The end of 2000 Trees may just be hours old, but hot off the press we’ve got the final day’s highlights from our man on the ground Sam Savigny.
Being influenced heavily by The Bronx can be something of a disservice to a band as the comparison means they often pale. The same cannot be said for Dangerface who play a riotous set filled with exuberant and youthful vim and energy, distinguishing themselves from the aforementioned band with Thin Lizzy style twin guitar licks. This classic rock element adds a much needed fun factor to the nascent quintet, and makes the set as glorious as it is bombastic. For a band so early in their career they are tremendously accomplished and set for far bigger things ahead
Alcest invented Blackgaze. Møl came closest to perfecting it with Jord. For a brief set we are treated to some of the best music the niche subgenre has to offer. The band play with fiery intensity, and Kim proves himself to be one of the best frontmen in the game as he throws himself around the stage and performs from within the crowd for Bruma. Every single song is razor sharp and hyper focused, moving so beautifully from the brutal to the serene, with such adept musicianship it’s hard to not see it as one of the weekend’s best sets.
Having released what we here at Rock Sins believe to be a modern hardcore classic in the shape of Caprice Enchanté, expectations were high for The St Pierre Snake Invasion. It is an absolute delight to say that they were roundly met. Damien Sayell is a frontman extraordinaire, so adept at his craft, injecting wit and sardonicism into every crowd interaction, while the band play the set as if their lives depend on it. Casanovacaine and I Am The Lonely Tourist prove particular highlights, but it’s heartening to hear material from debut, A Hundred Years A Day, stand up against their successor and not seem like a dip in quality.
After a set like that anything after would pale in comparison. Anything apart from Buffalo, New York’s favourite sons; Every Time I Die. Playing Hot Damn! In full to start the set goes down a riotous storm despite it being one of the less brilliant ETID releases (they’re all amazing just to varying degrees), but it’s when the modern bits come out that the set jumps from spectacular to utterly masterful. Ending with Map Change, the band walk away heroes of the festival, proving to everyone why they are one of the best in the game.
How the fuck do you describe something like the set The Armed played? Well, as performance art. And that is art in the truest sense. Two members of the band have laid a table with water, beer and croissants before the set starts, and they sit there enjoying themselves, hurling the sundries at the crowd. Then all hell breaks loose. Strobe lights so bright and rapid you can’t physically look at the stage, the unnamed frontman jumps into the crowd to intimidatingly prowl around, throwing his weight into the majority of the onlookers. The music is diabolically intense, feeling every bit of auditory torture as it should. It’s utterly barmy, and beyond brilliant. Forget band of the day, they just stole the whole weekend without so much as breaking a sweat.
More coverage from 2000 Trees will be forthcoming here at Rock Sins in the coming days. In the meantime, if you’ve missed out on our highlights from the other days below:
