Messed!Up
When I wrote to my friend about which bands to see on the Friday of Way Out West, it felt like we had travelled back in time. Yo La Tengo. The Soundtrack of our Lives, and Blur. One can make fun of that, but that are still three very different bands, despite mainly being guitar acts, with long and impressive careers behind them.
It was clear that it was way more people on the Friday than the Thursday, making the forest among the most crowded times I´ve ever experienced. I took a walk around the area called Dungen, a lovely area around a pond with more high-end wine stuff (that’s what it´s called, right?) and a stage for DJ-acts, and it was people everywhere. Great to see, but actually a bit claustrophobic as there were no places to just take a breather this year. But, that´s a small complaint in the scheme of things, and great to see that people continue to come to festivals.
Yo La Tengo was then the first band for me, in a modestly crowded Linné-stage. The New Jersey-band formed for almost 40 years ago, and still tour like crazy and seem to enjoy it. They kindof just do their thing, as they come out, start playing, guitarist Ira Kaplan shreds and makes noise and then goes into a beat for ten minutes. It´s a great start of the day, and to see legends like that was awesome. They released a new album, This Stupid World, this year and played a few songs from that. Most reactions were for songs from their biggest record, I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One, like Stockholm Syndrome and Sugarcube. Then after an hour, they just stopped, thanked and walked of stage. Excellent show!
We saw a few songs of Arlo Parks show. The British artist have had a quick rising to success, releasing her first LP in 2021, with a hybrid of pop, r’n’b and indie, and it was one of the most relaxing and lovely shows of the day. The sun finally came out, clear blue skies and a genuine, nice vibe from her and the band. It was a great choice putting her on one of the larger outdoor stages, as the crowd perhaps was not the largest, but it was a great fit compared to the indoor stage.
One of the biggest surprises was Australian Amyl and the Sniffers. I had heard rumors about them, and especially the energetic singer Amy Taylor. It was basically full throttle from the get-go, with her dancing, screaming, moving around like crazy. The tent was the perfect spot, generating one of the largest mosh pits of the weekend.
Every mullet in the larger Gothenburg region seemed to have found their way to the show and we finally saw some crowd surfing. A few years ago, most stages at wow had barricades separating the audience for safety measures, but it´s a great thing that organizers have taken a step back in this aspect. It´s seldom so risky that it is necessary, and at a show like that, it was good that the audience can get rowdy and go berserk. I´m a little concerned about the physical state of the kids though. Many only managed a few songs, before moving out from the pit, totally exhausted. More interval training before the next shows, kids!
We basically got served all the hits we wanted, from Instant Repeater 99 to Sister Surround. That record, Behind the Music, came out in 2001, as I was in my prime indie phase and it hit pretty hard, and I got reminded of that when they played those songs.
Still, the show was not without flaws. It was clear that they had not played as much as before with several hiccups and smaller kinks that would not be there in normal cases. It might even have been some nerves involved, but at the same time, it’s such a competent band with individual musicians that are excellent and big personalities. It´s easy to compare with Broder Daniel in that way, as there are almost none of them that is just an anonymous dude. Especially Ebbot is an excellent front person of course. Man, what a band. Let’s hope for a big tour now. My bet is that when I’m done writing this sentence, it has been announced.
The rest of the night I passed by and saw a few songs Les Big Byrd play their kraut. The crowd screaming along with Two man gang (“alla andra kan draaaaa åt hääälvetääääää”) was probably the most beautiful moment of the day. A friend said that they have written the most lovely love song (Two man gang) and the saddest (“Vi Borde Prata Men Det Är För Sent”), and it´s kind of true. Jocke Åhlund is really one of the best rock stars in Sweden, that be both kind of cocky, Stockholmy, but sensitive and to the point in those moments.
Blur. What to say. They are just great. Right? I saw them at Primavera, but it felt much shakier then to be honest. This time, it was more focused from the start, and it seemed like they really enjoyed themselves. They opened with The Ballad from the latest release, with bassist Alex James sitting in a chair, smoking while the others played.
It was heavy on the latest album in the beginning, and I enjoyed it, but it was clear that people around hadn’t listed that much to it and mainly waited for the hits. And boy, they came soon. I loved 13 when it came, and Bettlebum will always be one of my favorites song of theirs. It sounded great.
I moved back from the packed front rows, just in time for a hit cavalcade. I love Coffee and TV, but to my surprise it seemed not be one of the songs people know, at least not those around me, which is pretty shocking given that it was quite a hit back then. But they knew Parklife and Country House, that’s a given.
Then it was this damn Stay Out West again. As a lot of people, I left early in order to get to Musikens hus. I could hear Tender in the distance, but my focus was set on seeing High Vis. But before that, Special Interest played. I had no idea what to expect, but it sure as well was not that.
Two of the members US-quartet (but only three were on stage yesterday) just walked on stage, pressed play, and then singer Alli Logout came out screaming. It was like performance art, screaming for the speakers to get louder. “LOUDER!!! LOOOOUUUDEEEER!!!!”. Then she declared that “We have a decibel deficiency problem in Sweden”.
It was a lovely, weird, vitamin injection, to say the least. It was much harder than on record, and it worked perfectly.
Then High Vis. It was great to see them at this small club, but it was one of those bands that should have performed in the forest, but I´m happy to have seen them like this. The London band have made a name for themselves rather fast, especially for their live shows, and a lot of people suggested to see them this weekend, but most people didn’t.
It´s an interesting blend of punk, britpop anthemic songs, and California punk. It´s hard, but not hardcore, and sometimes almost Blink 182, but definitely in a good way. The crowd got totally crazy.
A few dudes got on stage, and stage dived, and one of them jumping straight into the floor, no one catching. It was beautiful.
Trauma Bonds was one of the peak moments of the show. Graham Sayle is really an excellent singer and front man, putting a lot of emotions behind every word. Those kind of bands always seem to connect well with the audience, being grateful for people being there and knowing the songs.
This was probably the best show of the festival so far. Totally ecstatic!
