Saturday morning found me a tad jaded. I'd missed a whole load of bands and the line up for Saturday night didn't look too hot. With Pet Shop Boys and The Charlatans headlining the main stage the festival was ostensibly over. Or so I thought...
What looked like a sparse line up on paper was actually a line up that gave us the breathing space to savour the bands who were playing. Starting with Atlas Sound, the side project of Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox, on the intimate Pitchfork stage, things were suddenly looking up. The Spanish sunshine married with his gorgeous, spangly, psychedelic sounds made for a blissful combination. Then on to Bundles who appeared to make no reference to the conspicuous absence of Kimya Dawson. The highlight was a Travelling Wilburys cover which was an optimistic allusion to the band's status as a supergroup. Credit to Jeffrey Lewis who got the weary crowd up and dancing.
Next up Grizzly Bear. I have a complicated relationship with Grizzly Bear. The first time I listened to Yellow House I was in an art gallery surrounded by strange and macabre taxidermy. I'm not exaggerating when I say the combination sent me under for about two weeks. I'm all for melancholy but I found the album a bridge too grizzly. I was in two minds about going to see them on the Ray Ban stage but decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. What I discovered was that the recorded sound, which seemed to me so heavy and oppressive, was completely transformed in a live setting. With all the space of Parc Del Forum the melodies soared above the heavier elements of the composition and created the perfect juxtaposition of light and dark. The result was that I left Grizzly Bear feeling serene and euphoric.
Owing to my tranquil state I opted for Built to Spill over No Age. Built To Spill rocked the ATP like a gentle wave.
Next came Dum Dum Girls who, in their co-ordinating sheer tights, could almost convince me to give up carbs forever. With red lipstick, scant skirts and matching fringes they were an indie boy's wet dream. Frontwoman Dee Dee Penny's moves suggested an adolescence studying Blondie tapes but I couldn't help wishing that she'd channeled some of Debbie Harry's fire. The band name is a reference to Iggy Pop's Dum Dum Boys but I could never imagine Iggy being so passive. Although I love the sound I yearn to see some feistier females at next year's Primavera.
It was a long wait until HEALTH on the Vice stage at 3am but my final gig of the festival also turned out to be one of the greatest performances. HEALTH sound like no other band. Moving deftly between metal, rock, grunge and electronica it is almost impossible to classify them. With vocals reminiscent of PJ Harvey and moves reminiscent of 80s hair metallers it was triumphant close to the festival.
After HEALTH I stumbled off to the ATP stage where I found myself dancing until sunrise to a dj playing songs from Sonic Youth Kool Thing to Judas Priest Breaking The Law. If only everyday could be like this.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment