Last weekend we headed off for our first festival of the summer, attending the rather lovely Stowaway festival. It was our second year at the festival and it’s vibe is mainly ‘old cheesy quavers’ who have married, had kids and now have a nice job in marketing, but want to go out and cut some shapes like it’s 1996! Most of the line up were DJs rather than live acts and I quite enjoyed being at a festival where there wasn’t too much on the line up that I wanted to see (I did really enjoy Frenic, Waldo’s Dream and the Easy Star All Stars live, plus David Rodigan’s DJ set).
No sooner have we got back, unpacked and done the laundry for one festival, the Paws family are now getting ready to pack for our second festival. We’re heading off down to Dorset and back to End of the Road.
We’ve not been to EOTR for five years, but prior to that it was pretty much an annual event for us since 2007 (Mini Paws having celebrated her first birthday and taken her first steps there). I picked up tickets back in September last year on the hunch that Wilco would be playing, which was a gamble that paid off. However I’m not too sure about a lot else I want to see on the line up (perhaps Fatoumata Diawara, Sonic Boom, Bar Italia), so I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations from the line up? I’ll be trying to spotify as much as I can over the next few days but any heads up would be gratefully appreciated.
Here’s a link to the line up (in case the box doesn’t work) https://endoftheroadfestival.com/latest-news/
“it’s vibe is mainly ‘old cheesy quavers’ who have married, had kids and now have a nice job in marketing, but want to go out and cut some shapes like it’s 1996!”
That’s quite specific, isn’t it?
I don’t usually approve of this sort of comment, but Wilco aside I only know who two of those people are.
We came back from Green Man last Monday and will begin preparations for EOTR shortly. Been every year since 2010 loved every one. It’s extra appealing to us as it’s only 30 mins up the road and it took 5 sodding hours back from GM.
You have probably seen Ezra Furman before as he’s a regular there and I can recommend Angel Olsen and particularly Arrow Aftab who was utterly magical at GM last year.
I’ve seen and enjoyed Cass McCombs and Bodega before and Crack Cloud were unexpectedly entertaining last year.
Green Tea Peng looks interesting. Less so Future Islands who i have seen several times – sort of OK if you’re in the mood but I’m usually not. Don’t understand the appeal of King Gizzard. Mostly sound like an amped up Hawkwind to me. Sounds good on paper but boring in reality.
I’ve had a listen to Arooj Aftab, she does sound pretty interesting. Crack Cloud will be investigated shortly.
Seconded: Arrow Aftab and Bodega (they played locally last night and tore the roof off).
The Murder Captial are one of those Fountaines DC-style acts, I think. Probably good live.
Lee Fields is one of those retro-soul geezers (he’s 73!), his latest is on Daptone Records.
Lee Fields gets the thumbs up from the whole family. Good call.
Another vote for Arooj Aftab and Angel Olsen. Never seen the former live but it’s great music, and Angel is terrific.
Say She She are excellent, modern soul with lovely three part harmonies
I saw the Mary Wallopers at Beautiful Days last week, and they are a lot of fun.
Scott Lavene is opening the Folly stage on Saturday, and he is fabulous. Funny, clever, and affecting, one of the best lyricists around at the moment (although a little sweary, if you are at all protective of the little Paws’ ears).
Meanwhile at Shrewsbury, Billy Bragg is reminding the children of the 80s (and below) that we mean and count for nothing any more. (Some acts, to be fair, were born, if not this century, not that many years before it broke. Not many, mind. As for the audience, I felt young, vivid and vibrant….)
Just back from EOTR, showered and unpacked. Didn’t want to write a full review but I thought I’d write about what we saw (and liked). As I mentioned above we weren’t going to this festival with a long list of acts to see and not needing to run around the site made the experience a whole lot less stressful. I enjoyed Wilco on Thursday and then saw just a few other acts.
Friday-
King Tuff
Bodega: I could see how they would have blown the roof off of a smaller venue. I enjoyed them and I’d see them again.
Cass McCombs: Mrs Paws enjoyed this a lot. I have heard some of his stuff before and it’s OK
Panda Bear & Sonic Boom: Played the album. I think that this was my only trip to the big top all weekend, although we sat outside when Moin played.
Saturday-
Scott Lavene: Thank you so much @kid-dynamite for mentioning him. I really enjoyed his set and I shall be investing in some of his catalogue
Personal Trainer: Only got the last half, but really enjoyed it
Samia- I thought Mini Paws would enjoy her and she did, hooray!
Wet Leg
Arooj Aftab: Absolutely incredible, but ruined in the last 15 minutes by a group of people rocking up, standing next to us and talking, ffs.
Hi Vis- Heard, very clearly from my bed. Not bad.
Sunday-
Lee Fields
Fatouma Diawara: Mrs. Paws’ favourite
King Gizzard- Heard very clearly from outside our tent.
So there you go, 12 acts seen and a few listened to. Didn’t venture down to the comedy (I love stand up but I don’t really like that area of the festival), didn’t see anything on the Boat stage either. We all agreed that we would be very happy if we never saw another compost loo in our lives, and the lack of phone signal was frustrating for us. I understand a lot of the traders were unhappy with the wifi and payments could be slow.
Would we go back? Mrs Paws noted that she is not as nostalgic about the festival and it’s location (is that the right word?) as I am. This was our eleventh trip to EOTR, so clearly I like going there and I feel that sitting by the Garden Stage on a Saturday afternoon with a beer is one of the best gig going experiences you can have. I’d be happy to go again, but maybe not next year unless there’s a few amazing acts. Would I go to a festival and not rush around trying to watch loads of acts each day? Absolutely.
Re. My last paragraph-
Well, I got that wrong. We’re just packing our bags ready to go to end of the road again! Once more, if anyone has a recommendation I’d be glad to hear them.