drank a lot of it. A festival highlight.
The Xcerts
The gathering around the main stage for The Xcerts is enormous, and rightly so. Their posi-vibes, feel good anthems are everything a festival like this is about. The weather understands this too; even though you couldnât see the sun you could feel it, and every song they play seems to turn up the temperature up a little more. Considering thereâs only three of them, they sound colossal. Every song they play, from the delicious âDaydreamâ to the short but joy-filled âAcheâ, shakes the ribcages of everyone in attendance and itâs enough to get your dancing feet twitching, regardless of whether youâre a curious spectator or a devoted fan. They have one of the best sounding snares of the entire weekend, too; when hit hard it feels like a bomb going off right next to you, but it gives off a tasty and delicate snap when hit softly. The set is full of minimal banter and maximum tunes, vocalist Murray Macleod using one of his few crowd interactions to dedicate the stunning âAberdeen 1987â to his now cancer-free dad. Closing the set on the immaculate âFeels Like Falling In Loveâ, helped along with a surprise guest vocal from You Me At Sixâs Josh Franceschi, they leave the crowd feeling content and full. A glorious smile-fest, from beginning to end.
Angel Du$t
If you were looking for a band to knock you off your feet, you may well have found it in Angel Du$t. The Cave temporarily transforms itself from a festival stage into a gigantic hardcore party, and Angel Du$t are the function band providing all of the good vibes for everyone to lose their minds to. If you close your eyes during the set you can picture yourself skating down an empty boardwalk, sun shining, carton of cranberry juice in hand, but when you open them it’s pure chaos. The front half of the crowd is an ever-moving mass of energy; an non-stop mosh-fest, not even taking the opportunity to take a breather in between songs. The band spot Tigger amidst all the bedlam and invite him onstage as a hype man for the rest of the crowd and it works like a charm, causing the madness to stretch even further back through the tent and ending his contribution to the set by leaping from the stage to much applause. This isn’t just one of the most spirited sets of this year’s festival, but one of the most high-powered that you’ll ever see. Simply incredible.
Blanket
The Neu Stage is criminally quiet when post-rock heavyweights Blanket take to the stage. Their expansive and gut-wrenching approach to their sonics is hypnotic to those in the know, but for some reason it just doesnât grab the curiosity of those passing by the tent. Vocalist Bobby Pook is giving off Liam Gallagher vibes today; shades on, arms held behind his back when not playing guitar, he oozes cool as he delicately sings his lullabies down the microphone. The crowd takes a couple of songs to get going, but by the time the majestic âEuphoriaâ and the colossal âWhite Noiseâ show their faces everyone in the tent is either moshing, head banging or both. Itâs impossible to stand still, really; the band are so tight, and their soundscapes and incredible use of dynamics translate so well into a live setting and truly fill every inch of space around the crowd. Theyâre a hidden gem on this yearâs bill, and hopefully the next time they play itâll be to a bigger audience.
Lonely The Brave
Thereâs a real buzz in the air as The Cave awaits Lonely The Brave, and that buzz suggests that what is about to happen is going to be a tad special. As soon as the members begin to appear, that begins to become a reality, with the crowd surfing, limb flailing and mass-singing kicking into gear almost immediately. Everyone on stage is visibly delighted by what theyâre seeing, and the mutual appreciation for one another ensures that everybody present will have a good time. The band occasionally come across as a tad messy and disjointed, maybe a direct result of them losing themselves in the adrenaline-fuelled chaos of the performance, but the crowd doesnât notice at all. The tent finds itself getting extra busy during the second half of the set due to the first heavy rain of the weekend rearing its unwanted head, and the tightly packed feel adds to the vibe; it feels like a sold out venue, and the band raises their own bar. A serene and punchy display that makes everyone forget the rain even happened at all.
Creeper
As the masses crammed into The Axiom prepare to receive Creeper, Darcia the Vampire Familiar steps out to introduce the set. âIsnât there a better band on another stage you could be watching,â she asks, and its safe to say that as far as this enormous crowd is concerned, there isnât. Shortly after this, the band creep (sorry) one by one onto the stage to rapturous applause, and everything that follows is absolute bliss. Set opener âFurther Than Foreverâ is the perfect kick off for the set, turning the heat up from nought to a hundred within seconds as the audience explodes into action, and the follow-up punches of âLovers Led Astrayâ, âSacred Blasphemyâ and âThe Ballad Of Spook And Mercyâ ensure that those energy levels stay high. If Mötley Crue and Billy Idol had a biker vampire baby that grew up listening to Meatloaf, this is exactly what youâd get – a theatrical, hard-hitting and fierce rock show thatâs all killer and no filler.Â
The band express their gratitude to the attending mob of Creeper cult members for supporting them, frontman Will Gould (currently William Von Should – vampires innit) holding them all in the palm of his hand as he steers them through hit after glorious hit. The closing moments of the set are just as epic as the rest has been; âDown Belowâ, âChapel Gatesâ and the stunning set closer âCry To Heavenâ are all lapped up eagerly by the crowd, but its âMiseryâ that completely steals the show. The performance is one of the most powerful not just of their set but of the entire weekend, and the acapella singalong led by the crowd caught the band completely off guard, genuinely moving them as they allow their fansâ power to take the spotlight. One of the most triumphant sets of the weekend, and if this is anything to go by they could be 2000 Trees headliners in the not too distant future. Absolutely magnificent.
Don Broco
Itâs time for the main event. The final main stage band of the weekend. Not the end of the festival for everybody, but the end of the festival for some, and Don Broco are one hell of a band to close out this magnificent festival. Their stage production is the biggest that the main stage has seen all weekend; theyâve brought an enormous lighting rig with them to enhance their energy and it definitely did the trick. Kicking things off with the towering âEverybodyâ is a masterstroke and the crowd are bouncing and dancing immediately; merely minutes into the set, the full field is completely captivated. âPrettyâ, âTechnologyâ and the irresistible âCome Out To LAâ ensure the party keeps going, and the atmosphere is unlike anything else thatâs happened this weekend. This is a real spectacle.Â
Don Broco are one of those bands where you forget just how many songs you know until they play them one after another; every song is a barnstormer, and the crowd bathe in every glorious moment. The majestic âOne True Princeâ is as crushing as it is trance-inducing, âManchester Super Reds No.1 Fanâ is a riot-starter, âACTIONâ is meteoric and connects even harder thanks to a guest vocal from a very rabid Kid Brunswick; every song goes down a treat and the band seem unstoppable.Â
Another thing about the band that we often forget is how far back the bangers stretch, and when they drop âPrioritiesâ into the setlist weâre reminded of how ahead of how groundbreaking they were in the beginning. Debut album cut âPrioritiesâ and old fan favourite âYou Wanna Knowâ sound even more staggering than they did back then, sitting in their setlist just as pretty as their newer output. âBruce Willisâ and its deafening âyippee ki yay motherfuckerâ chants and confetti cannon explosions kick the set back into the now, and the main set ends with the stunning âNerveâ and an âEndorphinsâ / âThug Workoutâ mashup that re-forms their push-up crew in the many wall of death-prone pits scattered through the crowd.Â
After playing a brief game of adult peekaboo, the band return to the stage to treat the crowd to two final songs. The first is newer cut âFingernailsâ, its towering riffs and dark pulsating electronics summoning the final outbursts of energy from the sweaty and ecstatic field. No Don Broco set is complete without the dazzling âT-Shirt Songâ though, and itâs the most apt way to finish proceedings. Everyone in attendance has an item of clothing ready to swing around their head before they even start the song, and by the time the chorus comes around you can barely see the stage through all the flailing garments. It doesnât just feel like a celebration of Don Broco; it feels like a celebration of the festival, capping off a wonderful three days at Upcote Farm with a unifying belter and an incredible fireworks display.
The lights come up, the punters begin to slip away into the night, and everyone in attendance is left feeling full. Full of happiness, full of positivity and, most importantly, full of gratitude for this wonderful festival. What a weekend, huh?
don