glasgowbury ’10: the g spot1

Glasgowbury virgin? Seasoned pro? Festival whore? This year’s lineup attempts to go one better on Glasgowbury ’09, and Secret Fireworks will bring you a band by band rundown of each act on each stage. I can’t tell you if the kissing couple are going to be there once again, but I can tell you that you are in for some fine, fine music.
Each day we will have a preview of what each stage has to offer, starting off with the aformentioned G Spot. Contrary to popular belief, it isn’t difficult to find and isn’t particularly small.

Here is the lineup for the stage, kindly provided by the good good people at Glasgowbury Music Group:

9.30 – 10.10 – Chipzel
8.30 – 9.10 – Paul Casey
7.30 – 8.10 – Bronagh Gallagher
6.30 – 7.10 – Building Pictures
5.30 – 6.10 – Aaron Shanley
4.30 – 5.10 – Junior Johnson
3.40 – 4.10 – Paul Shevlin
2.50 – 3.20 – Little Hooks

(all links go to the respective MySpace sites)

Chipzel: an album under her belt, two festival appearances at Ctrl Alt Dance and several radio plays- not bad for any artist, let alone one that hasn’t even turned twenty yet. Chiptune seems to be regarded as a love/hate genre in music but with a late billing at this particular stage this could be one appearance you won’t want to miss. With tracks full of glitchy beats and infectious electro dancepop, Chipzel has a growing reputation after several successful gigs at the Nerve Centre. “Ultimately, We Just Want To Be Happy” shows Niamh at the height of her powers, slowly and delicately building up a rather lovely chillout track. Check out “Something Beautiful” for something a little bit more upbeat and dare I say, catchy. I feel like I’m playing my Amiga all over again.

Paul Casey: Paul isn’t the most revolutionary singer-songwriter ever, but he can certainly write a decent song or two. You could imagine him soundtracking an American drama like One Tree Hill or Scrubs: surprisingly enough, he’s been featured on ABC series Wildfire and even on MTV. With a sound that owes a lot to bands such as Counting Crows and Nick Drake, Paul is certainly one act to check out if you’re not looking for the hottest electro punk grime outfit at this festival. What you see is what you get: “Stay” is an anthemic ballad with some gorgeous string parts and a decent chorus to boot. “Slow Water” has bluesy country slide guitar riffs and a potential singalong encased within a simple wee track.

(photo courtesy of Perry Ogden)

Bronagh Gallagher (official site): to be honest, few of us know exactly what this set will entail. Bronagh’s official site states she’s performing an acoustic set with Paul Casey and Liam Bradley as opposed to a performance with her band Precious Soul. We can probably expect a mixture of blues and soul, and as this video shows, she can certainly rattle out the classics admirably. Could be a surprise.

(photo courtesy of Rachel Coulter)

Building Pictures: it’s always tough having a successful older brother. John Gribbin certainly hasn’t let that get to him though, and it’s clear to see good songwriting runs in the family. With a knack for writing a well crafted tune and a charm that shines through his music it’s impossible not to enjoy Building Pictures. Embracing the occasional drum machine and loading his songs full of hooks tracks like “Hidden Agenda Types” and “Take My Advice” John’s sound ranges in influence between All Time Quarterback and Bombay Bicycle Club. He’s not quite the finished product yet, but he has the potential to follow in Iain Archer’s footsteps as the next truly great Northern Irish singer songwriter. If you have time on Saturday, check him out. Speaking of which…

(photo courtesy of Ronan McGrade)

Aaron Shanley: Aaron is yet another promising singer-songwriter that could do great things. (Jaysus, we’re coming down with them at the minute.) Coming firmly from the schools of Ryan Adams and Conor Oberst Aaron brings his own twist to the genre, making it firmly accessible and radio friendly. I saw Aaron at the BBC Headroom gig at Oh Yeah Music Centre in Belfast and he was excellent: part of me wishes it was Aaron being fangirled over by millions of teenage girls worldwide instead of Justin bloody Bieber. Tracks such as “Tell Me” and “Somebody To Take Care Of” are irritatingly catchy tracks that are bound to stick around in your head. He’s young and there’s a long way to go, but he could be massive.

(photo courtesy of Matthew Alexander Patton)

Junior Johnson: this man from Randalstown sounds like he has been plucked straight from America. Junior has an ability to write simple storytelling lyrics that Springsteen would be envious of, putting himself out there for all to see with only a softly fingerpicked guitar backing him up. Stephen McCauley from BBC Radio Foyle’s Electric Mainline stated “I couldn’t do a best of 2009 without including the stunning Ballad of Glasgowbury, what an absolutely staggering song it is.”, and he’s spot on: it’s a heartbreakingly beautiful tale that by itself deserves to get the man a decent slot at this festival. Stage times permitting, I will be front and centre for this man.

Paul Shevlin: Paul Shevlin is good. Jaw-droppingly good. With a strong soulful voice that belies his years and a real talent for creating original piano riffs, the comparisons to Ben Folds are perfectly merited. Slipping from the tender to the tumultuous Paul is an immensely talented pianist who finely crafts his tracks: “Good Morning” is an optimistic, soaring tune full of hooks and a cracking bassline, with powerful lows and delicate high notes while “Once I Was” has the potential to be a showstopper. Simply unmissable.

Little Hooks: Rarely has a band name described an act so perfectly. The duo can crank out a folk-pop track full of highs and hooks (such as in “Little Birds”) with vocals reminiscent of  Simon and Garfunkel: fans of John, Shelly & the Creatures will find favour here. They can slow things down and travel down a more bluegrass or country route as featured in “Scars For You”, proving they’re not just one trick ponies.