Saturday 16/07/05 Day 2 @ Guilfest

Best Unsigned Band as voted for by Radio 1 listeners, Brighton based the Love Gods join the marathon of plucky, funky new bands strutting their stuff in the Rocksound Cave. Their mix of rock and grunge and hard, hard work (these guys have no manager, no promoter and no record deal, yet they have already played Glasto AND regularly sell out 500 capacity gigs) has won them a legion of fans, and telling by the crowds' reaction at this years fest, they've certainly secured quite a few more. Tinged with snippets of catchy, gorgeous melody, and delivered with a passion so punchy it'd bruise ya, they are indeed hot contenders to be the next big thang.

'Emotionally intense', 'lyrically astounding', and 'musically gorgeous' do not quite come close enough to describing the beautifully chilled out tones of Tom Baxter. Last year's debut album 'Feather and Stone' has won critical acclaim, and judging by his set over on the BBC2 main stage, it's clear to see why. Jeff Buckley in the modern day. Accompanied by an amazing band, including some rather haunting violin, Baxter's spine tingling performance was quite breath-taking.

One of the must have albums of this year has to be the self titled debut from Hal, which infuses modern and old school qualities from country to folk and perfect pieces of pop. Their live show was every bit as rewarding as their record, with ten tracks of pure joy. Highlight's included 'Worry About The Wind', which marries beautiful harmonies in its tribute to The Band's Rick Danko, as well as the heartbreakingly poignant, multi layered ballad of wanting 'What A Lovely Dance'. Seemingly more upbeat than on album play, Hal engaged the audience with their mesmeric melodies.

'Wise has said it before, and will say it again. The Subways surely MUST be the hardest working band on the planet?! Whizzing in before running off just as fast to Tin Pan Alley and Germany, they upped the tempo with their catchy blend of indie punk. Gorgeously spot on as ever, Billy, Charlotte and Josh played a fast paced set featuring songs from their recently released debut album 'Young For Eternity'. By the end of it, everyone was at least tapping a toe, and given the incredulous heat, that was rather an impressive achievement!

Main Stage headliner Paul Weller went down just as well as to be expected. A mix of some classic Jam and some of his latest solo stuff set this old pro rockin' with the rest of us. Sampling some of his more experimental material along side the heavy weights such as 'You Do Something To Me' ensured that their was a bit of Weller for everyone, and one of the cutest sites 'Wise witnessed over the weekend was that of two tiny tots rocking out to 'That's Entertainment'.

Photos by Richard Parsons

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