The hangovers and comedowns have just about faded nearly two weeks on from this years Shiiine On Weekender. All we’re left with now is, an aching feeling that 2020 is just so far away.
To ease the pain, here are our top 5 highlights from the weekend. Please don’t troll us, we really did love everything about the weekend! Except Phil, he says we’re all c**ts.
Jon Mancini
Classic after classic, rave, acid house, Ibiza anthems and stupendous remixes flooded Reds dance floor. No-one played this weekend without technical proficiency. What set Mancini apart was, his ability to tap into the soul of this festival and its people. By the time he dropped Electronic, the room was ready to fall in the floor and die in a state of sheer happiness. May he always be at Shiiine!
Gazelle
The Shiiine On family continues to grow with new bands each year. Having the Inn On The Green free from the main stage on Saturday was a great touch. Big crowds for every band, more importantly, crowds of music buying generations to hopefully fund the new wave.
Taking full advantage was Leicester's Gazelle. The most aptly named band of the weekend, who among us wasn’t wearing a pair!
Along with mainstage openers Ivory Wave, they have had great run of singles in 2019. Looking like a gang and as free flowing as The Rifles and The Courteeners, they channel Richard Hawley’s Blake-esque lyrics through a flurry of great choruses and solos.
Despite the smell of feet (the room, not theirs), their everyman rock n roll blew away Friday's cobwebs with aplomb.
Sice
What a comeback. No live performances since 2005, Sice returned with a couple of gigs this fall. Neither would have compared to the huge crowd he drew on the Centre Stage. Humble, and full of love, Sice was visibly taken aback by the crowd he drew and, their reaction to the Radleys classics he played.
The Radleys were always full of adventure musically, however, to hear their songs stripped back was one of the cutest and most adorable things known to man. ‘I Wish I Was Skinny’ was jaw dropping, ‘Fairfax’ was heart-warming and, during ‘From the Bench at Belvidere’, Shiiine On possessed a hymnal quality like no other.
Embrace
Doing exactly what it says on the tin, they lift you up, inspire you and release you into the ether a better person!
Euphoric from start to finish, their beauty continues to reign supreme. With a classic record in each of the last three decades, they are becoming Indie’s Cliff Richard, here’s to ‘20s.
The Popguns
As a teenager of the Britpop, Shiiine On offers up several bands not yet discovered. Each of our four trips as unearthed a band that has stolen my heart:
2016 - Thousand Yard Stare
2017 - The Orchids
2018 - The Train Set
This year’s lucky winner was Brighton’s jangle gems The Popguns. Their effortless pop music warmed the arctic seaside conditions effortlessly. If there is a better sound to fall in love to than theirs we’d like to hear it.