Django Django, and Two Door Cinema Club are the highlights of day one of Evolution

Leading up to the annual Evolution Weekender that takes over the Newcastle, Gateshead quayside there was plenty of talk of over priced tickets, (at £35, they must be joking), and a poor line-up. However, by the time the event hit the city, it was seemingly all forgotten, with good numbers, a diverse crowd and really good feel around the festival.

Gaggle are one of the most unique and exciting bands of recent times. It perhaps also wrong to declare them to be a 'band', and instead more of a collective choir. With around 16 members and a conductor, the all girl group combine orchestral vocals, over slowed down, electronic, dub based drums and bass. It's certainly imaginative, innovative and almost beyond description, with actually seeing Gaggle being the easiest way to describe the, and even then you'll come away asking plenty of questions. As the drums and heavy bass of I Hear Flies kicks in, the audience is certainly captivated. Perfect harmonies from the combination of singers and the swirling electronic synths demonstrate the groups attention to detail and melody. It all seems a bit over the place, but when you take the time to listen to what's going on it's very, very interesting. Not an easy listen to start the day, but an early crowd favourite.

A real change of pace, but perhaps my highlight of the day came in Django Django. Combining swirling synths, with live percussion and the right amount of guitar based music, the variety on display by the band was inspiring. Very psychedelic in its form, and clearly taking inspiration from the likes of The Beta Band and the Super Furry Animals, the band launched into a strong set including the arabian melody based Skies Over Cairo, the beautiful Storm and the Cramps guitar inspired WOR. A very strong set indeed, which the growing audience were highly receptive of, especially for a band of little reputation in the North East. With a real attention to harmonies and pop melodies, the combination of that with the bands psychedelic nature and musical sounds, with a real shimmering pop feel to it, is a breath of fresh air.

Hercules And Love Affair are one of the most exciting bands on the famous DFA record label at the moment, and so it's a real shame that around 99 percent of the audience for them at Evolution had no real idea as to who they were or what they were about. They're a band that are easy to get on board with however, with their ESG, dance punk inspired, electronic music being really infectious and very easy to dance to. Shimmering synthesisers and easy on the ear drum beats create a real summery italo disco sound, and it's not hard for the audience to find their dancing feet. The early 90s rave inspired track My House and the equally infectious Blind receive the biggest responses of the set, especially on the latter with it's continual disco beat with an incredibly infectious melody riding over the top. Live, there's not much to take in from Hercules & Love Affair, it's all about the music, but with three singers on stage, including one whom both looked and sounded like Grace Jones (not a bad thing, surely?) there isn't really the visual impact that most other bands have, but they make up for that through their disco pop.

Somehow, over night, The Kills seem to have become a really big deal. They're one of those bands that I've always loved since the moment I first heard them on a Domino record label compilation, but I've held and regarded them as an 'underground' band. But apparently not. No doubt helped by the relationship between superstar model Kate Moss and guitarist/vocalist Jamie Hince, fame was only ever going to be a tabloid away. With new album, Blood Pressures, only released in April, The Kills are still cutting their teeth with their new set, however, the slow chugging guitars of DNA, the ska inspired Satellite and blues rock beast Future Starts Slow all slide into their set of oldies, which seem to have already become festival anthems, with total ease. However, as the band delve in to their strong back catalogue including No Wow and URA Fever, it becomes more than an apparent that The Kills lack something live. It may well be the big main stage, but The Kills lack the depth of sound to fill such a big area, and with only two members, and only one guitar and drum machine, the music and what should be a harsh, brutal sounding set is delivered almost as a whimper. It all seems a bit more style over substance perhaps, with the pair, Hince and Mosshart, really looking the part on stage. It's sexy and sleazy, exactly how rock and roll should be, but their sound, unfortunately, lets the whole set down.

No problems as such for Two Door Cinema Club, with the Northern Ireland 4-piece drawing the biggest crowd of the day, and the also the biggest response. Despite only having one album out, it's seemingly as if Two Door Cinema Club have been around most our lives. They're pretty much omnipresent in your life. No wonder it is then, that the band send the Newcastle Quayside into a fury, with the jaunty guitars and disco drum beat of I Can Talk and the infectiously catchy vocals of Something Good Can Work causing mass audience participation, singing and dancing. It's really quite spell binding really, and as indie music starts to delve off the map of popularity, Two Door Cinema Club seem to be able to transcend that, and make success work for them. Their off the beat, quirky style guitars, and strong, infectious melodies really make the band a hit at the festival, and certainly a strong contender of band of the day.

If it wasn't for really poor sound quality however, that crown would, and should, have been given to Iggy & the Stooges. The excitement that I had before The Stooges took to the stage was quickly washed out, almost through of a wall of white noise, with drums, guitars, bass all drowning out the vocals of Iggy. My heart sunk. And judging by the amount of people streaming past me, heading towards the exit gates, seemingly I was not alone in my sentiments. As the opening strains of I Wanna Be Your Dog kicked in all was seemingly forgotten, as you knew what a treat you were in for, but as Iggy opened his mouth, it was as if nothing came out. Musically the band were fantastic, bar the odd slip up, and No Fun, and You're Pretty Face (Is Going To Hell) sounded incredible. Iggy Pop himself was on top form, being suitably crass and crude, whilst moving around the stage like a man 40 years younger than himself. Encouraging a stage invasion, as well as telling the Newcastle crowd to go fuck themselves on several occasions. But it's this behaviour that endears us to him, and without a doubt Iggy is the ultimate front man, a true show stopper that can carry any show. I did think that I would leave the festival after his set full of energy and optimism for music, but instead I was left a bit downhearted and slightly infuriated that I wasn't given a kick in the teeth by the music of Iggy & The Stooges. Time to get the record player out.

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