Close your eyes and imagine brilliant sunshine, a cool breeze, 7500 music fans and 12 bands out to impress, what else but Jersey Live 2005.
 | | Jersey Live 2005 |
What a memorable day, Jersey Live 2005 will go down as one of the highlights of my life so far, probably to be replaced by Jersey Live 2006. I have to admit, and applogise to Bulletproof and Jackson Moody Band for missing their sets, I got there a little to late (waiting for a coach at People鈥檚 Park) but what I saw of the rest of the local bands was incredible 鈥 you did your island proud guys! I got there in time to hear (from a distance) the end of the Jackson Moody Band set (sounded fantastic) but as I had to sort out press passes, wrist bands, interviews and all the other stuff that goes with covering an event like this I can鈥檛 really review it. So it wasn鈥檛 until the third band came on that I got a real chance to sit back and listen. The OKs This was the first of two outings to the Jersey Live stage for the O'Keefe brothers; this time with their Bloc Party influenced, Muse-esq rock band, The OKs.
 | | The OKs |
The O'Keefe lads have only played a handful of gigs in Jersey as the OKs, better known as "soppy rock" (they鈥檙e words not mine) cover band Suzy's Field - but they will soon be firmly engrained in the local scene as a great original band. Over the next few months I'm sure we are going to hear a lot more from this Irish born group. Between bands DJ Pip played tunes to keep the brilliant crowd going, later in the day The Bravery commented to our Blast report Bryony 鈥渃rowd looks great, can鈥檛 wait to be out there" which pretty much sums it up. Killian Cillian Lohan brought his band to the attention of thousands of fans with an air raid siren.
 | | Killian |
It worked because the few not at the front of the stage soon ran forward, then it was up to Killian to pull a set out of the bag that would keep them there. The second outing for the O'Keefe brothers as part of incredible folky-rock band Killian went down brilliantly. The band played a set full of energy, drive and a pure love and passion for what they were playing. Killian get better every time I hear them, I have a copy of their album 鈥淟ive at the Star鈥 which is good but just feels slower and less together than they played at Jersey Live 2005. The Valentines The Valentines took to the stage after Killian to the delight of thousands of soon to be fans that had never heard this incredible local melody-tastic punk band before.
 | | The Valentines |
The Valentines amazed thousands of people with a simple but perfectly executed set of songs and a stage performance full of so much energy and fun that it would make some chart bands look dull. Speaking to people after the Valentines set the general consensus was that these guys could easily be coming back in a couple of years as headliners, a stunning set by this Jersey band who are planning to leave the island for Brighton and bigger/better things. Look out for the Valentines new EP that comes out mid September with a launch party at the Havana club. Velofax Funked up post punk heaven as Jersey band Velofax took to the Jersey Live stage for the second time (returning after a brilliant gig last year, and a brilliant year generally).
 | | Velofax |
Chris Wackrow led this new look three piece version of Velofax out on to the stage and performed some stunning new tracks and brilliantly re-worked older songs. Jersey Live finished off a sensational twelve months that included airplay on Xfm, supporting Clor and releasing a debut album. I expect it will also kick off another incredible year for the band that are all now living in London. Last year Cole Parker introduced the bands from about 6pm onwards (the headliners) this year he was there right from the start with the local bands who really made a massive impression on the audience and the headline bands. The Black Velvets
 | | The Black Velvets |
With a basist that is more rock than Jack Black there was only one thing we could be sure of from Liverpool based The Black Velvets - a lively set. Deep Purple-esq The Black Velvets pulled a stunning set of 1970s influenced rock out of the guitar case winning over thousands of new Channel Island fans. The Black Velvets energetic and flexible front man Paul has said he wants to come back to Jersey again and that it was his favourite festival this year. The Futureheads
 | | The Futureheads |
Possibly not one of the best performances of the day but still a fantastic set by the Futureheads. I don鈥檛 like to be negative in my reviews so I鈥檓 not going to dwell on them but I thought they were overshadowed by pretty much every other band playing the festival this year. Did you like the Futureheads set? If you disagree with anything I've written send me an e-mail and tell me why, write your own review and I will publish it. ryan.morrison@bbc.co.uk. Art Brut For me the best of the headline bands, Art Brut not only gave a brilliant musical performance but also a fantastic comedy show.
 | | Art Brut |
The band tailored their show to the Jersey audience with Eddie Argos at one point saying: "last night we played Guernsey, tonight we make some noise", speaking to a friend from Guernsey who went to the gig at the Fremain Tavern he said that summed it up well 鈥 a great band that can play two completely contrasting venues equally brilliantly. Art Brut playing Jersey Live also made the frontpage of nme.com with an additional comment added to the end of the brilliant My Little Brother about Pete Doherty. 鈥淪teer clear of crack, and steer clear of Pete Doherty, he鈥檚 a very bad man.鈥 The local bands also made an impact on this art-school punk band with a flair for words adding 鈥淏ulletproof Top of the Pops, Jackson Moody Band Top of the Pops, The OKs Top of the Pops, Killian Top of the Pops, The Valentines Top of the Pops, Velofax Top of the Pops" to one of their songs.
 | | Art Brut |
Art Brut gets better every time I hear them, I've played their album Bang Bang Rock and Roll to death and still haven't tired of it - but live they are even better, their performance was good enough to bring them thousands of new fans. Eddie called out to the people of Jersey and praised the island for it's "beer throwing anarchy" and seemed to revel in the socks from to the stage (he caught a sock thrown at the stage mid-song at Route de Rock). What did you think of the band? Will you go out and buy their album? Did you throw one of the odd socks hurled at the stage? The Ordinary Boys Brilliant set by the band that describe themselves as "just pop" (speaking to me in an interview), they played a set of tunes that had hordes of young girls running for the stage and inspiring many others to pick up a guitar and play.
 | | The Ordinary Boys |
They commented on their fame between songs by saying "Guess who's going to be on Top of the Pops tommorow ... us lot ... madness". Much more than just Ordinary - these guys gave us a great show that was musically brilliant and full of energy. What did you think of the Ordinary Boys perfromance? Preston from the Ordinary Boys commented later that he thought Jersey was a great festival and enjoyed the friendliness of it. The Bravery American 80s style rockers The Bravery wowed Jersey Live with a stunning set of synth-tastic tunes.
 | | The Bravery |
The Bravery played a real cracker with front man Sam jumping, bending, shouting and running around the stage as the band played a set of sensational tunes to get any party started. The band were a real highlight for many of the islands music fans and before going on to the stage said "the crowd looks great, can't wait to get out there鈥. The Bravery are right at the top of a selection of brilliant bands bringing the best sounds of the 70s and 80s to the front of the music scene. Eyeliner, pacy guitars, great synth and a whole lot of love - did you enjoy the Bravery set? Kasabian
 | | Kasabian |
After the Bravery the biggest band of the night gave yet another stunning performance in a day full of sensational sets. Kasabian are probably the biggest band to play the island in decades and one of the main reasons a lot of people came. They are about to head off on a US tour with Oasis. The band were set to be the real draw for fans of music heading to Jersey Live 2005, one of the most talked about acts of the year - and they didn't disappoint. Kasabian gave a performance fitting of their status, playing some new tunes alongside classics from their debut album.
That鈥檚 all folks While Kasabian took the stage 2 Many DJs where filling the THEORY dance arena with their usual eclectic mix of tunes, a really tough decision for many music fans 鈥 and a long queue for those deciding to see the Belgian duo. I'll be honest, I missed about half of Kasabian鈥檚 performance as I was backstage debating the Iraq War, George Bush and America's aid policy with Paul from the Black Velvets while Art Brut chilled out in the Hot Tub. But what I heard was sensational. Despite a few minor problems like a lack of toilets, queues for food and problems with transport the day went incredibly well, all credit to the festival organisers and everyone involved. While Kasabian played their final song the crowd jumped, shouted and cheered in appreciation of the biggest event of the year and in anticipation of Jersey Live 2006.
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