Under the Influence presents...

FESTIVAL WITHOUT FIELDS

BANK HOLIDAY SATURDAY 24TH MAY

Festivals are good. Rain is bad. Both of these are completely true facts my friends. Thankfully Under The Influence and The Welly know this. On Saturday 24^th May, no fewer than 16 bands and artists are playing the Festival Without Fields. As the name suggests, this is an indoor festival so it can chuck it down as much as it likes. We couldn’t give a flying cluck if the sun has his hat on or not. With three rooms so full of entertainment that it has to be lubed up just so it can all fit in, we have no need to be anywhere but the Welly Club.

It all kicks of at 3pm with The Shebeats, This City and Chris TT (the latter I might add is worth seeing just on the off chance that he’ll play ‘Cant stop dreaming of injured popstars’). Then Darlington’s ‘don’t mention we’ve got girls in the band’ We Start Fires are up. With appearances on the Culture Show and at the SXSW festival, not to mention being name dropped by none other than John Peel in the bit of his book he knocked out before he clocked off, there’s definitely a bit of a buzz about We Start Fires (they’re lying by the way. If anything they’re overly cautious with naked flames. They don’t even smoke).

Then more irresponsible advice comes in the form of Pull Tiger Tail. You know, when the words “arty-party punk-funk” are used to describe a band its usually time to kill yourself. But… don’t set off the Humber bridge just yet, because they’re actually quite good. Given their name, I might even go as far as saying THEY’RE GRRRREAT.

I wont go through every band on the bill because quite frankly I cant be arsed but do make sure you catch ex Beta Band front man Steve Mason in his current incarnation Black Affair. According to the band biog Black Affair are “now living in a remote corner of Japan in the 1980’s”. I for one, don’t believe him. He has quite possibly ingested copious amounts of hallucinogenic substances and is currently trying to climb into his own shoe, rather than actually being in Japan. Even more reason to go see them I think. If you liked the Beta Band that this is a must see. If you didn’t like the Beta Band then there is something wrong with you. Seriously, go and get that checked out.

Mary Ann Hobbs is the big name DJ turning up for the day. She’s on late(ish) in the lounge. For those who don’t know her, she’s a pioneering Radio One DJ obsessed with experimental electronic. Its not usually my cup of tea but credit where credits due, she does play some cracking tracks on her show. Expect the same on the dancefloor. If you like her show then you’ll love this. If you don’t like her show then this will just sound like R2D2 being dry-humped by Chewbacca but all is not lost.

You can catch Hot Club De Paris instead. Possibly the laziest name used ever as they’ve nicked it straight from Hot Club De France but still worth having a look at. It’s a load of angular guitar pop from Liverpool but its good angular guitar pop from Liverpool.

Last up, Robots in Disguise. Regular Mighty Boosh extras and two girls who make *grits teeth* electronic punk. Granted, its not a genre known for its accessibility but RiD have the presence of mind to add some pop melodies so its already much better than the sub standard bile that’s produced from other bands of this ilk whose best instrument is usually their tie. And they’re on last and you should be drunk by then, so it’s the perfect opportunity to round off a good day with a bit of bouncing.

And that’s it really. Only other things you need to know are that there’s a BBQ on the go all day and it’s a 16+ gig. Tickets are £15 and you wont be thrown out until 3am.

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