Kicking off the morning (relative morning, it’s 1 pm), mathcore party band Kaonashi, from Philadelphia, are doing a great job at making everyone in the tent sweat from every pore. Filthy riffs and nasty drums provide the backing to the assault of screams, high-pitched yelps and fast-paced vocals, interlaced with moments that confuse and, dare I say, add a bit of fun to proceedings. An acappella verse from Radiohead’s Creep is quite jarring when it’s placed in the breakdown of an otherwise assault of guitar, bass and drums. Most of the samples seem out of place, but it works. As good a wake-up as coffee.
KEG
Musically, KEG and Kaonashi have very little in common, but where the two bands do line up is in how much fun they are. The way all of KEG’s instruments play off of each other is immensely enjoyable, the seven members spread between three guitars, bass, drums, two synths, trombone and vocals. Vocally I think Talking Heads would be a fair comparison, a lot of shouted vocals and interesting themes. A lot of their music is very bass-driven, the guitars often adding dissonance and light lead parts. A few songs have an odd pitch-changing effect on the vocals, with the guitars playing an erratic mixture of chorus-soaked high parts and weird-sounding stabs. They wrap up their set with the excellent single Kids and it’s amusing lyrics about children being shitty and wanting itsu; good sound, funny lyrics, what more could you want?
BLACKGOLD
A trip over to the main stage for BLACKGOLD, who must be boiling in their all black outfits and gold masks (save for maybe the bassist, who’s gone for a beach shirt and bucket hat atop his attire). Very inspired by Limp Bizkit, they even state at one point in their lyrics that they’re “bringing that nu-metal sound back” (I’m not convinced it ever went away), they’re very good at it though, low tuned guitar riffs, sub-base drops, vinyl scratches, mentions of baseball bats and even a rewind at one point. It does feel like there are a lot of new nu-metal acts coming through recently but if you’re after a pure, nostalgic, early 2000s sound, then BLACKGOLD nail it.
Thank
For Thank to stand out in a fertile and genuinely interesting musical scene like Leeds says a lot. There’s a lot of weirdness to the musical elements, while the lyrics are quite out there (also funny), too. Drummer Steve is incredible to watch, mathy elements played with incredible complexity and power with a Lightning Bolt-esque feel to them. They’ve got Naomi McLeod of Empire State Bastard and Bodyweb filling in today, a presumably brutal task given the complexity of some of these songs. There are points in the set where electronic loops bloop away under interesting guitars and yelled vocals. I’m a big fan of their records (and their surreal videos), and they’re even more fun live.
Coilguns
Swiss post-hardcore four-piece Coilguns are having a few technical issues today, although they still seem to be having a wonderful time nonetheless. Their vocalist moves around the stage at a rapid pace, at one point flying over the barrier and disappearing into the crowd in seconds. Despite the heavier nature of their music they focus on how it’s about how love and weirdness can take on the ever-growing dark cloud of life outside. Musically, they’re incredible, at times atmospheric, at times loud and distorted with abrasive but somehow still welcoming vocals. They’ve travelled a long way to play one show, I think all of us in the Cave today are thankful for their efforts.
Delta Sleep
Delta Sleep, over on the Axiom, is a band that I’ve been a fan of for a long time and, for as long as I can remember, drummer Blake has been a key element of their sound. It’s in the little fills and the weird offbeat turns in songs like Camp Adventure. Sadly, he recently announced his departure from the band, and this is his final performance. Quite a fitting location, given how closely they’re aligned with Trees and sister festival ArcTanGent. Opening with Lake Sprinkle Sprankle, my favourite track by the band, I’m teary-eyed in the photo pit in minutes. Ending on The Detail, the “Solace is Everything” line gets yelled back by the crowd while the incredible instrumentation gets everyone headbanging. Sing-alongs a plenty, emotive vocals and a final display of Blake’s incredible nuance, one of the best sets I’ve seen them play.
Mclusky
Mclusky are a band that has gotten better and better over time since their reunion in 2014. New album, The World Is Still Here and So Are We, shows a band committed to the reunion, which came with a lineup change that saw St Pierre Snake Invasion frontman Damien join on bass, who’s retained the energetic performance style he has in St Pierre, absolutely hammering the bass on stage while jumping around like a madman. They tease the crowd with the intro of Fuck This Band before diving without pause into classic Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues. They open the set with some older tracks, but given the new album came out this year, it’d be rude not to give them an airing (“now is the time to check on the babysitter,” Falco says). New song Chekhov’s Guns fits well into their discography, even with the personnel changes, largely bass-driven with some excellent lead lines. The in-between song talk is as dry as it’s ever been: “If you want to sing along to this next one, please don’t”, they state before launching into She Will Only Bring You Happiness.
Frontierer
Frontierer are easily the most brutal band I’ve caught all weekend. It’s a constant attack on the senses; musically, guitars chug before pitch shifting up a couple of octaves to create sections that just dive between low and high. All the while, the lighting is perfectly synchronised, strobing violently while everyone moves around the stage, guitars thrown around. The drums alternate between blast beats and technical sections, and the vocals, well, they’re the brutal cherry on the cake. I’ve seen them a few times at ArcTanGent, which is usually a full tent with a ton of crowd surfing, but this is their first Trees, and the crowd is a little more cautious, standing a bit further back while the mosh pit spins kicks and swings arms. Halfway through the set, Dan climbs the tent support beam up to the lighting truss, taking his guitar with him – it’s good that even with a slightly calmer audience, the band give it their all.
Million Dead
For me, and I’m sure a lot of others here, Million Dead are the band at 2000Trees I’m most excited for. They’re a band that I discovered just after they split up (always the way!), and it did seem there was no chance of a reunion, the members had previously and consistently said it’d never happen. But then they met up, 2000Trees heard and made them an offer, and, well, here we are. It’s the first time all five members have been on stage at the same time, with both guitarists having played during different albums. They promise a setlist that’ll make everyone happy, and, honestly, they delivered.
“Speaking personally, there are a bunch of lyrics I read and thought ‘what the fuck was I talking about?’ But there was a lot I was proud of, and this is a b-side that we’ve always liked,” before going into Sasquatch – there’s a fun change of time in the middle. They point out that as Tom took over from Cameron on guitar, he’d already learned the first album, but, in contrast, Cameron hadn’t even heard the second. With Pornography for Cowards into I am the Party, this reunion lived up to the hype. “All five of us on stage are filled with gratitude for being on this stage again”, says Frank, whose vocals sound destroyed after a long set of screaming songs from 20 years ago.
Taking Back Sunday
Taking Back Sunday is another band that I’ve been listening to, and destroying my voice at gigs too, for over two decades now. They were probably the first proper club gig I went to (over in the Astoria, before it became a tube line), and they’re still a band I have a lot of nostalgia for. They’ve had some lineup changes over the years and a few albums I’m not that well versed with (yet) but what’s stayed with them over the years is the stunning emotive vocals, incredible lyricism and, yes, the mic spins (which took out the bassist at my first festival, Give it a Name, as a teen) – quite how long Adam spends practicing those we’ll never know.
The new material is as emotional and epic as their older work, and some of the newer production with vocal manipulation and electronics do work well but, I won’t lie, when the bass kicks in for Liar it’s a flashback to a younger past – “I’ve had the privilege of growing up with a lot of you, we did it together. We did it! Thank you for making space for us”. The switch between new and old does make it difficult to get the energy up but the classic songs go down incredibly. It’s been another scorching day over at Upcote Farm with some incredible music, some very sweaty mosh pits and a good balance of new and nostalgic acts.
