The third and last festival of my festival season has come to a close so I thought I'd attempt a review, but in the safety of my own blog rather then the cruel world of forums. So after a night out in Coventry (we had an extremely late gig there yesterday) and the resulting 3 hours sleep the opportunity to hop on a bus to London at 8 in the morning wasn't particularly tempting. However the pack lunch I'd prepared and the 3 different types of yogurt I vowed to consume on the journey made this opportunity a reality.
After 40 winks on the coach we arrived in London, greeted with the usual excitement that comes with travelling to the capital. This excitement only grew upon seeing shops on the way to the tube that we also have in Gloucester. It's hard to mask your delight at seeing that one of the world's biggest cities does indeed have something in common with one of the smallest. After getting the tube to Mile End, it was a pretty easy task to find the event, follow the people dressed similarly to you and the calls of struggling ticket touts.
Just before arriving I heard what I thought to be a preaching weatherman, warning of the incoming clouds. As it turned out he was just selling waterproof poncho's, but I wasn't taking any chances. We were then bombarded with enough free juice drinks to hydrate the workforce of Ribena, which kept us thirst-free for the whole day. First band we caught were Magistrates, saw them at Latitude and more of the same NME-hyped high pitched pop orientated Indie. They were followed by Filthy Dukes, who didn't look anything like what I'd imagine dirty members of the nobility to look like.
After a long wait, White Lies provided something to cheer about, their sound as tight as ever, although the demands of touring were apparent as their lead singer's voice seemed weaker then usual. The Mae Shi were one of the picks of the day, their set of songs lasting no more then 2 minutes, had the crowd at it's most animated. Then I had my first glimpse of the queues for the toilets which hadnt been addressed from last year. I was afraid if I drank anymore and needed the toilet I would explode at some stage in the queue so I thought it best not to drink.
Laura Marling and Lightspeed Champion's sets were ok but the poor sound on the main stage did little to help them. Les Savy Fav (the soul reason I got the tickets) sounded better on the main stage, but I was only left to imagine what they would of been like had it not been hammering down and the crowd been more into it. The volume of umbrella's (something that comes with a day festival in England) made it close to impossible for me to see much of their set. Finally Foals some what saved the day with their 50 minute set, they were much sharper then their fatigued selves at Latitude and to top it off they played Mathletics for the Encore. This and the chant we'd manage to start prior to Foals coming on stage we're 2 highlights!
So all in all it was ok festival, shame Mystery Jets cancelled but in the rain and with the poor sound quality I doubt it would have lifted the spirits of the discontented crowd all that much. Would of liked to have caught Jeffrey Lewis, Wild Beasts and Noah and the Whale but The Mae Shi, Les Savy Fav, Foals and my friends made the early trip down to a damp field in the Capital more then worth while!
After 40 winks on the coach we arrived in London, greeted with the usual excitement that comes with travelling to the capital. This excitement only grew upon seeing shops on the way to the tube that we also have in Gloucester. It's hard to mask your delight at seeing that one of the world's biggest cities does indeed have something in common with one of the smallest. After getting the tube to Mile End, it was a pretty easy task to find the event, follow the people dressed similarly to you and the calls of struggling ticket touts.
Just before arriving I heard what I thought to be a preaching weatherman, warning of the incoming clouds. As it turned out he was just selling waterproof poncho's, but I wasn't taking any chances. We were then bombarded with enough free juice drinks to hydrate the workforce of Ribena, which kept us thirst-free for the whole day. First band we caught were Magistrates, saw them at Latitude and more of the same NME-hyped high pitched pop orientated Indie. They were followed by Filthy Dukes, who didn't look anything like what I'd imagine dirty members of the nobility to look like.
After a long wait, White Lies provided something to cheer about, their sound as tight as ever, although the demands of touring were apparent as their lead singer's voice seemed weaker then usual. The Mae Shi were one of the picks of the day, their set of songs lasting no more then 2 minutes, had the crowd at it's most animated. Then I had my first glimpse of the queues for the toilets which hadnt been addressed from last year. I was afraid if I drank anymore and needed the toilet I would explode at some stage in the queue so I thought it best not to drink.
Laura Marling and Lightspeed Champion's sets were ok but the poor sound on the main stage did little to help them. Les Savy Fav (the soul reason I got the tickets) sounded better on the main stage, but I was only left to imagine what they would of been like had it not been hammering down and the crowd been more into it. The volume of umbrella's (something that comes with a day festival in England) made it close to impossible for me to see much of their set. Finally Foals some what saved the day with their 50 minute set, they were much sharper then their fatigued selves at Latitude and to top it off they played Mathletics for the Encore. This and the chant we'd manage to start prior to Foals coming on stage we're 2 highlights!
So all in all it was ok festival, shame Mystery Jets cancelled but in the rain and with the poor sound quality I doubt it would have lifted the spirits of the discontented crowd all that much. Would of liked to have caught Jeffrey Lewis, Wild Beasts and Noah and the Whale but The Mae Shi, Les Savy Fav, Foals and my friends made the early trip down to a damp field in the Capital more then worth while!
Lightspeed Champion's Myspace
Pip Pip,
Christian.
Pip Pip,
Christian.
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