Summer is gradually dying. Grey clouds are smothering the sun, the academic year is approaching and festival season is almost over. But fear not, there’s still time. To make the most of the spirit of the season, Mr Whippy himself ANDREW TRENDELL serves up two scoops of festival fun from Summer Sundae Weekender 2010.
De Montfort Hall & Gardens, Leicester, Sunday 15th August 2010
To hear our SUPERB Summer Sundae Festival Spotify Playlist click HERE.
Summer Sundae is a strange world within a world. As you travel through the concrete horizon along the grey and dreary streets of Leicester you eventually come to De Montfort Hall and Gardens. Festivals to most of us mean rolling fields, trenchfoot and rural serenity being destroyed by rumbling bass and the scent of human faeces. SSW magnificently recreates all of these sensations in an inner city tardis of boutique cultural joy. Beyond the partition fence lies a beach, a village, a campsite, arts, crafts and four stages boasting an eclectic line up of everything from Tinchy Stryder to The Fall and back again.
As if that wasn’t special enough, we arrive on the Sunday of the three day spectacular, to celebrate the 10th birthday of the mighty Drowned In Sound. To celebrate, DiS are returning to SSW to do what they do better than anyone – serve up a scoop of the greatest alternative music you’ll hear all summer. This year, DiS have been promoted to the second stage, held within the very regal setting of De Montfort Hall. Strange as it was to see hundreds of soil-clad inebriated sunstroked indie fans sprawling over the balconies in this plush theatrical setting, it was quite apt to illustrate that the lunatics have finally taken over the asylum.
Those who grew tired of Pete Molinari’s catatonic pub-blues-by-numbers chose to shade themselves from the sun on the DiS stage and catch a glimpse of Summer Camp. A supergroup of the more humble sort, Summer Camp consist of partners Elizabeth Sankey, (editor of the OTHER Platform Magazine) and London anti-folk pop-nerd Jeremy Warmsley, and together they make warm, nostalgia-tinged synth loveliness.
Summer Camp @ Summer Sundae Weekender 2010
Summer Camp maintain all of the charming pop sensibilities that Warmsley is known for, but glazed over with a more ethereal Bunnymen-esque drone and dampened with a mild electro-fog. Their set is surprisingly consistent and alluring despite the fact that it hasn’t been long since the band was conceived. Impressive as this feat may be, they still have some distance left to run. Their sound is mildly infectious and harmless, and as a result very few sparks fly when the two are on stage. It’s nice enough, but a fairly lacklustre affair. Early days yet though, eh?
Next to play the De Montfort Stage were the mighty husband and wife fronted Besnard Lakes. With thick layers of igneous rock, The Besnard Lakes overpower the SSW audience with a relentless and hypnotic display of majestic flair. Their refreshing dynamic wanders between moments of delicacy and pumping, throbbing crescendos without ever seeming pretentious. Gorgeous, shimmering shoe-gaze never sounded so good – stadium stardom awaits.
As the day drew on, many gathered at the main stage to see Junip, featuring the mighty José González on vocals. Formed in 1999, Junip have been a long time in gestation, and that slow-burning sense of patience and endurance is reflected in their music. Having just released their debut album ‘Fields,’ their set is remarkably accomplished. Junip have all the hallmarks of González’s tender folk-y approach, but accentuated by a mesmerizing slow-rising rhythm section.
The indoor stage fills up again to be dazzled by the festival highlight that was DiS favourites Errors. ‘A Rumour In Africa’ from new album Come Down With Me’ has all the math-y flourishes you’d expect from a Battles record but with a an inescapably infectious set of pop-hooks in the spirit of a jaded LCD Soundsystem. As the De Montfort crowd nod and jerk along to Errors’ masterful syncopated beats, it becomes clear that they have achieved something special. It’s a rare feat for post-rock to seem so effortlessly free of self-indulgence but Errors certainly pull it off.
We have thrown no end of hyperbole in the direction of Platform favourites Frightened Rabbit this year, and with just cause. With poetry, passion and a whole lot of perspiration, the last kings of Scotland have conquered the hearts and ears of people in all corners of the earth with their glorious third LP ‘The Winter of Mixed Drinks,’ and tonight they roll into Leicester to seize their prize. Once thought awkward noiseniks from the North of the border, F’Rabbit receive a rapturous response from the SSW crowd as they recite the blissful opener ‘Modern Leper’ and the cerebral ‘Swim Until You Can’t See Land’ as anthems. Caught up in the overbearing wave of adoration, singer Scott Hutchison falls to the ground to howl the outro to ‘Keep Yourself Warm.’ After all the shit the band has had to wave through to find themselves here, this is his victory cry.
Frightened Rabbit @ Summer Sundae Weekender 2010
The Summer Sundae Weekender was then brought to a fitting climax by the hardest working band in show business. Sunderland’s finest, The Futureheads reward the De Montfort crowd for having the sense/good taste to avoid Diet-Folk cover boys Mumford & Sons on the main stage, by serving up a generous portion of vocal tomfoolery and spiky anthemics. With a concise yet thoughtful set, The Futureheads wandered through their solid back catalogue to perform indie classics from their self titled debut up to their critically acclaimed latest ‘The Chaos’ alongside lesser performed favourites such as the comically frenetic ‘Area.’
The Futureheads @ Summer Sundae Weekender 2010
Introducing their “vampire sex song” ‘Sun Goes Down,’ The Futureheads showcase their evolution into mature songwriters capable of penning dark and brooding soundscapes, before reminding everyone of what made them seem great in the first place. I’ve always thought that the best bands have melody in such abundance that you find yourself singing along to the backing vocals, and as moments of brilliance such as ‘The Beginning Of The Twist’ and ‘Man Ray’ control the crowd like an audience possessed, this is certainly the case with The Futureheads. True masters of crowd anticipation and audience banter, an evening with The Futureheads is like a night out with an old friend – familiar, heart-warming and full of guilty pleasures.
The Futureheads @ Summer Sundae Weekender 2010
Review by Andrew Trendell
Photos by Ar3A Bessie
Tags: besnard lakes, Errors, festival, frightened rabbit, jeremy warmsley, José González, junip, leicester, platform, summer camp, summer sundae weekender, the futureheads
it is a really great little festival festival isnt it? just the right size and with great music.
futureheads and errors were brilliant.