- The Futureheads // What better way to start a lovely sunny festival day than by immediately going into a dark and grotty sparsely attended tent to watch a post punk band play? Well, there are probably at least half a dozen, but no matter, as the Futureheads were fab, if a little repetitive, and I managed to miss the start of their set, ah well.
They didn’t play Cabaret though. Bastards!
- Skin // As there was no-one better on, I sat on the grass and watched Skin play. Two songs into her set I realised that she was as dull as attempting to teach my jacket to do tricks, so I went to get myself a burger, which proved to be marginally more appetising than her music. Highlight (and I use the term loosely) was a cover of Getting Away With It. Most interesting part was the realisation that she now has hair, thus losing her gimmick.
She didn’t play Lately either. Bastard!
- Snow Patrol // Well you couldn’t exactly call them a bad band, but there position in the hierarchy of music was very much in evidence today, they’ll be playing the mid-afternoon second stage spot until the day they die/give up music, whichever comes first. The very definition of ‘alright’, they whiled away some time though until something better came on, and for that they should be applauded.
They didn’t play One Hundred Things You Should Have Done in Bed though. Bastards!
- The Proclaimers // The first Yay! moment of the weekend came when they played Sunshine on Leith, followed by Letter From America which was then followed by the mightiest of all mighty tracks, I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles), the crowd unsurprisingly went wild, and then promptly buggered off afterwards as they made the schoolboy error of insisting on carrying on their set after playing these tracks. Those that left missed out on the opportunity to hear two songs which weren’t as good as I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles). Ah Well.
- The Cardigans // Well they played My Favourite Game, which was the only reason why anybody was watching them, as other than that song, they were absolutely pish. There should be a special slot on festival stages for bands that only have one song that anybody with any ears wants to hear so that for one hour, they can just come on, play that song, and then bugger off and let the next one-hit wonder do their bit. It’d be fantastic. And it’s my idea, so if you use it, I demand to get paid for it.
At least the Cardigans did make a small concession to stagecraft by having a chandelier on stage, and a bit of carpet behind them, which, one third into the set, dropped down to reveal another bit of carpet behind it. The crowd went non-committal. Two thirds into the set, the second piece of carpet dropped down to reveal nothing behind it. If the crowd where non-committal before, after that piece of ‘excitement’, they truly went static.
They didn’t play Lovefool though, which is probably a good thing as it would have prolonged the agony.
- Idlewild // A Scottish band, so unsurprisingly they got a good reception, possibly better than they actually deserve given that they lack a certain warmth on stage and never really connect with the audience. The hits are all present and correct, and people sing along at the appropriate points, but it’s all unmemorable, and I nearly forgot to mention them in this review.
They didn’t play Everyone Says That You’re So Fragile though. Bastards!
- Super Furry Animals // We shall ignore the drum solo that appeared half way through, carried out by two blokes dressed as Yeti’s, and say instead, that the Furries were amazing. The new stuff sounds pretty good, the old stuff sounds as excellent as ever, and the Man Don’t Give a Fuck is still one of the greatest set-closers ever. I’d like to say a bit more about them, but by this point I was getting a bit over-excitable at the thought of the next band on so was somewhat distracted.
They didn’t play She’s Got Spies though. Bastards!
- The Polyphonic Spree // The greatest band in the world ever, yes, even greater than Girls Aloud, even though such a thing might be hard to believe. The only band I went down the front for, the only band who’s every second was a moment to savour, the only band to be wearing white smocks and celebrate the sun every second song. I love these guys.
From the moment Tim walked on dressed in his white smock, which was quickly removed to reveal a tartan smock underneath, we all went bananas and remained so throughout the entire gig. It is a cliché to say this now, but like most cliché’s it has a lot of truth in it, there is so much love at a Spree gig it is unbelievable, there is hugging, there is joy, there is bonding, it is the nearest thing an atheist like myself can get to a religious experience. If you have yet to experience the happy, crazy optimistic joy that this massive group of people can bring, then you need to do so at the earliest possible opportunity. By the album by all means, but live is where it all makes sense.
They didn’t play Have a Day/Celebratory though. Bastards!
- REM // This could have been perfect, it could have been amazing. All they had to do was do a proper greatest hits set, the crowd would have gone home happy and overjoyed, people would be saying good things about REM and everyone would have had a great experience, but no. Not REM, they have to be contrary buggers, and give us some OK-ish newer material for every solid gold classic they give us, yes we get The One I Love, Losing My Religion, Finest Worksong, Man on the Moon and End of The World as We Know it, but we have to put up with a lot of dullness in-between. It was good, but not good enough. But they did do Daysleeper, which I think is a lovely song, so I suppose we should be greatful for that.
They didn’t do Stand or At My Most Beautiful though. Bastards!
