Endlessly Now Pageant, Nationwide Bowl, Milton Keynes, 22 June
★★★★☆
The summer time pageant season could be a tough time for these with a leaning to the darkish facet, as heritage and mainstream occasions can appear all too shiny and shiny. However like a bolt from the black, Endlessly Now – sister to California’s Merciless World Pageant – stalked onto the stage promising a one-dayer filled with “most of the best pioneers of recent wave, post-punk, psychedelia and various rock”.
Following sizzling on the heels of Yungblud’s Bludfest on Friday and Saturday catering to a youthful technology of these on the sides, Endlessly Now’s Sunday unfold throughout the spectacular important stage in Milton Keynes’ enormous amphitheatre, the second stage in a considerably dusty discipline and a unusual interview tent – the Echo Chamber. CP hit the bottom early with Theatre of Hate opening to a busy discipline on the Different Stage with a decent, brooding set. Stan Stammers prowled the stage as Kirk Brandon delivered booming vocals earlier than closing with a rousing Do You Imagine In The West World.
We took the straightforward five-minute stroll again to the primary stage for The Psychedelic Furs and a foppishly dressed Richard Butler charming the gang in playful temper. Whereas President Gasoline was the primary however not final observe of the day to reference political circumstances on a weekend when the USA bombed Iran, Heaven and Love My Method quickly wrapped followers again within the heat of the Furs.
The Echo Cave offered a peaceful respite from the rock with a refined Richard Jobson delighting followers with anecdotes from his ever-so-youthful days with The Skids, and a extra diffident Kirk Brandon tracing his post-punk gestation by way of The Pack, Theatre of Hate and Spear of Future.
Anger Is An Vitality
In the meantime, John Lydon was in imperious kind commanding an enormous viewers in a discipline not sufficiently big for his charisma. Missing a big stage display screen, some colleagues had been unable to take pleasure in Lydon’s disdain for the trade, officialdom and the “karaoke Intercourse Pistols” – the one factor he felt obliged to apologise for. The rapture for Public Picture Ltd’s Rise and Chant confirmed it ought to at all times have been the Most important Stage for this icon.
The Completely satisfied Mondays adopted with a predictably chaotic however heartwarming set. Delivering arguably the grooviest, danciest temper of the day, the gang ran by way of all of the favourites earlier than organisers misplaced persistence with the 20-minute overrun and pulled the plug whereas the Mondays stored enjoying.
There Is A Mild That By no means Goes Out
Again on the primary stage our tag staff stored tabs on a delighted Johnny Marr who rewarded followers with a refined mixture of his personal solo materials, The Smiths highlights, Digital’s Getting Away With It and a canopy of Iggy Pop’s The Passenger. Billy Idol struck maybe probably the most discordant second – for this festivalgoer at the least – along with his 80s steel/Vegas schtick feeling at odds with the day.
As nightfall started to fall, The The fittingly took to the stage dressed for the lounge in black fits and shirts. Candy Hen Of Fact and Armageddon Days Are Right here (Once more) introduced the gang again to the real-world politics of the weekend earlier than Matt Johnson settled right into a sentimental temper bringing Johnny Marr again on stage to share guitar duties. The buddies from teenage years revelled in The Beat(en) Era and Canines Of Lust earlier than Johnson and his polished band took us by way of their greatest favourites. He even introduced a tear to this author’s eye remembering how he penned I’ve Been Waitin’ For Tomorrow (All Of My Life) as an 18-year-old daydreaming his future as a airplane flew previous the window.
Fahr’n Auf Der Autobahn
The Different Stage rumbled on with The Damned, Jesus & Mary Chain and Dying Cult giving heft to the post-punk/goth claims of the organisers, however CP solely had eyes for Kraftwerk’s sole UK look of 2025. The long-lasting 4 keyboards emerged forward of the band members one-by-one taking their positions. Then it was a tour-de-force of beautiful visible, stomach-churning bass and digital heaven for his or her legion followers. Laptop World, Radioactivity and Autobahn all delivered with an epic Tour de France ensemble proving our spotlight.
Endlessly Now wasn’t with out hiccups on the Different Stage, however total delivered massively with a memorable 10 hours for our group of one-time goths and misfits.
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