By the time Gigwise arrived at Clapham Common for Calling Festival 2015 scouse indie-legends Echo and the Bunnymen were taking to the stage, and those that had already assembled were slowly cooking in the intense mid-afternoon heat, and rather than the gig going public, resembled a group of beached manatees (think pink bald heads and beer bellies as far as the eye could see).
A short set by Echo and the Bunnymen which included the classics 'Nothing Lasts Forever' and 'The Killing Moon' was followed by the ever-exuberant Hives. Dressed in matching two-tone black and white uniforms, there is isn’t any other performance than a full-blooded one for the Hives and this one included the garage rock stables 'Main Offender', 'Walk Idiot Walk' and of course, 'Hate to Say I Told You So'.
Frontman Pelle Almqvist’s audience interaction began to jar after a while (“we can play rock or roll, or rock and roll for you people”- hilarious...) but as a live spectacle the Hives remain impressive. Modest Mouse, had by frontman Isaac Brock’s admission been “liberated from their equipment”. Whether this meant that they’d had it nicked, it hadn’t arrived on site, or something other wasn’t explained but regardless the band pulled in a large crowd and played a competent set.
Perhaps they would have been better placed before the Hives given the intensity of the Swede’s live show, however, they still provided a worthy warm-up for Ryan Adams and The Shining.
Taking to the stage at seven and in customary double denim attire, shades and mop of thick brown hair Ryan Adams plays the part of rock ‘n’ roll hero as well as he does folk troubadour. At Calling Festival, as he was at Glastonbury, he’s clearly enjoying himself (which is not always a given thanks to his, at times, prickly reputation). A new addition to his live repertoire seen only sparingly prior to his most recent run of UK shows is the mercurial guitar solo; the one that see Adams arch is back and point his guitar vertically in the air so that it appears perpendicular to the stage. It really is quite a sight and featured on 'Dirty Rain', 'Peaceful Valley' and 'Am I Safe'.
'Come Pick Me Up' which has been a stable of the live set with the Shining was duly included at Calling and there was the welcome return of Heartbreaker-era barnstormers 'Shakedown 9th Street' and 'To Be Young (Is To Sad is To Be High)' - both of which saw Adams don a blonde Telecaster. Clearly enthral to the event Adams wished everyone well and hoped that we were ready to see the man he described as “the greatest fucking songwriter of all of our lives”. We were.
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Photo: Richard Gray
Those that have seen Noel Gallagher live on even a semi-regular basis at any stage throughout the last 20 years will know that he is never a man to mix it up and this means that, in a live context, the word “impromptu” doesn’t enter his lexicon.
In short the set, the performance, and even some of the anecdotes remain the same. Opening with 'Everybody’s on The Run', and closing with 'Don’t Look Back in Anger', the set list remains largely unchanged from the his UK tour earlier in the year. OK, so now there is the welcome addition of 'Whatever', and 'Do the Damage' which opened the encore, rather than the main set, but there was still the solo version of 'Champagne Supernova', an acoustic 'Fade Away', the loutish call to arms that is 'Digsy’s Dinner' and the singles from his eponymous debut.
Photo: Danny Payne
Still most reassuringly, and as has been evident throughout 2014, material of Chasing Yesterday holds its own against the more established nuggets from his impressive canon. You get the feeling 'The Mexican' was the next song Marc Bolan would have written had he not wrapped his mini around a sycamore tree, and it beggars believe that the marvellous 'You Know We Can’t Go Bac'k wasn’t the lead single from his latest what with its breezey melody and anthemic chorus.
Recently Gallagher stated that playing a festival was all about going on stage and given it “75%” and you get the feeling that the headline slot at Calling 2015 was him doing exactly that. But why should he do anymore? Say what you like about Gallagher but he know his audience inside out and with it how to please them. He has after all found his calling.
