
Jade Bird: A charming interlude @ All Points East (yes, we know it's two months late, shut it)
Jade Bird: A charming interlude @ All Points East (yes, we know it's two months late, shut it)
Emerging from my toilet, I followed the mellifluous sound towards the stage, like a Looney Tunes character floating after the vapours from a hot pie.
All Points East was meant to be one of the highlights of the summer. When it came down to it, however, the festival was… kind of lacklustre. Under fluffy grey skies, I seemed to spend more time queuing for drinks, stumbling to the portaloos and searching for friends than actually witnessing any music.
The magic of festivals, however, is in their little unexpected moments. My friends and I were at the dance stage on Monday afternoon, and I won’t lie, I wasn’t feeling it. The music was upbeat, sure, but not disco or funk upbeat, you know? It was what I like to call ‘Nothing House’. You two-step, you drink your warm cider, but there’s not exactly much joy.
So: I decided to go for a little stroll and see what was about.
I got so lost, so often at All Points East (I blame poor festival planning rather than the consumption of alcohol) that I couldn’t even tell which stage I was at when I heard Jade Bird take to the stage. I can tell you what I was doing though: standing in muggy a portaloo trying to get the damn hand sanitiser to work. It was then, in the midst of my frustration, that I heard a crystalline voice slice through the summer air.
Emerging from my toilet, I followed the mellifluous sound towards the stage, like a Looney Tunes character floating after the vapours from a hot pie. There didn’t seem much point in cramming into the front few rows; instead I sat off to one side and rolled a cig as 23-year-old Jade Bird launched into the chorus of Uh Huh.
There’s something thrilling about the simplicity of her setup: an acoustic guitar, a backing band, dainty verses and air-punching choruses. Jade’s vocals are astonishingly potent, with an enjoyable Kurt Cobain-style rasp to them that comes out when she belts out those massive choruses. And they’re all massive.
Tracks like ‘I Get No Joy’, 'Headstart' and ‘Love Has All Been Done Before’ blew my socks off, even on a first listen. In fact, the composition of her tracks put me in mind of Nirvana as well. Swap the heroin and ripped jeans for rooibos tea and a jumpsuit, and I Get No Joy might be Lithium’s summery cousin.
Jade’s set was only short, but it totally recharged my battery. Everything from her chipper stage-chatter to her hair-blowing guitar solos was a thrill, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d have sworn the sun shone a little brighter for the rest of the day.
Gallery

3322
3322
Further reading

Reviews, Film, Live Reviews
The 4-Minute Interstellar Scene That Literally Stopped My Breathing
It’s haunting. No one can quite put their finger on it, yet nearly everyone has felt it. It touches you, making the touch of everything else feel significant. You don’t notice the slight breeze on your face from the air conditioning until the first notes start playing. Your breat

Live Reviews, Reviews
I watched a band call themselves 'Britain's best' and walked out a believer. Getdown Services @ Electric Ballroom, Camden
Getdown Services call themselves “Britain’s best band,” and honestly, after last night, I’m not arguing. The Minehead-born, Bristol-based lads turned Camden’s Electric Ballroom into a sweaty, chaotic sermon of sarcasm, funk, and full-throttle weirdness. The kind of gig where you

Live Photos, Live Reviews, Photos, Reviews
Viagra Boys at Brixton Academy: Fermented Chaos in a Sold-Out Bottle
Before the chaos erupted, Swedish support band Boko Yout set the tone with something entirely unhinged. Clad in Boy Scout-style uniforms and led by a frontman wearing a head torch like some deranged forest guide, they delivered a frenetic, psych-tinged assault that felt like

Live Reviews, Reviews
When Brooke Combe’s too big for the room’s small vibes
You’d think Neon 194 was primed for absolute carnage. A couple next to us looked like they’d reached the pinnacle of their come-up, a shot girl wobbling under a tray of Jägerbombs that could’ve doubled as a buffet spread, a bar in the back, and a crowd so rammed it felt like a t