With these ideas at heart I started my quest for fulfilling distraction at two of London's youngest inner-city festivals: 'Field Day' and 'The Apple Cart'. Could a weekend of music and comedy prove to be the perfect get away from Jubilee celebrations? Surely?
Field Day 2012
If festivals were judged on first impressions alone, frankly, Field Day would suck. The organisation behind getting people into the festival site was shocking. People were queuing for hours to collect tickets bought online, whilst those who brought cash with them on the day could pick up tickets in a matter of minutes. In short the event organisation penalised revellers for forward planning, rewarding them with delayed entry to site and diminished time to have fun. Furthermore, the security on the entrance gate was more extensive and intrusive than a trip through airport security during a terror alert whilst wearing fused underpants. My wellington boots were metal detected (yes, rubber wellies) and I was frisked. Combine the queues with the feeling your unopened bottle of water could be a criminal offence, you arrive at a pretty gloomy starting point for festival fun.
In spite of a rubbish first hour, I have fond memories of Field Day. Sure, getting into the festival was horrendous, but I'm not one for judging a book by its cover, even if the cover is particularly painful and difficult to open. For the most part, the festival sun was shining, the stages all sounded good, and the line up was diverse and exciting. I don't even recall watching a poor performance... though 'Blanck Mass' did keep staring disconcertingly at the audience.
The real reason I went to the Field Day festival was the music. So, here's a round up of the acts I watched, some pseudo-informative spiel about them, plus a few links for the more inquisitive reader:
* Blanck Mass
As his name suggests, Blanck Mass broadcasts an ambient weight of sound. A core of noise that feels almost tangible. Processed beats interplay and build over heavy omniprecent bass. Blanck Mass tracks aren't short, and evolve one subtle layer at a time. If you enjoy immersing yourself and swimming in sound you'll appreciate his work. If not, Blanck Mass might feel quite empty despite the hulk off noise he crafts.
* Andrew Bird
The multitalented Andrew Bird and company took the breezy haze in London's Victoria Park and gave it a blissful soundtrack. His latest album 'Break it yourself' is brimming with light Americana chill out, sunshine, and mellowed summery vibes. True, he might be a little clever for festival crowds who are unaware of who he is, or what he's about. Nevertheless, on a summers day it is easy to get lost in the complexities of his song writing, and mistake clouds for mountains. Highly recommended.
* Grimes
Grimes is a captivating, stylish, electro-witch - she's kind of like Luna Lovegood with a synthesiser. Though her performances can be a little short, and sometimes rough around the edges, she always leaves you wanting more. Catchy electro-pop, with a mystical ancient feel.
* Chairlift
Though at times it felt like I had momentarily slipped into the '80s, watching Chairlift was an uplifting experience (lol). Airy electronic pop with a sophisticated (even country and western sounding) female vocal. Fans of the Postal Service, and maybe even adventurous fans of First Aid Kit or the Top Gun soundtrack should enjoy.
* Beirut
A gentle and heartfelt soundtrack to summer nostalgia, with brass that gladdens your spirit.
* The Vaccines
Energetic driving surf rock... from London. The Vaccines probably got the best of any reaction I saw from the Field Day crowds with their song "If You Wanna". They're well suited to festivals, but their songs are a little bit same-y. Nevertheless, when you're in a Vaccines crowd you don't care, you just want more. The Vaccines are infectious, ironically.
* Franz Ferdinand
These pioneers of alt-indie rock still sound fresh and relevant. Sadly the weather at Field Day turned, and they were one of only a few bands who's parade got rained on. Despite the impromptu umbrella party, it was a little bit of a wash out. Unexpectedly Franz worked a modified cover version of Donna Summer's electro anthem 'I feel Love' into there set of new material and crowd pleasing classics. It is genuinely hard to imagine Franz Ferdinand putting on a bad live show.
The Apple Cart 2012
Unlike Field Day, getting into the The Apple Cart festival was a much more relaxed affair. In fact the general atmosphere around the Apple Cart festival as a whole was more relaxed (despite the event getting a bum deal on the weather). The heavy rain could easily have left the punters bobbing (yes, like apples... poor apple puns 2 for a £1), but mercifully pretty much every stage was undercover.
Whereas Field Day felt like it was catering for cheery scensters, Apple Cart felt like it wanted to cater for families, but families preferably without kids. I reached this opinion as there were numerous tents marked "warning - adult content", I heard lots of adult language, and I saw a drag queen wearing just a wig and a liberally stuffed bikini... Super child friendly. Cynicism aside, if I was taken somewhere like Apple Cart as a kid I'd probably have turned out a lot cooler than I did; though perhaps with a latent fear of beards, jokes, loud noises, and budgie smuggling apparatus.
Ssssh! Enough chat! Who did you see? and were they any good?
* Billy Bragg
As someone who was keen not to stare gormlessly at the Queen drift disappointedly past in a canal barge over the Jubilee weekend, I was made up to see Billy Bragg and his opinions. Luckily he'd brought lots of opinions. Refreshingly he wasn't overtly militant, but rather provided a pleasant and informed juxtaposition to the blind celebration of what it means to be British. He posed some interesting ideas in his newer songs, waxed political on a number of topics, whilst all the while commanding the stage and being fun. The great thing about Billy Bragg is, whether you are sympathetic to his views or not, his lyrics are often deceptively clever and he sparks debate. He also sometimes brings balloons.
* Charlie Baker
I saw him, that tappy man. He didn't say much 'cos he was comparing the comedy tent. He was there though, and I guess worthy of some sort of note? What do you mean, no?
* Sean Lock
The prospect of seeing Sean Lock excited me a lot. He just sort of ruined my illusion of what he'd be like when I actually saw him perform. He was good, and I'm a fan of his mild surrealism and tangent loaded comedy. Yet, it seemed he indulged a little too much in the cheap laugh. I laughed lots throughout his set, but perhaps once too often with a sense of guilt, that feeling of: "am I condoning this view by laughing?" Maybe that was his aim, to co-opt an audience into illogical or un-held world views by means of a 'shock laugh'... Maybe it wasn't. Maybe I should have thought less, and laughed more at the funny man. Its clear his material is grounded in intellect and interesting notions, but I can't escape thinking his set did feel a little too comfortable with easy social, gender and race stereotypes. His material sat on an a blurred border, somewhere ambiguous between observational and critical humour. I'd go see him again, but perhaps as much to understand what I'm actually laughing at, as to be entertained.
* Beth Jeans Houghton and the Hooves of Destiny
Harmony heavy, arty folk-rock music. A little on the marmite-y side. You'll either love it, or just never buy it.
* Rich Hall's Hoedown
Essentially the renowned comedian Rich Hall and his troop of musical friends play ditties with a humorous twist. The music is pretty darn tooting, and I really enjoyed their rendition of 'Kung Fu fighting'.
However, the Hoedown version of 'Bitches Ain't Shit' didn't sit well with me. Not because it's unspeakably rude. I'm fine with that. Rather, it is my understanding that turning a Dr. Dre song into a piano ballad was Ben Folds' joke? I'm not saying no-one else should cover the song in this way. What got me was when the song was performed at the Hoedown, the origins of the joke were alluded to yet glossed over. Almost bequeathing all the credit, rather than just the performance credit, to Rich Hall and co. Comedians fear joke theft, so I ask: do the same rules that apply to jokes, apply to the use of semi-comedy songs? Meh. I guess they should just fight to see who's is better:
* Rich Hall Vs Ben Folds
(No bias or anything, but its clearly Ben Folds... or is it Dr. Dre?)
* Cabaret: Up and Over It and Feral is Frisky
Up and Over it beat a table to an immense rhythm, with intricate choreography, whilst providing a truly enthralling 4 - 6 minutes of entertainment. Oh, and they were on that Britain's Got Talent program.
Feral is Frisky sang a bit over dance music. It was good.
* Adam Ant and the Good, the Mad and the Lovely Posse
The Dandy Admiral, Captain Jack Sparrow... There are many names you could give to Adam Ant based on his appearance nowadays. However, they would all be mightily unfair and cruelly miss the point. The guy, and his band put on a mighty fine show. Ant's dress sense just ads to the experience. Listening to the band's two drummers playing in unison is utterly amazing. The only blip I saw in their performance was a minor crowd participation fail during Prince Charming, which, in fairness is quite a difficult song to sing anyway. I was genuinely taken aback by how good they sounded.
* Gilles Peterson
The 6 music maestro played some tunes.
* Josh T Pearson
Josh T Pearson is a difficult character to summarise succinctly. He came across as genuine, polite, funny, and endearing. Its evident he can control a crowd whist remaining quiet and softly spoken, yet, he's also powerfully charismatic, and can hold a commanding presence on stage. Against the odds of a noisey festival, full of noisy people, Pearson forged a mood of serenity and calm. The heavy evening rain beat rhythmically on the festival tent whilst he performed, adding natural texture to his haunting, chilling acoustic tones. If Pearson consistently can create an atmosphere like the one I experienced, he's definitely something special.
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