MOVE FESTIVAL 2004 - PREVIEW
UPDATE: Live Reviews
Move Festival 2004
Reviews
Thursday - Madness / Ocean Colour Scene / Jimmy Cliff / The Strangler
- Click Here
Friday - The Cure / Elbow / Keane / Longview / The Cranes- Click
Here
Saturday - The Pixies / Stereophonics / Goldfrapp / Tim Booth / The
Stand / 2220s - Click Here
Sunday - Morrissey / New York Dolls / Beta Band / Ordinary Boys / James
Maker - Click Here
Manchester's Move Festival has become one those dates on the gigging calendar that you can't help but look forward to. The previous two years have seen the likes of Bowie, REM, New Order and Green Day headline as well as some unforgettable moments such as Joe Strummer playing one his last ever gigs at the festival before sadly passing away. The festival has become such a runaway success that the only negative aspect we can recall of the past 2 years was when Hooky's pals Hanky Park opened up the New Order day at Move 2002 to the immediate heckle of "Your Shit" - that in itself was a true Manc comedy moment and sums up the spirit of the Move Festival - a little light hearted fun in the centre of the city with none of the hassle of camping in a field and the whole "getting close to nature" baloney that's usually spouted about Glastonbury.
The line up is certainly one of the most interesting line-ups of the Festival calendar this year:
MADNESS / OCEAN COLOUR SCENE / THE STRANGERS - 8TH
JULY
(Plus Jimmy Cliff and Ozomatli with more TBC)
Probably the least musically satisfying of the 4 day festival there's
something about this night which could in fact turn everything over and
come out shining as the firm fans favourite.
Madness are well known for their obligatory Xmas nostalgia shows and while we're not fans here at Designer Magazine there's still a very good reason they sell out tours time and time again - at least everybody in the family young or old can name a handful of Madness hits whether it be "It Must Be Love", "Baggy Trousers" or "Our House". Headlining the Move Festival looks set to be their biggest outdoor show to date since the legendary Finsbury Park shows in the early nineties and hopefully it'll will let those memories flood back which Suggs solo career and the Madness musical nearly obliterated.
Ocean Colour Scene find themselves in a strange position of being one of the top draws on the live circuit while at the same time being currently without a record deal. These will be the bands first UK dates since Damon Minchella left the group so it will be interesting to see who exactly takes over those duties and naturally there's always a chance of their pals from Oasis popping up for a jamming session.
"Many Rivers To Cross", "The Harder They Come", 2 classic songs you're likely to hear from reggae legend Jimmy Cliff when he plays Move to, fingers crossed, a sun-soaked Manchester audience. With 22 albums behind him there's no shortage of material and fans of the Nutty Boys will be down the front skanking with the best of them.
The Stranglers returned this year with "Norfolk Coast", an album which Designer Magazine described as "stupendous" and "not having one single weak track". The live shows mix up this gloriously eclectic album with the hits of old such as "Golden Brown", "Heroes" and "Always The Sun" as well as covers of "All Day And All Of The Night" and "Walk On By". A band that have can continued to play the live circuit for years and still avoid the nasty hint of long gone nostalgia.
Ozomatli's appearance at Move marks a summer of gigs which takes in supporting Peter Gabriel at Wembley and headlining the dance stage at Glastonbury. Their last album was released on September 11th 2001 and while other bands cancelled appearances, Ozomatli carried on spreading their social and political messages. A new album "Street Signs" is released soon and features engineers and producers who have worked with the likes of NERD, Prince and Cypress Hill.
Related Links
Madness:
Official Site
Ocean Colour Scene: Interview
- Official Site
The Strangers: Album
Review -
Live Review
- Fansite
THE CURE / ELBOW - 9TH JULY
(Plus Keane and Longview with more TBC)
Although the band are playing various festivals internationally this
looks set to be the Cure's only UK festival appearance to date. The band
last played Manchester as far back as 1996 and if the sight of Jamie Cullum
murdering "Love Cats" at the Brits was too much for you this will be the
time to hear all the hits plus material from their forthcoming new album.
There was a time when the thought of watching Elbow live would have filled us with dread, but an optimistic and more eclectic album has seen the band develop the live shows till the extent they are actually entertaining. It will be interesting to see how the kings of manc mope fit in with similarly melancholy Cure purists.
By the time Keane play Move their album "Hopes And Fears" will have shot straight to number 1. It's been a 12 month journey which has taken in a low key single release on Fierce Panda through to being dubbed the new Coldplay by critics. Keane are one of those bands who we still can't work out, Designer Magazine was there in the early days and were blown away, but can they really take on a festival crowd remains to be seen.
Related Links
The Cure:
Official Site
Elbow:
Album Review - Official
Site
Keane:
Interview - Live
Review - Official Site
Longview: Interview
- Album Review - Live
Review - Official Site
STEREOPHONICS / THE PIXIES / GOLDFRAPP- 10TH JULY
(Plus Tim Booth, The Stands, 22-20s)
The Stereophonics are a band who have veered between the downright
boring and a true rock and roll band. Their last show at the MEN Arena
just before Xmas was one of those great Stereophonics moments where they
pulled out all the stops and proved that without the might Stuart Cable
they could carry on regardless. Although the band have a back catalogue
of hits to draw from it will be interesting to see if Kelly Jones has penned
any songs for the next album.
It's hard to imagine though that the band will be able to compete with the Pixies. A band who have influenced everyone from Nirvana through to Radiohead and possibly every single band that followed, their status is legendary. We could waffle all day about why the band are so important but we thought we'd leave this one for the fans on www.ilovepixies.com who share their memories and photos of the band.
Goldfrapp are a band who seem to be critically laudered with each album, but for me it's the glorious epic nature of the bands debut album "Felt Mountain" which shines through. The difficult second album seemed no problem for Will Oldham and Alison Goldfrapp which they eschewed the cinema for the disco and created once of those classic alternative dance records of the last 10 years. The fact that they're playing on what is the closest to the "rock day" should only help to make them one of the highlights of Move this year.
Ex-James frontman Tim Booth returns with his first proper solo show in the city. Booth played a low-key acoustic gig as part of last years ITC conference and has recently been out on the road for 3 club dates. Although James were an undeniable force, Booth has proved he can work outside the group before with Booth & The Bad Angel project with Angelo Badlimenti. With the solo album released a month before the show, this should be one hell of a homecoming.
The Stands and 22/20s play Move Festival 2004 with their reliable retro rock providing a relaxing opener to the day.
Related Links
Stereophonics: Album
Review - Live
Review - Official
Site
The Pixies:
Official Fan Site
Goldfrapp:
Official Site
The Stands: Interview
- Live Review - Official
Site
22/20s:
Live Review
MORRISSEY / NEW YORK DOLLS- 11TH JULY
(Plus The Beta Band, The Bees, The Ordinary Boys, James Maker)
Morrissey also performs his first outdoor date in the city and
if you weren't one of the lucky 20,000 people who snapped up tickets to
his MEN Arena show before they sold out within an hour it's advisable you
buy tickets quickly for when he headlines the closing night of Move. Although
he is already confirmed for Glastonbury and The Carling Weekend as well
as curating the Meltdown festival there's something about Morrissey's comeback
that suggests he's going to milk that back catalogue for all it's worth
at each individual gig as well as play the tracks from his new album "You
Are The Quarry". Whether Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke attend this year of
Move remains to be seen though although we'd certainly like to be a fly
on the wall for that meeting.
Personally chosen to support Morrissey at Move are the New York Dolls. The partnership goes back to the days when Morrissey used to run the boys UK fanzine and the gender bending seedy glamour has inspired bands such as the Manic Street Preachers, King Adora and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs of recent years. This will be the only northern show the band are playing following an appearance the Morrissey curated Meltdown festival a month previous. Miss at your peril.
The Beta Band are one of those bands that seem to cause so much conflict in the Designer Magazine offices with opinion ranging from "the worst band we've ever seen" to "absolute genius". Their recent album 'Heroes To Zeros' is the bands most cohesive work to date and reports of the recent show at the Manchester Academy seem to suggest that far from ploughing the same mine, the boys are at their peak.
What can we say about The Ordinary Boys that their moniker doesn't suggest. Far from taking inspiration from the Morrissey song of the same name, they literally retread old Jam singles and come across as a dodgy Britpop band. Even Menswear were better than this so be warned well in advance.
Related Links
Morrissey: Mike
Joyce Interview -
Official
Site - Morrissey
Solo (V. Good Fansite)
The Beta Band: Album Review
- Live Review - Official Site
Ordinary Boys: Live
Review
TICKET INFORMATION
Madness/Ocean Colour Scene - (8th July)
The Cure/Elbow (9th July)
Stereophonics/Pixies (10th July)
Morrissey (11th July)
Tickets for the four-day festival from 8th-11th July at Lancashire County Cricket Ground go on sale on FRIDAY 16th APRIL 2004. Tickets are priced £30 per day and subject to a booking fee (but check out the four day season ticket info below for a cheaper option)
On the Phones
Wayahead Box Office – 0870 405 0445 (24hr cc hotline)
Piccadilly Box Office – 0161 832 1111
Ticketmaster – 0870 151 4444
Aloud – 0870 998 8888
On Line
www.gigsandtours.com
www.aloud.com
In person
at Easy Internet Café, St Annes Square, Manchester and Radio
City Box Office, St John’s Centre,Liverpool, Virgin Megastores Manchester,
Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield and Royal Court Box Office Liverpool
FOUR DAY SEASON TICKET;
Why not enjoy all four days of Move and take in over 20 bands? A Four
Day Season Ticket is available for just £85 (plus booking fee). Not
only that but Virgin Trains will provide free rail travel on the Virgin
Network to all Season Ticket Holders. NB: This offer is only available
if you book through - www.movefestival.com
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Reviews for Move Festival 2002 / 2003 are in the
archives
What do you think of this years line up?
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