6 Music Festival: Julian Cope, Pigs x7, Clinic, Julia Jacklin: Camp and Furnace, Liverpool

Julia Jacklin

For the final day of the 6 Music Festival 2019, Getintothis’ Howard Doupé heads down for another afternoon of music and chat.

It’s the second and final full day of events for this year’s BBC 6 Music Festival and it’s been a busy affair.

Sold out shows across the city and proof that cavernous venues can host daytime events and pull them off. Yesterday was a chilled and happy affair. With the familiar hustle and bustle of the city shoehorned into the Camp and Furnace, it was a celebratory opening day.

Live performances from The Coral, BC Camplight, and The Comet Is Coming offered a flavour of the diverse range at the heart of everything 6 Music are about.

Yesterday was an enthusiastic day, starting just as early as today and, as noted yesterday, this early morning rise hasn’t dampened the buzz in the air. With a line up arguably more interesting on the conversation sofas staged in the Camp than the main live room of the Furnace.

After a very late night shaking our thing down The Invisible Wind Factory to the funk epic that was a Craig Charles’ DJ set, it’s a dark shades day today. You wouldn’t have guessed though, it’s 11:30 in the morning and the Camp is packed.

With more trips to the coffee stand than bar and toilet combined, conversation kicks off proceedings with Cerys Matthews having a gab to Roger McGough.

Despite a little tiredness playing its part on the slickness of delivery, Matthew’s has brought her typically enthusiast approach to conversation with a holder of a CBE and the publisher of over 100 books.

The undoubted pinnacle of the city’s poetical icons talks of the city’s rich cultural legacy. Touching on the social situations that nurtured the creative talents in the 60’s- also bringing a touch of humour to health routines.

Littered with music, experiences and a reading of Big Hugs, emotive and eye-filling it’s a tale of love to the city and a life well lived. Throw in a mass singalong to McGough’s own interpretation of The Ballad of Lydia Pinkham aka Lily The Pink.

Check out Getintothis’ coverage of the full 6Music festival

Walking through to the Furnace space the music for the day kicks off with ‘the breakfast show’ light-heartedly named by Julia Jacklin herself. It’s a sultry start, perfect for the midday mood. Leading heavily on this year’s Crushing, Jacklin’s in fine form.

On Mother’s Day is fitting that women are represented as the female-led wave of musicians riding an all-time high. With sparse vocals tip-toe around softly laden guitars and trickling drums. Not to lack determination, there’s no fear of soul-bearing and gutsy affirmation her.

A brief break for caffeine fuel-injection, the room ping-pong back into the Camp commences. Getting back just in time to catch Amina Atiq deliver her own blend of a Liverpool love affair. A viewpoint of a celebration of immigration from Yemen to a city that’s become a home. The packed room show their affirmation and pride.

Looking strong, Mark Radcliffe takes on the daunting task of reining in the irrepressible Julian Cope. After the anecdotes have finished we glean that the 80’s Liverpool music scene spent too much time being image conscious, fulfilling Hollywood-inspirations and worshipping at Eric’s.

Back to present day, Cope spends his days hunting down Mellotrons on Hungarian eBay, writing a book on Aberdeenshire’s stone circles and keeping the strong political tradition in Liverpool alive. Don’t forget the desire for Brian Blessed to play him in an autobiography. Radcliffe agrees, a fitting likeness.

The music continues with the menacing Snapped Ankles. They’re a whirlwind of electro-psyche adorning full head masks that’d terrorise the un-fazeable townies of this hardened city on a Saturday night. They’re superb, it’s the first time today a set leaves us wanting more.

Finally finally finally get to see why everyone is talking about @snappedankles Taking the room by storm @BBC6Music #6MusicFest ! pic.twitter.com/s6lBRAc8Xi

— Sarah Horner (@shorner28) March 31, 2019

Next up Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs rip a hole in Sunday afternoon. Two songs in and Matthew Baty’s shirt is off. His vocals reverberating around the industrial space- a delivery is mantra-like as the PA screams at ear-splitting proportions. Retreating to the back is a pitiful attempt to avoid the chest cavity vibrations.

It’s quite a dizzying thought that by their own admission, 6 Music’s belief has raised them to ‘pop-star’ proportions. No one can accuse of 6 Music shying away from the diverse and controversial.

As we’re well into the final hour it’s time for the locals to grace the Furnace one last time. Clinic have been rather quiet these past years- in fact wasn’t it Liverpool Music Week nearly three years ago?

The final introduction of the festival goes to Tom Robinson, describing them as a band meaning so much to this city. The full kit scrubs look new- theatre green if we’re not mistaken.

They’re on fine form, speeding though the set despite the thinning crowd as a few festival goers head off possibly for Mother’s Day commitments.

Clinic are a hard band to pigeon-hole as each song leans towards sounds and speeds miles from the former. If you’ve caught them before that’s hardly anything new. What they have achieved is maintaining the energy of the day and a thundering crescendo to an inspiring two days for all lovers of music.

https://twitter.com/Helen_ECW/status/1112390992437612545?s=20

As testament to the quality and diversity this rich city has to offer all that’s left to say: 6 Music Festival, what took you so long?