Two Wounded Birds are a hot new band coming out of the south east; so interest in the band from us was always going to happen. The bands lead man Colin Halliwell writes,sings,plays the drums,piano & organ on the tracks that they recently recorded (songs can be found on their myspace, link below) and Ally Blackgrove who plays bass.

The band are looking set for big things with the tracks on myspace already racking up hundreds of hits. Expect more news relating to Two Wounded Birds over the next few weeks including updates on gigs and any new tracks recorded.

Take a few minutes to check out their myspace, they can also be found on facebook. (Myspace|Facebook).

The group will also be having a track played on BBC Radio Kent tonight at 8pm so tune in, check out and text the show with your thoughts.

you can listen to BBC radio Kent tonight at 8pm by tuning in to 96.7 & 104.2FM on DAB or Online at www.bbc.co.uk/kent

Sound Island Music Festival is an intimate festival by the sea, featuring headliners The Hoosiers, UB40 & Katherine Jenkins with many support acts held at Quex Park, Nr Margate, Kent from Friday 25th to Sunday 27th July.

Friday is headlined by The Hoosiers, with support from Scouting for Girls, and Elliot Minor. Plus more acts to be confirmed. Doors open at 4.30pm, and the music starts at 5pm. Tickets are priced at £26.

Saturday is headlined by UB40, with support from Aswad, and Imperial Leisure. Plus more acts to be confirmed. Doors open at 4pm, and the music starts at 4.30pm. Tickets are priced at £32.50.

Sunday is headlined by Katherine Jenkins, with support from Blake, and National Symphony Orchestra. Plus more acts to be confirmed. Doors open at 5.30pm, and the music starts at 6pm. Tickets are priced at £28.50.

There is a disabled drivers section in the main car park, access is via local authority badge. There are disabled toilets, and a wheelchair platform on the Friday 25th July and Saturday 26th July. Sunday 27th July is a picnic style concert and the wheelchair platform will not be in use for this concert as the audience will be seated. (Seats not provided but customers can bring their own or rugs if they wish). If any wheelchairs need assistance on entry please ask a steward on arrival and it will be arranged.

It was clear on arrival that the festival was very well organised and there were a lot of ‘Visi-Vested’ staff who were keen to help and really friendly. There was a large parking area, which was quickly full, so they opened some over flow parking just opposite the site. We didn’t actually camp until Saturday so ended up in the family camping area which was close to the music area and the toilets were within reach. As toilets go, they weren’t actually that bad and were cleaned out regularly (quite important for us girls who can’t just go behind a bush!) As it was based on a farm, the organisers were very ‘eco friendly’ and insisted on recycling as far as possible, and as we entered the site we were each given a bag, so everywhere was kept clean and tidy.

It was a very family friendly festival and they divided the garden into two sections, ‘The Cabbage Patch’ and ‘The School of Rock’. The younger children could entertain themselves with face painting, Diablo throwing and loads more activities, while the older children had the opportunity for music training and a chance to compete in ‘Battle of the Bands’.

As always, food and drink is a big priority for festival-goers and there was certainly a wide variety on offer to suit all, from ‘Al’s Hog Roast’ which used over 15 whole hogs throughout the weekend, that’s quite a lot of pig! to the ‘Haji Bahji’ serving authentic Indian dishes. There were a few bars scattered around selling beer, pimms, cider and also offering cash back which was really useful for those who quickly ran out of cash!

The site was well arranged with different areas to cater for all. There were a few different marquees; Hoe Down, Sheep Dig and Farm Folk, an open-mic stage- Folley Stage and the Cow Shed. The Hoe Down tent was most definitely aimed at those wanting to have a good old dance! Friday night’s line up consisted of Toddla T ft. MC Serosee; Cadence Weapon & the hugely popular Brighton based DJ Format.

Toddla T, born and bred in Sheffield brought crackling electric bass lines to the Hoe Down tent on Friday evening with the heavy vocals of MC Serosee. Their set started with mainly commercial hip hop over Northern bassline beats. The crowd wanted more and Toddla T and MC Serosee dually delivered, breaking into a mix of drum and bass and old school jungle which had the packed tent on their feet.
Cadence Weapon AKA Rollie Pemberton then took over the mic, offering the crowd something a little bit different. It was obvious from the start that he isn’t one to conform to the mainstream music we’re all so used to hearing. He reminded us a bit of a Canadian Dizzee Rascal with his blunt rhymes teamed with synth-heavy beats. This twenty two year old rapper/producer/DJ is definitely going to be big this year.
Last but definitely not least for the Hoe Down tent Friday night was DJ Format. He absolutely lived up to expectations for us pumping out funk fuelled hip hop packed with infectious beats, we only wished he played for longer!

Friday evening also threw in a nice surprise for the music fans sitting around the Folley Stage. On our arrival at the festival we decided to venture straight over to see what was on. Surrounding Dev from Lightspeed Champion was a group of fans who he was more than happy to chat with, he started taking requests from the eager audience of cover songs for him to sing. The audience were more than happy to help and shouted out a variety of songs. He played a medley consisting of the legendry Oasis - Wonderwall, Bloc Party – Helicopter & the Vines – Get Free which impressed the ever-growing audience. Dev then went onto do his main performance in the Cow Shed which entertained the crowd even more. Lightspeed Champion are working hard to promote themselves this year and it is paying off, they are undoubtedly one to watch out for.

Lounge On The Farm Media (Gallery | LOTF Tambourine Man Video)

After the unfortunate episode which was zoothousand we feel we can move on and inform you off a band that featured at zoothousand amongst other places this summer who go by the name of Fundamental Skillz. The band started in 2002 when six artists all from different backgrounds joined together to make a band that would show Kent something they have never seen before.

According to their site their main aim was to draw “from our influential backgrounds to bring forth a sound unheard before in England” and after seeing them at zoothousand I can confirm that they are on their way to success.

There music is a cross between funky style instruments, old school rap and lyric writing that stands them out from any other band in the U.K. today. Being brutally honest when I saw them walk on stage I had never heard of them and I was only in the VIP tent as the queues for the beer were shorter however as luck had it I had found a gem. They had a natural stage presence which won the crowd over instantly and the half hour set that followed left the crowd begging for more.

After the shift time slots some thought the band would be fazed or unhappy, but they were wrong. Fundamental Skillz stepped onto the stage with a natural vigour of true professionalism. The gig finally kicked off at around eleven PM, by then the tent had filled to the brim and a large group of lads near the front were cheering for them to start, and they did.

But just as it started it finished, the set was only thirty minutes long and you could tell that the fans wanted more, Fundamental Skillz however did finish up but being the professionals they are they did give the fans more, but not in the way of music. Most of the band came backstage and even out into the tent to mingle with the fans.

To me it was definitely up there as a highlight of my weekend and after discussing things with their manager I have high hopes for the band. Expect a full interview with exclusive pictures straight from the studio. We will also be attending more Fundamental Skillz gigs in the not so distant future.

URL : http://www.fundamentalskillz.com

I didn’t want to say it as I enjoyed this festival thoroughly; however Zoo thousand and eight seemed to be problematic from the start. The whole organisation caused massive problems regarding getting into the arena and setting up and the arena staff appeared to have no idea when it came to directing the crowd. This became an issue for our group as well as many others which delayed the festivities!

As some of you readers will know, there were rumours of cancellations from Dizzie Rascal, Wiley, Pendulum, & Roni Size and as we found out, some were more than just rumours. Dizzie Rascal and Wiley apparently cancelled over money disagreements however, Leathal Bizzle stepped up to the plate and smashed the main stage. Along with Dizzie, Roni Size also cancelled, but this was quickly forgotten when Haduken took their place. After seeing them on the main stage getting the hostile crowd back on their feet, I can see why they are highly rated in UK music scene right now.

On arrival on the stage it was obvious to see that Haduken were disappointed, when the lead singer shouted ‘You should just pay your fucking bands.’ This was an obvious dig at the event organisers clearly related to the Dizzie Rascal incident.  Despite the comment, Haduken went on to calm the crowd and their Donkey Kong like banana throwing shenanigans  that had started on the main stage and to me, it appears they were one of the best performers of the weekend. They had major beats and uplifting basslines. Their set was topped with a classic cover of “Breathe” by The Prodigy which made the crowd forget about the days trouble, and for me was definitely up there with one of the best songs of the event.

At one point on Saturday afternoon, I was pretty sure not one staff member had a clue that was on what stage and what time they were on. This was partly due to the closure of the Tap’n’Tin  tent, which was deemed un-fit by Health and Safety.   I spoke to a few of the promoters for the bands who informed me that some of the staff had just abandoned the arenas and stopped working due to the hostility from the gig goers. We were based in the VIP camping area, in which we were promised better toilets and SHOWERS! Not so much. The showers were shut all weekend and there were four toilets which after Friday night were mostly blocked and were not repaired.

Although the above doesn’t bear well for the virgin Zoo Thousand event organisers, all in all it was a great weekend. The bands that did make it to the event, most definitely made up for the ‘drama queen no shows’ who I expect have lost a few fans this weekend, especially Wiley who may not be wearing Rolex’s for much longer!

Transportation – 6/10
Event Organisation  - 5/10
Camping – 6/10
Music  - 8/10

Music Reviews

Gallows – Frank Carter started the Gallows performance rushing onto the stage abusing Mark Ronson for his time spent sound checking. The whole show was packed full of energy, the track ‘Abandon Ship’ had the crowd on fire,  however Carter was quick to put them out with a fire extinguisher covering them from the stage.  They weren’t dampened for long as the fire started up again when they finished the set with ‘Orchestra of wolves’ which had the smouldering crowd burning faster than a Molotov cocktail.

Ash – Ash are a house hold name all over the country and have been around the block more than once. There were rumours that Ash were not showing but when Tim Wheeler was spotted on the side of the stage the chants “We Want Ash” echoed around the arena. The Northern Ireland formed band didn’t disappoint and rocked the crowd with some great classics like ‘Girl from mars’, ‘oh yeah’, ‘kung fu’ and more impressively for me the classic ‘Shining Light’ which had the crowd jumping higher than I had seen over the whole weekend.

To finish their set they tried a new track, in my opinion a bit of track reorganisation would have topped off their performance as it was always going to be hard to follow such a well known track like the infamous ‘Shining Light.’ Overall the set was impressive and kept the crowd on their feet.

All in all the festival could have been organised better but its their first time and that has to be taken into consideration. For a full review check the site later this month for our first magazine (online) which will feature an in depth interview with Fundamental Skillz who performed amazingly in the VIP tent on Saturday night at zoo8. The Magazine will also feature a bigger and more in-depth review of zoo8 with pictures, videos and reviews with the artists.

I don’t think judgement can be fully made on the organisers without seeing zoo9 which i hope will go ahead despite the issues, check back for news on the magazine and the new site launch. 

Hey guys, we just got back from zoothousand8 and we are currently collating our pictures and reviews expect a firey one! No Dizzie, No Wiley, No Skinnyman. No showers, but overall a good first effort from the guys. Full review will be up by the end of the week.

Expect a bulging gallery, if you have any pics you want added to the site send them over to mail@southeastgigs.com Check Back Soon!