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A Magazine for Sheffield

Glade / Mutiny.

10TH - 12TH JUNE. HOUGHTON HOUSE, KING'S LYNN. REVIEWER - SAM WALBY.

What can I possibly say about Glade Festival in 500 words? Not nearly enough, I would wager. Cancelled in 2010 due to uncooperative police and rising costs, Glade was saved this year by an investment from the Secret Garden Party, but don't go thinking it has gone soft. In my opinion the organisers did a stellar job of scaling down the festival to its grassroots, with only minor compromises along the way.

The biggest loss compared with 2009's event at Matterley Bowl in Hampshire was the Vapor stage hosted by Bloc, which brought in some of the biggest techno acts. The Glade stage took on the burden of filling this void and did so commendably, with sets from Adam Beyer, Paul Rich, Joseph Capriati, Andrew Weatherall and Global Communication, as well as a live headline slot by Trentemoller. Although it sometimes felt empty during the day due to the size of the site, evenings were a joy to behold, with an electric atmosphere and absolutely colossal sound quality. It's rare that audio visuals impress me, but the strange light box framing Beyer during his two-hour performance was genuinely entrancing and really added to a well mixed, top-notch appearance.

I didn't lose sleep over the loss of the Breaksday stage, because me and breakbeat don't really get along too well.

All things considered, the newer, small-scale tents like Beta, the Bassment and ETA draw surprisingly big crowds. Blawan and Mosca both smashed Beta on Sunday afternoon with sub-heavy house offerings. The few times I stopped into ETA it was playing some slightly questionable techno, but the crowds were going for it.

For the most part, I camped out at Overkill, because in my opinion it is the most interesting and diverse stage the festival has to offer. Sheffield's own Mikey J opened proceedings with a fairly strong set on Friday afternoon (and incidentally did a great job of managing the stage across the whole weekend), before Loops Haunt served some heavier percussive beats, many of them taken from his Rubber Sun Grenade and Impact Omnihammer releases. Lone brought the tempo down only slightly with his brand of 80s-infused bass and glistening synths. Later that night, Sheffield tag team the Squire of Gothos offended a great number of people with their dirty fusion of bassline, garage, dubstep and comedy MCing. Just utterly filthy.

Also of note was a fantastic performance from Young Montana?, whose new album Limerence was reviewed in the last issue of Now Then. Somehow managing to cram in most of those tracks, along with a jawdropping, cross-genre collection of hip hop, it was fun playing Guess the Tune while watching this youthful talent. It would be wrong not to mention the set of classic jungle and early d'n'b pumped out by Africa Hitech to close Overkill on Sunday evening. As they took to the stage, I worried that their own tracks might not get people moving, but selections like 'Super Sharp Shooter' certainly did.

In conclusion, go to Glade. It is one of the most welcoming festivals I have had the pleasure of attending, and if you like independent electronic music, you would be hard pressed to find a better line-up in the UK.

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17TH JUNE. RED HOUSE. REVIEWER - CASSIE KILL.

It has been quite some time since the fellows from Kill the Captains hosted their last Mutiny night. The format had proved as good as it sounds - three high octane bands for a few quid, one of which is Kill the Captains. But with The Grapes becoming unavailable, one of the hosts popping a sprog and the Captains undergoing some line-up changes, they've had an extended hiatus. Relocated to The Red House, this was the first time I'd seen the band's new line-up and I was hoping for a happy homecoming to the Mutiny fold. I wasn't disappointed.

Openers Kimmy Yeah began with a joyously anarchic burst of thrashy punk. And thus they continued. They were clearly enjoying every minute of the gig, and their enthusiasm was infectious. Their playful use of plinky-plonky piano intros and harmonies somewhere between NOFX and a sea shanty troupe were equally as endearing. If they can find a consistent middle ground between this playfulness and utter chaos, they'll become more charming still.

Kill the Captains have come a long way since they described themselves as sounding "like Sonic Youth at a school disco" a couple of years back. Despite one member of the crowd's rather persistent heckling to the contrary, it was clear their continuing musical journey has been a positive one. The addition of the whisky sodden vocals and effortless guitar skills of Ric Booth has only increased their creative arsenal, and it's clear the new line-up gels together excellently.

Bad Guys was a returning act for the Mutiny stage. Last time they visited, their audacious performance style included vocal extremity, job-loads of lycra and cock-rock-esque high fives across the stage. This time, the lycra had been traded for shorts, but the mind-splitting vocals and high fives were still there, along with a double-necked guitar. All the main musical boxes checked then.

I have to admit that what I like about Mutiny isn't just the music - it's the friendly crowd, the silly dancing and the lack of pretentiousness. These qualities seem so hard to find at live music events and I realised how much I'd missed Mutiny for providing them. After the gig, I found myself drinking with various members of the band and audience until the small hours of the morning. My final memory of the night involves bantering about our dads with a rather friendly member of Bad Guys, who was clutching a rather unrock and roll red Thermos flask. As we all know, the best mutinies involve a Thermos.

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