The Friday kicked off much earlier than the previous day, much to my dismay as a serial pillow hugger. However, the thought of a full day of live music was enough to entice me out my bed at a reasonable hour. Again, the journey to the festival went without a hitch and without any queues in sight which is testament to the organisation.
As soon as we arrived in the festival we made a B-line straight for the 'Free Range Folk' stage to catch a set by Dundee's own 4 piece The Medinas. Unfortunately we missed the start, but as we arrived the boys burst into a very well worked cover of Catfish and the Bottlemen's track '7.' After this the singer confessed to the crowd "This is the first time we've played acoustic," it certainly didnt look like it. The tone that the lead guitarist was using was very twangy and when he signalled to be turned up my heart sunk. They also hit out with a cover of The View's 'Same Jeans,' after which a guy behind me was chanting "Mon the mini View." The band ended on arguably their biggest and best song 'Daisy Chains,' having reviewed the song as one of my first for Discovery Music it was great to hear it live.
The next band we seen was a recommendation from Martin, which he swore by, so I followed to see what all the fuss was about. I was certainly not disappointed. Miracle Glass Company absolutely rocked the Hothouse stage. The best way I could describe the band is a much bluesier version of Biffy Clyro, however, this may well just be down to the bass players topless approach to playing live. Each of the band members took a shot of singing and they had a massive sound for just three guys on the stage. Throughout the set the bassist got the crowd going in between songs. The set ended on a massive drum solo from the incredibly consistent drummer. Overall these guys were my new find of the weekend and I cant stop listening to them now.
After a bit of a rest to let my ears recover from the onslaught from MGC it was time to return to the Hothouse stage for one of the weekends most anticipated sets. The tent was busy when we arrived around ten minutes before the set, by the time The Snuts took to the stage it was packed. The band entered the stage, Buckfast in hand and ready to give the enthusiastic crowd a set to remember. As soon as the first note was played the crowd down the front erupted and didn't stop til the last note. There was the standard greeting from the singer, "Awrite, we're the f*****g Snuts," just before bursting into 'The Matador.' Around halfway through the set they played their new single 'Seasons.' This was introduced with just as much charm as the band themselves, "This is our new single, if you've no bought it yet yer a f*****g dafty." Overall it was a fantastic set and the crowd were well and truly at the bands fingertips for the duration, even getting a big cheer for passing tonic wine between members.
On a bit of a comedown from the energy put out by The Snuts it was time for me to see one of the bands I had been most looking forward to. The Lafonatines were due on the Garden stage. I have been a fan of them since seeing them on the T-break stage at T in the Park years ago and this their album 'Class' is, well, class. However something wasn't quite right about their set, immediately I noticed the lack of a bassist, despite their songs being very bass driven. This must have came from some sort of playback. Further through the set, and with this in mind I began to notice guitar riffs coming from the PA that nobody on stage was playing, as well as backing vocals that nobody was singing, a strange decision from a band that I know from experience are very good live. The enjoyment of the set was hindered a little bit more by the obnoxious front man, constantly shouting at the crowd, "Jump" "Hands in the air" and other phrases similar. There is nothing wrong with getting some hype about the crowd, but the frequency of these commands seemed to wear down my patience. However, people down in front of the stage didn't seem to care about these things and bounced for nearly every second of the second creating a great atmosphere. There was also a fantastic use of props during the set when the two Kangaroos that had been hopping around the festival were recruited as dancers.
Two piece Beta Waves were next on our to see list. The guys created an atmosphere in the Seedling stage tent that I hadn't yet experienced at the festival. The synth sound coupled with the heavily delayed guitar created a very ambient vibe that everyone watching embraced. Vocals were rarely used but when they were it was very powerful. The post rock sound was not something that I would normally chase to see live but I thoroughly enjoyed their set.
Running from the Seedling stage to the Garden stage we managed to catch most of The Charlatans set. The band were sounding very good even from distance walking towards the stage but heard over all of this was the rather poor vocals. I found it very similar to seeing The Stone Roses live recently and would compare the vocals to Ian Brown at these gigs, maybe a case of age effecting singing ability. There was a touch of real class in the middle of the set when Grant Hutchison and Billy Kenedy from Frightened Rabbit were invited onto the stage and played one of my favourite Frightened Rabbit songs 'Head rolls off in tribute to late band member Scott Hutchison. It was a very emotional moment for both the band on stage and the crowd.
Sadly, this marked the end of my Belladrum 2018 as I had to rush home due to other commitments. My first experience of the festival more than exceeded my expectations and I will definitely snap up the opportunity to return next year. Thank you to the organisers for allowing us the opportunity to attend the festival as Discovery Music and cover all the amazing sets throughout.
Check out our video of the special moment during The Charlatans set below -
Comments