REVIEW: 2000 Trees Festival 2017 // Thursday.

Photos: Cai Dixon

There’s something magical about the first day of a festival. There’s a ritual that has to be followed, from that first McDonald’s coffee at the crack of dawn to the back-breaking walk to the site, during which you curse everything from the sun to your own inability to pack light. There’s the arguing over which tent poles go where, the inevitable frowning over the instructions, and of course the panic when you realise you’ve forgotten the duct tape / loo roll / all of the above. Then finally, when the camping chairs are out and you’re sitting with that first warm cider in your hand, watching the poor suckers whose turn it is to tackle the hill, it hits you:

You’re finally there.

Kicking off proceedings were English pop-punk darlings ROAM, with frontman Alex Costello apparently trying to take the award for “Most Relentless Hype Man At A UK Festival On A Thursday”. By the second song, he’d already asked (well, told) the crowd to jump around 6 times, and his dedicated audience had no trouble obeying. Having played the festival once already, it’s fair to say the band knew the ropes, and they even pulled out an identical Wonderwall cover to the one they debuted two years ago - which was greeted with the kind of enthusiasm only meme-loving, already tipsy festival-goers can muster.

Meanwhile, it was time for Mallory Knox to take on the fairy lights and flags of the forest stage, with a rather more subdued audience taking to the grass to hear stripped back versions of new offerings and old favourites. There was some argument as to which songs could even work acoustically, which Mikey calmed by reminding people they had a whole other mainstage set to play, but in the end they settled on a setlist that even the pickiest fan couldn’t complain about; Giving It Up and Better Off Without You elicited the kind of cutesy, intimate singalongs that are usually reserved for much smaller bands, and deep cut Oceans gave old fans a treat they don’t normally get to hear live.

On the heavier end of the spectrum, Feed The Rhino seemed determined to prove that the adorably picturesque setting wasn’t going to stop them from delivering a truly brutal set and, after entering to what sounded like dubstep and heavy metal’s unholy offspring, they did exactly that. The self-described “loud as fuck” hardcore act dipped into the full range of their discography, with tracks from 2012’s The Burning Sons slotting in perfectly along side newer, even more ferocious, fare. It wasn’t enough for just the band themselves to get down and dirty though, because it wasn’t long before a challenge went out to the crowd surfers, telling them in no uncertain terms that the band wanted as many of them up on stage as possible before their set came thrashing and kicking to its conclusion.

On a bill filled with up-and-coming and current talent, Young Guns were pretty much the closest thing Thursday had to a legacy act, and their enduring popularity was proven when the Axiom stage was filled to bursting way ahead of time. Things started out pretty quiet, with most people obviously waiting for the emo classic Bones that came halfway through the set, but as the sky got a little darker and the more casual fans started to filter out, things began to hot up pretty quickly. A blistering cover of Foo Fighter’s My Hero was responsible for maybe the biggest dance pit of the night so far, and when the unmistakable opening chords of radio rock anthem I Want Out rolled around, there wasn’t an unused voice in the tent.

Then it was time for the heavy-hitters, with Pulled Apart By Horses taking on almost top billing. The Leeds-based purveyors of alternative indie rock rattled through an effortless set that was low on banter but big on riffs, with a dedication to the people who’d stuck around since 2007/2008 all that was needed to kick things off. It was the groove-fuelled offerings of 2014’s Blood album that really put the crowd through its paces, but the doting audience had definitely done their homework, because even the less than three month old Haze had it’s time to shine in the setlist. All in all, aside from a few moments out to thank the fans, their fellow bands and the festival itself, it was a set entirely centred around awesome hooks and even better harmonies, which proved the perfect recipe to help round off the festival’s first night.

Of course, the night’s headline slot fell to Mallory Knox, who made a triumphant return after last year’s taste of the mainstage. The tent was filled to capacity way in advance, with the echoing roars of “Oh, Jeremy Corbyn” the only thing to keep the massive crowds from getting impatient. When Mikey and the boys finally entered it was to raucous applause and an enthusiasm that only spiralled as the night went on, with crowd surfers and those exhausted by the pits pouring over the barriers with speed that would have bested a less capable security crew.

In between checking on the crowd like a proud but concerned parent, Mikey delivered a set practised to perfection - with old school gems like the brutal Beggars and ever-popular Lighthouse complimented with a politically charged, aching prescient rendition of Savior and a deliciously sleazy Lucky Me that had the whole crowd writhing.

#Review #2000TREESFESTIVAL #2000TREES #MUSICFESTIVAL #LIVEMUSIC #MALLORYKNOX #PULLEDAPARTBYHORSES #ROAM #FEEDTHERHINO