NME Weekender – Babyshambles, Chalet Gigs, Hell’s Grannies

This past weekend, music fans gathered at Pontin’s Camber Sands resort in Sussex for two days of live musical performances for the first-ever NME Weekender. Admittedly, there were a few hiccups, this being the first of many weekenders to come, but we still had a grand ol’ time.

You can check out the official review in this week’s print issue of NME, but for now, NME.com is bringing you some of our favourite moments of the weekend.



We laughed with Minnaars
Math-rock/electro-punkers Minnaars showcased some material from their new EP ‘Ideal & Error’, regardless of requiring new gear. “Sorry for that, we’re really poor so we can’t afford any equipment that works,” they told the crowd, asking punters to chuck pound coins at them. Well, that didn’t really get their attention, so they offered merchandise and drugs for sale, with a jibing “Pete, if you’re here?…”

Pete Doherty sang ‘Happy Birthday’
That being said, Mr. Doherty was pretty well behaved during his headline slot with Babyshambles. Despite starting his set 15 minutes late and smoking a fag onstage, he just sang his songs and kept pretty quiet. We were happy to hear some hits like ‘Fuck Forever’ and ‘Killamangiro’, but the unexpected performance of Libertines tune ‘What Katie Did’ was what won us over. Oh yeah, and he generously sang ‘Happy Birthday’, in case it happened to be someone’s birthday.
Babyshambles

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We stopped by Egyptian Hip Hop’s chalet
Egyptian Hip Hop’s performance on NME’s Radar Stage was pretty flawless and the crowd was clearly engaged, but the band’s mini chalet session is what really showed off their skills. We were lucky enough to find out about this jam session, where they even found a way to incorporate an ironing board into their music.

Egyptian Hip Hop

We said farewell to Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster
Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster were wonderful as always, but they shocked us when they revealed that the Weekender not only marked the end of their tour, but also their last ever show. Glad we got to see it!

Rock stars like playgrounds
We swung by the jungle gym with Ollie Wickham of The Laylanas, who proved that beer and slides can be enough entertainment for a Saturday afternoon.
Laylanas

Wild Nothing enjoyed the arcade
Wild Nothing had the unfortunate time slot opposite British Sea Power, so attendance was a bit bleak, but at least they sounded great and frontman Jack Tatum could joke about it: “Any time we can play video games before we go on stage is a good night. Silence? OK, I’m cool with it.”

Grannies like rock ‘n roll, too
Well, at least Hell’s Grannies do. A few dudes looked like old ladies at Pontin’s, and one grew quite font of NME photographer Danny North. We have photographic proof below.
Hell's Grannies

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NME Weekender – photo gallery

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