Thursday at 2000Trees is when things get going. A walk around the festival site reveals how much busier it has become, with more and more people carrying their tents up to the campsite. There are now five music stages to choose from, as well as The Word stage and an awful lot more music to choose from. A lot of those people arriving will be here for a band who’ve spent a lot of time in the news recently, Kneecap, who headline the main stage this evening.
Himalayas
My day starts as the Himalayas walk onto stage to Cold as Ice – I presume they do this at every gig but as temperatures continue to soar, it couldn’t have been a more ironic choice. The Cardiff-based four-piece perform a set of well-written garage rock to an audience that grows constantly throughout their half hour. The vocals sound fantastic, there’s a grit to them, but every lyric is clear. The bass and drums lock in perfectly throughout, ensuring that all headbanging in the crowd is perfectly in sync.
Superbloom
Over on the Axiom stage, Brooklyn-based Superbloom sound like a band who should be on much later in the day. A brilliant set of grungey post-hardcore, this is their 100th show (a suggestion of selling 100 shirts to mark the occasion is quickly shut down upon realising they only have 37 with them). They’ve got an excellent energy, the guitar parts sound great, they sort of remind me a bit of Hundred Reasons in places, perhaps a bit heavier during their breakdowns. New song, Lost, is a bit more sludgy and noisy, with slower but pounding drums keeping the pace while guitars ring out, each chord sustained for full effect. I went along to check them out on a whim, and I was in no way disappointed.
unpeople
Who saw us in the Forest yesterday? Someone broke their ankle and someone got proposed to
Usually I don’t go and see the same band two days in a row, but, as yesterday was a covers set and today is just originals, it’d be rude not to. unpeople still have a fairly short discography, but in that time, they’ve become a monster of a live band. It’s crowded over at the main stage, crowd surfers come over wave after wave during Smother as the guitars get low for the breakdown. Unpeople are going places with their massive hooks, glorious vocal harmonies and catchy songs – if you’ve not seen them yet, buy a ticket to a gig near you soon!
Snayx
Snayx, comprising just drums, bass and vocals, are loud and distorted as hell. Punk energy from the first notes, they get the crowd moving instantly, with circle pits erupting in the middle. It’s the hottest point of the day, and it’s amazing to see just how many people are watching within the small stretches of shadow cast around the arena. Vocalist Charlie gets down with the crowd a couple of songs in, yelling each bar directly into people’s faces. Later in the set, their version of Prodigy’s Breathe goes down well and retains the aggressive energy of the original while adding their flair to it. They joke about their progression: “We started in the forest, then we returned to the forest, then we returned to the forest again, now we’re here.” Possibly future headliner?
Puppy
Something a little different over on the Axiom stage, Puppy bring a sort of sludgy stoner rock to proceedings. Considering the drawn-out grunge they perform, there still seem to be standout lines sung back by the audience. It’s a good turnout too, not exactly music to circle pit to, but no shortage of headbanging.
Big Special
Heading back towards the main stage, Big Special, another band I’ve never come across before, are about to take to the stage. There are quite a few bands with a similar setup at the moment: programmed tracks, live drums, and observational lyrics delivered with a yell. Big Special do it well, though, there’s conviction in their voice, and there’s variety in style in their looping backing tracks. They give the new record National Average a good plug (“that’s right, we’re capitalists now”) before performing some new material. I quite enjoy the in-between sampler hits, with such Yamaha keyboard classics as “dj!” and air horn runs.
Lake Malice
Flanked by a squad of silver dancers, Lake Malice are delivering riff after riff over in the Neu tent. I was surprised to see them in one of the smaller tents. After catching them on their recent tour with RØRY, I was expecting them to be on one of the bigger stages. No problem, though, it just means this set is going to be one of the hottest of the weekend so far, as no one in that tent is going to stand still. I think they’re another band who’ll be working their way up the stages over the next couple of years. The songwriting is excellent, covering topics close to their heart, and the production, with the programmed parts layered with live drums and guitar, is fantastic. I look forward to seeing them on the main stage soon.
Bambie Thug
The penultimate act on the Forest Stage tonight is Bambie Thug, who I only really know from Eurovision, although obviously they have a discography much wider than that. No live band for this one, Bambi Thug is joined by two dancers wearing PVC masks with both horns and tentacles, who go between dancing and acting as a prop, or a throne. Fourth track Egregore is a melodic wonder, with a spell chanted mid-song along with the audience. It’s a bit of a contrast to the other acts today, considerably more poppy, although songs like Careless arguably approach similar subjects as some bands playing this weekend. New single Red Rum, an anti-government, anti-colonialism track, has a sort of nu-metal edge to it, the stage lit red– it’s the standout moment of the set! There’s a huge cheer as the trans flag and Palestinian flags are raised up on stage.
Walking across the site, it’s great to see a lot of people sitting in The Word enjoying some stand-up from Kai Humphries, admittedly with the sound of Bambi Thug in the background.
Kneecap
Announced a long time before recent controversy, Kneecap have a history of playing 2000Trees, working their way up to main stage headliners over time. I doubt anyone could expect the massive increase in attention the band received after playing Coachella earlier this year, both in terms of popularity but also the backlash. 2000Trees were quick to say they wouldn’t be de-platforming the Irish language rappers, but with their TRNSMT performance cancelled due to policing concerns, I think there was always a bit of uncertainty around them performing.
Opening with the lively, although technically inaccurate, It’s Been Ages, (probably not even days since they appeared in the press), flares in the colours of the tricolour are sent up courtesy of a trio of kids in the middle of the audience. They say a few songs into the set that this is third time at Trees and then apologise to “the rock kids” that they need to do the slow songs first before launching into Fenian Cunts. A few slower songs later and the heavier part of the set starts with a shout of “open up the pit, and look out for each other, we’re all a family here”. Your Sniffer Dogs Are Shite gets a huge reaction but the energy keeps ramping up – the trio on stage give at least as much energy to their performance as any live band, bars in I bhFiacha Linne screamed out at speed, with vocal stabs that remind me of Tempa T’s Next Hype. They take a cue from the audience’s yell of “free, free, Palestine” to put their reasoning for saying what’s going on at each gig and how they relate to what’s going on as people from West Belfast and Derry.
They talk about the pressure put on 2000Trees to cancel them, “fair play to the organisers, they stood on their toes and told them to fuck the way off,” and how they first played in 2022 and thought they were a strange booking at a rock festival, until the crowd showed them otherwise. Introducing their final song with “This last song was inspired by the last time we beat the UK Government in court” getting the crowd “aww” mockingly for Kemi Badenoch, who started the previous legal dispute, the energy peeks with the Mozey colab track The Recap, DJ Próvai getting into the mosh pit for it while the subs on the PA get likely the biggest workout they’re going to get all weekend. Despite all that’s going on with them at the minute, they remain confident and motivated, taking their current legal issue in their stride, suggesting the song their next court victory will influence another. Poor Kemi Badenoch indeed.
