Get Loaded, Razorlight & Russell Howard

Is there anything colder than an English summer's day? Of course you may retort, how about Antarctic winter? Yes, but that's supposed to be cold. This is "Flaming June." But Sunday was awful. And I knew all about it as I went to my first music festival of the year. Get Loaded on Clapham Common. In my thick socks, boots, waterproof trousers over my chinos, T-shirt, sweatshirt and lined raincoat. And gloves. And was still cold and wet. The most atrocious conditions I have experienced at a festival because of the unremitting combination of rain, wind and cold. But, like Emperor Penguins we rode out the storm huddled in front of the main stage. And here is my blow by blow account of the acts, with meteorological interludes.

Darwin Deez

An American indie band with a good sense of humour. But not interesting enough to detain me from searching out an ostrich burger in the rain.

Los Campesinos!

Now I had actually seen this band before. Indoors and so in a rather better frame of mind. Odd band. Unusually large - an 8-piece with 5 boys and 3 girls (rather than just the token female). Went for the bold move of putting the tubby bloke who can't sing as their front man. Haven't pulled it off. Musically all over the place. Although the red-head on keyboards is rather nice. I won't however give them a third chance to impress me.

Patrick Wolf

Think Boy George reincarnated as a leprechaun. Or just a very camp Robin Hood. Actually not a bad singer (slightly reminiscent of Andy Bell of Erasure). But the former sandwich maker - he explained he had once done that job in an upmarket sandwich bar in Clapham but got sacked after one day for making the wrong sandwich - could do with an image makeover.

British Sea Power

A better known indie band but one which I had never seen before. I hadn't missed much. Just noise as far as I was concerned. Sorry.

Noisettes

Second time I had seen this band. Now Shoniwa, the lead singer, is a real trooper. My admiration for her efforts was total. Wearing nothing more substantial really than a pair of tights she battled against the worst of the wind and rain, including coming right down to the audience. She climbed the speakers, did cartwheels, all while wearing a headress that must have been stapled to her scalp. Fine voice too. Sadly not just my musical taste, although she did open with the infectious "Don't upset the rhythm (Go baby go)" which was a good move to get the bedraggled crowd going. Ten out of ten for effort. And rarely has a stage had so many feathers on it.

The Cribs

Now I ought to like the Cribs much more than I do. Muscular guitar band, utterly unpretentious. They are actually 3 brothers from that renowned rock 'n' roll capital Wakefield (largest city in England never to have had a top flight football team. Bet you didn't know that. See, this site is truly educational.) But I just find it hard to distinguish tracks between their noisy guitar work, although they did rasp out a good version of their biggest hit (which is still a pretty small one) - "Men's Needs"

As I say, they give the impression that they would be a great bunch of lads to go down the pub with, so I ought to like them, but don't,  in contrast to Razorlight....

Razorlight

...whose music I do like although lead singer Johnny Borrell is almost certainly a complete w**ker.

Indeed I really only came for this headline act. And one has to admire Mr Borrell. The other band members just come and go. Its really all about him. And doesn't he know it. Of any indie singer I have to say he has the best voice, certainly can hold a note better than anyone else I have come across, and is the best looking with his blond hair, baby blue eyes and fine torso which very sensibly given the freezing wind and rain he did not display this time.

The songs are of variable quality, but a lot are at the very fine end of the spectrum. Certainly enough to make up a good set. But even Johnny's attempt to get down with his fans (which is a little unusual as he normally just accepts admiration as the rock god he clearly believes himself to be) was in my eyes just grandstanding, and marred by him having a go at the roadies for not helping and not getting his sound right. And besides, while in theory nice that he should want to get wet with us (the rest of the band sensibly showing no such desire), it actually meant he just moved from where most of us could see him to where you could only if you were at the front (so ok for me).

But I will still come out and see them again when I can as Johnny just is quite magnetic on stage. Mick Jagger swagger with far better looks and voice. Hope the new album has some goodies on it.

Russell Howard

The previous night I went to see Russell Howard with a mate. Now following on from the above discussion, Mr Howard's success is based on his likeability. Which for a comic probably counts for more than a musician. And it is hard not to warm to him. You just know you would like to have him amongst your mates down the pub. He has just such a light, breezy manner, self-effacing in a genuinely convincing way as opposed to false modesty. He is certainly a good laugh, and for the two hours including interval  he was on we certainly laughed a lot. But you would struggle to repeat the jokes, and he doesn't exactly tell long observational tales either. I think his success is being an ordinary bloke, but best in class. Check him out, especially if you like teenage boy humour, which lets face it most men do of any age. Although as he is selling out Hammersmith at the grand old age of 31, I doubt he needs my promotional efforts.