Hungover, scared, happy…
Day 2 of the Tramlines festival is traditionally a day of great suffering for me. As I awoke on Saturday morning feeling strangely fine I was overcome by a deep suspicion. Surely the hangover would come for me eventually? In the end, I was my own worst enemy. After going for a run and then having a hot shower, I sat down to eat a dinner of really hot soup. Next thing you know I am sweating so much that I had to change the shirt I had put on only minutes earlier. Bad times.
Anyway. Music. We arrive just as Doncaster heroes Bang Bang Romeo are opening up the Main Stage. I must admit I find it hard to connect to their music on any kind of emotional level, but as I have always maintained, they are a fantastic live act. Lead singer Starsie Walker actually improves the bigger the stage becomes, which is, of course, no mean feat. The band have a more fleshed out act than they have had on previous occasions but I’m not sure this works for them. At times there is too much going on. New single ‘Shame’ sounds good though and ‘Invitation’ is as compelling as ever.
Next up we head over to the Leadmill Stage for Canadian comedian Tom Stade. I have seen Stade before and his unique brand of observational comedy invites comparisons to Louis CK and Doug Stanhope. If anything though, Stade is more likeable than that abrasive pair and that allows him to ruminate on the prospect of wanting to bed his daughter’s friends without it coming across as creepy or forced. A long riff on the Jury’s Inn hotel at Sheffield gets a great reaction and I must say that live comedy is a fantastic addition to Tramlines. Bravo.
Back to the main stage next where Sheffield band Redfaces are romping through some energetic indie rock. The last three songs justify the decision not to buy a burrito just yet as the band sound passionate and tight.
Everly Pregnant Brothers are an act that have been on many festival bills that I have attended but I have somehow never seen them. Until now. I’m pleased to report they are the most Sheffield band to ever play at Tramlines. Comedy songs about chip pans and Henderson’s relish should, by rights, be dreadful, but the key here is that EPB are all fantastic musicians. As with Flight of the Conchords, it is much easier to sell music as comedy if you know your way round an instrument (that’s what she said).
25 minutes is probably the maximum amount you could spend watching Everly Pregnant Brothers and still enjoy it but lead singer Shaun Doane seems genuinely moved by the crowd reaction and that warmth exudes over all of Tramlines, managing to make a gig to 30,000 people feel like a turn in a working men’s club.
Eventually, it is inevitable that everyone will become an old man that music has left behind. While I’m not quite at the stage of shouting at clouds or mumbling to myself on the bus, I just don’t get Coasts. Their Wikipedia page describes them as a ‘rock’ band but this feels totally disingenuous. I can’t imagine frontman Chris Caines trashing a hotel room or doing unspeakable things with a Mud Shark and while these aren’t prerequisites for making good music, Coasts are certainly a boring, uninspiring band. ‘Oceans’ is a pleasant enough song but if that is all someone can muster to say about what is far and away your best track then you are probably in the wrong business.
Reverend and The Makers fare better and for all the bands limitations, Jon McClure and company know how to put on a good show. The Sheffield elders have released some surprisingly nuanced and interesting music in the last couple of years but they play absolutely none of it here instead going all out for bangers like ‘Bassline’ and ‘Heavyweight Champion of the World’ and who can bloody blame them? The crowd go genuinely apeshit in what is actually a pretty heart-warming spectacle.
Honeyblood are a band I have seen a bunch of times and they have never disappointed. On the tiny Library Stage at Tramlines however it takes a few songs for the band to find their feet. Lead singer Stina Tweeddale seems uncharacteristically disinterested to begin with but by the end of the set, and a rollicking rendition of ‘Ready for the Magic’, Honeyblood have grown into the occasion and a couple more songs would have been most welcome.
I saw Blossoms at Bearded Theory a few weeks ago and, to be honest, they did absolutely nothing for me. Happily, they are much much better at Tramlines in almost every department. This time they mean business. On reflection, we are so used to seeing Northern indie bands overcome by arrogant bluster that Blossoms unassuming onstage persona feels a little jarring. When you get used to that however there is no denying how many big songs the Stockport band have. Songs like ‘Honey Sweet’, ‘Blow’ and particularly ‘Charlemagne’ have established Blossoms as one of the UK’s premier indie acts. Their next album will be make or break.
And so to the chief. Noel Gallagher is far and away the biggest act that Tramlines have ever booked and while there are moments of magic, I must admit I was a little disappointed with the track list come the end of the show. A set of 15 songs should never contain five songs from an artists new album, particularly at a festival. There are few musicians on the planet who can call from a discography as celebrated as Noel, so to waste time on forgettable new songs such as ‘Fort Knox’ and ‘The Right Stuff’ is pretty unforgivable. The Oasis covers do little for me either. I get why he has to play ‘Wonderwall’ and ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ and while those songs are unifying, it results in Tramlines becoming little more than an Oasis karaoke event. ‘Little by Little’ is one of the Manchester bands most forgettable singles and even ‘Whatever’ sounds a little flat having been robbed of Liam’s unique snarl.
Having said that, ‘In The Heat of The Moment’ sounds incredible, ‘Half The World Away’ is an utter classic and the set closing cover of ‘All You Need is Love’ provides one of Tramlines most unforgettable moments. There is no doubting when watching Noel Gallagher that you are in the presence of a genius but, for me at least, this set list was all wrong.
For an example of the perfect Noel Gallagher setlist, read my review of his show at Leeds Arena here.
For every Oasis album ranked from worst to best, click here.
And so, day 2 of Tramlines 2018 is over. If you paid £25 for super early bird tickets or the most expensive fee at £79, there is no denying that Tramlines is incredible value for money. We are at a stage now where the lineup at Tramlines is actually better than the line up at Leeds festival.
When I was watching Ash and the Futureheads headline the burgeoning Sheffield festival at the relatively small Devonshire Green stage, I never dreamed that Tramlines could become the momentous occasion that it is now. Day 2 of Tramlines 2018 was a day that will live long in the memory of the thousands that attended it. If that’s not what a festival is for then I don’t know what is.