Friday launch straight into the festivities with a late morning visit to see young great Scandanavian punks ICEAGE who sound like mid 80's UK Subs as they were sliding toward heavy rock. Blows away any cobwebs. Stay at the lovely stage in the woods for BRETON serving up heavy synth flecked dance. From there we wander through the wood and past the lake ending up sat in the sun (ish) watching the video screen of SHAPPI KHORSANDI baring her funny soul. Wandering aimlessly around taking in the carryings on I tarry a while listening to the gorgeous tunes of FIRST AID KIT who are also Scandanavian but obviously went to a different school of music than Iceage. Floating folksy sounds a la late 60's isn't usually my thing but soaring female voices twanging bluesy guitar and being outside at a festival surrounded by like minded folk up for a good time lets me forget my punk sensibilities and just enjoy. Although cut them short to see the much anticipated WE HAVE BAND who I'm expecting to end my drought of LCD Soundsystem disco rock (did I read Murphy may reform?) and they don't disappoint with a great set on the Lake Stage getting us up on our feet and bouncing around. Wanting to stay with friends I catch TWIN SHADOW who plays to a very appreciative crowd but I still don't get him. As back at the woods stage (i Arena for reference) we stay for the first part of the indie dancey CHAIRLIFT then wander back to the main site for a clash of choices. Stop a short while at POLICA then to see THE ANTLERS who are very turgid so I leave friends there to catch the last few songs of Polica and very pleased I did with energetic front folk getting us all up and jumping. [note: when I say all up and jumping I really mean about a fifth of the audience at any given act seeing as the average age pre midnight is about mine the energy levels could've been higher. After midnight the average age fell drastically to become teenage and overly energetic]. Next reconnect with friends at the main stage for classic afternoon festival jiving to the African beats of AMADOU & MARIAM who have some seriously funking bass playing alongside excellent guitar work. And the sun came out... Next I and the younger siblings trek back through the woods to see the brilliantly energetic raw rock and roll sounds of HOWLER. So this is where the young uns have been hiding out - waiting to jump around to the sounds of the 50's. And very worthwhile it was too. Exhilarated I stop on a bridge to look at the view then discuss with passing indie kid whether to go swimming. Looks inviting but think he was playing chicken with me. Meet the parents (not mine) at ALT-J for a laid back electronic trance folk set that everyone loved including me. More so than last time when I saw them in a church at Live at Leeds but couldn't see them due to damn pillars (probably very inappropriate thing to say about church architecture). Another excellent set by METRONOMY who don't really need any further introduction then catch the tedious YEASAYER and up to the woods yet again for an excellent bombardment of heavy trance rock by THE FIELD taking us back to festivals of yore... Looking for action at the main site I'm dragged to the closing stages of the uninspirational BON IVER then we dance at the Lake Stage til it goes all modern anthem folk bleeding Mumford style and the wood stages get deluged in a massive downpour so we head home past lots of wet young things coming into the main site through the mud.
After torrential rain I awake and venture out to the toilet block. Unbelievably clean considering - in fact they usually look like someone's polished inside just before you enter. And the water's mainly soaked away through the sandy soil so Saturday looks like a dry one. Maybe. DEAP VALLY in the forest are two feisty american women - stripped down drums and guitar - pumping out proper rock and roll verging on the heavy rock side of indie. Or even the heavy rock side of heavy rock. And they are obviously loving being here in li'l ole englan. And we enjoyed them being over here too. We tarry at SAM AIREY who my mates know from Leeds but he's too folk for me and we meander off to the Robot Bar for a fabulously refreshing jug of mojito whilst lazing by the lake with only a few spots of rain. We head up through the woods again passing the kids area, wondering at having a Radio 3 stage and heckling stone balancers. After our bracing drink we're right up for the stoner psychedelic rock of WOODEN SHJIPS who take us out of the forest and into the garage. Great sound, dodgy hair. Seem to go together. Liking a bit of continuity we go see TALL SHIPS who weren't that memorable (i.e. my recollection is poor). Then get undercover just as LOW come on. Not planned but it rains for their entire set which in a way is handy. Start with another great dose of stoner guitar shoe gazer head nodding but sort of unravels a bit. Entertaining as every time the guy picked up his silver guitar we knew it was going to pick up the tempo, bassist and keyboardist reminded me of John Otway so day dreamed about his stage antics and whether would fit in with Low. No, however oddly enough the guitarist did do a spot of playing his guitar with his teeth which the great Otway does. Also a brilliantly voiced female drummer who raised your spirits. Overall enjoyable and definitely knew you were watching a spectacle but maybe a little low key for me in a tent on a Saturday early evening at a festival. We are now up for the evenings excitement and after finding people at RICHARD HAWLEY who really isn't my thing rock back to the stage of the festival in the wood for a crazily rammed tent set by the great DJANGO DJANGO who I saw a few weeks ago at Field Day, in a crazily rammed tent. Ramsay didn't get my comparison with the Cramps but I still think they have the same sound. Maybe slightly less threatening on stage... Now my Otley compadres are in full running around mode so back to main area for the last of SBTRKT getting a young crowd jumping about and us doing the same (a lot better live than on the tracks I've heard and has a very nice water bottle) then back into woods for WALLS giving us spaced out synth and guitar then back over to catch the last few songs on the excellent HORRORS creating our own Personal Indie Disco with a few other like minded flappers. In the mood for more dancing we groove and skank with the kids at a soul funk disco check out Goldierocks in the woods which dampened us down then wonder at wandering stilted giants. Dropping in briefly on a stage area just designed to sell fags Oasis starts up and we flee through what is becoming a very muddy entrance and get back to the sanctuary of the tents...
Last day. Always a bitter sweet feeling. Excitement of the weekend's climax tempered with depression of not doing it all again tomorrow but looking forward to seeing family again. And a comfy bed. Anyways, back to a cracking breakfast of veggie pseudo bacon (Roger the chef is a non stop star) we lounge around by the tents for a while. Then trek through the entrance mud (none on the rest of the site) and happily avoid Rufus Wainwright before another classic festival afternoon sound from the ALABAMA SHAKES serving us alligator blues and loosening our bones. At long last find Julia with a couple of friends but then off via the still clean toilets to see RICH HALL who tells us exactly what Justin Bieber is in a way very inappropriate to the audience age. Hilarious though. Catch a bit of PEACE who are worth a look for a dance if you happen to also be passing. A bit hazy to be honest. Part ways with my mates to go see BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH who kept a full tent mesmerised for an hour. Back into the light catch the quirky end of BATTLES and meet friends again. Next up one of the highlights for me. Always good to be blown away by a band you don't really know. M83 gave us a massive uplifting show crossing rock anthem dance trance spaced out jump about and clap your hands grin at the guy next to you doing the same. Loved it. Seemed much more energetic than recorded but maybe due to the crowd giving back to them. Nowt gonna top that for a while so sit outside in the hot hot sun to recover then with Ramsay and Jo hang out at the Robot drinking mojito shooting the breeze reminiscing and generally getting sentimental. A perfect time to part company and see someone I first saw was it really over thirty years ago. Ouch. The great PAUL WELLER puts on a show as good as I anticipated. Even dancing with myself, well, in a big crowd, really enjoyed myself. Great mix of ages and types there including a few ageing punk / Jam fans. Excellent. After treating us with new sounds and going back to In The City he leaves to give us an encore of, what else, Eton Rifles. Not the one I would have chosen of all his music but definitely the right choice to get everyone jumping. Great end to the live music this weekend. Classic. After that find Ramsay and Jo and boogie on down to the kids indie disco which gets messier as the night goes on involving revolving sailor hats, limbo dancing under skull carved staffs and sharing of drinks until we decide it's time to leave the kids to it. Chat a while at a tent or two then settle down to sweet sleep. Journey back next day nothing to report except want to get home.
Highlights... Iceage for punk rawness, We Have Band for dance, Howler for rock n roll, The Field for proper old school festival music, Wooden Shjips for rock, Django Django for packing us in, Horrors for nostalgia of personal festival disco, Benjamin Z for keeping us real, M83 for jump around hands in the air and Mr Weller for being, well, himself. As that's a lot of bands you can see I enjoyed myself! Of course the best highlight was being with me festi buddies Mr & Mrs P. Cheers guys. Big love as the kids might say.
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