Friday 20/06/08 Day One, Southside Festival @ Germany

Last year’s Southside Festival will always be remembered for the cataclysmic storms which ripped through the campsite, throwing thousands of tents in the air and destroying the stages - which sadly resulted in lives being tragically lost. But thankfully Southside 2008 was all about the bands, with countless memorable performances all delivered over a glorious sun-drenched back drop. The festival is not one of the most conveniently located, but that wasn’t going to stop Gigwise hopping on a plane, many trains then the inhumanely cramped shuttle bus to bring you one of the most impressive festival line-ups this summer.

Situated on a disused airfield, The Cribs made sure the festival ‘took off’ in some style as they rattled through their usual relentless racket at the smaller tent stage. The Wakefield trio were as infectiously hyper as usual, with only a few sound problems hindering their undoubted title as a great live act. The German crowd were more keen observers than full-blown fans but set highlights ‘Hey Scensters’ and ‘Mens Needs’ certainly left their ‘Deutsche’ mark.

Prior to the festival, a quick study of the band’s set–times made for interesting reading. One of the biggest surprises was the lowly placing of previous Leeds/Reading festival headliners Razorlight. The showman that is Johnny Borrell found himself coming out to play in the stingingly bright sunshine in the middle of the afternoon. But with his John Lennon-esque sunglasses he was certainly prepared. ‘In The Morning’ was an impressive opener, and due to the rather sparse crowd the decision for an earlier slot was merited. Though Borrell was in no mood to resort back to being just a filler band, he strutted about and delivered a headlining set that only Razorlight can do. ‘Golden Touch’, ‘Somewhere Else’ and ‘Before I Fall To Pieces’ were sumptuous slices of indie goodness, while ‘Don’t Go Back To Dalston’ saw Borrell venture into the crowd, his topless torso been caressed by the hundreds of fans lifting him up. Finishing with the undeniable gem ‘America’ Razorlight had made their point pretty clear - they are no support band. Surely a return trip would warrant a much higher billing.

With a small walk over to the adjacent stage, Gigwise found a sizeably larger crowd already bouncing up and down to the furious Celtic-punk of Flogging Molly. Their blend of Irish jig violins slapped over chugging punk riffs never fails to raise spirits. Over 20,000 fanatics waved their hands and clapped along with such impeccable timing, as only Germans could. Front-man Dave King is dressed more like a school supply teacher, with a suit, tie and the accompanying glasses, but he is a born performer nonetheless. His gritty vocals are delivered with such belief and passion, every line so personally bared for all to hear. Playing the majority of their latest album ‘Float’, Flogging Molly triumph in uniting thousands of strangers, as they all become part of the best Irish party ever thrown.    

Check out pictures from the event below...

Southside Day One
Southside Day Two
Southside Day Three