A special set from Loved Ones in the grandeur of the Anglican Cathedral steals the show for Getintothis’ Liam Fay on day one of Liverpool Sound City 2013.
There is the opinion which is generally held that a festival begins with a lot of fuss and hype and is something that swells and builds up to a furious climax. However, the show could well and truly have been stolen by one of the first acts of Liverpool Sound City.
Loved Ones turned in a wonderfully, gorgeous performance that near enough brought a tear to Getintothis’ eye at the Anglican Cathedral. Looking like a cross between librarians on their lunch break and Hawkwind‘s roadies, the Wirralites had no trouble filling the gargantuan venue with their sound.
This wasn’t a case of go hard or go home, what they brought to the fore were delicately constructed melodies and harmonies that give everything an Americana flavour.
A tantalising meld of R.E.M. and The National springs to mind. Such a comparison is superfluous though. They were brilliant in their own right.
A particular highlight was a cover of Canadian hip-hop artist Buck 65.
With the bar set impossibly high so early on, Getintothis was feeling that great festival vibe.
You know that feeling that you want to give everyone high-fives and hugs. Unfortunately no act came close to touching said bar. The rest of the evening seemed to rumble on mediocrely giving nothing to truly get our teeth into. And we were oh so very hungry.
On paper the early billing at the Anglican looked like a match made in heaven. Unfortunately the second act, By The Sea, did little to live up to their hype. It was very much a ‘colour by numbers’ gig.
Yeah, the set was tight and it was sort of nice in parts but, overall they did nothing to impress and very quickly the crowd turned to talking incessantly, taking photos of themselves and the outstanding surroundings and lying on the floor. At one point the chatter seemed to swirl with the uninspiring sounds from the stage. It was at once disorientating.
PINS rocking the Ship
PINS were another ‘stand-out’ on what was a pretty tame opening night of Liverpool Sound City.
The four-piece who draw many similarities between Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Siouxsie and the Banshees with a touch of The Stooges and The Velvet Underground did much gnashing, gnarling and shrieking but in the end did little to energise the crowd.
They had moments or punchiness underlined with an incessant guttural sound which was at times spell-binding. This gig, very much like the day, had so much promise.
Pictures by Getintothis’ Tom Adam, Marie Hazelwood and Matt Owen.
