Soundcity 2012 - In Summary
Well folks, SoundCity 2012 is over again for another year and over-all its been another shining achievement for Liverpool. This year seemed even more busier than previous years and people from various walks of life have descended on the city again to experience the wealth of talent this city has to offer.
This year saw even more venues attached to the festival which provided more scope for the line up to grow and diversify in its content. Venues like the Epstien Theatre provided the unique approach of sitting down to watch artists and this provided the perfect outlet for the likes of Luke Fenlon, Thomas J. Speight and Michael Kiwanuka to shine brightly. Other new venues like Liverpool Academy of Arts and the Red Bull Live Studios made use of what was essentially derelict buildings and turning them into urban theatres of noise and sound.
The old favourites like the Kazimier and Zanzibar showcasing the finest in new bands and new talent and bigger venues like the o2 providing a more mainstream alternative to the the festival.
Though its not all positive and like any other large scale festival it has its problems and from talking to other festival goers there seems to be 2 major areas for concern.
The first is the size of venues and putting major acts on in them. The prime example for this was White Denim in the Kazimier. People who had paid good money for a wristband to see someone, don't expect to be stood in a queue in the rain because a venue has under estimated the amount of people wanting to see an act. I understand that at other festivals this occurs but its usually a large tent where at least if you cant get in you can still hear the bands. Bigger venues need to be used for large scale acts otherwise it wont work. The same happened for The Kooks last year at the bombed out church when gig-goers queued to get into the gig only to be disappointed. These are, I may add, one off occurrences. But as the festival continues to grow in both popularity and size, it needs to be taken into consideration in the future.
The second is the use of venue's that demand people to be scanned in or have ID on them (even press) to get in. Surely the point of buying a wristband should be enough. I wouldn't expect to turn up to the Reading festival turnstiles only to be told that I couldn't get in without having my passport on me.
The policies of HeebieJeebies and the Krazyhouse are in total contrast to the ethos of SoundCity and unless this changes bands who play these venues are not going to get the exposure or coverage they deserve.
That aside, SoundCity is still one of the best inner city festivals and continues to get better each year and continues to provide the much needed injection of enthusiasm and vibrance into the city.
