Long time no see, hope your summer's been good so far. This is summer, right? Something about the constant running theme of blue-sky-grey-sky-sun-rain-sun has left Reading and the surrounding area in what seems like perpetual April.
To combat this I've actually been out to gigs to, you know, see them instead of play them. Once the bizarre feeling that i should have been doing something instead of standing and watching had subsided, I finally got to see Death Cab in Brixton last week, and also Bright Eyes at the Albert Hall, plus i caught Tom Williams and the Boat for the first time in too long at Reading's Outside:Inside festival last weekend on a day when the sun actually came out like it was still 2010.
Also, I know it's summer because Seattle's premier online-and-in-the-airs radio station KEXP.org had their summer pledge drive in June, which is a cause I'm always 10002% keen to support. This year they broadcast live from Sasquatch festival in Washington at the end of May, taking in sets from Guided By Voices, Death Cab For Cutie, The Decemberists, Modest Mouse, Wilco, Flaming Lips and more, and if those names mean anything to you, you can still stream the gigs from their archives here. Go crazy!
and this weekend.. 2000Trees!
Indeed, it must have been summer at some point, because everyone's shedding their Glastonbury mudpacks and this weekend is the fantastic2000Trees festival out near Cheltenham, and I couldn't be more excited. For those of you going, you can find me on the Greenhouse stage midway through Friday (15th) and you can also expect storming sets across the weekend from the incredible Dive Dive, Oxygen Thief, Jim Lockey and more, including Exit Ten and Malefice representing the Reading metal scene. My personal highlight this year will be if it doesn't rain.. I don't think I've been to a dry Trees yet.
.. and then a festival warmdown in Reading
Whilst I'd love to be joining the Trees crew all weekend, I have to jet back to Reading on Saturday for a festival warmdown show. There just wasn't enough time for a festival warm-up, as it turns out. So, you can find me at Rising Sun Arts Centre in Reading alongside Aubrey Dye and Dylan Louise this Saturday 16th.
on tour from September!
These are likely to be my only shows of the summer, but I'll be back out on tour in September for a jaunt around the country. So, if you have a night near you that you'd like to see me at, feel free to drop me a line and point me in that direction. Obviously i can't cover everywhere, but i'm hoping to cover as much ground as possible by December. It's sadly not looking likely that i'll be getting to Scotland, but the rest of the country is fair game, and it should be a great end to what has thus far been a great 2011. I'm trying to drag along plenty of friends of mine, including Oxygen Thief, Quiet Quiet Band and more.
Stay well!
Ben
