What You Missed At Gathering Festival

The 20^th October saw Gathering Festival take over several of Cowley’s best known venues with an army of trendy students, and a wide-ranging and impressive lineup. Inevitably there was a disproportionate number of Christmas jumpers, beards, circlular glasses and woollen hats, but, the quality and variety of acts for such a small festival was outstanding, and the experience will be fondly remembered next time we’re silently crying to Rihanna in Lola-Lo’s.

Whilst everything on the bill could be lazily categorized as “indie”, the afternoon went from pared-back, mellow electro-folk from Wall (at the newly refurbished Truck Record Store), through a tight and well-polished set from the experienced Hey Sholay, to an explosive half hour from Bristol based The Other Tribe and their unique brand of live performance dance music at the Backroom.

The close proximity of all of the venues and short sets (usually 20-40 minutes) made getting between performances extremely easy, although this frequently meant that just as you managed to settle in to the sound of a new band it was time to leave. Additionally, as it got later the queues for some of the more popular sets became so long that some ticket holders missed out on the big names.

This aside, Gathering certainly exceeded expectations for a £20 a ticket day-long festival. It was a great way to discover some new music and enjoy a Saturday out in Cowley.
[HC, DW]

Here are some very quick reviews of a few of the acts we checked out:

Hey Sholay
A favourite of the day, Hey Sholay played a tight and technically excellent set. Before starting, this 5-piece from Leeds and Sheffield has a pre-set psyche-up huddle to the side of the stage, in a style more usually seen in a rugby team’s dressing room. Indie-pop tunes break down into psychedelic reverberating interludes, sections build up slowly until guitarist, Laurie, goes into a series of exorcism-style whole-body convulsions. Mature songwriting, a strong vocal performance, catchy synth hooks and detailed live arrangements made for the most arresting show of the festival. [HC, SH]

Dry the River
They made a bold move playing to this large crowd by coming down into the crowd for an acoustic song at the end was lovely, but hoards of people talking at the bar made it fall flat. I’m sure for the people right at the front it was incredible, but for everyone else it was kind of disappointing after the sheer power of their stage set. Not many people I spoke to before Gathering knew Dry The River, but I’m sure in a few more months everyone will. [DW]

Lucy Rose
An incredible and interesting live voice – the absolute antithesis to X-Factor divas belting out Whitney Houston night after night. Would it be too far to call her Britain’s Beyonce? She can do no wrong in my eyes. [DW]

The Other Tribe

Tribal fiend: Miles of The Other Tribe

5 of the 6 strong dance collective filled the stage at the second last slot of the night and after an hour-long setup delivered a vibrant set, finishing with their best known single Skirts. Everything you need in a festival performance, their stage presence was impressive, their music innovative and above all what’s not to like about a group of tribal-themed dance music fiends doing their best to “make music that we want to hear and that hopefully everyone else does too”? [HC]

Dan Croll
The smooth vocals of Dan Croll made the sweaty venue feel more like a breezy Welsh mountain-top. Imagine Aaron Taylor-Johnson (of Kick-Ass fame) with hipster tendencies and an incredible live voice. It’s not that often you can listen to a band for the first time and still be kept completely entranced – their 40 minute set felt more like 10. Interesting mix of acoustic harmonies with blaring electric synth. The drummer and guitarist had such excited (almost sexual) faces, it was impossible not to enjoy yourself too. [DW]

Wild Swim
They sound like London Elektricity mixed with Kid A and are formed of four Oxford undergraduates and an apprentice Savile Row tailor. Frontman, Richard Sansom, has an incredibly strong yet flamboyant voice – imagine eerie guitars and electronic beats, then into that inject the soulful style of Sansom. Wild Swim definitely caught the crowd unawares, and by the last song – single, Echo – the whole room was subconsciously at one with the band. [SH]

Poledo
This grunge-rock-esque 3 piece featured early on in the day, playing an energetic set to a crowded venue. Whilst lyrically uninspiring, at first listen they came across as better practiced than most and managed to keep it moving. [HC]

Smashh
A precise instrumental performance was let down by rough vocals and somewhat repetitive songwriting. Despite being in one of the better equipped venues (The Bullingdon Arms) the sound was off, their set lacked visual appeal and there was little aside from grainy guitar melodies to maintain interest. [HC]

Photography by Henry Course