2000 Trees Festival - Upcote Farm, Withington - 14th-t16th July 2011 (Live Review)
Friday, 22 July 2011
Written by Ben Bland
Situated in deepest Gloucestershire, 2000 Trees is a small festival with a capacity of around 3500. As a result it is infinitely more charming than the mega festivals that clog up the summer calendar. Its more intimate atmosphere is, of course, greatly aided by the fact that the site appears full of jolly nice people in an environment that is kept surprisingly clean in comparison to most festivals. Even the toilets are reasonably pleasant. The environmentally friendly message of the festival is enhanced by the dedication to booking exclusively British (or at least British based) bands, ostensibly to save air miles but, equally importantly, to put rising UK bands in the spotlight that they deserve. The four stages feature a wealth of British music excellence. The Main Stage has previously been headlined by the likes of Frank Turner and The Subways and features everything from hard rock to indie folk whilst The Cave, a new addition for 2011, sticks to the murky world of Britain’s heavy underground. The Leaf Lounge and The Greenhouse feature a large variety of folky acts in addition to anything else that does not fit on either of the two larger stages. With an almost perfect layout and cosy feel, 2000 Trees is ideal for those who are fed up with the overwhelming size of the UK’s largest festivals.
On The Cave stage, local lads The Echoes kick-off the musical entertainment for the early entry goers on the Thursday night of Trees 2011. Sadly their powerpop sound is lacking in both originality and personality. OST are much more interesting, bridging the gap between dance music and prog rock with a delightful ease. Crazy Arm's folk punk sound is undoubtedly invigorating and the Plymouth quartet are the first act to really get the crowd going. It is a mystery as to why they were so low down the bill this evening, especially considering that the crowd thins noticeably for Kill It Kid, who are making a transition towards a more hard rock template that barely suits them.
Maybeshewill are one of the UK’s finest bands and are on top form. The epic moments of recent opus 'I Was Here for a Moment, Then I Was Gone' are perfectly recreated but it is still first album closer 'Not for the Want of Trying' that is their real trump card, being one of the highlights of the whole festival. Jim Lockey & The Solmn Sun have never missed 2000 Trees and judging by the reaction they get, this is not surprising. The Gloucestershire troubadour may not be Frank Turner level yet but he is well on the way.
Sucioperro's position at the top of the Thursday night line-up is recognition of their brilliance. Frontman J. P. Reid is one of the best songwriters Britain has to offer and with a beefed up five-piece line-up for this show, usual bassist Stewart Chown switching to guitar with Fire & I members Gordon Love and Hooligan Sadikson taking on bass and extra percussion/synth respectively. The band’s forty-five minute set proves their quality, the prog metal-esque 'Hate Filters' being a monolithic set highlight. Everyone goes to bed for the evening with a broad smile on their faces.
Friday begins in rather underwhelming fashion in the Leaf Lounge as The Momeraths fail to ignite much excitement. The Me! Me! Me’s? are far more interesting, even if they fall short of some of the noise rock heights that follow later in the weekend. Why Hampshire doom trio Witchsorrow are on the bill is a bit of a puzzle. The Cave is almost entirely empty for most of their set, although those that stay are rewarded with a set of solid, if unspectacular, trad doom riffs. The James Cleaver Quintet are one of the most exciting young bands in Britain at the moment and their live shows are chaotically joyful affairs...if you like the sense of panic created by a band that looks like it may destroy the entire stage at any given moment that is.
Leeds quintet Vessels are far more than your average ‘post-rock’ act and their set showcases just that with cuts from recent second record, 'Helioscope', proving the band to be not just destined for greatness but already there. Straight Lines are totally different but their rocking pop-punk tunes impress a sizeable Main Stage crowd. Leeds based keyboardist and vocalist Charlie Barnes is an obviously talented individual and The Greenhouse is treated to a solo set full of loops and the occasional bit of beat boxing, as well as Charlie’s soaring vocals. Masked noise punk trio Kong may feature two ex-Oceansize men but have none of the subtlety. In fact their furious swells of destructive noise are almost painful...but awesome. Reading’s finest, Ben Marwood is a talented singer-songwriter with a personable stage presence and his set over at The Greenhouse prompts a couple of delightful singalongs, even if the best reaction is saved to his closing cover of The Postal Service’s 'The District Sleeps Alone Tonight', which is actually better than the original by some distance.
Bo Ningen may not be strictly British but are on the bill by virtue of being based in London. Their experimental noise fails to ignite, partly because of vocals that are merely annoying rather than sinister. Dinosaur Pile-Up are probably going to be huge soon. Their grunge by numbers is decent enough but lacks the rawness that made the genre so special in the first place, although the large Main Stage crowd don’t seem to have noticed. Exit Ten's first album made them one of Britain’s top metal contenders but, judging by the new material on display here, they have now decided to dip their toes into rather bland alt-rock – more than a little disappointing. Twin Atlantic are one of the best live bands around when on top of their game. This evening they are not. Rewarded for a fine performance at the 2010 festival with being third on the Main Stage bill this time around, the Glaswegians are not as musically tight as usual and frontman Sam McTrusty sounds like his voice is set to give out at any given moment. The sound mix also takes a fairly unfortunate dive for the forty-five minutes or so that the band are on stage, although despite perfectly audible (and noticed) shouts from members of the front row, the band do nothing to try and sort this out.
The fact that the Leaf Lounge is packed out for Tall Ships speaks volumes about the buzz rightfully surrounding the Falmouth trio at the moment. St. Albans hardcore loons Your Demise may have the eye of the mainstream punk and metal press but their energetic performance sadly does not hide the fact that they are actually a pretty terrible band. The surprisingly small crowd greeting their set in The Cave is down to the fact that The King Blues (small pic) are on the Main Stage at the same time. As ever, they are a band whose live performance wows their fans but generally winds up everyone else. Headlining The Cave are Northern Irish post-rock mentalists And So I Watch You From Afar, who once again prove that they may just be the best live band on the planet right now. The packed tent goes seven shades of crazy as they launch into the likes of 'Search:Party:Animal' and the ever destructive 'Set Guitars to Kill'. Over on the Main Stage meanwhile, Dan Le Sav Vs Scroobius Pip prove that they are the very best that British hip-hop has to offer and close the first full day in style.
It’s a shame that first in The Cave on Saturday is the final ever set by Gloucestershire alt-metal trio The Divine Secret, especially considering that their Coheed-esque approach deserves plaudits and a bigger crowd. Two bassists and a drummer...and lots of shouting. That is what you get with crazy Welsh trio Exit_International. Their half hour on stage is wonderfully noisy with 'Chainsaw Song' being a particular highlight. Crippled Black Phoenix keyboardist Daisy Chapman is Bristol’s finest. Utilising loops and her impressive ability at the keys, she bewitches a fairly impressive crowd over at The Greenhouse, prompting a series of shocked gasps with the somewhat disturbing lyrics of 'Marry Mary'.
Zun Zun Egui are a bit of a musician’s band, pitching themselves somewhere between Radiohead and John Coltrane with added influence from the world of African tribal music. It is a unique and potent combination even if it sounds a bit odd in the early afternoon sun. Charlie Barnes & The Greeks may sound familiar, but then Charlie is following up the previous day’s set with a loud performance with his band in the Leaf Lounge...and it is very loud. &U&I may still be best known at the moment for being ex-Blakfish members but it probably won’t be long until they have eclipsed their former band, if performances like this are anything to go by. Hereford post-rockers Talons look like they are still in their mid teens but their mature, violin heavy, take on the genre is great even if there are plenty of bands in the same field that should be checked out first. One such act is Yndi Halda. With songs that often stretch way beyond the ten minute barrier, the quintet are completely enthralling. An unplanned encore goes way over time but is the highlight of their set, even ending with an unexpected piece of slapstick when drummer Oliver Newton tumbles off the back of the stage.
Ska bunch Imperial Leisure are pretty good live, even if their music itself is a bit on the marmite side. Their Main Stage set brings out broad smiles on the faces of almost everyone present. Three Trapped Tigers are a uniquely gifted band with their post-electro sound causing plenty to go totally demented for the first time on this final day of the festival. Drummer Adam Betts is the star, pounding his kit with a feverish energy. Stagecoach are great if you like pop songs performed by a bunch of guys from Surrey who try to sound as American as possible...if not then stay away. Japanese Voyeurs may rely heavily on the occasionally coquettish stage persona of frontwoman Romily Alice but they actually have some excellent songs to back her up and are worthy of the hype surrounding them. The Twilight Sad might just be the most miserable band in existence but they are also brilliant, even if some sound wobbles means that the Main Stage does not get them quite at their best this evening.
Devil Sold His Soul are the best thing in British metal at the moment and the sooner everyone else realises this is the case, the better. Frontman Ed Gibbs has added a range of excellent passionate clean vocals to his long perfected growls and tracks from last year’s 'Blessed & Curse'” are performed superbly alongside the best of their previous material. Los Campesinos! are one hell of a live band with frontman Gareth being the undoubted focus, especially when he dives into the crowd. Although it is still a little puzzling why they need eight people on stage, there is no doubting the fact that they are tremendous fun despite the misery of much of their lyrical content. They probably should have been headlining but instead that honour is left to Scottish indie folk heroes Frightened Rabbit. Although they still may not be the most exciting live act, the crowd is on their side and mass singalongs to the likes of 'The Modern Leper' and 'Swim Until You Can’t See Land' seem to inject Scott Hutchinson and crew with renewed vigour, resulting in one of their best sets to date.
Over in The Cave, Amplifier are closing out the festival with their dense spacey prog rock. Although it is definitely not for everyone, it is spellbinding stuff and they sound absolutely massive, bringing 2000 Trees to a suitably epic conclusion for another year. “The best festival in England”, according to Tony Wright of And So I Watch You From Afar, it’s not hard to agree.
Check out some images of 2000 Trees, courtesy of our photographer Matthew Williamson, below.
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The fact that the Leaf Lounge is packed out for Tall Ships speaks volumes about the buzz rightfully surrounding the Falmouth trio at the moment. St. Albans hardcore loons Your Demise may have the eye of the mainstream punk and metal press but their energetic performance sadly does not hide the fact that they are actually a pretty terrible band. The surprisingly small crowd greeting their set in The Cave is down to the fact that The King Blues (small pic) are on the Main Stage at the same time. As ever, they are a band whose live performance wows their fans but generally winds up everyone else. Headlining The Cave are Northern Irish post-rock mentalists And So I Watch You From Afar, who once again prove that they may just be the best live band on the planet right now. The packed tent goes seven shades of crazy as they launch into the likes of 'Search:Party:Animal' and the ever destructive 'Set Guitars to Kill'. Over on the Main Stage meanwhile, Dan Le Sav Vs Scroobius Pip prove that they are the very best that British hip-hop has to offer and close the first full day in style. 
