Oh well done Gareth, you've gone and taken so long to write your stupid Field Day review, that loads of stuff has happened since, including the WHOLE of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
So rather than leaving this post in blogging limbo (A.K.A. the "drafts" folder), I'll finally get on with posting it. So, ladies and gentlemen, I finally present to you in all of it's entirety:

GARETH HARPER'S FIELD DAY 2008 REVIEW.

I've got to be completely honest:
I thought Field Day was distinctly average.
There, I said it. Not content with either falling in to the "Boohoo, queuing for toilets at festivals sucks, as such Field Day sucks, waaaah" group, nor the minority group that is the "YEAAAAAAH FIELD DAY WAS AWESOME" clan, I simply left Field Day with a great feeling of indifference.

Whilst it was definetely worth £28.50 to see The Mae-Shi, Les Savy Fav and Foals alone, that was exactly the problem; I would have gladly paid £28.50 to see The Mae-Shi, Les Savy Fav and Foals alone, and then gone home.

To be fair, Field Day was evidently designed to be a day festival where the sun was the main event, but seeing as the sun had to cancel...and let's be honest it is the Amy Winehouse/Pete Doherty of the meteorological world, in that even if you think it's going to turn up, it will probably pull out at the last moment...it does beg the question "Why, oh why, would you design a festival in England based on the concept that the sun is actually going to turn up?"

So whilst this whole "village fete" theme seemed to completely pass me by, I harmlessly ambled on through the rain accompanied by friends and girlfriend, to see the following bands:

Magistrates - I don't want to like you, but you're just sooooooooo catchy. Stop it. Stop it now, otherwise I'll have to change my views.

Filthy Dukes - Stick to the DJing (stands for "Day Job"ing). You were just a bit cack, regardless of the fact that you know a rapper.

Laura Marling - Your keyboard player may have been stuck on the M25, and you may have been stuck on the most inappropriately sized stage for your overwhelmingly beautiful, charmingly delicate vocals to float across, but you still managed to make me feel incredibly glad that I stood between some ridiculously tall girls with umbrellas and some ridiculously angry men who hate ridiculously tall girls with umbrellas to watch you.

Lightspeed Champion - Dev, what the hell is wrong with you? I love you, but today you sounded like a bad tribute act of your own songs. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, because when I saw you in Exeter, it was mindblowingly ace, but today you were just a tad rubbish.

The Mae Shi - Most Valuable Players.

Wild Beasts - Most Improved Players.

Les Savy Fav - All I ever imagined them to be, and more, but I would love to see them in the dry. Minus umbrellas getting in my way.

Foals - A tad self indulgent, but they're allowed to be self indulgent; they're Foals. Brilliant though. Absolutely ace. Mathletics for an encore was the really amazingly tasty cherry on top of the distinctly average cake.

I probably saw some other bands as well, but I've forgotten about them now, because it all happened SO LONG AGO.

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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!

The Mae Shi - PWND

(Buy)

The Mae Shi's Myspace

Lightspeed Champion - Everyone I Know Is Listening To Crunk

(Buy)

Lightspeed Champion's Myspace

Pip Pip,
Christian.

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So I’ve got my Field Day ticket, and managed to book the day off work. Only when put on the spot to whether I’d be available for the other days of the week, I answered yes. Clever of me to make myself available for the day after Field Day, so the chances are I’ll be getting an early train back from the event in time for work on Sunday morning, lucky me.

However until then I’ll enjoy all the music this day has to offer, fingers crossed there won’t be stupidly excessive queues for toilets and beverages (much to the delight of any teetotallers present) like there was last year and that I manage to get within hearing distance of every act I want to check out, or indeed every act as the case may be.

Field Day Website

Here are a handful of songs from artists playing this year’s Field Day.


White Lies: Death
(Buy)

White Lies' Myspace

Les Savy Fav: One Way Window
(Buy)

Les Savy Fav's Myspace

Foals: Brazil Is Here
(Buy)

Foals' Myspace

Fionn Regan: Be Good Or Be Gone

Fionn Regan's Myspace

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