Day two at TRNSMT is a bit of a different beast from the previous day, the Pulp takeover done and dusted and Saturday’s crowd much younger despite the festival now limiting entry to 16s and over. As anticipation grows for Kasabian and Main Stage headliner, Sam Fender, we take a look at some of the bands doing their stuff around the three stages.
Edinburgh trio Swim School are clearly stoked to be opening today’s proceeding, making their MAIN STAGE debut on the back of their King Tut’s Stage appearance last year with a fusion of gritty grunge and hazy atmospherics. Vocalist / guitarist Alice Johnson’s both chatty and charming throughout the performance, with echoes of Wolf Alice in the band’s music and styling, their idols roaming this very stage at last year’s TRNSMT. Opening with latest single Bored, Johnston’s dreamlike vocals enthral and it’s not long before she’s on the case, insisting on some moshing down in the crowd. Showcasing songs from latest EP Duality including Delirious, their caustic rallying cry against misogyny, they complete the set with last year’s See Red, its reverb-laden riff layering a dark ‘80s vibe with punchy angst. Having supported Pixies earlier in the year, Swim School are making great impressions far from their nesting ground of Edinburgh’s Sneaky Pete’s and are definitely one to watch!
Over on KING TUT’S STAGE, Manchester’s Cassia welcome revellers with an uplifting blast of groove-heavy melodic pop, calling in Afro-Caribbean influences on numbers such as latest single High Tones. Meanwhile huddled away on the RIVER STAGE, BBC Introducing Scottish Act of the Year Terra Kin gets the day off to a soulful start, her vocals both hypnotic and soothing. Unfortunately the River Stage line up doesn’t benefit from the presence of the BBC who are recording sets on the other two stages, such a missed opportunity for this hot bed of budding talent, the stage itself moved to a less visible location this year which appears to have worked to its disadvantage judging by crowds.
THE MARY WALLOPERS
Of course, music festivals are all about opening yourself up to new experiences, like keeping a straight face when you’re told the no-frills poke of chips you ordered will cost at least five electronic pounds, a technique which can also be used when buying crisps at Glasgow Airport’s WH Smith. But TRNSMT takes things one step further this year, opening up our eyes and ears to The Mary Wallopers, a bunch of rowdy Irish folk musicians who could surely put their country back on the Eurovision map, though maybe not with this set, which throws up language as crude as banjo player Andrew Hendy’s mullet. His brother, bodhrán drum-wielding Charles Hendy, who together with Andrew also forms the hip-hop band TPM, has a devilish glint in his eyes as he introduces their guitarist with “Ohh, Sean McKenna is a dirty c***”, the scene set as Charles wrongly assumes the performance won’t end up on the BBC any time soon. With an anti-establishment message at their core, they take aim at the plight of those in poverty in a raucous rendition of traditional folk song The Rich Man and the Poor Man, which Charles describes as “a song about what happens to rich people when they die and go to hell”, the moral of the story that “the rich are f**king c***iums”. Whipping through the frenetic set, laughs and cheers ring out from the ever-expanding King Tut’s crowd, exactly what we need as TRNSMT hits its midpoint on this Saturday afternoon. That said, this would also make the perfect alternative to late night dance music if the Boogie Bar’s not your thing!
INHALER
Sticking with the Irish, Dublin’s Inhaler reel in the bodies over on the Main Stage with their rather more polished, hook-driven alt-rock. Lead singer / guitarist Elijah Hewson often looks into the audience with humble appreciation, the spit of his famous relation, (bad) sister Eve Hewson of course! Opening with These Are The Days, lead single from latest album Cuts & Bruises, the number recalls The Killers while Dublin In Ecstasy floats off into War On Drugs territory. Love Will Get You There soars to perfection while If You’re Gonna Break My Heart’s woozy vocals intoxicate. It’s hard to fault this bunch and I’m sure they’ll be around for a long time to come.
LAURAN HIBBERD
Lauran Hibberd struts around the River Stage stage with a ballsy sense of defiance which fuels her spirited delivery of satire-laden numbers from last year’s debut GarageBand Superstar, with a sound rooted in 90s pop-punk. Asking the audience to think of someone they really, really hate, she blasts into her punchy new single Honda Civic, channelling her own anger superbly. The Isle of Wight singer tells us it’s her birthday and confesses to faking her age on (I think) her Wiki page though I think she’ll find that might no longer be the case… But with endless bundles of energy and cheek, she’s definitely one to watch out for.
AFFLECKS PALACE
The spirit of Spike Island makes its presence felt loud and clear on the River Stage tonight as Manchester’s Afflecks Palace give a modern-day nod to the sounds of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Showcasing tracks from latest album The Only Light In This Tunnel Is The Oncoming Train such as Holiday, Wake Up, I’m So Glad You’re On Ecstasy and lead single Dancing Is Not A Crime, Dan Stapleton’s gleaming guitar soars through the heart of each finely-tuned track as an uplifting fuzz of nostalgia spirals into the audience while frontman and Spirit Of Spike Island label owner J. Fender animates the crowd with his cheerful banter. But it’s a music festival, and Fender knows what a festival audience really wants, instigating an exhilarating singalong to their cover of The Stone Roses’ Waterfall, which sees their crowd swell. But I dunno, it feels like this isn’t the first time they’ve done a Stone Roses number…hmmm. Bloody good, likes! Afflecks Palace provide a fantastic warm up to what follows in Glasgow Green this evening, and will be back in Glasgow in October, catch them if you can!
THE WOMBATS
Despite it now tipping down, a massive crowd gathers around King Tut’s stage, The Wombats wasting no time, opening with Moving To New York after a quick restart due to technical difficulties. The result is glorious, the crowd in full swing and voice as bassist Tord Øverland-Knudsen finds his feet again after almost landing on his butt while darting about the wet stage like he’s being chased by bunch of folk in furry costumes. Next up, Techno Fan uplifts but the gutsy grind of Ready For The High from 2021’s Fix Yourself, Not The World is overshadowed by the arrival of an overgrown and forlorn-looking kilted wombat, clearly an endangered species judging by the state of the poor thing. On second thoughts, maybe it’s just had a few too many tinnies… Anyway, after a visit to the other stages, I return to catch a fabulous rendition of fan favourite Let’s Dance To Joy Division and the arrival of six more wombats, the original kilted marsupial last seen being dragged out by a local RSPCA representative. Great stuff!
KASABIAN
With it still chucking it down, taps are back on as an array of condom-like ponchos take over Glasgow Green in time for the much-anticipated appearance of Kasabian, who put on a boisterous performance, giving it everything with the perfect festival set as they roar through their greatest hits including Underdog, Shoot the Runner and Bless This Acid House.
Opening with Club Foot, Frontman Serge Pizzorno stalks the stage, egging the fans on and kicking off a chant for a mosh pit, faltering only occasionally to eye the scenes before him, in awe of the riotous reception they’re receiving.
He’s always liked to dress for the occasion, tonight shining in a pink jacket and matching hi-tops which provide his bouncing soles for the evening as he goes through an athletic repertoire of high jumps and ‘let’s ‘ave it’ gestures. Their sound flits between an imposing rawness and melodic groove, a mix which spurs on rowdy singalongs, with Pizzorno encouraging folk to climb onto neighbouring shoulders and stick their hands in the air.
Throwing in a splash of Fat Boy Slim’s Praise You, the addictive psychedelia of LSF whips the crowd into a frenzy, arms weaving towards the storm clouds as cries of ‘here we f**king go’ swirl around Glasgow Green, Pizzorno elated and not afraid to show it as Ian Mathhew’s drums bring the moment to a crescendo. He introduces last song, Fire, adding that he wants to see “chaos!” And chaos he gets as the rolling drums build up to the biggest singalong of TRNSMT, a groove-laden interlude seeing him put on a yellow bucket hat and head for the pit. Anyone who reckons Serge shouldn’t be fronting this band is having a laugh. He’s got it all and gives it more. I’m exhausted watching him…Give the lad a drink. Outstanding!
THE BLINDERS
When I pop over to check out the scathing punk-laced psych-rock of The Blinders on the River Stage, the only thing that disappoints me is the lack of attendance and really, organisers need to look at their scheduling as placing the River Stage headliners at the same time as The Wombats and Kasabian is, frankly, a bit of a let down. Ok, it was always going to be a difficult job to be pitted against a band as big as Kasabian, not to mention today’s demographic, but they didn’t really stand a chance, especially with the stage in its new hidden patch. Nevertheless, they soldier on and lead singer / guitarist Thomas Haywood jokes that Kasabian fans have asked them to turn it down!
Their rousing track Brave New World, from 2018’s Columbia, has a militant intro, dare I say, reminiscent of Kasabian’s Fire, and also at times echoes Carter USM’s Bloodsports For All, but my bad habit of constant comparisons aside, whatever I’m hearing it’s pretty darned good and decide to hang around for a bit to see what else this Doncaster bunch have to offer. With blistering basslines and swathes of lustrous guitar sending one chap off into a psychedelic stupor as he compares the ever-intense Haywood to Jim Morrison, they also showcase tracks from 2020’s Fantasies Of A Stay At Home Psychopath such as the dark but propellant Forty Days And Forty Nights, and last year’s Electric Kool-Aid EP, a political message always charging through their brooding veins. It’s a pity so few got to experience these guys, but I for one am pretty dazzled by their performance tonight!
SAM FENDER
Saturday’s headliner is North Shield’s much-loved singer-songwriter Sam Fender, with fans coming far and wide to check him out… or a least from as far afield as Newcastle judging by the amount of Newcastle United top wearers in attendance today. Back for his fifth appearance to TRNSMT, he admits he’s played all the stages, but this is the first time he’s headlined, and seems quite humbled to be doing so.
He cries ‘f**king come on Glasgow”, before launching into Will We Talk, a start he describes as “shaky” afterwards due to a fumbling intro, commenting that it’s typical that things would go wrong the first time they actually headline a festival. Right away you can hear his insecurities coming through which makes him all the more endearing but also reinforces the fragility echoed by so many who find themselves in the spotlight, something that’s becoming more and more apparent as musicians open up about their mental health issues. Getting Started really gets things going, the adoring crowd singing their hearts out as the rain threatens once more. As darkness begins to creep over the Glasgow skyline, the haunting intones of Dead Boys send chills, a song which has helped open up the conversation on male suicide, a subject which is also close to people’s thoughts later in the set when he covers Frightened Rabbit’s The Modern Leper with his rather fab guitar tech Fraser Fulton, the uplifting number sending goosebumps soaring and particularly poignant for Frightened Rabbit fans as they remember the band’s Scott Hutchison who took his own life several years ago.
Spit Of You enchants, Spice leads to the resounding chants of TRNSMT favourite “f**k the Tories” and a stripped back Angel in Lothian thrills the Scottish audience. Of course, Fender saves the biggest hits for last, closing with the anthemic Seventeen Going Under and supersonic chorus of Hypersonic Missiles, which sees the jubilant audience frothing over with elation as fireworks light up sky. Although everyone’s soaked to the core, some of that smudged mascara is definitely tear-related… What a phenomenal end to a fantastic Saturday!
Donate to Tiny Changes, the mental health charity set up in memory of Scott Hutchison >>
As a side note, one of my household teens bought a TRNSMT ticket primarily to see Sam Fender, but then had to sell it due to the new age restrictions…Anyway, for any other disappointed fans out there willing to travel down to England, he’ll be playing the Leeds & Reading Festivals in August, both events welcoming all ages (as long as accompanied by an adult) and even admitting under 13s for free. Catch him if you can!
Check out our TRNSMT 2023 Day 1 coverage including Pulp >>
Words: Shirley Mack @musingsbymarie
Pictures: Calum Mackintosh@ayecandyphotpgraphy