Critiques

Sat 11 Aug – Field Day 2007

When you've got respected hosts such as Homefires and Eat Your Own Nose joining forces to curate a festival, you know it won't disappoint music lovers, so I’ll miss out the boring details like where I ate lunch or rants about what could’ve been better, but on the whole, I really enjoyed the day and I’m so glad I caught so many bands I’ve never seen or wanted to see, and the one band that convinced me I must not miss; one of the main reasons I went to Field Day: The Liars (OMG!). It was a real top class festival. There was a really chilled out atmosphere in Victoria Park, (if you managed to avoid the toilets and bars) and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect.

We caught Absentee first while sitting on haystacks… then went for refreshments as the queue for the drinks wasn’t so bad at that time. Then we saw some promising music from Florence and The Machine who were quite good and sung mostly covers. The singer’s really wild and she’s got a fantastic voice so I’d keep an eye out for her. Caribou were good, I love that track Sandy – that’s gotta be one of my favourite songs of the year, and I was excited to see Fridge (first gig in 5 years apparently) – I thought they put on a quality performance. Was Adem playing an ocarina?



We also managed to catch about 5 minutes of GoodBooks and the excellent Duke Dumont before we started queuing for drinks for an hour. Even though we were miles away from Adem, singing along to These Are Your Friends was a great moment. One more time…

Every-body needs some beer some-time…

The Earlies were quite good but we left quite soon ‘cos they reminded us of the Magic Numbers for some reason and I didn’t know much about them. Erol Alkan was so awesome, I just wanted to stay there all day but there were so many people in the tent, it was hard to get closer and dance. Battles were great. We were roughly 10-15 rows of people back but fairly close to the stage and we couldn’t even hear the sound properly. Despite all that, it was a killer performance – Atlas and Tonto were my favourites.



And finally to my highlight, despite my deep cravings to catch Justice (after seeing everyone carrying around crosses), I squeezed my way into the Beetroot Field (isn’t it a tent?) to finish the day off, while my brother went off somewhere. The Liars were meant to be on at 9:30 but they lied, thus the reason we missed Justice. But they were sooo amazing for presence, noise and charisma; having the crazy Angus Andrew dancing about in a white suit was so infectious, I too was dancing like a madman at the front while trying to keep my feet on the ground (which inevitably didn’t last long), and I just completely lost myself when it came to Drum And The Uncomfortable Can. They know well the power of a repeated phrase, and the tribal rhythms of Be Quiet Mt. Heart Attack! crescendo-ing to such a beautifully thrilling effect, that you just take pleasure in the rising tension that embraces you, forgetting all the discordances and distortion, and that you’re in the midst of a crowd. I can barely remember if they played anything from their latest album (except Plaster Casts Of Everything). The performance was a lot more intense than I expected, and I’m soooo psyched to be seeing them again in November, as cheering on the freak-out antics of Angus as he wrapped the microphone lead round his neck screaming “Blood!…blood!!…blood!!...” at the crowd during their encore piece Broken Witch just wasn’t enough for me.


(He wouldn't keep still!)

Good day for music.
Bad day for alky-hol.

Sat 11 Aug – Field Day 2007

Okay, lets get the bad stuff over with first - yes, the bar and toilets. For the record, I was in the bar scrum from 15.20 to 16.20. I wouldn't have minded if there had been a queue, but it was a bit primal, and I'm sure there were people who started out behind me and ended up in front. But still, I did get a couple of beers without missing any of the bands I wanted to see. And full marks for the free drinking water pipe (although looking at the shoutbox it seems some people missed this). The other bad thing of course was the toilets. I guess being a bloke it wasn't too bad, but I can't say I was too impressed by all the other blokes peeing just about everywhere. I mean, I saw people sitting under some of those trees later at night.

Then there was the stuff that was missing. I looked all over for the pear cider but couldn't find it. And what about the largest marrow competition? I'd been thinking about buying one from Waitrose to see if I could cheat my way to some kind of prize. Just as well I didn't because it would have been a tough one to explain to the security guards at the entrance.

But at the end of the day, I went for the music. And what a great line-up it was. I managed to catch Caribou, Fridge, The Aliens, Electrelane, and Bat For Lashes. Had to miss Battles and The Earlies because of clashes though. The musical highlight of the day for me was seeing Fridge again. Some great tracks from the new album, which I didn't like as much at first but I'm now reassessing. I hope they stick together and do some more. The Aliens also put on a good show, although you'd have thought the frontsman would have practiced throwing and catching the mike at home before trying it on stage. Electrelane were simply captivating. Bat for Lashes were great too. Another band that seems to come across better live than on CD. The only slight complaint there was the volume of the DJ tent nearby, which meant all I was hearing in the quieter bits was the boom-boom-boom-boom next door. And what was with the roadie with his more-than-5-minutes of fame at the start and Jism tattoo? Caught a little of Four Tet at the end, but when he got carried away playing with his knobs and twiddling his tracks out of recognition I decided to call it a night. So overall, for me, the music more than made up for the teething troubles.

Sat 11 Aug – Field Day 2007

Were you to ask the majority of attendees what they thought of the inaugural Field Day festival (an event lest we forget billed as, ahem, “London’s new psychedelic Summer fete”) their likely response would be a series of agonised palpitations, the aforementioned attendee dribbling over their Panda Bear t-shirt as they begin a series of affronted rants, gabbling about queues longer than the list of people lining up to smack David Cameron in his fat face, the resultant agonising wait for alcohol and the paucity of veggie burgers, not to mention the hi-fi bedroom quality of sound slowly rendering even the most tantalising of live artists (Battles = one long drawn out sigh) into unintelligible echoes of their regular selves. This isn’t so much part of the review, but one big incontrovertible fact: of Gigwise’s army of friends, half had disappeared before Justice had pressed play on their big shiny CD player of a DJ set.

Which is all undoubtedly an utter shame, because the philosophy behind Field Day was built on some pretty sturdy ground. An excellent line-up, nifty promoters (e.g. , Eat Your Own Ears, who have previously put on the likes of Beirut and Animal Collective in our fair capital), and Victoria Park in the sun were makings for a one-day festival in London built for once not on lowest common denominator-friendly mobile phone sponsorship but a copious supply of candy floss. And tug-of-war. The tug-of-war was fun to watch, yep. But before the moaning really began there were the bands.

First on Gigwise’s radar were the consciously-intellectual GoodBooks, one of many bands today ploughing a rich stream of electronics-influenced post-punk. If the later Foals are tight and shiny (their mathematical riot is wiry and tastefully arranged, with set-closer ‘Hummer’ something of an urgent-disco masterpiece), and Late Of The Pier messy and bleepy (‘The Bears Are Coming’ is the sound of Hot Chip phoning in a pastiche of early 80s hip-hop whilst playing Pac-Man, and is almost the festival highlight) then GoodBooks, despite their songs about World War One and obscure characters from Kafka novels, are the most pop-orientated of the bunch. Despite the embellishment of disjointed guitars and keyboards influenced by the most downbeat Cure records GoodBooks live lack any discernible edge, the songs shorn of any pointy bits or danger. Before introducing ‘Turn It Back’ singer Max Cooke playfully urges us to buy their rather fine debut ‘Control’, before wryly adding that the only place that it won’t be available is Tesco; it’s to the band’s credit though that of all their contemporaries it is GoodBooks you could imagine nestled in-between packets of cookies and copies of ‘A Weekend In The City’.

Although The Aliens are comprised of two-thirds Beta Band, their sound is more reminiscent of the Stones and The Doors: a surprise to anyone expecting (nay, hoping) for ‘Dogs Got A Bone’, and an aspect that means in effect they’re actually the most ‘psychedelic’ of the line-up in the MOJO-reader’s “proper” sense of the term. A man in a purple robe stands at the front of the stage as one extended jam bleeds into another, though it’s little more than window dressing to conversations about ice cream and the weather (did we mention the pathetic sound levels?). Archie Bronson Outfit, over at the Homefires bouncy castle, are similarly repetitive in their approach, though closer to the bludgeoning discordant brilliance of, say, Grinderman. Their dirty, propulsive rhythms and stabbing trumpet feel wrong in the hazy weather, but that’s probably the point.

‘Mirrored’ may undoubtedly be one of the best records of the year, an intricate work of often dazzling, progressive virtuosity, but memories of Battles’ Field Day set (for many the main attraction) will resonate not with the sound of spectacularly high cymbals and a telepathic interplay between guitar and electronics, but of muted joy and frustration. This is 95% the fault of the sound system, and 5% the nagging feeling that Battles are a little too mechanical in their approach to truly appreciate without the benefit of a)stimulants or b)a confined, intimate space. The heavily glam-influenced ‘Atlas’ is still a work of alien perfection however, and it’s in the song’s closing seconds that Gigwise realises it’s been looking for spontaneity in all the wrong places. For if Battles are the refined result of the most precise musical equation, then Field Day’s undoubted highlight, and the one band who come closest to saving this whole sorry affair, are what happens when said precise musical equation is left burning at a stake: Liars!

Now famously shorn of any conceptual burden (for their last two albums Liars essayed the story of witch trials and pushed forward the importance of The Drum respectively) their new record, pointedly self-titled, sees the Berlin/LA-based art-trio rediscovering the trick of instantaneous gratification by evoking certain easily identifiable touchstones of indie (e.g Jesus & Mary Chain, Flaming Lips), a trait that has never really been associated with this most singular of bands before. Only two tracks are aired from ‘Liars’, but they’re enough (the riff to ‘Plaster Casts Of Everything’ alone shreds away any disappointment in their delayed appearance) to cause orange trees to miraculously appear at the front of the stage (seriously), a white-suited on-form Angus leaving us with a defiant thumbs up. This is music played with both reckless abandon and bloody-minded intelligence; the material from ‘Drum’s Not Dead’ and ‘They Were Wrong…’ still sounds experimental in the most thrilling way, pushing both the listener and the band themselves into areas as yet uncharted. And best of all, huddled with everyone else in this darkened tent, our ears filled with distortion and the cries of “Blood! Blood! Blood!”, the idea that Field Day has been a mess of mis-guided conceptions of just what a 10,000 capacity festival requires is far from our minds. The queue to proclaim Liars as the band behind the year’s best rock album begins here.

Until next year, possibly.

(first written for Gigwise.com)

Sat 11 Aug – Field Day 2007

A brief review of Field Day over here. Or at least the bits I saw in between being stuck in one queue and the next.

Sat 11 Aug – Field Day 2007

We had high hopes for Field Day and I think they were mostly fulfilled. Sure there were ridiculous queues for drink/loos/food, but in the end I didn't really want to drink too much and managed to see all that I wanted to - mostly from very close up.

First came a lot of sitting around enjoying Tea & Tarts, beer and sunshine. Then was a bit of Chromeo, who got us quite jazzed up and ready for more dancing. Some VIP beer smuggling by ywain meant we were well stocked for Erol Alkan. He played Phantom Pt. II which was a taster of things to come later.

We had to quit early (sadly) to go and see (much happier) Matthew Dear. Getting centre-front, we had the opportunity to watch the man who is, quite frankly, God set up alongside bassist and drummer. We did some none-too-subtle worshipping and danced and sang our hearts out. Several songs from Asa Breed (including the almost indecently funky Neighborhoods) were interspersed with a couple of greatest hits from his previous albums - Tide and Dog Days. The latter sounded strange at first being played by a three-piece band, and to tell the truth the speakers weren't that great, but I still nearly died. Now all that's left is to witness both False and Audion DJ sets...

After regaining our composure (and some amazing free-noodle acquisition by gwenan) we headed over to see Gruff Rhys. His show was similar to when we saw him with The Flaming Lips - and just as captivating. We quit early though to get good spots for Justice. Unfortunately this meant missing Liars who, i've heard, rocked. It did mean however that we were front-centre for the crucifix-weilding moustachioed lunatics behind hits like D.A.N.C.E and We are your friends. They were a lot tighter than when they DJed at Renaissance and even threw in some cheeky Wildchild and Klaxons. Shame they were chucked off stage before they could play Waters of Nazareth but there's no arguing when the lights go up.
(Bastard rules...)

We went on a crazy mission to get to the afterparty - a mission which took in far more of London than it needed to - but we finally arrived to the sounds of Claude VonStroke's awesome remix of W.A.Y.U.H.. Kieran Hebden aka Four Tet played a brilliant extended set, fitting in Carl Craig remixes of both Don't Give It Up and Falling Up before finishing with James Holden's classic remix of The Sky Was Pink. After that it was a bit downhill - far too much 'filthy electro' that verged on unforgivable happy hardcore - although there was an inspired blast of Out of Control towards the end.

A quick 6.30am nap in McDonalds, a visit to the St. James' pelicans, a laugh at the Buckingham Palace guards, a wild Spoons'-chase and a Pizza Hut later I decided it was time for a sleepy train home. Field Day was pretty good for a first year. Even if you could complain about the lack of welly-wanging, there could be no complaints about the first-class line-up. Deserter was worth the price of admission alone.

Sat 11 Aug – Field Day 2007

what a gorgeous day! perfect for seeing your favourite artists.

who i saw:

to kick off the day we got an early viewing of caribouat 1.30. I thought they were on top form, i've never seen them live before. The highlight was seeing the two drummers in syncronisation. If you missed this then i hope you were seeing something else great!

fence collective a great acoustic set imo. everyone sitting down on the grass and bails of hay in the sun. Never seen them live nor had i heard anything by them before but i was certainly impressed.

the aliens. This was probably my least favourite of the day...not that I thought it was poor in any way i'm just not that big into the aliens. They had an excellent stage presence tho and the crowd seemed to enjoy it! the highlight was definitely robot man. I AM A ROBOT MAAAAAAN

electrelane. This was without a doubt my favourite. Only recently getting into them I didn't go in expecting to be blown away but i was. For the half an hour they played I fell in love with all four of them. The crowd was electric too, jeering and clapping even during the songs (slightly annoying) but they did deserve all the applause. They also seemed to be rather surprised by all the attention. If you missed this I feel sorry for you. If you get the chance to see them live you won't be disappointed.

battles. Good set, they had a few problems with volume at atleast one point which was a shame. Unfortunately i've only listened to the album a couple of times so I didn't recognise 2 out of the 3 tracks they played. Atlas was fantastic of course.

Gruff Rhys. This came very closely behind electrelane in my list. I'm already a fan of gruff rhys (and the furries) and I recognised pretty much all the songs from candy lion. It was also a lovely set to see while the sun dipped beneath the horizon. Rhys' soft comforting voice made my brain feel like it was being wrapped in a velvet cloth.

Justice Unfortunately two factors prevented me from enjoying this as much as I normally would. (i) it was too damn quiet and (ii) my tiredness by this point prevented me from getting my groove on in the noise pit. It was a good way to end the evening tho and the crowd were loving it.

All in all field day was a great festival. It pooed all over leeds/reading. The only issues were (i) they severely underestimated the amount of bars/barstaff they needed (ii) there weren't enough veggie options and finally (iii) the toilets were manky but i guess that's king of expected at a festival. I did however, like the weird hygeiene soap-gel-like substance that evaporated from your hands.

that is all

Due to a NUTHER migraine, I was late for the event of London's summer - as I liked to call Field Day. Much like summer this year however, it turned out to be a bit of a letdown, with some memorable exceptions which were more than made the most of.

Sad not to see Absentee, who opened the day in a bizarre piece of scheduling which I was ready to embrace but for the unfortunate circumstances. Also Caribou and GoodBooks, of whom I heard good reports. First discovery of the day was James Yorkston and The Athletes, a Scottish Bright Eyes with mouth organ. Very nice. Very quiet though.. which was to become a theme.



Atmosphere-wise, something was pretty unsettled about this festival - heavily influenced by the one / one-and-a-half hour wait at the beer tent I'm sure. Made it hard to get into the swing of things. Also the size of the Beetroot tent, which had the lion's share of the lineup and was regularly oversubscribed while the main stage suffered lackadaisical crowds and was hardest hit by the enforced low volumes. What was that about? Filthy Dukes got quite a response when they said The only way we're going to get some noise today is if you make it!

Layout wise, it didn't feel quite right either. Not wanting to blather about feng shui and flows of energy, both were absent in my view. Wandering around was disorientating (and I wasn't drinking, much). Food was abysmal, except for the juicy, meaty, saucy fare that I saw flowing from the Lock Tavern barbecue - but also came with an hour's wait. And the smoothies! The first true highlight of the day.

Then there was Kid Harpoon, peddling his folky fun with a band this time (see previous documentation) and Pull Tiger Tail, who were fantastic. A friend wandered off mumbling disdain for post punk, and left me with my guilty pleasure - that ready-to-snap snare and post Libertines, Futureheads-without-being-Northern, sound. Talented youngsters, and nice to look at.



Chromeo and Electrelane both sounded great from the Beetroot tent but there was no getting near. And I was saving my shoving karma for Liars. The Earlies were hit by a clash with Archie Bronson Outfit and the curse of the main stage, but put on a good set with a welcome dose of brass and their great musicianship. And then, Battles.



I battled my way to the second row, wanting to get as close to the wires as possible. Battles will bring out the geek in you. The extended setup certainly did me. The short set, four numbers, sustained some sound trouble (you'll see Mr Braxton requesting volume on his inaudible vocals in the video below) but was exhilarating nonetheless. Battles put beats where they're not supposed to be, and are garnering soundbites like 'the future of music'. To say that what they're doing is exciting would be lazy and understated. And I said it. See you at KOKO in October.

The undeniable riot of the day however, for which even no beer at the beer tent would have been worth enduring - and, to be fair, the main reason I was there - was Liars. I am going to have to write about that separately, as to come close to the experience will require some alternative form of expression which I am hoping to muster. Suffice it to say here - they make the word riot seem tame.



Caught a few soft strains of Justice at the main tent thereafter, but there wasn't much left of their set - shame as I am a fan of Cross - and by 10.30 it was all wrapped up. It was a fairly subdued crowd traipsing out of Victoria Park. Not an event I would rush back to, which is not how I was expecting to feel. Still, a nice enough crowd, and a few memories I'll be savouring. Sadly not from the Bat for Lashes's set, who by all accounts are poised for greatness but clashed with Battles - ?!*@!??!?