Kendal Calling

The first thing you should know about Kendal Calling is it isn't in Kendal. No, really. It isn't! It is however rather near to the lovely Lake District town of Penrith. Set in Lowther Deer park, this year saw capacity increase from 6,000 to 10,000. It was nice to see that the atmosphere from last year was still there. That, despite it's growth, it felt the same.

Uk gigs and festivals will be bringing the photos to you in parts (there's just so much to show you!) To whet your appetite here are some photos from the Calling Out tent, the biggest of the tented stages. Highlights were Leeds band Pulled Apart By Horses and Glasgow rockers Dananananaykroyd, who won the crowd over with free Red Bull, free Walkers crisps and free hugs!

Pop back in a few days for extensive main stage coverage as well as the fancy dress highlights and more words on why Kendal Calling is fast becoming our favourite English festival.

Wickerman

Wickerman started off a bright, sunny event. With some seriously sunburnt punters! By the 3rd day however it had returned to being very Scottish with a constant drizzle and fog decending on the field... to the point where you knew the Wickerman was there... somewhere... it was just hard to see without squinting.

Bands old and new entertained the thousands of happy festival goers (alcohol cancels out the effect of yucky weather... fact!) Tony Christie in particular going down a treat on the main stage, with multiple generation of families dancing and singing along.

The scooter tent played host to mostly heavier bands, highlights being The Buzzcocks, Undertones and The Sex Pistol Experience.

The festival does a fantastic job of catering to most musical tastes and welcomes the little ones, making it a perfect festival choice for everyone from teenagers to families and the more mature music lover.

This coupled with the stunning location in Kircudbright makes it one of the best mid size festivals around!

Biffy Clyro - Blackpool Empress Ballroom

Biffy Clyro play to a sold out Blackpool Empress Ballroom. They were joined on this tour by Mike Vennart of Oceansize on additional guitars, giving an extra layer to the music, helping to represent the additional sounds on latest album Only Revolutions.

Pulled Apart by Horses - Hinterland

Leeds hardcore band Pulled Apart By Horses play an explosive set at the Admiral bar for Glasgow's Hinterland festival.

Twin Atlantic - Secret show - Bloc, Glasgow

Twin Atlantic put on a gig at Bloc in Glasgow for Competition winners, friends and family, on the week of the release of new single Lightspeed.

Doll And The Kicks - Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh

Dolls and the Kicks perform at Ediburgh's Cabaret Voltaire, with support from Oliver Stays and Boycotts.

Twisted Wheel - Electric Circus, Edinburgh

Saddleworth band Twisted Wheel play an energetic set at a sold out Electric Circus.

Fightstar - Studio 24, Edinburgh - Photo blog

Fightstar play to a sell out crowd at Edinburgh's Studio 24. Main support came from The Xcerts.


Fightstar -











The Xcerts -

Twin Atlantic - Night and Day, Manchester

On Saturday 6th Feburary Twin Atlantic played their biggest headline show to date, selling out all 1300 tickets at Glasgow's ABC1 venue.

Rewind 3 days and the guys are playing the intimate Night and Day cafe in Manchester's Northern Quarter to around 100 people. Though the 2 shows are worlds apart in size and scale the bands performance is the same, full of passion and raw live energy.



They blast through a set of songs from their mini album Vivarium and early ep A Guidance From Colour as well as a new song, the incredibly catchy Running From Money and a slight reworking of older song Atlas Factory.



Twin Atlantic's music has an infectious energy that you can't help but get caught up in, and choruses that are just begging to be sung along with.

Set List:

You're Turning Into John Wayne
Lightspeed
I Cave In
Old Grey Face (And The Way Of The Magenta)
Time Is The Enemy
Better Weather
Running From Money
Atlas Factory
Crashland
A Guidance From Colour
What Is Light? Where Is Laughter?
Human After All
Caribbean War Syndrome
Audience And Audio

All Time Low - Fopp instores

All Time Low last week visited Fopp stores in Glasgow and Manchester, whilst on the Kerrang tour.



First up was Glasgow, where hundreds of (mostly female) fans queued for hours to see the lads perform a short acoustic set, and sign copies of their Unplugged album.





Damned If I Do, Damned If I Don't - Live in Glasgow:


Frontman Alex Gaskarth takes over my camera to take a snap of his fans!





Unfortunately for fans queueing in Manchester they had to cancel the performance part of their appearance an hour before they arrived. Leaving fans who had been waiting for up to 8 hours slightly dissapointed. Though frowns soon turned to smiles when the signing started.