Bingley Music Live 2011 - Day One (Review) @AliceGold @FLCnyc @YoungGunsUK @Skindredmusic #bml2011

As September rears its head once more and we head into autumn, it can only mean the return of Bingley Music Live, now in its fifth year. Based in Myrtle Park, just outside Bingley train station, it is a three day festival that consistently has punched above its weight in securing a refreshing mix of classic, new and local bands in a nice setting, set simply on one stage with refreshment tents and no need for camping. Plus, thankfully, usually really good weather (repeated this year so far!) so no fear of mudbaths.



Having been to all but one of the events I figured it was best to return for another year to see who would be playing to the strong crowd of West Yorkshire families.



Friday evening is now traditionally the free evening so, among the ticketholders, were lots of people coming down just for the four hours to take advantage of an impressive line-up with no entry costs. And when I say lots, I mean lots. Even me arriving forty minutes before the first act was supposed to be on stage wasn’t enough to guarantee me access before the first chords were played, thanks to a queue larger than James Bond’s boss after a big feast.



Having only missed her opening song though, I managed to dash down into the park to see opening act Alice Gold. Dressed in a brown hat and a skirt so short it might as well not have been there, the twenty-five minute set showcased her beautiful voice over the interesting musical backing from her band with some very thumping bass for the style of music. Her biggest hit ‘Runaway Love’ was second on the bill and was delivered brilliantly, and was followed by four more songs including ‘And You’ll Be There’ and ‘Orbiter’, all brought alive to the crowd which, as usual, was a good mixture of people of all ages.



By this point I was a little distracted and having come straight from work felt it was time to get something to eat, choosing a hog roast from one of the many choices of food stands, though at £4.50 for it I hoped the pig had had an exceptionally good life.



Whilst waiting for the next band the crowd were kept entertained by seeing themselves on the big screen, tiding them over until it was the turn of ‘Young Guns’ to perform. Complete with boxes for the energetic front man to stand on and rise up, the band certainly kicked up the energy of the festival but, although certainly ticking all the rock boxes, they didn’t seem to stand apart from their peers and, like similar bands in style, struggled to make their vocals heard over two guitars and a bass. Of course, they had all the rock and stylings of their genre but were perhaps a little too generic, but it was a pleasant twenty minutes and they worked hard to get the crowd going, and succeeded.



Just to prove that one drummer will not do, The Go! Team were soon on stage with their two drummers and two drum kits, plus a synth player, who added a lot to their energetic brand of catchy pop tunes with rap, hip-hop and urban styles, delivered speedily and flawlessly by lead singer Ninja. Whilst my friend was distracted by trying to get rid of his rubbish – this year’s festival seems to have given up all pretence of expecting people to clear up their own rubbish and have removed most of the bins, so there’s little else to do than either throw your rubbish on the floor or give your empty paper cups to the kids that walk around collecting them for the 10p rebate each – I was enjoying the really catchy tunes, arguably the artist on the first day that I would most want to hear more of on an album. Bringing the most interesting mix of sounds that day to the festival, even if the use of a xylophone was superfluous in the face of all the other music, they were overall a very energetic band and a thoroughly enjoyable performance with speedy vocals and so much enthusiasm from the young lead singer.



Even a technical hitch during the set – one of the techies talking over the mic about ‘upping the level’ and ‘there must be a cable out somewhere’ leant itself to the song, so much so that we both thought it was actually part of the song – didn’t dampen it. Technical hitches did seem to plague parts of the first few sets of the evening, strange because everything usually goes off flawlessly, with issues with the DJs CDs skipping or cutting out and some electrical hums at parts. But, these were quickly resolved and much of the evening went off without any problems.



It’s difficult to dislike a band who’s techie warms up by singing little snippets of tunes depending on what he’s testing as well as giving a few lines of the Team America theme song, and thus it set the standard for what was the best set of the evening, even if the lead singer of Welsh band Skindred bore a remarkable resemblance, in his hat, to the weird host of the Mario Party video games.



Avoiding the now mammoth queues for the bar – we decided to skip further drinks for the moment due to the length and the £3.60 a pint cost – it was definitely worth being up among the action for Skindred, as the lead singer excelled in engaging with the crowd, whether it was in sing-back sections, mimicking him ‘doing the robot’ or, indeed, the ‘Newport Helicopter’, which, for the uninitiated, is waving a shirt around your head like the blades of a helicopter.



Though again it was often tricky to fully appreciate what the lyrics were saying – a symptom of a lot of rock bands, not just their coined ragga-metal – they certainly had the best riffs of the day and got the mosh pits going, as expected. The fusion of styles that the band is known for worked really well in the live environment. The group was a masterclass in crowd engagement, throwing in a good mix of moshing, breaks and dancing, with lead singer Benji Webbe often throwing himself around the stage and into the faces of the camera operators.



It was, for me at least, the song ‘Pressure’ that symbolised their set, the crowd going mad for it, though, like many artists of previous years, the amount of swearing in his speeches seemed to be at odds to the family-friendly nature of the festival but obviously comes with the style of music. But nobody seemed to be complaining and it was, after the gig and speaking to those who had been there, this set that everyone was raving about, and for good reason.



It was a shame then that the headliner was actually a bit of a disappointment.



A bit of trivia for you: ‘Scooby Snacks’ by the Fun Lovin’ Criminals (note to the graphics people, there was no ‘g’ in the lovin’ unlike your caption on the screens, he says pedantically) was the first single I ever bought, so I was looking forward to hearing from them. However, the masters of the laid back song struggled to follow the energy of Skindred and would have suited, I think, the previous slot.



The inclusion of brass in the band’s performance added something not seen during the day, but it was far too laid back after the crowd had been pumped up by the previous act. The opener all about the band and their home town was great and the sound was clear and lyrics understandable, and the balance between Huey’s vocals and those of the drummer worked really well. But, ultimately, it was a disappointment after the energy of Skindred and, though they played Loco early on, it was only the thought of them playing ‘Scooby Snacks’ that kept me from leaving. Eventually they did, announcing before that it was time to rock it up, but as soon as the song ended it was time to go, the final set from the Fun Lovin’ Criminals being like someone putting on a chill-out CD in a club when all you want to do is keep dancing.



With a poor stage presence and songs that, ultimately, sounded too similar to each other, it was a battle in my head between staying to listen to the conclusion of the set or beat the crowds to get the train home, the latter winning which did at least allow me to overhear a drunken conversation between a group of friends and an older gentlemen next to us in the carriage, the latter having got on the wrong train and referring to the teenagers as being like Busted, only to sing a song by McFly at them. Classic.



Overall, the first day of Bingley Music Live was worth going to. Forgetting the fact for a moment that it was free, the line-up of Alice Gold, The Go! Team and Skindred was worth paying money for, with Young Guns and Fun Lovin’ Criminals adding to it. I would have liked to have seen Skindred headline as they would have ended the night perfectly but it wasn’t a deal breaker.



Positives: Skindred were fantastic, Alice Gold and The Go! Team great

Negatives: Expensive food and drink, a few technical hitches, poor choice of headliner



See tomorrow for my day two review, featuring Maximo Park, Feeder, Mystery Jets, Athlete, Jon Fratelli, White Denim, Dot Rotten, Dionne Bromfield, State of Error and Thirteen16.