Cosmosis Festival review

Images: Cosmosis Festival

Psychedelic festivals feel a bit like buses at the moment. You wait almost 50 years since the summer of love for one and then they're everywhere. 

While events like Liverpool's International Festival of Psychedelia and Austin's Levitation have begun to garner a worldwide reputation for their ability to gather all manner of the scene's artists in one place, Manchester's Cosmosis certainly freaked out the squares when it announced its impressive line up in the cavernous surroundings of Victoria Warehouse. 

A previously cultish concern taking place in Rusholme's Antwerp Mansion, the move to a venue synonymous with dance music's Warehouse Project on a chilly Saturday in March looked a brave move by promoters who looked at risk of being victims of their own success.

But thankfully, any such fears are laid to rest as the huge space begins to fill up and the punters begin to acclimatize to the building's labyrinthine landscape. With four stages there never seems to be a moment to spare, with the corridors full of long haired and beard explorers trying to plot their next adventure in sound.

First up for us is post punk masters Wire, who still sound uniquely angular four decades on from classic records like Chairs Missing and Pink Flag. We'll even forgive them their steadfast refusal to revisit better known songs like 'I Am The Fly' and 'Outdoor Miner' in favour of the newer material from their admittedly excellent recent albums.

Over at the huge Air Stage, Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats present a primal slab of Sabbath-esque heavy rock before Scandinavian duo The Ravonettes serve a wonderful reminder of why their combination of Everly Brothers harmonies, electro beats and shoegazey noise was so refreshing when they released the still fantastic sounding 2003 debut Chain Gang of Love. As Sharon Foo coos her way through should have been hits like 'Love In A Trashcan' and 'That Great Love Sound' (watch the video below), a growing crowd soon begin to cotton on they have a great lost band in their midst.

The evening's largest crowd is saved for Cosmosis' real coup of a booking in the guise of scene legends The Brian Jonestown Massacre, who appear to be reaching virtual stadium rock status, if the packed to the gills room is to be believed.

Front man Anton Newcombe is cheered to the rafters for doing little more than strapping on his guitar, before directing (and some times hectoring) his band through a gorgeously laconic set of hazy West Coast psych. While many of the crowd would probably prefer the return of the wild man of 20 years ago, these days Newcombe allows the music to speak for itself with even tambourine shaker Joel Gion playing down the theatrics as he provides the jingle to the frontman's jangle. The highlight of a stunning set is the introduction of recent collaborator Tess Parks who duets with Newcombe on the beautifully slow burning 'Anenome' (watch the performance below).

For most bands, the BJM's ecstatically received set would be a tough act to follow but playing second fiddle to anyone has never been the notoriously grumpy Jesus and Mary Chain's style and so it comes to pass that three decades after they put up a rocket up the arse of the twee indie scene with the incendiary Psychocandy. 

Despite the clear warmth and appreciation coming from the crowd, singer Jim Reid looks like he'd rather be filling out his tax return than spitting out the likes of opener 'April Skies' and the neglected 1998 single 'Cracking Up'. And yet despite this, or maybe because of it, JAMC sound magnificent, as one feedback drenched anthem follows another in glorious fashion.

It all builds to a ferocious climax as Reid screams "I wanna die just like Jesus Christ" on a brutal run through of Reverence before the razor blade kiss of 'Just Like Honey' melts both hearts and minds. Deafening and delicious in equal measure their set is the one true revelation of Cosmosis.

As physically hard as it is to listen to anything after the JAMC, Sleaford Mods provide just what a broad church the nu psychedelia is with their melding of John Cooper Clarke, The Fall and The Streets. Despite their anomalous presence on the festival's bill, Jason Williamson's acerbic destruction of modern dole culture makes for a welcome shot of reality among the paisley-clad hordes.          

By now it's past 2am and many of the crowd are beginning to drift away into the Trafford early morning, but for those hardcore remaining there's the rare treat of a set by Los Angeles's Allah-Las whose sun-kissed Byrds-ian guitars are probably the closest we've had all evening to psychedelia of an original vintage. As the likes of 'Yemeni Jade' and 'Tell Me What's On Your Mind' transport us back to the Filmore in '66, it's hard to deny the fact that both Cosmosis and Manchester have pulled it off in style. Over to you Liverpool.