Leicester Handmade Festival 29/30 April 2017

[PontiacB]

First annoucement just gone up for this, BSP amongst them:

http://handmadefestival.co.uk/

It's at the Academy, but don't be too put off by that as I went last year and it is organised by a group of local Leicester promoters and managed to maintain an independent feel. If it's like last year, and I imagine it will be, it had a real ale/cider bar and some independent local food stalls outside. Last year was a 3/4 stage job with main stage being Academy 2 (also used Scholar, The Cave and a small acoustic/comedy stage). Detals of which rooms they are using and number of stages etc will no doubt be announced closer to the time, but one major change this year they've cut it down from 3 days to 2 days.

[Blackout]

Really wanted to go last year, was a storming line-up, but being the same weekend as the regular Live At Leeds / Sounds From The Other City mayhem tends to rule it out. Hope BSP are the Saturday, cos LAL's gone pretty shite these days and I was actually considering sacking it anyway but missing SFTOC would hurt. *crosses everything*

[pomfob]

Harumph. As I maintain a bit of (adopted) local pride, I'm already booked up for Live At Leeds (headliners have always been shit; it's the undercard that matters). Also bought a SFTOC 2017 ticket when they went on sale because it's ace.

Lads (and lass!) here's an idea - why not be the big opening band for Live At Leeds, then hightail down the motorway to headline in Leicester?

[pomfob]

And of course, if they ever wanted to up their weird-beard credentials, playing SFTOC would be an excellent way to do it...

[Blackout]

The problem with Leicester is how much of a fucking pain in the arse it is to get to from anywhere else, especially given that it's basically in the middle of the country. It's going to have to be either/or (for whichever day they're doing). So I still hope it's Saturday - I agree LAL is about the undercard, but it's got quite expensive having to subsidise all the people with shit music taste, I certainly don't feel I missed much last year by only staying until Schweine/Eagulls then buggering off to Hebden for the 65daysofstatic gig I'd already had tickets for, but it was quite a costly indulgence.

[Blackout]

Hello person from or close to the band who has recently started posting info and stuff here, any advance on which day, please?

[Mr Bod]

Hope they play the Saturday, if they do i can get back to me brothers out side Derby via a pint as trains run late .. but would need them to do day tickets again (they do then do they thin so ?) but still on the doable pile ..

[Blackout]

As advised in the latest Newsboost (albeit in really tiny letters) they're on the Sunday at this do.

That'll be me not going then. In common with the Handmade performances of previous years I have not attended by at least two of my other favourite bands and lots of others I like. Wish they'd do it another weekend.

[MansunsOnlyBSPFan]

Any idea what sort of set they will play? Just wondering if its worth travelling up from the land of concrete cows and roundabouts. There are some good deals on hotels, £29.50 for a Premier Inn, and its bank holiday the next day....

[Salian]

Is anyone else going?

I am, and looking at the schedule I'm not sure it was worth it.

Short set, but I'm hoping Honeyblood and Happyness provide some additional highlights, but I reckon I'll now drive and cancel the notascheapasIhoped cheap lodgings. Not sticking around for Frightened Rabbit, do not get them at all.

[pomfob]

Is anyone else going?

I am, and looking at the schedule I'm not sure it was worth it.

Short set, but I'm hoping Honeyblood and Happyness provide some additional highlights, but I reckon I'll now drive and cancel the notascheapasIhoped cheap lodgings. Not sticking around for Frightened Rabbit, do not get them at all.

No I'm not...and I was going to add 'sadly', but then I looked at the line up. Ouchie. There's some really good stuff over the weekend, but Sunday looks like pretty thin gruel. Happyness are fantastic, can take or leave Honeyblood, and FR are...well, they've one great song. And they're miserable Scots with guitars, normally a massive tick in this neck of the woods (see also We Were Promised Jetpacks and The Twilight Sad). FR though...seen them once, have a couple of LPs...just that one song though. Everything else, bit meh. Didn't realise they were quite so popular. Maybe stop off in Nottingham on the way down for the Sea Power instore gig?

[Blackout]

Frightened Rabbit have a couple of decent songs, and having seen them at festivals a couple of times they are a much better and more powerful live experience than their records would indicate, but to be honest in the grand scheme of big sounding Scottish indie rock they're a second-string We Were Promised Jetpacks.... and Jetpacks are a second-string Twilight Sad. Which is pretty much what Pomfob said, though I had typed this before I read it :) (and of course they're popular. Watered down versions of good things always are more popular than the good things themselves. One word. Editorzzzz.)

Glad I stuck with my home festival (geographically and indeed musically) this weekend though. Pretty weak overall from Handmade, they're usually far better than that, whilst I've barely looked at our (Sounds From The Other City) line-up yet and have already spotted at least 5 tough-decision clashes before I even look into any of the stuff I don't know on there or even look properly at the stuff I do. I'm sure British Sea Power will be fantastic, of course they will, but that whole one-band-superfan-at-the-expense-of-everything-else thing isn't for me these days (been there, done that, missed too many other things, not least SFTOC itself once to watch BSP play a gig in a church in Leeds that I don't think anyone would class as one of their best; the only year I have missed, and this will not happen again).

[PontiacB]

It was a really good do over the three days. There were a few duff bands and Sunday afternoon early doors wasn't for me, but was a good chance to catch up with people who I only see occasionally and who always make the effort for handmade.

BSP's set took a while to get going and when it did get going seemed to be over just when the crowd got into it, so perhaps they should have thrown in a 'hit' earlier on in a short festival set. Skua sounded brilliant.

Se list was
Bad Bohemian
International Spacestation
Ivy Lee
What You Do
Praise For Whatever
Lucifer
Waving Flags
Carrion
Skua

People I spoke to after who weren't BSP fans were generally well impressed though and some top bear action - apologies to whoever was bi-polar as my wife didn't want to let go of you.

Idles stole the show for most people, Cabbage were excellent if a little less 'interactive' than normal for obvious reasons. Shame, Life, Meat Wave, Fazerdaze and Kagoule also excellent sets, so for £25 for the weekend (early bird) was good value.