Offset Festival (day two): one-liners

Offset Festival 2010
Hainault Forest Country Park, 05sep10
day two

One-line reviews off all acts seen, because, well, I’m getting lazy. A very enjoyable festival all-in-all, presenting just my kind of gear. Given the Chrome Hoof and These New Puritans LPs have been amongst my favourites this year, this Sunday portion was always going to be a winner for me.

Bitches Offset Presents Stage
One man on bass is a bitch, one woman on drum-set is a bitch, and betwixt them a fuzzy bitchy post-punk sprog is begat.

Blue On Blue ECC Stage
From An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump’s demise, D-Bird rises like a phoenix in Blue On Blue swapping spite and clatter for a more ambient rock swirl.

Monotonix: making your head the drum riser

Monotonix Main Stage
Bearded Israeli men in pants (often debagged) claiming the crowd as their stage, with stodgy rock music occasionally breaking out of the spectacle that is their calling card.

Cluster White Heat Stage
Pensioners they might be, but also electronic and Kosmische Musik pioneers offering up a real rare treat.

Chrome Hoof Main Stage
Prog, glam, disco, metal, you can just keep naming the genres they juggle, whilst I remain content to get amongst it down the front and bellow “HOOOOOOOOFFFFF!” upon their departure.

Connan Mockasin White Heat Stage
On the face of it, his music suggests that rather than being from New Zealand, Connan comes from a feral existence in some other-worldly tropical lair.

These New Puritans Main Stage
The seven minute ‘We Want War’ as an opening statement of intent is an ambitious and thrilling thing indeed.

The Rayographs Offset Presents Stage
Slink without the sleaze which is a rare non-combo and all the better for it.

HOOOOOOFFFFFFFFF! @ Main Stage

Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster Main Stage
Barrelling graveyard psychobilly types return.

Teeth Of The Sea ECC Stage
Occasional glam beat, doleful trumpet and oceanscape guitars make up an unhurried wash that seeps in through your apertures.

Caribou Main Stage
Pushed an hour behind schedule, beset by tech problems and huddled together centre stage presumably for warmth, Caribou looked wearied before even starting, but worked up into good order with ‘Sun’ a triumphant closer.

Rise and Fall Hardcore Stage
Givin’ it some hammer, crashing themselves through walls for your entertainment.

Atari Teenage Riot Main Stage
Back after nigh on 10 years with more of their relentlessly beastly assault.

Blurt @ ECC Stage (sometime near midnight)

10LEC6 ECC Stage
Punk-funk goes partly J-Pop-sharp and partly ethereal.

Blurt ECC Stage
Love the Blurt, love love love the Blurt, there are few greater sights in live music than post-punk veteran Ted Milton snapping his middle and index fingers together whilst barking “CUT IT!” (one of my favouritest tunes ever ever, so a great way to finish the fest)