Straying (quite far) from our usual haunts, we headed to Lincoln for a jam-packed day of music as 2Q festival took over the historic city – think Tenement Trail and Stag & Dagger, but with a train crossing and less Tennent's. Having been going for a few years, regularly up for a multitude of awards, and of course an impressive line-up, expectations were high.
Arriving slightly later than planned, we grabbed our wristbands from the student union (it’s been a while) and headed straight to the Lincoln Drill Centre for our first act Emily Burns. We’ve been itching to see Emily for a while now and thankfully she did not disappoint. Normally accompanied with a keyboard player, Emily took to the stage with just an acoustic guitar and a couple of pedals used for voice and drums loops.
Straight from the first chord her charm won over the audience with tales of a failing love life, most notably Bitch and Friends Don’t Kiss Friends (unless you’re from Lincoln, it turns out). The all-seated venue started to fill with each passing song, so when we reached our finale Girlfriend At The Time we managed some audience participation as the crowd sang back the main chorus line. Fans of Zoe Graham should check out Emily Burns, with their equally impressive pedal skills and a pitch-perfect voice.
With no time to waste we headed straight for Home/Loft for fellow Scot’s LUCIA, who were playing early before darting up to Newcastle for another tour date. This perhaps explained their set time and venue size as I would’ve expected a bigger stage for a band who’ve had such a successful year, especially north of the border, not to mention the SXSW appearance lined up in 2019.
Regardless, LUCIA put on a typically excellent set with their recently released Cheap Talk EP getting a full airing as well as the menacing Melted-Ice Cream, which involved Lucia Fontaine ditching the guitar and intensely mingling with the Lincoln crowd. Such stage presence matched with some of catchiest songs of the year prove that LUCIA have the potential to make it. This won’t be the last we see of LUCIA this year, we’ll be catching them again at Baby Strange’s Christmas bash in Glasgow.
Now for a quick dash downstairs as rather conveniently, Sheffield’s new favourite sons SHEAFS were just starting - It was packed, but still we managed to weave our way in to the action. Having seen the boys before we knew what to expect, a hefty dose of rock ‘n’ roll with a stage diving front man. Well, we got the lot.
Rattling through songs like Shock Machine and Mind Pollution, they had the crowd in the palm of their hands, which is something front man Lawrence excels at, channeling his inner Mick Jagger. Strutting about on amps, on drums and of course the final stage dive during their biggest track This Is Not A Protest.
I doff my snap-back to emerging bands who can hook a crowd, despite it being filled with newcomers, by the end of the set everyone was getting involved. They’ve just kicked-off a UK wide tour so keep an eye out for a date near you and get down to a show, you won’t regret it!
Time for a pit stop, we dived into a local bar grabbed a bite and plotted the rest of the day. Gutted by earlier misses (The Scruff, Swimming Girls) we were ready to catch all we could in the remaining hours, including Beans on Toast, and it’s at this point that I’d love to write about the wit and dry humour of Jay McAllister as he muses about social, political and personal observations. Alas, due to a few pints and a difficult to read timetable (most likely the pints), yours truly messed up the times by 30 mins*. With no room to get in, we moved on. Not my finest moment, as the map was handed over.
Onwards and upwards, we went back to Home/Loft and sipped on a hooch while waiting for Yorkshire’s King No-One to take to the stage. Knowing little about the band, but read good things, I was intrigued to see what the fuss was about.
Despite challenged with a lackluster crowd and far from ideal sound, they impressed with their own brand of indie-pop. Like Sheafs earlier, King No-One also possess a striking and engaging front man, in the shape of Zack Lount. Reminiscent of Matt Healy in parts, his powerful and varied vocal performance during tracks like Out of My Mind and Alcatraz demanded attention as he climbed over the stage. The band's ethos is admirable, that no-one is King and everyone is equal, combining this with their whole-hearted and sometimes deeply personal lyrics, it's easy to see how their fanbase has grown.
While everyone else left for the Engine Shed to see Slow Readers Club (who I heard were exceptional), I headed solo to see The Blinders at Liquor. With much hype, justified in my opinion, the venue was packed to see one of the breakthrough bands of the year. We were welcomed into Columbia (the alternative world their debut album revolves around) with a bang as big hitters Brave New World and L’Etat C’est Moi were rolled out within the first 10 mins.
Dressed in black, with the customary black eye paint, the 3-piece have the crowd bouncing. Early on it's instantly noticeable that The Blinders appeal to a vast mix of ages, as some guys nearing 60 had their bifocals held aloft while getting stuck in. They went on to play Hate Song and whip up a frenzy during Brutus as lead-singer Tommy Haywood's onstage persona Jonny Dream, played in amongst their sweat-drenched followers.
To top off a great day were Public Service Broadcasting, who delighted the sizable crowd at the Uni’s Engine Shed with their carefully crafted live show of archived footage, which now includes the Titanic.
Having released their latest EP White Star Liner the previous week, focussing on the Titanic from shipyard to voyage, they used the opportunity and treated us with this new material. Playing favourites like Gagarin, Go! and Progress kept the crowd on-side, but it was The Other Side which, as usual, stole the show. With the suspense building up, the tangible sense of doubt coming from Houston control audio, and that moment of silence all coming together for a joyful finale. It gets me every time. They go on to finish with the familiar Everest, an epic track fitting to close any show. By the end of the day it feels like we’ve climbed it.
Lincoln city centre seemed to be buzzing and notwithstanding the disappointment of Alligator, Sophie & the Giants and Honeyblood whom all dropped out through illness, it was another successful day of live music where emerging and established bands got to show off their stuff.
*we did however catch Beans on Toast during his Edinburgh festival run, which was delightful and somewhat eased the pain of today
Words: David Campbell
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