Liverpool Sound City 2015 review: The Flaming Lips, The GOASTT, All We Are, Strange Collective, Hooton Tennis Club, MOJA

Everything was sun and spectacle in equal measure as Getintothis’ Vicky Pea ran relay between the Baltic and Atlantic stages.

There are certain occasions in the life of a music fan where it becomes an absolute privilege to be witness to a band or performance, even more so when asked to comment on it! They tend to be few and far between, but today was one of those days.

The Saturday line up for Sound City was nothing short of tremendous, so much so that this writer spent about twelve hours running relay between the main Atlantic Stage and the Baltic warehouse stage, eager not to miss a thing, and believe it or not, we didn’t see a bad band all god-damn day.

One of the most pleasing aspects of the day was also the impressive Merseyside representation, proving that this city has more than enough talent of its own to continue to be a driving force of Sound City’s of the future, no matter how big it gets.

Hooton Tennis Club drew a large and entirely deserved crowd in as they continue to prove why the Heavenly Recordings boys are labelled the ‘next big thing’, topped of by renditions of debut single Jasper and forthcoming single and fan favourite Kathleen Sat On The Arm Of Her Favourite Chair.

Before-hand garage rockers and all round fun dudes Strange Collective had heads bobbing, and off the back of their debut single Sun it looks like things could be getting pretty interesting for the foursome in the near future.

The Baltic stage didn’t let up and was the surely the place to be for head rocking tuneage as R. Seiliog drew a massive crowd as he spewed out ear worm after pleasing ear worm.

The big headline early on over at the Atlantic stage was the weather. But before we got there something caught our ear, and it could not be ignored. Japanese duo MOJA absolutely hammered the Cavern stage to bits, with a roadie spending most of the set holding the drum kit together. It was loud, fun, no holds barred perfection. There’s our obligatory tip of the day.

Something truly magical happens when weather and music aligns, and we’ve never seen a better example of that than today. Despite all the forecasts the sun was out in spades and the line up in the Atlantic stage couldn’t have been more perfect to take full advantage of it. Silent Sleep gently eased us into our afternoon with the charm we’ve become so accustom to.

The Vryll Society had chillaxing vibes resonating from the stage in no time and with a cider in hand everything was hunky dory in the world.

A highlight of the day was GIT Award 2015 winners All We Are returning home to the love and affection of their fans to show exactly why they are such a hot commodity with their hazy pop supremacy.

The Sundowners and The Serpent Power were both a credit to their musical style and skill, giving one of this writers favourites, The Ghost Of A Sabre Tooth Tiger, a run for their psychedelic money. What we’d give to see those three bands put their heads together.

If the day had finished here, we would have been chuffed and raved about a damn fine day of music, but it didn’t. The Flaming Lips, and Wayne Coyne in particular, put on a show the likes of which we simply have never, ever, ever, seen before. After hearing Wayne talk about the process behind his visual ideas and approach to their live shows at the previous day’s conference, we shouldn’t have been surprised, but how could we not be! Not many bands start with a confetti explosion these days. Or any days. The Flaming Lips aren’t any old band.

Dressed as some sort of frog man and brave enough to embrace the zorb (and avoid the Mersey) he may well be the greatest frontman there is. It’s not a show, it’s an experience, and one that Wayne ensures the audience are a part of, encouraging them between each song and demanding they put in as much effort as he is. It feels a tad preposterous to even try to convey it to you in words, you’re probably better off having a geg at the gallery below!  Finishing on Do You Realise?? the show exceeded all of our wildest dreams and the only down side is that we’ll never get to experience it again. Because even if they journey back this way again, I doubt they ever play the same show twice, but we suppose thats the point, right? It was a privilege and a pleasure.

Photos by Getintothis’ Vicky Pea

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