Last year’s inaugural Field Day festival in London’s Victoria Park left many an attendee with a bitter taste in their mouth. A fantastic line-up, beautiful weather and great location, spoilt by massive queues for bars and toilets and pretty dodgy sound across the stages. This year, the organisers ensured us that these problems would be solved…
Oh, Field Day! You were so close!
The bars were much, much better; no need to make the choice between seeing a band or missing the entire set queuing for a few beers. By the way, festival-organisers take note: cans > plastic glasses for speed, convenience and spill-free factor. Nice one. But the toilet situation is still a disaster zone. People drink… people pee. That is the way things are. 30 minute queues to use portaloos is just silly. That said, for the guys, it wasn’t bad. Stage times… err… what’s when, and where? The cancellations of one or two bands appears to produce the sort of chaotic, truly random reordering that many mathematicians and programmers spend lifetimes trying to understand and achieve. And the sound still isn’t much to shout about. In fact, shouting at the main stage came with the risk of drowning out the band onstage.
But enough with the negativity!
Festivals are about enjoying music and Field Day – “London’s psychedelic Summer fete” – is nonetheless a gem in the British Summer Festival calendar, packing another great set of acts into an unfortunately grey August Saturday. It’s a shame we weren’t lucky with the sunshine this time, but hey, when the music’s good it’s a moot point. At least it gave me the change to air out the wellies before Green Man next weekend.
Highlights
Emma Pollock
A leisurely morning sleeping meant I didn’t reach the festival site until around 2 o’clock with a plan to catch Tunng on the Homefires stage. This stage, tucked away near the main entrance and compered by Adem, is home to the quiet’n‘folky side of of Field Day. Courtesy of the upturned scheduling, I instead happened across ex-Delgados singer/guitarist Emma Pollock as my introduction to Field Day 2008.
Without any idea of who I was seeing, it was a very welcoming set of lively indie-rock that reminded me a little of Howling Bells – who I’d incidentally missed earlier on in the day, just less of the noir. Pollock is quite a beguiling lead, with a friendly stage presence and a voice that keeps you listening. The music is just a little too tame to really make a lasting impact. Still, one to investigate on record as I think they offer more than came across.
Tunng
Aah, Tunng. You can’t go wrong with Tunng, and I’ve yet to find someone who hasn’t like them on first listen. Even with a post-birthday hungover (so we were told), they’re a treat to hear. The great thing about live Tunng is how the intricately recorded records are given new life outside the constraints of the record player. Electronic sounds pop and purr out from places you hadn’t previously heard, and vocal harmonies are afforded much more presence when you see the group working together. Again on the Homefires Stage, it was turning out to be the-place-to-be.
One standout track, of many, was Soup (from 2007’s Good Arrows), if only for Mike Lindsay’s cock-rock gesturing during the guitar solo – distorted acoustic, headbanging, with one foot raised on the foldback wins. And Jenny Again – one of their best from Comments of the Inner Chorus. A darkly tender story of an eloping girl and her lover, and what might have been. Just lacked enough volume on the tweeting-birdcage toy to make it a perfect performance.
Jeffrey Lewis
I’d not had the pleasure of seeing Jeffrey Lewis live before, but I had heard good things of the man. Not going in with any expectations, I was completely won over. Both hilarious and intensely creative, Creeping Brain – with brilliant hand-drawn storyboard as accompaniment – and a song about accosting Will Oldham on the L-Train (Williamsburg Will Oldham Horror) were definite highlights of the festival. I’m still surprised it’s possible to write such a song about the Bonnie Prince.
http://www.thejeffreylewissite.com/
Les Savy Fav
It was tricky decision; Efterklang at Homefires or Les Savy Fav on the main stage. The fact Homefires had been consistently good throughout the day didn’t help. But as much as I like Efterklang, the Les Savy Fav live experience is something one cannot miss. After all the quiet music, I desparately needed something a bit more raw.
Forcing our way to the front, my fellow festival-goers and I squeezed ourselves into a cosy spot down the front in preparation for the ensuing madness. If you’ve not been to a Les Savy Fav gig before, it’s difficult to explain what happens. And that’s because there’s no way to know quite what’s going to take place. Essentially it involves singer Tim Harrington disappearing in and out of the crowd, be it in a romper suit, pirate suit, jumpsuit, fully-clothed or not (in the space of one set) to the sound of heavy indie/art-rock/punk music. He’s one of the best showmen around, and powered by a super-tight band they produce a quality show.
At this point, the rain was starting to get a little more intense, and it couldn’t be more appropriate. Harrington appeared on stage, dressed in a raincoat, with a bundle of ‘lost festival shoes’ and proceeded to distribute them among the crowd. And soon after, the first strains of The Equestrian (from 2007’s Let’s Stay Friends) started to sound and I recalled Harrington’s speech at the start of the last Les Savy Fav show I saw – we should forget about the past and the future and only think about now, free ourselves for the moment. The heavens properly opened for the first time in the day, and it was a truly glorious moment. Soaking wet, pogoing aplenty, carrot missiles [from the earlier carrot-eating contest, no less], comedy underpants and all kinds of mess. It made the whole day worthwhile.
King Creosote
There’s a little danger of attaching stereotypes to a Glaswegian singer-songwriter with a guitar – it’s going to be dour and depressing Scottish folk. But no so. King Creosote was a nice closing memory of the festival. Although some of the Scottish-isms were lost of me (and I expect much of the shandy-drinking Southerner crowd) the simple comic tale of Ladedadeda Dadedum Dadedum, with The Pictish Trail accompanying, brought a smile to my face and with it a neat balance to the intensity of Les Savy Fav.
And so, with an overriding need for a bit of warmth and home comforts, forgoing Foals, Simian Mobile Disco and the remaining acts of the day, it was off to the awesome Palm Tree – the only way to end Field Day. Complete with gold lamé wallpaper, a live ratpack band and a local boozer atmosphere, it’s a worthwhile visit if you’re in the area.
I have high hopes for the next Field Day [assuming there’s still enough cash floating around this time next year] and I highly recommend getting yourself a ticket too.
- Filed in music and live-music under field day,tunng,emma pollock,les savy fav,jeffrey lewis,king creosote,efterklang,london,festival
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