For me, festivals differ from the usual gigs. Stand alone gigs are like going to a restaurant for a meal, where you go for a single purpose, enjoy yourself, and leave. Festivals are an exciting buffet where you can sample new things, duck in and out of what is on offer without committing to a full set, and share your opinions with others around the table. It’s a lot more casual and laid back with no judgement if you mix weird combinations. For today I’m enjoying a huge buffet in the form of Trnsmt on the Sunday.
It’s the first time I’ve been to Trnsmt. I did attend T in the Park in 2001 and had a pretty good time but when it came to Trnsmt, I was always put off by lack of camping and line ups that were sliding deeper into pop and indie territory. After T ’01 I became a Leeds festival devotee for many years but I’ve finally gotten over myself and decided to see what Scotland had to offer.
Getting in early pays off as I get to wander past all of the food trucks and bars making mental notes for what I’m hitting later on. Something inside me wants to go and look at the Main Stage. Just seeing the impressive feat of engineering gets you excited for the day ahead. The first set of feet to hit said stage belong to Rejjie Snow, a rapper from Dublin who despite playing to a handful of people, gives a decent energetic performance. I particularly enjoyed a song which I think is called ‘Je Suis Desole’ which involves some nice Ffrench work.
Following Rejjie was CMAT. This is a name I’ve heard in pop circles but never heard the music of (this will be a reoccurring theme). Someone mentioned a comedy, country act but I wasn’t sure whether or not to believe that. What I did know for sure was that there’s been enough noise about CMAT to make her worth watching. The music was decent… well crafted songs with great instrumental work and outstanding vocals. But it’s really CMAT’s personality that wins the crowd over. She’s funny, bombastic, and a born entertainer. I reckon future shows of hers would make for a great night of zero seriousness.
I got talking to some super fans of the next artist… one of which had the drummer’s face printed on her socks. Baby Queen is one of these poppy, punky, new wave Avril Lavigne type artists. More pop than punk but buckets of energy and quite fun to watch. Obviously huge appeal to girls in their teens, which is something I’ll never relate to – especially now. But who am I to judge any of that? All the parts seem right in this act and I’m pretty confident we’ll see her further up the bill in the next few years.
This is the point where I go for a wander and discover my new love… there is a Mac and cheese van in Glasgow Green that changed my life. If there is one thing on a menu that I can’t resist, it’s Mac and cheese (not pictured) – and this stuff was amazing. It could have been the three cheeses they put in the sauce, it could be the extra toppings (I opted for Mexican), or they could be putting crack in it. Whatever it is… it was the best Mac and cheese I’ve ever had and I’ll never shut up about it. £9.50 if you were wondering but the portion was huge and it kept me going the rest of the day. If you’re reading this, Mac and Cheese people… I miss you… come back…
The next set on the main stage, I was excited for but it left me deflated. Alison Goldfrapp came on to a crowd as sparse as Rejjie at the start of the day. The set was Alison trying her hardest to get some energy back from those who turned up with next to no success with plenty of angry gestures towards her monitor engineer that didn’t go unnoticed. Her voice didn’t waver when she was raging at the poor guy/girl who I imagine is no longer on the tour – or certainly on a shaky peg – which is impressive but I think her music was just lost on this crowd. The Trnsmt crowd are teens in bikinis and bucket hats who have never heard of Goldfrapp. As an old guy, I could appreciate that it was a legend on the stage, but there’s certainly an age limit for that appreciation. It’s also very difficult to enjoy watching someone who is quite obviously angry on stage as that negative energy taints the performance.
Blossoms are a band I’d heard good things about, but on the stage it was pretty middle of the road indie rock. Lots of energy from a front man and a massive gorilla called Gary. They’re obviously adored by plenty who are into that genre but there’s not enough to make them stand out to those out with the circle.
After this I decided to relocate to the King Tuts stage for the rest of the night. Nova Twins were making huge waves and they were on my must see list. They were outrageously good… a three-piece Rage Against The Machine transported to the modern era in the UK and they happen to be girls. The musicianship is crazy, especially from bassist Georgia. If Tom Morello hasn’t called her for some lessons yet, he will soon. This set was really explosive and I can’t recommend them enough.
The Reytons gathered the biggest crowd that I saw throughout the whole day. They brought some polished, indie punk from the same vein as the likes of Hard Fi and those guys. Not quite as hard-hitting as the newer punk bands such as Idles but still pack a good punch and a lot more radio friendly. No matter what I think of them, this crowd loved them. It would have been a good call to put these guys on the Main Stage earlier in the day to get the crowds in as it seems a big draw was lacking during the day over there.
Calvin Harris was headlining the main stage and did I go to see him? I did not. I opted for Enter Shikari headlining the Tuts stage for some proper rock behind the bleeps and button pushing. I made the right choice yet again. The set begun with ‘System…’ performed a cappella by front man Rou before exploding into ‘…Meltdown’ and we were off. The relatively small stage was awash with strobe lights and it wasn’t long before confetti cannons were exploding during ‘Live Outside’. Rou’s dance moves were the thing of legend and bass player Chris put most other bassists to shame with his energy. It was full speed for the whole set and only whetted my appetite for their Barrowlands show at the tail end of this year. The crowd didn’t seem as big as it was for The Reytons, but they didn’t mind a circle pit and that was great to see.
It’s been said by many that Trnsmt is fast becoming an event that exists just so kids can brag that they’ve done it rather than one that brings killer lineups. I reckon that’s slightly unfair as The river stage still pushes great new music that often puts the big dogs to shame (I caught Gallus on Saturday and my God, they were good!). I think a lot of the vitriol has come from three similar headliners this year. Maybe next year we’ll have a more varied line up as the fans are crying out for more rock and less pop. We can buy our tickets now and find out later it seems as they’re already on sale for next year. Either way, I reckon it would be an injustice if I didn’t go back to see what direction it takes.
Catching Light Photography
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