I didn’t end up going back to the music festival last week as the high temperatures diminished the appeal of driving there. Even in the evening, the heat would make me feel ill. Instead, I went to the local brewery for a couple of pints and to stock up on beer to get me through the week.
I cannot function in high temperatures, which is just another reason that I hate climate change so much. With the heat outside, all the curtains are currently shut in my house and I’m sitting here writing while dressed in some baggy pyjama shorts and very little else. You’re welcome for the mental image.
Anyway, I wanted to write this week about a band that I did see at the festival last week.
I have been searching for my new favourite unashamed rock band for some time, but it doesn’t help that I’m out of the loop and mainly listen to music that’s at least 15 years old. As a student, I would find out about bands by reading Kerrang every week, then putting it back on the shelf in the newsagents. Then just down the road from my uni house, there was a great little venue that would often have bands playing. I’d sometimes take a punt on them and discover new music that way. Going to live music gigs, you discover other bands in the support slot and then start following them too. But once you’re out of the loop, it’s harder to get back into if you live – currently, anyway – out in the sticks.
These days, many of the new bands I discover and really like often end up splitting. I sincerely hope that my fandom doesn’t jinx their prospects.
I also think in this age of streaming and algorithms, plus the lack of Top of the Pops or similar shows, really makes it so much harder for bands to break through to the masses.
It might also be the case of what I’m looking for isn’t really how they make many bands these days. What I want in a band is a lead singer with an impressive vocal range commanding the stage and crowd, with solid riffs, interesting and witty lyrics, choruses you can sing along to, but above all else, must have guitar solos. So, my ideal mould is really based on Queen. See also The Darkness, My Chemical Romance, Pulp, AC/DC, and Iron Maiden.
And it would seem there aren’t too many bands that fit this highly specific criteria. And the ones I have seen that do on paper don’t have the songs to back it up.
Anyway, I am pleased to report that I have discovered a band that meets my unrealistic criteria. They are called Creeper and I saw them at 2000 Trees Festival last week.
I was finishing a burrito and a beer in one of the bars when they started playing on the main stage. I was drawn in by the riffs and theatrics and thought: “Okay, you have my attention.” So, I went and watched their set.
I would best describe them as a time travelling rock n roll band from the 1950s, who ended up in the 1970s and became obsessed with Rocky Horror, before travelling to the mid-2000s and fell in with the emo crowd and got into My Chemical Romance, with a bit of Meatloaf thrown in for good measure. But even then, I’m not doing them justice.
And my, do they have some bangers in their back catalogue. They have a showman for a frontman with an astonishing vocal range, sing-along choruses by the bucket load, catchy riffs, and embrace guitar solos unashamedly. Also, wearing black on a sweltering day in the sunshine takes a special sort of durability.
It’s almost as if someone saw my previously unpublished criteria and created a band especially. But then if they are time travellers, I’ll know where they got the idea. I had to buy their album afterwards and have been listening to their music solidly ever since. I hope they become huge, they deserve to.