Summer
Sundae
Sunday
August 13 2006
My predictions were correct last nights heavy activity has made
me miss the brilliant Mister Lee,
too much fun has bad consequences.
The ‘beige’ is back – M.
Craft makes fairly luscious indie sound-scapes
that are undoubtedly incredibly touching too many people but for
me they a highly mediocre and nothing more than a momentary distraction.
Hotly-tipped Captain
are no better. Their layered pop sound is aiming to be expansive
and experimental but ends up sounding like just about everything
else in a similar vein. Captain are pretentious without having
the wealth of interesting ideas of back it up.
Jose Gonzalez is but one man and a guitar some how managing a
more expansive and emotional sound than Captain’s multi-instrument
approach. Gonzalez’s simple bluesy, acoustic music is something
that everyone can appreciate – it is just nice, simple,
beautiful and, well, really nice. His live rendition of The Knife’s
‘Heartbeats’ is what everyone came to see and it does
not disappointing in any way. He ends his set with two brilliant
covers of Kylie’s ‘Hand on your heart’ and a
grand re-working of Massive Attack’s ‘Teardrop’
– Gonzalez has only just begun in winning the hearts and
minds of the British musical public.
Adem’s recorded
output has been wonderfully understated electro-acoustica, but
today without the brilliant electronic touches his performance
takes on a rather mundane feel, him being reduced to nothing more
that a below average acoustic performer.
Balloons float around the indoor stage as The
Boy Least Likely To start the show with the country-infused,
acoustic pop. Their music is wonderfully twee and has a cartoon
quality, as does their performance – the female keyboardist/recorder
player hands out cakes inviting heckles asking for her ‘recorder’,
her ‘keyboard’ and then, embarrassingly ‘her
clothes’ whilst the singer seems to think he is in Queen,
punching the air and dancing along so out-of-place his antics
actually detract from the music.
Boy, aren’t those Guillemots
wacky, with their crazy mix of musical styles and oh so bizarre
clothing and stage props. They are touted as an amazing new and
original band – I see a band using eclecticism to cover
up a lack of cohesive musical talent. They are the safe option
for people wanting to add a little bit of the out of the ordinary
to their record collection without needing to be too adventurous.
‘We’ve had enough of this folk, let’s have some
fuckin’ punk rock’ shouts Steve Dingle – Buzzcocks
have come to drag Summer Sundae kicking and screaming out of its
slumber. The punk legends tear faultlessly through a set of pop-punk
classics – this is a band that has more great tunes than
it’s hard to contemplate. Listing them is like a run through
a list of all-time punk classics – ‘Fast Cars’,
‘Ever Fallen in love with some one you shouldn’t have’,
‘Noise Annoys’, ‘Orgasm Addict’, ‘Oh
Shit!’, ‘Autonomy’ – each one a winner.
The only weak spots in the set come with tracks from new album
Flat Pack Philosophy which simply don’t stand up to the
bands usual immense standards.
Put bluntly Buzzcocks rock and own every stage they play on –
today is no exception.
It is going to be bloody difficult to match the quality of the
Manchester punk rock legends, but Glasgow’s Belle
and Sebastian manage it with aplomb. Since 1996
they have potted around on the fringes of the mainstream building
up a sensational body of indie-pop tunes, for years doing no publicity
or releasing any songs as singles. In recent years they have signed
to Rough Trade, released singles and taken steps into the mainstream.
Within two songs it becomes apparent that B&S are a pop-gem
and should by rights be selling-out venues worldwide as one of
the biggest acts in the world. Their perfect musicianship, humour,
modesty and understanding of the pop aesthetic make them a total
joy.
In Stuart Murdoch, they have the perfect front-man/band lynch-pin/musical
genius that controls the band, the stage and the audience effortlessly
whether they are dabbling in rock, pop, funk, jazz or any variant
on popular music - they can do no wrong.
In a world where Robbie Williams, James Blunt et al can sell millions
of records and sell out venues the size of small cities with only
a modicum of talent Belle and Sebastian should rule the pop world.
They are the perfect end to a wonderful festival. Summer Sundae
2006 has offer the good, the bad and the downright ‘beige’
but in it’s own unique way has been a grand event worthy
of its first ever ‘sell-out’ year.
by
Chris Marks
Friday
Saturday
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