Liverpool Sound City 2015 review: Wayne Coyne, Swans, The Vaccines, Circa Waves, 36?, JPNSGRLS, Garbanotas Bosistas, Black City Ravens

After attending day one of the Sound City conference Getintothis’ Vicky Pea was drawn back for a second bite before clambering over to Bramley Moore Dock to catch Friday’s action.

The word ‘conference’ is enough to drive fear into the most open-minded of hearts. However after a fantastic day one of Sound City’s events held at the Titanic Hotel we were more than happy to turn up to day two with the highest of expectations. Let us tell you, we were not disappointed.

The keynote event saw Mr Flaming Lips himself, Wayne Coyne, and long time manager Scott Booker, field questions from Dave Haslam about key moments in the career of the Lips before tackling the elephant in the room, yes, Miley Cyrus. Wayne has famously hit if off with the ex Disney darling and spoke affectionately and passionately about his friend and collaborator. So much so that we started to become more endeared to her ourselves. Who’d have thought it? If we came away with one thing it would be that a Flaming Lips/Cyrus album is a very real possibility but one we shouldn’t be afraid of, Wayne’s got our back.

With the conference wound up it was finally time to head over to the Bramley Moore Docks to see what exactly Sound City had in store for the weekend. The site certainly lived up to the “post apocalyptic” theme with graffiti and buried bomb to boot and we can’t deny that having everything within a stone’s throw is a welcome change from years past.

The first band we came across couldn’t have been more fitting. GIT Award Nominees Circa Waves had only been added to the line up on Thursday after the withdrawal of Slaves. Despite this late reveal the Liverpool boys drew a good crowd and engaged us admirably. As the last song came we were told to ‘just pretend it’s t-shirt weather‘ as they launched into their latest track. The crowd did their best, with crowd surfers and beach balls bringing those summer vibes and overall it was a welcome return for four piece currently pushing for bigger ad better things.

Sticking with the North stage, Lithuanian outfit Garbanotas Bosistas impressed a fluctuating crowd as their guitarist quite possibly won outfit of the festival with trousers only your Grandma could stitch, seriously.

Closing Friday night on the main, Atlantic, stage, The Vaccines drew an impressive crowd however we couldn’t help thinking it was all a little… safe. By comparison all the bands around them couldn’t be less safe or typical. 36? and JPNSGRLS on the Cavern and Kraken stages respectively looked a though they were fighting for their lives. They were exciting and unpredictable, even if not at acclaimed as tonights headliners, we’d pick the unknown over the safe bet any day.

Talking of unpredictable, Swans put on an almost indescribable display on the Baltic stage. With one of the longest intro’s we’ve ever witnessed, which did see a few people not accustom to the band filter out of the warehouse. Shame on them because this is Swans at their best, entrancing an audience and keeping them in the palm of their hand. No doubt this will be a highlight of the weekend whatever comes. Plus we’ve got the lasting memento of ringing in our ears. Lets hope thats gone when we wake yeah?

Photos by Getintothis’ Vicky Pea

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