Kaiser Chiefs
Live at Wireless Festival 2007 on Saturday, 16th June 2007
Due to the proverbial heavens opening the previous day, my pals and I strode forth into the grounds of Harewood House in a non-too-Utilitarian fashion.
The day was Saturday 16th of June and the weather was perfect, having mudded the grounds into the ground our trading of pumps for wellies was justified, as was our selective wearing of practical-cum-vaguely stylish hoody. Along with the touts and anorak-sellers' cries of 'C'mon the rain!' we prayed for those who chose style over practicality to be suitably and deservedly punished.
Our collective ignorance, thirst, preconceptions and almost festival virginity meant that we arrived at the do with a number of artists we wanted to see and the rest of the time would be idly lost in a taking in of the atmosphere and satisfaction of all major senses.
The first act we saw were a band destined to be a mainstream success ironically entitled Good Shoes. They fulfilled their duty of performing a choice selection of their material well but did little beyond that.
Subsequent to this we hotfooted it across to the portaloos, which was a surprisingly humane state of affairs given the context. My major gripe of the day occurred then.
On arriving at the 'O2 blueroom stage' to see Kate Nash my annoyances of commercialised events such as this were enflamed rapidly. We queued as normal and in ample time to get a good place to see the aesthetically exceptional Kate Nash, after around half-an-hour of such queuing we were told in a colourless, monotone voice that unless we were O2 customers we would not be allowed into this stage! The scandal continues when we are then informed that we have to send a message to a number to get in! So we did. Still queuing we hear Kate Nash open from inside the blasted area and are informed that the soulless objects patrolling the stage are implementing a one-out-one-in policy, a policy which allowed us to see two Kate Nash numbers from the back of the floor. Cheers O2.
Redundant conformity led to my missing of The Cribs performance on the main stage, instead I witnessed local lads The Pigeon Detectives send what looked like most of the crowd into howls of jollity, I was unimpressed and was none too surprised when they messed up their climatic final song, much to their embarrassment they asked 'not to be remembered by that'. I will probably always remember them by that.
The Twang and 1990s respectively were impressive. Both performances were enhanced by their respective crowd rapports. Phil of The Twang being surprised of the turn-out given that The Cribs were on the bigger stage just up the hill. 1990s deeming us all 'so sweet'.
Kaiser Chiefs seemed suitable headliners for the day come 9 o'clock. Their belting out of crowd-pleaser after crowd-pleaser left the crowd really pleased while I was unaffected, I used their stint on stage to make the most of the camaraderie found at the back of the grounds where a few lads (?) decided to swim and dance in the mud.
And so it was a fitting end to a day which was well worth the £40-odd quid I'd paid to get in.
- www.kaiserchiefs.co.uk
- www.thetwang.co.uk
- www.myspace.com/1990sband
- www.thepigeondetectives.com
- www.myspace.com/katenashmusic
- www.goodshoes.co.uk
