Desertfest London – Day 1
The Well
The first day of Desertfest is done and dusted, and I’m about to look into ‘Creative writing for dummies’ as I’ve had about 3 hours of sleep and am currently recovering from five thousand pints – but hey, that’s ok, because yesterday was pretty amazing – well worth it.
As planned, I started the festival checking out Texas three piece The Well at the Underworld, and they did not did not let me down – quite the contrary, they were god damn great! They set the bar for the whole shebang really high, and I reckon they’ll be one of the highlights of the festival. Left Underworld to find a bunch of familiar faces drinking outside The Black Heart – big Ben Ward from Orange Goblin, Daniel from RidingEasy Records, Leigh from Riff Rock Records and Jimi from RIDDLES. Stayed for a bit, until I had to rush off to Electric Ballroom to catch 1000mods. They were also pretty rad, and as they finished their set I ventured back to The Underworld for Vodun to find front woman Chantal Brown working her magic like a witch doctor and Zel setting fire to her cymbals.
The Well
Then – Lowrider. Who despite having not released anything since their debut album ‘Ode to IO’ in 2000, managed to pack out Electric Ballroom, and for good reason. They were absolutely brilliant, and at this point I decided it was time to venture into the pit. Got knocked over, picked back up, and decided it was time to leave the pit. Last gig of the night was Slo Burn, before heading over to Black Heart for bad decisions and more beer.
As I write, there’s a mere three hours until things kick off again, and I’m in for yet another day of sick bands. Have not figured out time travel yet, but if I do, these are the guys that’ll please my ears today;
Underworld // 1.15pm – 2pm – Sonic Gypsy
The Black Heart // 1.45pm – 2.15pm – Samavayo
Electric Ballroom // 2.30pm – 3.30pm – The Groundhogs
The Dev // 8pm – 9pm – Welcome Back Delta
The Black Heart // 8.15pm – 9.15pm – Stubb
Electric Ballroom // 8.30 – 9.45 – Turbonegro
The Dev // 10pm – 11pm – Chron Goblin
