Glasttastic

After rain, mud, sweat, sunshine and hundreds of bands, Glastonbury as ever lived up to its hype and expectations. When you try and explain to people what being at Glastonbury is like, words cant describe it. Its not just a festival of having the best bands in the world, but its much more. One person said that when Glastonbury is on, its the third biggest place in the south west and when U2 hit the stage it was the most concentrated number of people at that point in time in the world, thats some crazy stuff. Glastonbury feels like a religeon, everyones there for the same reason, and at glastonbury; Strangers are virtually your friends.

When your at Glastonbury you think its the best thing ever and when you leave Glastonbury shattered and your thinking back, you think how did i ever live without it!

Heres Forest of Beards Top 5 Bands of the week.

1 - Elbow
This band just seem to get better and better and better. From my first encounter with Elbow years ago, they didnt really have the crowd power that they do now. When Guy tells the crowd to do it within seconds its done, hes like the school teacher which everyone loved. To be able to be at this set was special, they came on to ecstatic applause and left with the whole crowd singing happy birthday to them, which was also sang during the set when the band announced it was there birthday and had a birthday shot ( prior to this Guy was pressured into downing a pint by the crowd). It was a truely amazing show that they had put on, and everyone left asking surely Coldplay cant beat that. Ill leave it on that note and you can decide that answer!

2 - Fleet Foxes
One of Forest of Beards favourites. Even though they where a tad late coming on, they put on a heartfelt and touching performance. They played a lot of new songs which some people may not of knew but with each one it was greeted with loud applause and with this the ever great feltful Robin saying " thankyou, thanks" after every song. Coming on straight after Bright Eyes made it two bands you just couldnt miss, even with an overlap with Radiohead i couldnt miss it.

3 - Bright Eyes
Already wrote alot here, so ill try and keep this short.
Amazing band - Amazing show - Amazing songs - We want more!
If there was a part of the set which most people will remember, it would be the opening song when Conor ran out in his batman like cape and chucked out vinyls and t shirts into the crowd. Was truely amazing, it really did get everyone up and ready for the set.

4 - Ellen and the escapades
Walking up to watch this band was a nice sense of being at homeand it great to hear some local talent. They have done so well this year and with Eavis loving what they are doing everyone else has started to listen too. They drew a good crowd for 11am in the morning where most people are probably drunk still from there 6 am strole in the night before. Ellen and the Escapades made you feel like you was at Glastonbury when it first started, it was fresh, it was lively and it made you want more. 

5 - Fools Gold
 They couldnt of planned there stage appearance better, just as the sun came out Fools Gold came on. Everyone was happy sat or stood, there a band that everyone can dance to with there playful guitar rifts even if you know them or not. Fools Gold are a festival band, they made people who where hungover drunk again and they made people who where pissed off happy again. Perfect couldnt describe the hour that they played for.

See you in two years Glastonbury.

Allie Moss

Forest of Beards are delighted to announce the show of Allie Moss.

With her new album out called Late Bloomer hitting the stores she is playing lots of small shows to play it out. For people who may not of heard of Allie Moss i can assure you that you have heard her without realising; for all of you who watch tv that is. Have a listen to her below.

When i first tracked Allie Moss down on myspace she was the artist who you had heard but never knew, then once you listen more, you think to your self how have you not heard more of this women! With songs that bring truth back to music it gets you away from all the commerical crap which is being produced these days and makes you realise that good and honest music is still out there.

A nice review on her album

‘Late Bloomer’ is the debut album of New Jersey’s beauty-blessed, guitar wielding songwriter, Allie Moss. While her female contemporaries are singing about S&M and erectile dysfunction, Moss has swerved such vulgarity and practices the somewhat archaic tradition of writing love songs – with impressive results. Late Bloomer is crammed with sweet, romantic sentiments yet – surprisingly – it never grows mawkish. ‘Corner’ is a song that you’ve doubtless heard before and its flawless vocals, infectious melody and beautiful yet brief lyric sets the tone for the entire album. It leaks into the slightly more sombre ‘Dig With Me’ and eventually, into the jaunty ‘Melancholy Astronautic Man’, a song that wouldn’t look out of place on ‘Space Oddity’. The self-titled track is a joy: the reiterative chorus of ‘I’ll always be a late bloomer’ is somehow more autobiographical than any 500-pager will ever be. Beyond this, ‘Something To Hold On To’ and ‘Prisoner Of Hope’ are highlights, but there’s really not a dud song on the album. Throughout, the Bacharach-like lyrics are unrelenting in their quality and expose their writer’s eloquence and intelligence in equal measure. ‘Late Bloomer’ may not be the urgent, tendentious piece that we, present-epoch dwellers want, nay need, but it really is a beautiful piece of pop music that should be listened to be the loved and loveless alike.

http://tinyurl.com/3n7afy3

To be able to put this show on is a pleasure and to surround it with such good youthfull and fresh talent gives you a tingle!

To be joining Allie will be

Thomas J Speight

Chi Limperoj

One more special act to be confirmed later this week.

13th July - Oporto Leeds

Forest of Beards x

Aireys Quest

Our good Friend Sam Airey is on a mission to get to Green Man, but needs everyones help.

We would love it if everyone could give him a sneeky vote. It takes two seconds and all you need is facebook and your mouse. Click this link here to vote - http://fb.me/13HTFXAwJ

Below is his Green Man selected track. Its a beaut !

The First Forest of Beards show!

Forest Of Beards is extremely happy to present the ever different and elegent pop, 
Sketches.

Some of their stuff is urgent, groovy indie, some of it is rolling, big, tuneful but angry music, and some of it, creeping, atmospheric, almost soundscapey emotional indie. The singer's voice is really strong and has a lush tendency to go all high halfway through word, which makes something drop in my gut when I listen.'
Marsha Shandur, XFM London

http://www.myspace.com/sketchesband
 
The Rainband

Nominated 2010 Band of the Year by The Natter magazine, the Manchester four-piece are already gearing up for the release date of their debut EP and can boast a sell-out UK promo tour, including what will be victorious homecomings at Manchester Academy on March 11 and The Ruby Lounge on April 22.

After supporting Badly Drawn Boy and The Fall, the lads were signed to Manchester’s independent label, Affinity Records.

The band’s influences run deep, taking listeners on a journey inspired by acts such as Joy Division through to The Doves. They are currently writing and recording their first album & have a rack of major dates for 2011.

http://www.therainband.co.uk
 
Hey Sholay

'It’s raining in Sheffield – manholes splutter up yesterday’s throwaways, spray-spitting black umbrellas convulse in the wind like fevered crows as the streets fill with the commuting hoards, all wincing their way to work through the wind and torrents with their one dry eye on the prize...
But above these busy passageways glows a lit window. And through the haze of ever-moving warm colours, the light spells out five moving figures. These five individuals make up the collective Hey Sholay. Having met in varied musical avenues, a Tuesday night cult ceremony, and all being of like-mindedness - they formed to write new folklaws - with the only goals of nurturing creativity and enjoyment. What emerges from this room has a firm nod towards past styles of strumming wire to beating skins – as this common ground is the way they were raised. However, their hands remain tightly cupped, as they peek between knuckles into something so delicate and fluttering in their palms – something new to them and perhaps even the outside world.
Now the overwhelming urge to share themselves is setting cracks in the window above the street – the soft murmur of music is creeping through the split glass – and the most acute of hearing are edging a glance towards the flickering lights…
But for now – the rain goes on, as does the music. And neither show signs of letting up until they can all afford timeshare somewhere where the paving doesn’t splutter at your ankles…'

http://www.myspace.com/heysholay
 
Tom Brookes

A man and his guitar. This ones deep.

http://www.myspace.com/tombrookesuk


When - Wednesday 29th June
Time - 8pm
Fee - FREE.FREE.FREE
Where - Oporto, Call Lane - Leeds
Also feat - Yonderboy dj set/ Dead young dj set // Forest of Beards dj set//

Bonjour

Bonjour.


As you can see Forest of Beards is new to blogspot and its taken a good while to get as far as writing this part, but where going to give it ago. With a few shows to announce, and a few cheeky live sets from bands we thought its about time to join the blog world! We hope this provides a bit of niceness on your hangover days.


Will be announcing some shows in the next week which will start this all off.

Forest.