KicFm.com

Glastonbury Festival

From 22nd July 2010

HIGHLIGHTS

Gorillaz

Gorillaz are just about my favourite band around at the moment. Their latest offering Plastic Beach is a triumphant album of truly forward-thinking, genre-defying music, and so I was really excited to see it, along with their earlier material live. They certainly didn't disappoint my expectations, and the set definitely confirmed that Damon Albarn is pretty much the best human ever. A multimedia spectacle of beautifully played orchestral music, backed by vibrant animations. Impressively, the last-minute headliners managed to build up an array of special guests (on top of already recruiting Mick Jones and Paul Simonon into the band!), including De La Soul, Bobby Womack, Mark E. Smith, Little Dragon (she's really flippin' cool, check her out on the album), and Shaun Ryder. Most excitingly, Lou Reed came on for Some Kind Of Nature, the appearance of whom resulted in my friend having to repeatedly check I was okay because I was that darn excited. Highlights of the set included the exciting opening of Welcome To The World Of The Plastic Beach featuring visuals and vocals from Snoop Dogg, Clint Eastwood featuring actual live Snoop Dogg, the wonderfully atmospheric Empire Ants and a touching tribute to Dennis Hopper during Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey's Head, which of course featured his vocals. A really exciting headline set.

SNOOP DOGG

When the line up for this year's Glastonbury was announced, I almost surprised myself with just how excited how I was about seeing this man. In fact, my friend and I could not have been more hyped about seeing the ridiculous hair and lyrics in action. Nor could, it seemed the rest of the (predominately white middle-class) crowd that gathered to see him. He wasted no time getting stuck into the hits and kept a beaming smile on my face with The Next Episode, What's My Name, Beautiful, Drop It Like It's Hot, and Gin & Juice. A brilliant showman who dedicated almost the entirety of his set to the laydeeeez, in particular Sensual Seduction- which was as hilarious as I'd hoped for it to be.

Micro-Rave

My favourite non-performance moment of the festival happened on the Thursday afternoon in Shangri-La. What we witnessed I think, was a one-off moment of pure magic, that we luckily happened to stumble into at the right time. A small shack called the 'Micro-Rave' playing computer game music to which we couldn't help but pull some serious shapes. Not quite as serious as those being pulled by the participants in the dance-off, narrated from the DJ booth. My favourite dancers by far, were the two girls dressed all in glitter and sparkle, who had some of the best moves I have ever seen (mostly insane thrusting). We had to vote for who we wanted to win by dancing with them (obviously the glitter girls) who screamed that they loved us when we chose them. Their prize for winning was the chance to defeat the robot who was going to invade us. An actual robot (well, a man in a tin-foil and cardboard type costume) did indeed invade, and was beaten to the ground by the dancers. Everyone cheered. I nearly laughed my internal organs out. Believe me, this was better than it sounds, and admit it, it sounds pretty amazing doesn't it?

Devendra Banhart

I'd seen Devendra a few years back, but I absolutely adore his music and so I didn't hesitate in seeing him again. He played on the West Holts (formerly Jazz World) stage in the sunshine, which was just the perfect setting. He gathered a relatively intimate crowd, which was lovely but it did make me suspect that he's been hugely underrated. But then I realised that Florence & The Machine was playing at the same time, and so it all made sense. The last time I saw him he was cool, calm, almost shy, and long-haired & bearded. This year, I hardly recognised him, looking hip-hot in a MC Hammer T-shirt, skinny jeans, Ray Bans, short hair and sans beard. This time around he also seemed to have consumed a large amount of sweets and was jolting around the stage like a hyperactive child with some fairly brilliant dance moves. Like a completely different person, but still with the same wonderful music, putting everyone in a ruddy good mood with tunes such as I Feel Just Like A Child and Baby. An absolute joy to watch, with the possible highlight of the set being an unlikely cover of 1980s pop classic Tell It To My Heart by Taylor Dane, which he dedicated to his 'mom'. Aww.

Shakira

One of the most fun moments of Glastonbury this year, Shakira had the entire crowd swooning throughout her set. Whenever Wherever and She Wolf singalongs were the highlights, as was the surprise cover of the xx's Islands.

BBC Introducing

The BBC Introducing tent is probably the best place at Glastonbury to check out new music and upcoming talent. Jesca Hoop and Broadcast 2000 both played lovely little sets here, and prompted me to check them out further on return. Jesca Hoop gave us gorgeous vocals, sweet songs and charming banter, and Broadcast 2000 gave us a perfect antidote to the simultaneous football game, and quickly became my new favourite band. Check them out. Laura Marling also played a couple of songs for the Live Lounge in here, which was delightful, as was her beautiful set at The Park on Saturday night.

Stevie Wonder

Undoubtedly the big highlight of the festival was seeing this Motown legend. Amazingly, we managed to get our whole group together with minimal mobile phone usage and so created a nice dancing round handbags type circle for Stevie's set. Nicely merry as the sun went down, I watched and wooped as he played all my favourite hits including If You Really Love Me and Superstition. There was also a emotional tribute to Michael Jackson with a cover of Human Nature. A fantastically joyful set from beginning to end, ending with Happy Birthday featuring special guest Michael Eavis! A perfect end to a wonderful weekend. Happy Birthday Glastonbury!

Sunrise

For the first time I actually managed to catch the sunrise at Stone Circle, which absolutely beautiful.

DISAPPOINTMENTS

The crowd for Gorillaz

I've been a little bemused by the negative reviews of the Gorillaz headline slot, what more do you want from a set?! Although I do have to say that the crowd was massively disappointing. I was, for the first half, sandwiched between a couple who'd rather selfishly decided that sitting in their chairs in a massive crowd of people would be a good idea, only to fall asleep in the set anyway; and a group of annoyingly gobby screaming glowstick types who decided that their inane conversation was more important that the set. It seemed not many of the crowd had actually heard the new album, and were just lingering around in the hope of catching a glimpse of Shaun Ryder. Or maybe they were all angry U2 fans.

The Drums

I'd heard a mixed bag of live reviews of The Drums ranging from awful to brilliant, so I was really intrigued to check them out myself. I have to say that they were neither of these two extremes, but just disappointingly average. I love their debut album, and they are one of my favourite bands of the year, but this didn't translate too well in their live show. The lead singer did have some kind of charisma, but half of the band looked bored throughout the set and they certainly sound better on record.

Kelis

The biggest disappointment of the festival. We were all pretty excited about seeing Kelis, only to end up waiting half an hour for her to turn up late, and to perform a set with a severe lack of effort or passion. Milkshake was quickly touched upon over a backing of Madonna's Holiday, and the rest of the set was sadly, very boring, and, just to make it worse, the levels were all wrong and it was a struggle to even hear her vocals.

The weather

I feel it's tradition to complain about the weather at Glastonbury. Not a drop of rain, which was really unusual, setting up a dusty and humid weekend, with the sun sweltering hot and nowhere to hide. It was nice to have sunshine and no mud but it was a little too much of a good thing which was energy draining and mostly unbearable.

Coming home

I always hate leaving Glastonbury, it's the place I feel most at home and it always seems to go by so fast. I'm still suffering a fairly serious case of the post-festival blues. Until next year Glastonbury, it was wonderful this year!

By Yaz Saeidi taken from the Beret Bird Says Blog.

V Festival 2010

From 14th July 2010

V Festival is now in its 15th year and was the first UK festival to operate over two days and swap line-ups overnight. Since 96, some of the world's greatest performers have graced the stages and this year is no exception.

KINGS OF LEON, KASABIAN, STEREOPHONICS, FAITHLESS, THE PRODIGY, DAVID GUETTA, PET SHOP BOYS, CHERYL COLE, PAUL WELLER, THE KOOKS, PAOLO NUTINI , FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE, DOVES, MADNESS, EDITORS, WHITE LIES, CALVIN HARRIS, MIKA, GROOVE ARMADA, SCOUTING FOR GIRLS, JAMIE T, THE COURTEENERS, SEASICK STEVE, THE CHARLATANS, THE TEMPER TRAP, EELS, GOLDFRAPP, CHASE AND STATUS, NEWTON FAULKNER, AMY MACDONALD, LA ROUX , ELLIE GOULDING, SKUNK ANANSIE, PASSION PIT, ROBYN, IMOGEN HEAP, SHED SEVEN, PALOMA FAITH, TINIE TEMPAH, KATE NASH, FEEDER, PIXIE LOTT, PLAN B, THE DIVINE COMEDY, GABRIELLA CILMI, CHIPMUNK, THE MAGIC NUMBERS , THE SAW DOCTORS, DIANA VICKERS, EXAMPLE and lots more!

Poor Cheryl Cole/Tweedy has managed to get Malaria so she's not able to sing. We all hope she gets better really soon!

Check out the V Festival official site.

Wynchwood Festival

From 8th July 2010

For those of you that don't know about Wychwood Festival in Cheltenham, it's one of the finest examples of a family friendly festival. The mixture between a relaxed atmosphere and diverse music across four stages creates a wonderful day out, or a great weekend with camping. The main acts on the Saturday line up suggest aiming at a slightly older audience with The Lightening Seeds, Happy Mondays and Pauline Black all having more appeal to people a few years older than myself, however the vast array of artists that may not have been reason for tickets being bought, but played amazing sets, made the ticket price seem like a bargain.

For more information check out http://www.wychwoodfestival.com and for more of the festival review log onto OUT OF STEP

By Ben Absett taken from HEAR NO MUSICAL EVIL

2000trees Festival

From 8th July 2010

2000trees is about loving British music while being kind to the environment. It's one of the greenest festivals out there with pretty much everything being biodegradable. It's got a fantastic British line up too:

FRANK TURNER. METRONOMY. ERRORS. THE XCERTS. TUBELORD. THE SUBWAYS. BOMBAY BICYCLE CLUB. 65DAYSOFSTATIC. SONIC BOOM SIX. PULLED APART BY HORSES. SPARROW & THE WORKSHOP.

Ben is checking out the festival for us. Keep checking back here to find out about all the stuff he's getting upto. To find out more go to www.twothousandtreesfestival.co.uk

Festivals: What should I take?

From 10th June 2010

Wondering what you need for a festival? Here's KICs check list. Remember, you're living in a tent for a weekend so don't take anything precious or expensive. You're going to lose stuff!

BAG
You need a pretty big bag! It needs to be somewhere to keep all your stuff but something that you can carry. If you're a tiny girl your bag shouldn't be bigger than you.

TENT
This will be your home for the weekend. You want something pretty big so all your mates can cram in if it rains but something not too heavy to carry. You might want to decorate your tent to help you spot it

SLEEPING BAG
Get a really comfortable sleeping bag. People are going to be running around all night making more noise than they do in the day time. You at least want to be a little bit comfortable while you're being kept awake.

CLOTHES
You're going to need a few changes of clothes! Festival mud wrestling is an addictive sport! There's just nothing better than getting into clean clothes after a day of rocking out! Try and stick to light stuff that's going to dry quickly and doesn't take up too much room in your bag. Bring something waterproof!

SHOES
Your high heals aren't going to do you any good at a festival! Sorry girls, it's time to put away your Jimmy Choo's and pull out your Wellington boots! Once you've got your stylish willies on you're ready for the inevitable sea of mud! Walking boots are pretty good too! Remember, if you go anywhere near the stage your feet are going to be trampled on so you're going to need strong shoes.

TORCH
You want a really good torch too. Something really bright and won't break. It's always good to keep a torch with you too. At the end of the night, in the pitch black, with thousands of tents with of invisible guide ropes it's good to see where you're going.

MONEY
Festivals are expensive! You need to think about how much money you're going to spend there. How much merchandise are you going to buy? Are you going to buy food? Are you going to buy booze in the arena? You're going to be jumping about so make sure your money is secure.

MOBILE PHONE
You loose everything at festivals! Take a mobile phone that's not that expensive and has a really good battery life! Festivals have battery charging facilities but they're usually so busy you'll miss all your favourite bands. Maybe take a spare battery with you. It's definitely not the place for your iphone. You might want to by a cheap pay and go phone before you go to a festival but remember to tell the people you're going with your new number!

CAMERA
Remember you're at a festival and everything can get stolen! Just use something cool but not too expensive. You will take hundreds of pictures of you and your mates and they are amazing mementos to keep.

TOILET ROLL
Festival toilets are evil! Evil places! There will be no toilet roll! You can either train yourself not to poo for 5 days or just bring loo roll....simple!

DEODORANT
You're going to be smelly!

LADY THINGS
If you're a girl you need to take girly things with you! If you're a bloke, remember tampons make amazing fire lighters!

LIGHTER/MATCHES
Some festivals let you make campfires. You might need it to light cooking stuff. Most importantly, to use during that 10minute guitar solo!

DUCT TAPE
You know that really, really strong tape? Bring it! If your tents got a hole in it; patch it up! If your bag is breaking; fix it! If you want to make an attractive sign; make it! If you want to make a beer can robot; build it!

BIN BAGS
Multipurpose!!!! Put your dry clothes in them. Cut a hole in the top and wear them. Sit on them when the grounds wet. Make your bag even more water proof. Make a pointless large uber bag with the duct tape....

CONDOMS
Don't care if you're a man or woman, you're going to meet new people and you have to be careful.

IF YOU HAVE ROOM...
Snacks (to keep you going)
A penknife (to fix stuff and cut wood)
Food (Are you going to cook with a campfire? I wouldn't!)
Music (a cheap boom box that's really loud)
Camping chair (somewhere to sit at camp...duh!)
A truck load of alcohol (if you're over 18 of course)
First Aid kit
Wet wipes (it's a wash in a wipe)
Toiletries (there are showers at festivals now if you want to venture in)

Chevrolet Spark Unscheduled Tour Birmingham

From 12th May 2010

Thousands of hopefuls applied online to win an exclusive free ticket to the second regional event of the Chevrolet Spark Unscheduled Tour, held at the Custard Factory in Birmingham. 200 lucky guests were treated to a live "pop-up" gig featuring the Mystery Jets, following on from their European tour with the Arctic Monkeys; playing live tracks from their eagerly anticipated third album - Serotonin performed live in the UK before its worldwide release in July.

KICFM went to the "Chevrolet Spark Unscheduled Tour" in London. It featured THE MYSTERY JETS and DJ sets from JACK PENATE, NICK GRIMSHAW, BULLION and THE MEROK WRECKING CREW.

A really awesome night! =D To find out more go to www.sparkunscheduled.co.uk/

Download Festival

From 23rd April 2010

Reading and Leeds Festival

From 23rd April 2010

The Summer Gig Guide with Philippa and Grace

From 23rd April 2010

These guys chat to you about some of the fantastic festivals happening this summer! They're hitting the Underage Festival! Will you be there?