Top 5s!

blackcatista's picture Submitted by blackcatista on

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What a great weekend! Thanks Green Man!

To rekindle something we did a few years ago: Put your top 5 acts in order by next Monday and I'll compile them into overall results to see who wins the Green Man Forum award. No prizes, it's just for fun.

I'm now going to spend the rest of my way home deciding on my nominations....

Mookid replied on

Very sad to be leaving this morning. My first green man and i will certainly be back. My top 5:

1. Teenage fanclub

2. Phoebe Bridgers 

3. Fleet Foxes 

4. RBCF

5. Snail mail 

Blancanvas replied on

Brian jonestown

kevin morby

courtney Marie andrews

John grant

(the lovely) adwaith

 

Honourable mention to Joan as police woman. Significantly better than expected and u was quite looking forward to seeing them anyway....

anyone else catch Juanita stein?

Muddy Holly's picture Muddy Holly replied on

Very hard to pick just 5 - we saw 23 sets and nearly all of them were fantastic, we had an amazing weekend racing between the stages and were rewarded with so much great music.

1 King Gizzard - for Head On/Pill alone tbh but the whole of our Friday was about the Gizz and getting Carys front centre - absolute carnage but we loved it

2 Teleman - new songs, old favourites and Not in Control to finish - perfect

3 PSB - we’ve followed them from the Walled Garden at our first GM to the Royal Albert Hall

4 Boy Azooga - the most fun we had all weekend

5 Buzzard - our favourite discovery of the weekend

 

(if we were allowed 5 more: RBCF, Lovely Eggs, Black Angels, HMS Morris and Seazoo)

 

best t-shirt of the weekend: “Surely not everybody was King-Fu fighting”

Mikey's picture Mikey replied on

mine (and in no particular order)

the lovely eggs

fleet foxes

boy azooga

the wedding present

and finally, rolling blackouts coastal fever

 

could also have mentioned buzzard buzzard buzzard & hms morris,  however, i was lucky to see them both earlier in the week at settlement so guess neither counts as a green man festival top 5 (but means i get 7 names in).

 

back home and whacked out after an exhilarating tiring weekend.  not even got any energy to work the caps lock, so apologies for the poor grammar.

smithers replied on

Stella Donnelly

Black Angels

Black Midi

Xylouris White

Pictish Trail

More thoughts to come after unpacking everything

blackcatista's picture blackcatista replied on

1) Black Angels

2) Bo Ningen 

3)Teleman 

4) The Wedding Present

5)Sacred Paws

Really hard to narrow that down to 5. I think the best way you describe my reasoning is that the top two blew my mind most and the other 3 lifted my soul. Really hard to leave out Xylouris White, Ed Dowie, Teenage Fanclub , The Lovely Eggs and the mesmerising Snapped Ankles. 

ScatterbugWales replied on

1. John Grant - not his best performance or set list but still top for me.

2. Public Service Broadcasting - what a start to the festivities.

3. Floating Points - many thanks to a friend who recommended I check him out.

4. Mount Kimbie

5. Bo Ningen

Fleet Foxes may have been on my list but Robin Pecknold"s opening faux pas soured the experience.

Chrissied's picture Chrissied replied on

If I’m honest I thought Courtney Marie Andrews “shut it down” as the youngsters say. I’ve not seen anyone playing the alt/country card that accomplished since I saw Emmylou Harris debut in London 1975.

 

But:

 

1. Courtney Marie Andrews

2. The Wedding Present

3. The Lovely Eggs

4. Nubya Garcia

5. Follakzoid (for the weirdest, yet somehow most wonderful performance. I know some of you were there, and it’s one you’ll never forget!

Oap-Dub's picture Oap-Dub replied on

I reckon my top 5 are:

1 Teleman

2 Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever

3 King Gizzard ATLW

4 Jane Weaver

5 Black Angels

Cyfarthfa1's picture Cyfarthfa1 replied on

I only managed to see bands on Far Out, and my favourites were

Brian Jonestown Masacre

Seazoo

Pictish Trail

Bo Ningen

follackzoid

 

decemberboy replied on

I think mine is:

1) Teenage Fanclub

2) Teleman

3) Wedding Present

4) Lucy Dacus

5) Grizzly Bear

marcus_g replied on

1. Boy azooga

2. Baxter Drury

3. Wedding present

4. King gizzard

5. War on drugs

alittleotter replied on

Top 5 

Tunng 

Courtney Marie Andrews 

Stella Donnelly 

Marlon Williams 

Cate Le Bon  

Tough to call, most of the stuff I watched i really enjoyed.

Elizabeth McEvoy's picture Elizabeth McEvoy replied on

Pictish Trail, Jim Ghedi, John Grant, Bo Ningen and Joan as Policewoman. 

Toby Hay and Gareth Bonello on the Hurly Burly stage at the Settlement were incredible too.

Mattimus Accordianious's picture Mattimus Accord... replied on

It goes without saying this was the best GM for many a year..... too had but Ill have a go ...

  1. Tunng - fab energised set to end the weekend in the walled garden .. 
  2. Sacred Paws - brilliant just brilliant 
  3. Phoebe Bridgers - mesmerising in a Laura Marlin kind of way 
  4. John Grant - well .... 
  5. Anna Calvi - not a popular choice but powerful as always and a good mix of old and new ... 

.. with honroable mentions to Ed Downie, Pictish Trail,  Jade Bird, The Beaufort Malevoice Choir (&PSB) and King Tuff ... 

peridot's picture peridot replied on

Great (resurected) idea bc. I have a feeling that my choices may not contribute too much to the overall award:

1. Ed Dowie. His cameo ode to Bourbon Creams with Seamus Fogarty just tipped him into first place over ...

2. Seamus Fogarty (cruel that)

3. Izo Fitzroy

4. Ider

5. Tunng

 

 

CubanPedro replied on

Absolutely brilliant year.  On the face of it, not the same strength to the musical lineup as previous, but in so many ways it was up there as one of my most enjoyable.  Five favs (in no particular order) were:

Susanne Sundfor.  Can't believe she's not got a mention from anyone yet.  What a voice.  And, following another that could have made my list (Snail Mail), it was the Walled Garden on Friday night that really built the excitment for the weekend.

Grizzly Bear.  Great set, great setting in that dusk slot on the Mountain stage that is my preferred.

Follakzoid.  So glad I had them down as a must see.  Didn't disappoint.  And my 4 year old had reaction to their music I've not seen before - in a very good way.

Phoebe Bridgers.  Thought I'd detour through Walled Garden on way to John Grant and couldn't drag myself away.

The Wedding Present.  Just so impressively tight as a band.

Xylouris White.  Sunday generally was amazing, but early afternoon bathing in sun and being treated to this musicianship is what Green Man is all about.

Shame not to include Stella Donnelly, The Black Angels, Goat Girl, Bo Ningen, The Lovely Eggs...but there was something special about the moment with those other acts that lives in the memory.

Biggest disappointment of the weekend was choosing (and perserving with) Tunng over TBJM.  Oh well.

Andalucia replied on

 

Top 5:

HMS Morris - fine example of that slightly askew pop/rock that Wales does/did so well in GZM, SFA, et al

Stella Donnelly - when an acoustic-guitared-singer-songwriter stands out as notable over a weekend of festivalling there's a reason 

Bo Ningen - absolutely blistering and brilliant balls-out rock

Black Angels - as above to a slightly lesser degree in terms of performance, but they have some insanely good songs

Jane Weaver - I'm an absolute sucker for ethereal synthesisers and a pulsing rhythm section so she was on to a winner

Honorable mentions:

Anna Calvi, Conservatoire Folk Ensemble, Teleman, Seamus Fogarty, Jim Ghedi, King Gizzard ATLW, PSB

Disappointments:

Susanne Sundfor is undeniably a fine songwriter and brilliant singer but I will always hold it against her for putting out a stripped-back, ballad-y set when I was expecting to dance to late-night Scandi-pop bangers. Would have been good at 2pm

Teenage Fanclub have got to be the most boring cult band on the planet. Stuck around for a while and got nothing but a Big Star-lite vibe

Bas Jan's album is one of my faves of the year and I loved their cinema tent showing last year so was sad to see them underwhelm in Far Out. Hope no-one else who saw was put off checking them out further

Nitpicking aside most of what I saw was great and the weather/atmosphere was in fine fettle indeed

Oap-Dub's picture Oap-Dub replied on

We were in the same place, and impressed by the same stuff, an awful lot over the weekend!

And I'm glad I'm not alone with those feelings about Teenage Fan Club. Watched 25 minutes or so, got very bored, buggered off.

Krasnyi's picture Krasnyi replied on

Here goes . . . .

1. The Surfing Magazines

2. Jim Ghedi

3. Courtney Marie Andrews

4. Teleman

5. Charles Watson

ray_rad's picture ray_rad replied on

i'm not one for a list, but as we're here, and in no particular order:

fannies - they were just great.  some part of spain somewhere else said they were shit.  i'll fight him

courtney marie andrews - i've seen her loads - but that was the best by far.  she fucking killed it

stella donnelly - just gets better and better

wedding present - odd that they finished with that underwhelming song from bizarro, though.  but otherwise fantastic. and had a great crowd. apart from that cunt in the red braces who kept getting shoved out of the dancers for being a wanker - and then got shoved back in by the boyfriend of a woman that he'd thought it would be funny to feel up. and then tried to pick a fight with said boyfriend.

BJM - huge. my neck still hurts. i think even my hair hurt for a bit after that show

 

things that were also great:

FF (despite having to miss the first 15 minutes to see the fannies - though maybe that was best to also miss the england / wales debacle)

nubya garcia - that band were amazing - and she managed to shine as the least showboaty of any of them

seamus fogarty - took me back to GMs of old

sacred paws - happiest band of the weekend, i'd say, too

charles watson (surprised me, this, as i think the record is over-produced and a bit dull - but the band were great and brought the songs alive.  he played to a criminally small crowd though - and looked gutted about it as he went off.  nice therefore to see him beaming during the last bit i caught of the surfing magazines' set. other highlight of that: kras going mental when david tattersall pointed out his modern lovers t-shirt before going into a perfect rendition of roadrunner.  that was you, kras, right?)

juanita stein - great swampy rock n roll - again, much better than the recorded versions, i thought

the 3 bands i very drunkenly danced my arse off to on the rising stage on friday - hungry ghosts ("brothers and sistas!"), squid (a trumpet!) and black midi, who i'd expected to hate

haley heynderickx - though that giant guild 12 string was a disater.  i hope she goes back to the electric tonight in london

marlon williams - particularly when he fell off the stage during the screaming j hawkins number - star

whyte horses - though the sound in the tent did them no favours

pictish - grand set - but that tent gets fucking rammed on thursday night - and the arsehole contingent was at its highest at that point too

 

things i accidentally ended up watching at least part of and hating:

baxter dury - what a cunt

ari roar - maybe rehearse?

susanne sundfor - sorry, bored

joan as policewoman - sorry, very very very bored

Andalucia replied on

I'm willing to put my TF underwhelm-ment down to being various degrees of callow, unfamiliar with their output and wired-up at the time

I did enjoy the harmonies and might fit in a bit of further research

ray_rad's picture ray_rad replied on

that's high stakes

ok - you'd better do your research instead

start with bandwagonesque and grand prix

and i'll buy you a pint next year

if you promise not to hit me

ray_rad's picture ray_rad replied on

for a slight, somewhat effeminate man with lovely hair, i'm going to have to fight an awful lot of people next year

blackcatista's picture blackcatista replied on

Been trying not to turn this into a discussion thread, but I really liked that the Wedding Present finished with Heather and Bewitched. Maybe not ones for the dancers, but felt like it worked.

Was it that the sound was crap for Whyte Horses or was it just that they've played live so little they've not quite got their "live sound" yet? I loved them, and I think their second album is absolutely brilliant, but it felt to me like they could do with a bit of time touring.

smithers replied on

Black Midi were fantastic I thought, if you can get over the singers voice, no problem for me though. Enjoyed Ari Roar even though it was a tad ramshackle. Agree on Baxter Dury, lasted ten minutes. Seamus Fogerty was great, good to see Johnny Pictish grooving near the sound stage.

Stella - I'm in love, sure I got a bit of grit in my eye during that....

ray_rad's picture ray_rad replied on

i need to apologise for not immediately recognising you at the beginning of SD’s set, smithers!

it was the hat and glasses

really nice to see so many folk from here

including meeting slugger for the first time

and another sorry to elizabeth - to whom i only managed a shouted ‘hiya!’ as i dashed past on my drunken way to somewhere else

Chrissied's picture Chrissied replied on

Couldn't agree more Ray. Listened to her a lot, hadn't seen her until now. She's gigged loads I know and it showed with that performance. What a voice. Now - if only there was a Gram Parsons around for some duets!

Chrissied's picture Chrissied replied on

Couldn't agree more Ray. Listened to her a lot, hadn't seen her until now. She's gigged loads I know and it showed with that performance. What a voice. Now - if only there was a Gram Parsons around for some duets!

Krasnyi's picture Krasnyi replied on

yeah that was me mr ray

apparently roadrunner was a spur of the moment thing inspired by my t-shirt

a great rendition but hardly perfect, david was making it up as he went along - still the highlight of my festival

I fucking love the Charles Watson album - I was underwhelmed until about the fifth playing - now one of my favourite albums of the year - live it was brilliant - a cracking band

Seamus Fogarty was bloody ace wasn't he?

ray_rad's picture ray_rad replied on

you went for it

high kudos for that

we middle-aged men have got to - for as long as our knees hold out

Carnie replied on

 

Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear, CMA, Wye Oak and Juanita Stein.

Plus meeting the lovely Elizabeth and her husband.

 

Elizabeth McEvoy's picture Elizabeth McEvoy replied on

Great meeting you too at last, Carnie.

I'm afraid I might have been a bit squiffy.

Ray, good to see you, albeit fleetingly... your hair was looking very beautiful, man.

Rowan_Cat replied on

1. Lemon Twigs

2. Wedding Present

3. Teenage Fanclub

4. Teleman

5. John Grant (he'd probably be higher but I only caught half an hour of his set due to the cruel clash with Teenage Fanclub)

 

 

Blancanvas replied on

Friday nights slim pickings saw us watch most of Alex Cameron set in the walled garden. I’m still not sure if that was cabaret or if they meant it. Can anyone help me out? Either way it wasn’t very good.

and surfing magazines. What ridiculous guitarists - just amazin. But they seemed like a pub band or something. maybe I was a bit far gone but it seemed a bit like a pretend rather than real performance....

 

Smiffy's picture Smiffy replied on

1. Fleet Foxes
2. Lovely Eggs
3. Wye Oak
4. Snapped Ankles
5. Brian Jonestown Massacre 

Plus special mentions to: Duds, John Grant, Jade Bird, King Gizzard and Grizzly Bear.
Bollackzoid... What the fuck was that all about. Bizarre
Lemon Twigs... Like some weird, and quite poor, musical about the 70s 
Baxter Dury... Nob. 

Sugarchips replied on

I can’t number them because, like my children, I don’t have favourites. But I loved Phoebe Bridgers. Walled Garden, sunset, great friends so seriously, whats not to like?!

Seamus Fogarty didn’t disappoint. I’ve seen him play solo before and loved it, but the band lifted him even more. I’m going to learn ‘that dance’ for when I see him in Oxford. And what about the Ed Dowie bourbon biscuit moment!

i loved Grizzly Bear and have been binge listening to Mourning Sound ever since.

Simian Mobile Disco took me back to my raving days. I thought the choir looked and sounded amazing, though I was happy to move on to Snapped Ankles once I’d heard them do Defender. 

King Tuff was brilliant. Knew nothing of him before he popped up on the bill. Dylanesque. And a great suit.

But GM isn’t so much about the music for me as it is about quality time with quality people, so I think my best moments were plonked up on the bank under a blanket with people I love. It might’ve been Fleet Foxes or King Gizzard, both of which were perfectly fine, but the people and the place win every time.

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