Catfish and the Bottlevan?

Recently Catfish and the Bottlemen released their latest album, an 11 track LP consisting of mostly old singles. Don't get me wrong it I think it's a good album, I think they're a band producing some great music but not necessarily a great set of people.

On Wednesday 17th September Van McCann (now revealed to actually be called Ryan???) did an intimate acoustic instore set playing a few tracks off of the album and a couple of unheard, he is a brilliant showman I give him that. But DEFINITELY not the most mature of lead men.

A friend of mine, who shall remain unnamed, labelled Catfish's debut 'The Balcony' average, as far as I am concerned everyone is entitled to their own opinion, correct me if I'm wrong. And my friend gave his, there was an immediate backlash on the social networking site 'Twitter', people began comparing 'The Balcony' to Arctic Monkeys' chart topping debut 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'. Obviously this led to a verbal battle of harsh words, Catfish's lead man Van even commented on this debate declaring their debut to be better than Arctic Monkeys'. This caused an uproar and gave Van a strong essence of pure arrogance, please bear in mind all my friend said was the album was 'average'.

Upon arriving at the instore I had a wait of approximately 2/2 1/2 hours, this wasn't a problem as I enjoy their music greatly and any chance to see a band I love I will grab willingly with both hands. After a couple of songs and a few comments made here and there by Van my friend decided to leave the set as he found it quite dull, him and his friends tried to leave silently but were spotted by Van. Mid song Van then decided it would be appropriate to 'slag off' a 17 year old boy because he said the album was average, in my eyes and most likely everyone else's this was highly immature and irresponsible. As a possible purchaser of the album and fan people are entitled to give criticism and opinions towards releases by bands, it is the nature of the business, you cannot please everyone. Van McCann then preceded to lie about my friend in question, went on to say how he had been a fan of the band for long time, (this is true) and how overnight my friend had completely changed his perspective of the band purely because the album had reached no 1 in the iTunes Alternative charts. This is totally false, Van then encouraged booing and name calling from the crowd at the intimate gig whilst my friend was still trying to exit HMV to simply catch a train home. The lead man then said my friend had only turned up to 'cause shit', which again was untrue.

Catfish and the Bottlemen have caused controversy in the past, especially concerning a review of a gig of theirs in Nottingham back in 2013, requesting girls take their tops off, and hanging a questionable merch poster (left side) with supposedly funny lines like '6 tugs of the porridge gun £5'. Accusations of sexism and misogyny were flying around everywhere. As a woman myself I know 'lads can be lads' but their behaviour is non-excusable, abusing your position of power can never be thought of as right.

Personally I think they're a good band with a few good tracks, my opinion has changed and upon reflection I can't believe I ever saw the appeal, they try to use this supposed working class background to their advantage, some blindly following. In truth it isn't Catfish and the Bottlemen, it's Catfish and the Bottlevan. The other members are almost nonexistent, blending into the background in a fog of crappy black clothing they cannot seem to pull off. Lads you're no Horrors alright, just stop the tight black jeans don't work for everyone.

If you're interested read the review of the Nottingham gig that created all the drama: http://www.impactnottingham.com/2013/10/live-review-catfish-and-the-bottlemen-bitter-strings-bodega-271013/

Georgie.

LIVE REVIEW - THE LIBERTINES – BRITISH SUMMER TIME/LONDON – 05/07/14

The reunion of The Libertines has been a popular topic for sometime now, with Pete Doherty's tweet of 'l' numerous rumours were spawned, questions asked. By some sort of godly-miracle The Libertines reformed. An announcement of a headline slot at British Summer Time, a festival held in Hyde Park, London, supported by Irish legends, The Pogues soon followed. 

Photo Credit: NME

A nationwide countdown dictated many lives of the hard-core, loyal Libertines fans who have prayed for this moment for years after the bro-mance between Barât and Doherty came to a painful end in 2004. With a promising recollection in 2010 things were looking up but nothing came out of the performance at Reading and Leeds Festival.

Opening with a strong rendition of 'Vertigo' the boys showed they were back and back with a bang, promising a brilliant performance for the thousands of dedicated fans trekking it to London to witness this beautiful reunion. However the second song (Boys In A Band) of their 24 song set their performance was called to a halt due to the crowd being crushed at the barriers. A delay of 10 minutes followed with a warning issued by Doherty, "we can't carry on if you don't calm down a little bit." 

Awhile later fans climbed the sound towers in aim to get a better view, repeated warnings were issued and further delays followed, looking around I could see people getting a little bit 'pissed off' to say the least. Huge black letters appeared on the screen, 'Please get down from the delay tower', yet fans persisted. Powell and Hassall had left the stage to allow Barât and Doherty to play a stripped-down version of 'France' which was interrupted due to the climbing of the towers. Barât then shouted at fans as the delays continued: "If you don’t stop climbing the towers, Pigman can't do his solo."Unfortunately due to continuous delays the song was never played in full. 


The atmosphere was electric as The Libertines approached the end of their set however there was a lingering feeling of dread as many have waited for this for months and it is finally coming to an end, a historic event you really had to witness. A beautiful celebration of music in a fabulous setting. 

As the gig came to a close the boys shuffled into a line to salute the mass of people gathered to witness the recollection of four ridiculously talented men, Powell bellowed: "You are all amazing and you are all Libertines."

Set List:
'Vertigo'
'Boys In The Band'
'The Delaney'
'Campaign Of Hate' 
'Time For Heroes'
'Horrorshow'
'Begging'
'The Ha Ha Wall'
'Music When The Lights Go Out'
'What Katy Did'
'The Boy Looked At Johnny'
'Can't Stand Me Now'
'Last Post On The Bugle'
'Love On The Dole'
'Death On The Stairs'
'Radio America'
'Don't Look Back Into The Sun'
'Tell The King'
'Up The Bracket'
'What A Waster'
'France' 
'Albion'
'I Get Along'

Georgie Bridges

Festival Strip 2014 - Green Man Festival, Brecon Beacons, Wales

Green Man Festival 2014, Wales, 14-17th August 14

With this year's festival season swiftly approaching I've chosen a few I think people should really hear about and Green Man Festival is definitely one of them.
Set in the idyllic hills of Brecon Beacons, Wales it adds a fantastic atmosphere to the festival, basking in the sunshine in the lush green grass and listening to a variety of amazingly talented musicians it makes for a great couple of days.

They have out done themselves this year producing such a brilliant line up with the likes of Mac DeMarco, Canada's response to Ben Howard, who recently released his third album 'Salad Days'. Filled with hypnotic melody and stinky bass lines it just oozes summer, DeMarco is practically perfect for Green Man fest and with a positive response from regular green man goers, this year is going to be memorable.

TOY, indie rockers from Brighton are making another appearance at Green Man with their sophmore album 'Join the Dots', their psychedelic sounds fit the festival well, otherwise deemed 'hippy fest', I have a feeling another set will be appreciated.

Neutral Milk Hotel, Beirut, The War On Drugs, Boy & Bear, Daughter and many others will be making an appearance at the festival this year, and with tickets at a reasonable £159 it is perfect for small time festival goers. Filled with stalls and activities for the children it's a very welcoming environment for adults and families alike, and certainly not to be missed. It's definitely on my list!

Georgie.

LIVE REVIEW - THE ORWELLS – MANCHESTER – 06/06/14

These Chicago born indie rockers recently released their sophmore album ‘Disgraceland’, with a follow up of five UK dates before hitting up the festival circuit including an appearance at Reading and Leeds this year. I was lucky enough to grab myself a ticket to see them at Gorilla in Manchester, this being the last date before they head back to the US of A they gave it everything they had as a sweet goodbye to the UK. With a setlist mostly consisting of songs off their new album it was a push as ‘Disgraceland’ had only been released a short 4 days before, they pushed the boundaries but it paid off as they delivered a fantastic performance with loyal fans knowing nearly every song word for word.

It was an honour to see The Orwells live and was most definitely something of a spectacle, lead man Mario Cuomo isn’t just a performer but a showman. He delivered energetic vocals with eyes wide as the audience desperately clawed to feel flesh, he stared with amazement at the crowd, bringing a bottle of wine onto the stage, he would swig it after every couple of songs or so. I’m not too sure what had been drank, smoked or popped before he went on stage as some of his actions were questionable but all the same a marvelous gig.

With great support from up-and-coming band ‘Blossoms’ from Stockport, Manchester, blasting out psychedelic tunes with a little help from an electric organ. A sound that reminded me of The Kinks with a hint of Tame Impala. With lead man Tom Ogden slapping his tambourine and the rest of the Blossoms gang clothed in black turtlenecks and drainpipes to match they certainly put on a show. The vocals were spectacular and I promise we will be certainly hearing more of them in the near future. 

With two albums under their belt what will we see next from The Orwells? If you’re looking for a vicious beating but a good time listening to great music I highly recommend an Orwells gig. 

Georgie Bridges