After getting into the arena and getting something to eat, I settled down with a beer in the sun, to listen to the bands on offer. First of these was Fight Like Apes, an Irish band who played punky poppy songs. With Ash headlining, I can see why they were on the bill, as there were definitely similarities. Their lyrics were somewhat childish at times, and there were some very bad rhymes on show, but a few of the songs sounded quite good. I wouldn't go out of my way to see them again, but they passed the time very well.
Next on were Slow Club, who sounded ideal for the occasion. Slow songs, a bit folk-y in influence, which won over the crowd near the stage almost immediately. Not that many people would have heard of them before the day, so the fact that they converted the audience so quickly and comprehensively is probably a reflection of how accessible their music was. They were very laid back, and as I say, perfect for the circumstances.
Following Slow Club was a rather short (or at least it seemed that way) set from Get Cape Wear Cape Fly. He obviously was slightly better known, but still did an excellent job of converting those that had never heard of him. Much of his set was taken from his first album, and it all sounded very good indeed. He seems to play lots of smaller festivals, and having missed him at both Glastonbury and Wireless, I was really glad to see him here. He has a good number of really strong songs, which sound good on the first listen, so perfect to win over a crowd like this.
Then, onto the "very special guests", The Lemonheads. I last saw them in Chicago last December, and was (again) blown away by how good they were. This time, Evan Dando appeared on stage wearing a very nice Stooges t-shirt, tuned his guitar in, and started playing Rockin Stroll. This was followed immediately by Confetti, and it became apparent that the set was going to start with the whole of Its A Shame About Ray, played in order. An excellent thing, and the rendition of the album was very good, albeit with longer gaps between the songs than the Lemonheads usually have. This took away from the intensity a little - as their sets often sound better when they crash straight from one song into another.
After Its A Shame About Ray, the band were joined by John Perry, from The Only Ones. He played with them for the rest of the set, adding an extra guitar to their sound. The rest of the set featured (among other things) The Outdoor Type, No Backbone, The Great Big NO, Tenderfoot, Down About It, and a very drawn out and improvised version of Style. They ended on a song from their forthcoming album, a cover of Gram Parsons' Just Can't Take It Anymore. A very good set all in all, although it was definitely played at a very leisurely pace, and the guitars sounded much less scuzzy than they sometimes do - which made the set a little less exciting for me. Always a pleasure to see Mr Dando though, an utter genius if ever there was one.
Headliners for the day, appearing on stage at a very tame 6:45pm, were Ash. They carried on the theme of playing music that it is great to listen to whilst standing in blazing sunshine, drinking beer. Theirs was a greatest hits set as usual, and all of the mid-90s classics were present and correct - Kung Fu, Girl From Mars, Oh Yeah, and I could go on for longer! Always when you see Ash play to an audience like this, it reminds me of just how many great indie pop singles they have made. They are an fantastic festival band, having so many songs that people know - the target audience for most festivals is of the age where they know half of Ash's set, so they always go down really well. A no-nonsense set, a short encore, and the event was all wrapped up by 8pm - how very civilised.
No comments:
Post a Comment