Indietracks: The main event

The highlight of my weekend was Everybody Was In The French Resistance...Now! Christopher Laird interviewed Eddie Argos (above) for the RadioNowhere Indietracks Special (go to http://www.radionowhere.org/ to listen) and he was a really lovely bloke. I had briefly met him before at a gig in London but everybody in the place was wasted (myself included) and I don't exactly remember making his acquaintance! Eddie was rather annoyed that he was able to play Indietracks but was not able to stay for the whole event, therefore missing the Pooh Sticks on Sunday. His on-stage persona really appeals to me, and the 'reply' songs on the EWITFR...N! album are funny AND clever. I really liked him as he appears to have no ego at all and was just pleased to be there. I also like him because he's bloody talented. My favourite bit from their show, though, was the two 'blokes with beers' standing in front of me for a while watching the show, then seeing one turn to the other and mouth 'what the fuck?' - ace!

Other highlights for me included Yokoko who played a set on one of the vintage trains. Apart from my legs going dead while sitting on the train floor watching them, it was great and the band were also very lovely people who just want to get their music out there and get people to hear it, a really down-to-earth attitude about making and sharing music (hooray). One of the best bits for me was their innovative use of a friend as a set list holder (below - front and back:)

The Blanche Hudson Weekend (below) were a breath of fresh air for the festival on Sunday - just as we were all beginning to get slightly twee'd-off, they played the engine shed and blasted the entire audience on the arses with their wonderful feedback-laden sound. On stage, unsmiling and dark, they look like intimidating rock stars, but off stage, the strong Leeds accents and Yorkshire warmth knock you over like an eager puppy - a really cool bunch who make fine music. Clearly influenced by my favourites, The Jesus & Mary Chain, but also bringing to the party echoes of the 60s 'Spector' sound, they surprised me greatly when they said this was only their second gig!

Slow Club were their usual amazing selves (below) - not too keen on festivals by the sound of it, but they played a wonderful set, including my favourite: I Was Unconscious, It Was A Dream. Charles and Rebecca chatted to Christopher Laird and me before their set and told us how excited they were to be going off to Japan, playing a few gigs after that, then taking a break for most of the rest of the year - I think it's about 2 and a half years since I first saw them and they have been gigging relentlessly since then, I think they deserve a holiday!

One of the main reasons for us heading to Indietracks this year was the announcement that Linda Guilala were going to be playing. We were sad that they weren't at last year's festival as it was partly curated by their label, Elefant to celebrate the label's 20th birthday. However, the wait was well worth it. They were wonderful, playing a selection from their album Bucles Infinitos and being joined onstage by Paula and Adria from Papa Topo for their last song, Torremolinos. I LOVE Papa Topo (below) and very much enjoyed meeting them with Linda Guilala after their set. If you haven't seen the video for Oh So Panda, head to YouTube NOW!

Indietracks: Why I love it

I LOVE INDIETRACKS! There, I've said it! I don't really fit the stereotype of people who love Indietracks, as I am not anywhere near cutesy twee enough, but nevertheless, one of the strengths of the festival is that is pretty welcoming to allcomers.

For anyone who doesn't know, Indietracks is held at the Midland Railway - Butterley in Derbyshire, and you can either camp near the actual festival venue of Swanwick Junction, or 'commute' in each day via Butterley Station and take a vintage steam or diesel train to the festival site. It's a really lovely walk too (below).


There's just something really heartwarming about attending a festival with around 1500 NICE people. I have been to most of the 'old' festivals in the UK and have spent weekends in the general company of some of the biggest tossers known to man, but all this is different at Indietracks, it's small but not boring, although if you're a party animal you might be a teeny bit bored with the trains and the twee crafts and so on... however, if you work hard and fancy a pretty low-key but fun weekend without any pressure, this is the place for you. It's nice to just sit around and watch some bands, have a wander to the cafe, get a beer, or have a rest sitting in a vintage train carriage that is converted into a bar for the weekend (below).

This year's line up was good too - highlights for me were The Blanche Hudson Weekend, Linda Guilala (accompanied on stage by the wonderful Papa Topo), Slow Club, Yokoko and Everybody Was In The French Resistance... Now! More on the bands in my next post...

If you like what you've heard about it, you'll love the RadioNowhere Indietracks 2010 Special with Christopher Laird - just visit http://www.radionowhere.org/ and hit the Podcast link

If you want to find out more about Indietracks, visit their website: http://www.indietracks.co.uk/ and maybe even come to next year's Indietracks (but only if you're not a tosser)

Jessica 6 in 1958

You can now hear my 1958 show as a podcast, available here

You can view the playlist here

Next month I'll be in 1993 - requests can be sent to me via e-mail or via twitter

Enjoy!

And The Beat goes on...

Last night I got to see The Beat at (what I discovered is) the largest unticketed free music festival in Europe, which is held a few miles from where I live. I am becoming a big fan of ska music and, of the UK bands from the late ‘70s, The Specials are undoubtedly my favourites, but I have been introduced to The Beat’s music and think there is a great poppy/punk/ska feel. Mirror in the Bathroom is a stand out track for me, but there are some other great covers and original songs in their repertoire.

As you can imagine with a free festival in a small town, there were some very interesting people out for the night, and people-watching was as much fun as the show! Ranking Roger’s son, Ranking Junior is also in this version of The Beat, and together the band were great. We were hoping they might sing ‘Stand Down Cameron’ instead of ‘Stand Down Margaret’ (they didn’t), but Ranking Roger didn’t disappoint, dedicating ‘Get A Job’ to Mr Cameron. Glad to see the years have not diluted the politics.

I have so many poppies in my garden the police will soon be coming to investigate

About three years ago a couple of poppies grew in my garden as the seeds blew over from my neighbour’s garden. They were really beautiful, so that year I collected some seeds from the seed pods and sowed a few more. Last year I went a bit crazy and sowed as many seeds as I could find in any patch of soil in my garden and over the last few weeks, every single seed seems to have produced a great big poppy plant so there must be THOUSANDS of poppies in my garden and driveway.

As you can see from the pictures they are amazingly gorgeous – there are loads of different colours and styles. We also have some wild poppies too (below) which are just so beautiful in their simplicity.

I love water lilies

My late grandfather (Poppa) dug this pond in our back garden, and bought us this water lily. Now he’s gone (2 years ago today), it is extra special to see it thriving so well and producing such beautiful flowers.