Riffed

Glastonbury 2014 came to an end yesterday with Kasabian on the Pyramid stage. The rain kept at bay and Sunday was a thoroughly enjoyable day of music on Worthy Farm. Besides Kasabian, there were plenty of other highlights. Such as, White Lies, Bomaby Bicycle Club, Dolly Parton, The Black Keys, James Blake and London Grammar to name but a few.

Sunday's highlights begun with White Lies on the Other Stage. Harry Mcveigh and the band performed a storming set, with tracks from their latest album 'Big TV'. Bombay Bicycle Club followed, after playing a rammed secret set in the BBC Introducing tent the previous day,  they didn't let down on the big stage. Collaborations with Lucy Rose and Rae Morris topped off a brilliant set. "Good Golly It's Dolly!" the headline of the Glastonbury Press on Sunday, of course, Dolly Parton was playing! Dolly attracted the biggest crowd recorded at this years festival, of whom were all in chorus with the cowgirl during her brillantly lively and charismatic set. Following Dolly on the Pyramid was fellow yanks The Black Keys, Dan and Patrick performed tracks from their latest album 'Turn Blue' which went down a treat. Some old classics were thrown in, such as 'Gold On The Ceiling', which got everyone jumping as if there were gold on the ceiling. Glastonbury 2014 was drawing to a close, and although over on the Pyramid, Kasabian were bringing the festival to a close in some fashion, James Blake was headlining the Park Stage. Blake performed a fantastic set to those of whom chose to watch him over the official headliners. London Grammar were in the same situation as Blake, clashing with the official headliners. But likewise with Blake, those of whom chose to watch Hannah Reid and the band were not displeased. A brilliant live act which performed a spotless set. 

Next up, Kasabian. They claimed to have earned their spot as headliners. But did their performance back this bold statement up?

The setlist: 

1 Bumblebeee

2 Shoot The Runner

3 Underdog

4 Where Did All The Love Go?

5 Days Are Forgotten

6 Eez-eh

7 Processed Beats 

8 I.D.

9 Doberman

10 Take Aim

11 Clubfoot

12 Treat

13 Re-wired

14 Empire

15 Fire

- - - - - Encore - - - - -

16 Switchblade Smiles

17 Vlad the Impaler (Noel Fielding Collaboration)

18 L.S.F

Kasabian most certainly backed up their bold statement. An absolutely brilliant performance from Tom, Serge and co. 10 years on from their first appearence at Glastonbury, they well and truly closed the festival in style. Bumblebeee, Underdog, Eez-eh, Clubfoot, Re-wired, Empire, Fire, Switchblade Smiles, Vlad the Impaler and L.S.F all being the highlights. Suggesting Kasabian's set was near outstanding. Extremely worthy headliners on Worthy Farm. 

Glastonbury 2014 - Overview

Despite all the talk of this years Glastonbury being set to be a flop. It has been one of the greatest. A festival for all. Something for everyone, first Arcade Fire, then Metallica and to end, Kasabian. 3 brilliant headliners in their own right. There were also plenty of other highlights and brilliant acts performing throughout the weekend. A list too long of which to recall. But, Glastonbury 2014 has been one we will remember for a long long time. 

RIFFED x

Saturday at Glastonbury, the day controversal headliners Metallica performed on the Pyramid. They may have pleased those of whom watched, but the contigent of which watched were a small minority of the 170,000+ on Worthy Farm. Other highlights from day two consisted of Royal Blood, Wolf Alice, Jagwar Ma, Bombay Bicycle Club, MGMT, Pixies, Imagine Dragons, Manic Street Preachers, Jack White and Jake Bugg. 

Saturday's highlights begun with powerful Brighton duo Royal Blood. Mike and Ben played a huge set on the John Peel Stage, performing tracks from their forthcoming debut album 'Royal Blood', which we cannot wait for. The Pyramid is beckoning... Next up were Wolf Alice, fronted by Ellie Rowsell, the indie quartet never fail to please. Jagwar Ma played the Park Stage on Saturday afternoon, the electric psychedelic groove they possess was on show in a storming set from the Aussies. Bombay Bicycle Club also played on Saturday, despite them not appearing on the bill until Sunday, the band played a secret set in a rammed BBC Introducing tent, people even begun to lift the tent up to see what was going on. MGMT were the headliners on the John Peel Stage on Saturday and the pyschedelic pair from America performed a mesmerising set. Highlights been their classics 'Kids', 'Electric Feel' and also 'Time to Pretend'. Pixies were up next on the Other Stage, after just releasing 'Indie Cindy', their first album since 1991, the Massachusetts rockers are back. Likewise with the Kaiser Cheifs yesterday, there were a strange nostalgia as the crowd were a mixed bag. The 1980's contigent were present, but the 2014 contigent were also present, but each equally enjoyed a brilliant set from the Pixies. Modern day American rockers Imagine Dragons were another highlight from Saturday at Glastonbury, performing tracks from their debut album 'Night Visions', fronted by Dan Reynolds, Imagine Dragons are a brilliant live act and 25,000 spectators at the Other Stage witnessed this. Everyone was On Top Of The World, if you'd pardon the pun. Manic Street Preachers were back and on the Other Stage yesterday evening and everyone was inevitably going manic. James, Nicky and Sean didn't fail to please. But would they ever? As we were edging forever closer to Metallica, after another reasonably wet day on Worthy Farm, Jack White performed tracks from his latest album 'Lazerretto' on the Pyramid. The mystical character wowed the crowd with his dark magic and also claimed to have brought the sun that appeared midway through his set along with him. Jake Bugg was next, headlining the Other Stage, clashing with Pyramid headliners Metallica. But it appears the singer/songwriter stole the show on Saturday. Attracting a bigger crowd than the official headliners must be some proud moment for Bugg, but it's no wonder as to why Jake attracted a much bigger crowd. He well and truly proved he can pull off being plugged.

The Pyramid was next. The biggest talking point of the whole festival was next. Metallica was next. 

The setlst: 

1 Creeping Death

2 For Whom the Bell Tolls

3 Wherever I May Roam

4 Sad but True

5 Fade to Black

6 Cyanide

7 The Unforgiven

8 The Memory Remains

9 One

10 Master of Puppets

11 Nothing Else Matters (Preceded by Welcome Home (… more)

12 Enter Sandman

- - - Encore - - -

13 Whiskey in the Jar (Lena Bourne Fish cover)

14 Seek & Destroy (The Frayed Ends of Sanity outro jam)

Were they worthy headliners? Or were they at the wrong festival? One thing's for sure, they were certainly loud. Pre-performance, a bear hunting parody was the key talking point. A film appeared on the screen, four bears holding rifles shot some hunters. The bear masks were removed to reveal the members of Metallica. The screen then displayed a message: "Are you ready for Glastallica?', and the band appeared on stage. This clearly being an answer to the critics who started a petition to remove the band from the bill when lead singer James Hetfield previously appeared in a bear hunting documentary. But did Metallica answer the critics with their performance? Well, only a small minority of the 170,000+ witnessed their set. Maybe that answers the question. But, they did what they did best and brilliantly. A very powerful performance matched by a very powerful stage prescence. But, you either love them or you hate them. Should they have been headliners? That's for you to decide. 

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RIFFED x

Glastonbury kicked off yesterday and with a bang. Performances from Kaiser Chiefs, War on Drugs Blondie, Jungle, Drenge, Temples, Chvrches, Haim, Foster The People, Spector, Paolo Nutini, Metronomy, Arcade Fire being the highlights on a very wet opening day on Worthy Farm.

Kaiser Chiefs opened the festival performing a not so secret set on the Other Sage to a rather contrasting crowd. There were the 2004 contigent, from the days of 'I Predict a Riot' and the 'Education, Education, Education & War' continget of fans of 'The Voice'. A strange nostalgia. The War on Drugs followed on the Pyramid. The powerful bunch hailing from Phildelphia braved the rain to showcase their careless and spellbounding riffs from their latest album 'Lost In The Dream' to the everpresent Pilton crowd. Blondie and Jungle were up next. Blondie attracting your more veteran Glasto goer whereas Jungle showcased their pyschedelia to much more youthful spectators. Each pleased. The John Peel stage didn't let down on Friday. Following Jungle upcame Drenge and Temples. Sheffield duo Drenge undoubtedly caused a mosh or two. Especially during 'Bloodsports', they went down a storm. Following in the footsteps of Jungle, Temples played out a brilliant pyschedlic fuelled set. Performing tracks from their debut album 'Sun Structures', Temples shined. Next up were Scottish trio Chvrches, the electro pop band never fail to please. 'Recover' being a key highlight. As the day grew older, the acts grew bigger and next up were American triplets the Haim sisters on the Other Stage. Performing their debut album 'Days Are Gone', Haim went down a treat and Este's 'bass face' didn't let down on the big stage. Fellow Yanks Foster The People followed on the Other, becoming a popular band amongst British festival goers, they seem to play everywhere. But play they do, a spotless set. Following this though rain stopped play for an hour or so. A huge electrical storm played it's set over Worthy Farm, lights were out, stages were shut, BBC coverage was powered down and the festival was at a standstill. Rudimental were mid-set when the heavens opened and were forced to finish early. A Glastonbury official soon appeared on site and was qouted as saying 'It's looking iffy'. But an hour later we was all go again! Albeit a bit behind schedule. Spector followed the rain and created a storm of their own on the William's Greens Stage. '#enjoyitwhileitglasts' they tweeted, pre performance of the hits from their debut album 'Enjoy It While It Lasts' and also a couple new ones from their forthcoming second album we are all eagerly anticipating. The night beckoned and Paolo Nutini performed The Other Stage pre-Arcade Fire. Tracks from the Scott's latest album 'Caustic Love' were on show. What a voice that man has on him. A truly brilliant set. Clashing with the headliners next were Metronomy, which some would call Britain's very own Arcade Fire. After playing a secret set the previous night, many chose the option to see the headliners on the Pyramid. But this didn't affect Metronomy's set.

The Pyramid was next. The Arcade Fire of Montreal, Canada was next. Arcade Fire were set to bring their worldwide carnival to Glastonbury and the majority of Worthy Farm's 170,000+ campers crammed infront of the Pyramid to witness the greatest live band in the world.

The setlist: 

1 Reflektor (extended intro)

2 Flashbulb Eyes

3 Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)

4 Rebellion (Lies)

5 Joan of Arc

6 The Suburbs

7 Ready to Start

8 Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)

9 We Exist

10 Keep the Car Running (w/ 'My Body Is a Cage' acapella intro)

11 No Cars Go

12 Haïti

13 Afterlife

14 It's Never Over (Oh Orpheus)

15 Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) ('Damian Taylor Remix' intro)

- - - Bobbleheads (Common People/Bitter Sweet Symphony/Wonderwall) - - - 

16 Normal Person

17 Here Comes the Night Time

18 Wake Up

Arcade Fire were qouted as saying post performance that Glastonbury was the 'highhest point of our career'. It's no wonder as to why. Each song was perfectly mastered that It's hard to pick a highlight from their set. Although renditions of 'Ready To Start', 'No Cars Go' and inevitably 'Wake Up' stole the show. The whole of Glastonbury was in chorus with Win Butler during Wake Up. "Oooooh Oh Oooooh Oh Oh Oh Oooooh Oh Oooooh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oooooh Oh Oooooh Oh Oh" echoed around Worthy Farm. It was enough to send shivers down your spine. Of course Arcade Fire will have their critics, as they always do. For some reason or another of which we don't quite understand. They're truly the greatest live band in the world and after last night they've done that tag justice. Anyone who dislikes Arcade Fire therefore cannot like music at all. They're a true spectacle. 

Possibly the greatest headlining performances Glastonbury has ever seen? 

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RIFFED x

The 1975, Metronomy, Kate Tempest and East India Youth opened this years Glastonbury festival on the Williams Greens stage last night. Although the official start to the festival isn't till tomorrow, all revelaed themselves as members of Glasto's highly anticipated secret sets crew. Unfortunate news become apparent this morning though of The 1975 halting their set due to having a bottle thrown at them from the crowd. But Metronomy were the perfect remedy for all who'd travelled to Worthy Farm, possessing the groovy and funky vestival vibe that all would have be craving. 

What secrets do Michael and Emily Eavis have in store for us next? Kaiser Chiefs have confirmed they'll be playing a secret set tomorrow morning on the Other Stage. But other names being thrown about this morning consist of The Cribs, Peace, Noel Gallaghers High Flying Birds, Pulp Mumford and Sons, Skrillex, The Libertines, Prince and even Oasis. We don't quite think Oasis will be there, but wouldn't that be something. 

Keep up to date with Glastonbury 2014 right here on: http://riffed.webs.com/

And on our Twitter and Facebook feeds: https://twitter.com/riffedonline and https://www.facebook.com/riffedonline ;

RIFFED x

Former Tribes frontman Johnny Lloyd has followed up the release of 'Pilgrims' and 'Dead Beat'  with 'Nowhere To Go' and 'Tomorrow', in turn releasing the whole of his debut EP, 'Pilgrims', this week. 

Pilgrims and Dead Beat had already set the tone for Johnny's solo debut to be a hit, and Nowhere To Go and Tomorrow really conclude this. Both possess the nostalgia and beautiful rawness found within the previous releases, the blunt and overtoned guitaring and the also overtoned voice, the kind of which you'd expect to hear in an American bar on a Friday night make Johnny Lloyd's 'Pilgrims' EP that bit unique.

RIFFED's rating: 9/10

Johnny has recently been touring with The Kooks around Europe, hopefully a tour of the UK is next on the list?

Stream Johnny Lloyd's debut solo EP 'Pilgrims' here: https://soundcloud.com/johnnylloydmusic

RIFFED x

The Courteeners are back on the scene after the announcment of their 4th studio album 'Concrete Love' this week. To coincide with this announcment Liam Fray and the lads decided to drop new single 'Summer', from their forthcoming album. As we said when brought the news to you off Concrete Love...

"An upbeat track with the potential to be a summer anthem, therefore doing it's name some justice. A very catchy number, different to a usual Courteeners tune but not one of which has been frowned upon. Whilst listening to Summer you can picture a crowd of people waving their arms in sync underneath the sun with a can in hand and singing along in chorus with Liam Fray. Summer is a huge feel good tune and bodes extremely well for Concrete Love." Read more... http://riffed.webs.com/apps/blog/show/42402243-august-18th-set-in-concrete-the-courteeners-announce-concrete-love-and-new-track-summer-

Who's excited for August 18th now?

RIFFED's Rating: 7/10

Pre-order 'Concrete Love' via iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/id890848185

And listen to 'Summer' here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc-IOuwqUN4

RIFFED x

Superfood this week released their new track 'Right On Satellite' via Zane Lowe on Radio 1. The Brum band have recently finished the recording of their debut album and Right On Satellite provides solid evidence that it could be a cracker.

Right On Satellite possesses the vibey-ness Superfood are known for, it begins with a raw guitar solo that sets the trend, an extremely catchy tune, hints of Temples mashed with Peace. The chorus follows the catchy trend, very powerful and upbeat. Right On Satellite as we said offers hints of a Temples and Peace combo which couldn't ever be a bad thing. This catchy number has the potential to be a huge summer track within the indie music scene. It already has plenty of ravers and has made many excited for the release of their debut album. 

Superfood appear to be following in the footsteps of fellow indie bands from Birmingham, Peace, Swim Deep and Jaws to name but a few. But could they be set to top them?

RIFFED's Rating: 7/10

Listen to Right On Satellite here: https://soundcloud.com/superfood/right-on-satellite-1

RIFFED x

Peace this week released their new single 'Money', but is it worth your money?

Purchase Money and all you're getting is a half price Peace. There are glimpses of the Peace from a year ago that we all loved, but this is overshadowed throughout via the cheap chorus of 'Money, do you need it, do you eat it, when you're hungry' which is emphisised greatly to the point it becomes extremely tinny, this is followed by the rapping of lead singer Harrison Kossier which clearly implies a change in direction for Peace, but we feel this change in direction has led them down a cul-de-sac of which there's no turning back from, as their debut album 'In Love' also wasn't as impressive as EP's such as Delicious previously implied and if Money is anything to go by, their second album could be set to follow this trend. There are positives within Money, such as the funky tune which occasionally offers that groove that Peace used to forever possess. But, on the whole Money is a huge dissapointment, we at RIFFED are fans of Peace, but like a lot of people wish they'd revert back to the Delicious era, when Peace were the freshest indie revelation, but now seem to be slowly devaluing themselves.

RIFFED's Rating: 3/10

Listen to Money here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-69_ncALA0

Purchase Money via iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/money-single/id848984494?ign-mpt=uo%3D4

RIFFED x

Glastonbury is only 10 days away and we cannot wait here at RIFFED. After much deliberation, we've somehow managed to collate a list of the top 10 artists to see at this years festival. 

• Royal Blood - Brighton rockers Royal Blood have made a huge jump since our editor saw them on their first ever tour. Within 10 months they've gone from free gigs with 20 or so people rolling up, to supporting the Arctic Monkeys at Finsbury Park and playing at Glastonbury this year. We expect Royal Blood to storm their set at Worthy Farm and blow the minds of everyone there. Mike and Ben make the sound of 20 men, but we expect them to top that at Glasto this year.
• Paolo Nutini - Following the release of 'Caustic Love' earlier this year, Paolo will be making an appearence at this years festival. The Scott will not let down, Paolo is a fantastic live act and new single 'Scream (Funk My Life Up)' will be a treat to hear for every lucky soul witnessing his set. But expect some timeless classics thrown into his set also.
• Pixies - The Yanks are back and following the release of their latest album 'Indie Cindy', we anticipate Pixies to provide a storming set. Pixies released their first material for almost ten years, in 'Indie Cindy', so they'll be be eager to perform tracks from this as well as some golden oldies also. 
• Wolf Alice - The indie band are forever on the rise, expect them to propell themselves even further post Glastonbury. Ellie Rowsell and the lads have already built up a huge fanbase, but expect this to grow even bigger on Worthy Farm . A great live act who have a huge future awaiting them, a must see.
• London Grammar - Hannah, Dan and Dom are one fantastic live band. The voice of Hannah Reid is one that is completley unmatchable. A treat to witness, playing tracks from their debut album 'If You Wait', expect London Grammar to send shivers down your spine.
• Metronomy - Funk masters Metronomy have recently released their new album 'Love Letters' and have followed this up by earning a slot at Glasto this year. We expect Metronomy's set to be one full of groove and funk that will get everyone in the mood for a jive or two.
• MGMT - The American duo make their return to UK festivals this summer at Glastonbury and we expect them to peform a mesmerising set. Similar to Metronomy, MGMT are known for their groovy and funky style and we anticipate more of the same via classics from Oracular Spectacular, Congratulations and the self titled MGMT.
• Jack White - Former White Stripe Jack White is set to play this years festival on the back of his second solo album titled 'Lazaretto'. The dark and mysterious magic of Jack White is not to be missed. Anyone witnessing is certainly in for a special evening.
• Kasabian - The Leicester lads have recently released their fifth album '48:13', of which we rewarded a 9/10 in our review. Kasabian are going to explode onto the Pyramid, performing huge tracks from past and present. Whether you're watching from home or are lucky enough to be at Worthy Farm, Kasabian will get you jumping up and down without doubt.
• Arcade Fire - One of the greatest live bands ever to grace the Earth. 'The Reflektors' will bring the carnival of their worldwide Reflektor tour to Worthy Farm and we are extremely excited. Arcade Fire will most certainly steal the weekend performing tracks from their msot recent album 'Reflektor' and many previous classics from past albums. Arcade will be a spectacle and a half.

Our editor recently heard one of his favourite bands on the playlist in a Pretty Green store, this band recently split. This sparked us to collate a list of some the greatest bands which no longer exist. 

• Little Night Terrors - Leicester lads, Little Night Terrors are the band our editor heard on the Pretty Green playlist, made up of Dan Holyoak and brothers Andy and James Stone, the Terrors had a huge future ahead of them. Headlining gigs in their hometown as well as across the country, the future was looking bright for Andy, James and Dan. The Terrors played Y Not Festival in the summer of last year, soon after releasing their huge hit 'Young Lion' which propelled them on to the scene, a fantastic catchy tune. Previous releases consist of another huge hit 'Pocket Rocket' and their debut EP 'Withces'. The last action from the Leicester lads proved to be their release of 'Pure' and 'Cherryade', both with a huge groove to them which Little Night Terrors often offered. 'Pure' and 'Cherryade' both recieved plenty of air play on BBC Introducing shows across the country, but the band soon split after this. A huge shame. We can only pray Little Night Terrors put aside their differences or whatever the case may be and reform one day soon. A huge future awaited these lads. Listen to Little Night Terrors - http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE18UEZjCkq4a-Y8EhsVErw
• Oasis - Do they really need explanation? We think everyone on this planet must miss Oasis. Possibly the greatest band to grace the Earth. The Gallagher brothers, Noel and Liam were the frontiers of the splitas they were the band. The hate between the two grew with every passing day and eventually they were tipped over the edge. Millions of people across the world shed millions of tears on this day, one of the greatest bands ever announcing their split really didn't go down too well. Their was light at the end of the tunnel though, albeit dim, with the release of their 'Time Flies' album, packed with Oasis' greatest tunes. An extremely long album as you can imagine. Post split, Liam began his own band named Beady Eye and Noel followed in his footsteps with the arrival of Noel Gallaghers High Flying Birds onto the scene. Both are huge bands, but they will never top the Gallagher brothers when united. Will we ever see Oasis again? Listen to Oasis - http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUDVBtnOQi4c7E8jebpjc9Q
• Tribes - Camden band Tribes announced their split via Facebook and Twitter in November of last year which was meeted by plenty of sad replies. Tribes fronted by Johnny Llyod, consisted of Miguel Demolo, Dan White and Jim Cratchley, the quartet had previous to their split released their second album 'Wish to Scream', which we personally thought was a cracker. But, NME awarded it a harsh 2/10 in their review. Previous to this they released their debut album 'Baby', a huge debut album that really announced Tribes. Followed by the release of the video to the main track of the album 'We Were Children', which feautred the band playing on top of a building in their hometown, giving the impression that Tribes were to become that awesome band everyone loves. And everyone did love Tribes, that is why when their split was announced, one or two tears were shed by many fans. It's not all doom and gloom though, lead singer Johnny has recently begun his solo career and Jim Cratchley has joined up with Dinsoaur Pile-Up, so half of the quarter from Camden are still on the scene. Listen to Tribes - http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQIzSOhu97zai9YwXMQXbYw
  
• The Smiths - Morrissey, Marr, Rourke and Joyce. The Smiths. The hearthrobs of the 80's. The Manchester band went on to own the 80's, releasing plenty of timeless classics and headling festivals worldwide. The magic of Morrissey and Marr grasped the 80's generation, their gloominess is prominent but this didn't turn away many people. Their split in 1987, 5 years after reforming, like many splits, didn't please too many people. But many feel The Smiths reached their peak and were unable to go on to top the highs they reached during their 5 years. Post split Morrissey and Marr both began solo careers, which they're still to this day forseeing and many are enjoying. It's a huge doubt we'll ever see The Smiths peform again. Listen to The Smiths - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzexP58si0w