Sound City Liverpool 2015 - Saturday Review
A warm and sunny Saturday greeted us for the 2nd day of Sound City Liverpool. First up on the viewing agenda was Sun God Replica on the Kraken Stage. The band strike you, straight away, as a band very much influenced by the late 60s/early 70s and their music tends to solidify that assumption. Very heavy riffs with the emphasis on the music rather than bogging people down with too many lyrics. Guitar solos aplenty here. A great set that left your ears ringing.
Speaking of ears ringing, next up on the list for us was God Damn. This is a band we have featured here on MusicMafia a number of times and it was great to be able to see them in action at last. Very reminiscent of Royal Blood with two band members playing the music of 4/5 members, lead singer Thom and drummer Ash make you stop whatever you are doing and look on in awe at the huge solid tunes and the full on, in your face sound. In fact the sound was so intense that next to us, the plastic water container was shaking and moving due to the heavy bass. The set, unfortunately, was way too short and they could have easily entertained for an hour more.
Dutch Uncles on the Atlantic stage had drawn a good sized crowd for their set. The new wave group led by Duncan Wallis, entertained the audience with possibly the maddest dancing I have witnessed. This along with their catchy, toe tapping songs made for a very eccentric set. At times they reminded me of Talking Heads, both lyrically and musically, which isn't at all a bad thing.
The Membranes on the Baltic stage, led by the ever youthful, John Robb, provided a fierce and frantic set which consisted of a lot of their new material from the dark energy/dark matter album, engaged the audience from the outset. Forever the front man John Robb manages to make you feel as if you are part of the band. Encouraging and enticing the crowd to sing, stamp and holler as much as possible.
We decided to move along to the North stage for a bit calm down after that to see the Israeli trio Garden City Movement and it was just what we needed. Standing in the sun watching on with a cool beer in your hand, is a much recommended recipe and bring into that the warm yet upbeat dance-floor tracks being played then you couldn't ask for a better interlude before the main headliner. Judging the reaction of the audience, they felt the same.
The Flaming Lips probably don't need much introduction. The band seem to bring a huge smile to anyone who mentions them and this was certainly evident to the thousands that had come to play witness to the giant spectacle.
Lead singer, Wayne Coyne, emerged on stage with a giant inflatable turtle attached to his back and dressed in a green lycra suit, he looked more like a human-amphibian hybrid than the leader of a 30 year old strong band.
The Flaming Lips manages to make everything look so easy. Moving from one crowd rousing track to another, they never let the energy drop and never let the energy levels of the audience drop. They take them on a mystical space journey and they are only to happy to follow.
Using visuals to full effect, including a giant "FUCK YEAH LIVERPOOL" inflatable thrown into the crowd, they leave nothing to chance. Light shows, ticker tape and giant alien creatures are all part of the ride. Even a giant Santa Claus made an appearance on stage much to the delight of the many.
The highlight as always is Wayne Coyne getting inside his giant inflatable ball to surf across the people and sing whilst being held aloft by many numerous and willing hands. A site that you can never get tired of seeing.
An amazing and enigmatic set. One the likes of Sound City has never seen bodes well for the future. As previously mentioned in Friday's review, there are a lot of things which need rectifying in relation to the site and transport, but for the first time on a new site and with the line up they have managed to pull together, the future bodes well both for Sound City and Liverpool as a festival city on the whole.
