Words & Photographs: Eerie Rose (film shots using the new Harman Phoenix 200 colour 35mm)

Beginning with a very compact journey in a rather small hire car, singing along to ABBA on the motorway, 2000 Trees 2024 was definitely a festival to remember for London queer punk band The Oozes. Taking me along for my first festival with the band, I got to experience first hand the reality of playing a Main Stage slot…you’re probably thinking, backstage access, free drinks, brushing shoulders with music icons…and you’d be right to some degree, however there was also a significant amount of slightly (quite) separated homemade Pina Colada, ‘showering’ with wet wipes in the tent, and falling asleep face down in full jeans and coat combination. In the same way they approach their music, The Oozes always bring a balance of both fun and professionalism to everything they do, that makes working with them always productive and never dull. I had a chat with them after last weekend’s shenanigans to catch up on how the set went and what’s to come - they do still owe me a video interview in a portaloo, though. Next time.

Hello!!! You’re back from your third 2000 Trees festival, hopefully somewhat well rested. How was your set? How did it feel playing on such a big stage?

TOM: It was so, so chaotic and yet so much fun, honestly kind of glad for the technical difficulties because it took the pressure off hugely. It forced us to overcompensate for the lack of guitar by performing way harder and I think it made for a better show - the big stage was so much fun, I thought it would swallow us but running around was actually so great - I did sorta miss getting into people’s faces a bit though.

MIKEY: THERE WAS SO MUCH ROOM TO SPIN!!!!1!111 Think I’m gonna need to invest in some longer jack leads so I can fully explore the whole stage in future teehee !!

Did the multiple all-nighters working on the backing track pay off? <3

MIKEY: Not even going to dignify this with an answer x

Jk! It was good fun figuring out how to make a backing track - as it was something I’d never done before! I forget how much I love the recording and production side of music, so it’s always the coolest thing being able to immerse myself into a project for a few days, exploring different sounds and techniques, and then end up having made something not half bad, haha.

You started playing trees back in 2022 on the Forest stage, moving to the Neu stage in 2023 and now the Main stage this year. Do you feel like you’ve sort of grown up at this festival, and if you get to play next year what sort of changes would you hope to have happened from this year’s set to next?

TOM: Trees was the first festival we ever played so they have DEFINITELY seen us grow up a lot. I remember the first time we played not even knowing there was a separate sound tech out in the audience…I thought it was so strange there was someone on stage with us haha! We absolutely love 2k trees it definitely feels homely to us, it’s really lovely hearing from people who’ve seen our set every year because people keep coming back. I think the whole festival is a really big green flag…I will get down on my knees…and beg…if it means we get to play again next year. Hopefully we will have amped up the campness and weirdness even further, let’s be less human every time we come back.

MIKEY: I still get mega stage fright believe it or not…anxiety is real everyone<3…but Trees has definitely been somewhere I’ve felt comfortable just letting go onstage knowing it’ll be received well :’) so hopefully next year I’ll be the freakiest form of myself yet!

Tom - this was your first show back after surgery. How does it feel to be performing again, and did it feel like the perfect place for that first (almost) nip reveal?

TOM: The folks at trees deserved my nip reveal <3 Everyone is soooo lovely. People were coming over all weekend asking how I’d been doing and congratulating me on getting surgery, I felt so much love and support and I’m just so grateful. Performing itself was loads of fun, my adrenaline did take over a little and I might have overdone it a bitttt but it was so worth it.

Artists don’t always camp the whole weekend at festivals they play at - but you were at trees from Wednesday to Sunday, and rumour has it at the silent disco most nights. What is it about trees that you love so much?

TOM: The people at trees all seem to adore it and adore each other. For example, on arrival some random other campers helped us carry our bags to our pitch, just out of kindness. Everyone chats to everyone, it feels like a community and family, y’know? Also the silent disco is genius, I’m screaming the words no matter who can hear me, that’s the magic.

Is there anything quite like a tent-warm stella at quite an early time in the afternoon?

MIKEY: Literally nothing like it. It’s such a special experience, and I’m so glad to have shared that experience with some of my nearest and dearest at the treesiest festival of them all <3

What were your favourite sets from the rest of the festival? It seems like there were lots of friends playing, trees seems to have a real community of artists they work with which feels really welcoming and fun.

TOM: My favourite set of the weekend was definitely Problem Patterns, obviously they’re our pals and we would say that but genuinely I was grinning so hard the whole time my cheeks ached. I think they’re a great band. Then on their recommendation we went to see Other Half who were brill - other highlights would of course be Bob Vylan, comrades in the 3rd year streak and so great to watch, Thumpasaurus and Amigo the Devil, all favs of mine.

Festival highlights - give us some of your best moments be it things you saw or did.

TOM: Any weekend where I get to eat mac n cheese more than once is a winner…the silent disco was wicked and also loved hanging out with The Menstrual Cramps and Problem Patterns. During Bob Vylan’s set there was a super young kid on their dads shoulders filming and singing along which honestly made me tear up.

MIKEY: NOT hitting a baby in the face with a frisbee was pretty fucking sweet! Despite my PE GCSE, it turns out hungover me cannot catch a frisbee thrown to me by a stranger, nor can I return said frisbee in a straight fucking line - luckily the mother of the baby had incredible reflexes and span that little mofo around to safety before idiot tboy frisbee non-skills came thundering at it’s little face ;_;

I also really enjoyed the loaded fries from the No Frickin’ Chicken stall! xxx

How many angel slices are needed to survive a weekend camping?

TOM: 18…apparently.

Your next festival is Reading & Leeds, the iconic festivals most of us went to as a coming of age when we were teenagers. How does it feel now being on the lineup yourselves?

MIKEY: SOOOOO surreal holy shit! I went to Reading on the Saturday in 2014 to see Arctic Monkeys and Foster the People (and got dragged out of the main stage front pit during Jake Bugg after not eating all day, so ended up watching AM from MILES AWAY), and camped the full weekend in 2016 - so it’s absolutely the coolest thing playing what was baby’s first fezzie! Baby Mikey air drumming and playing the same playlist of Kerrang! Radio coded songs on his Squier telecaster would literally empty the entire contents of his bowels into his pants if he knew. No joke.

TOM: I feel like I missed the memo a bit here because this will be my first Reading fest and we’re playing which I think makes it feel crazier?? Like it’s always been some mystical and exciting thing that everyone’s always talking about that I've never seen. Terrified and buzzing.

You have something big coming near the end of august, actually on the same day you play Reading, in fact. Can you tell us what it is?

TOM: I’m gonna show everyone my butthole and also release a super long EP/Mixtape and one of those things is a lie. It’s called Gelatinous Man and contains a compilation of songs written between 2018 and 2023, all the shit we have that hasn’t come out - recorded with the lovely Daniel Fox of Gilla Band, between jan and june ‘23. It’s also the last songs we’ll be releasing from the four piece line-up. I’m really proud of these songs, they’re really representative of so much that I've been through over the past 5 and a bit years, with my transition and my mental health and living in general - super excited for people to hear them.

MIKEY: I didn’t know that’s your butthole’s name???

You can catch The Oozes playing a special Reading & Leeds warm-up show at The Windmill on August 20th, with support from Gender Crisis and Forrest Flowers. Tickets are available now - get them while they’re hot.

The Oozes will play Reading on Friday 23rd August, on the same day they release Gelatinous Man, before playing Leeds the next day, Saturday 24th. Tickets are available here for Reading and Leeds.

Stay up to date with The Oozes via Instagram, or see their full socials here.

Tickets for 2000 Trees 2025 are on sale now. Follow their social media to see more of what happened at this year’s festival!