Nick Cave's Grinderman prove a brilliant highlight of Saturday at Connect
Hydro Connect 2008 review
Thursday 11th September 2008
After a good night's kip and a wee bit of rain overnight, Late of the Pier kicked off the proceedings from the Oyster stage. It was a real sight seeing practically no crowd present when the band started, to quickly amassing a no' bad wee gathering as this new band presented us with offerings such as 'Broken' and 'Space and the Woods'.
Over on the guitars stage things are similarly thin on the ground with the crowd as Edinburgh's Broken Records lead off the stage. The cross over of sounds somewhere between Waterboys and Arcade Fire quickly gets the crowd gathering. By the time 'If Elbert Borg Wrote A Song' the crowd was starting to jig, which turned into a frenzy of dancing when the set ended with 'One Good Reason'. I seem to have heard this band on numerous occasions over the summer festival season. There is always a place in my musical taste for bands that are a wee bit out of the norm and this one with their blend sounds really hits a note and seems to have the knack of firing up even an early crowd. Watch out for them going onto to bigger and better things in 2009.
Returning to the Speakeasy cafe to grab another coffee I was treated to an acoustic set from one of the up and coming bands from Dundee, The Grace Emilys, called into Connect in the middle of a UK wide tour which goes State side with four nights in New York City in October. 'Falling down the stairs' and 'On Jamica Street A' were enough for me to hear to form the opinion that I'd discovered a wee gem of music capable of taking indi pop in a new direction.
One of the acts that really sold this festival to me was the appearance of the ever young Michael Franti and Spearhead. Although approaching fifty he still knows how to put on a great show which seemed to hit a note with his devoted fans who really seemed to be enjoying the set. 'All I Want Is You' and 'Have A Little Faith' got the place rocking.
We are from St Alban's shouted Friendly Fires' Ed Mac as he took to the stage for his band's mid afternoon slot on the guitars stage. He quickly won over the doubters with a set blending electro and rock with little numbers 'Jump in the Pool' and 'Photobooth'.
While walking over to catch some food I stumbled on the lovely lyrical voice of Kim Moore of Zoe Van Goey. The compact Your Sound stage has a real intimate feel. The fresh electrical sound of hers lightened my mood as I was convinced it was about to start raining. With lyrics about being on a strange Island while teaching English in Japan, 'Two White Ghosts' dips into the alternative feel of this band. Check them out if you want to experience something different.
After catching the start of Spiritualised one of my festival favourites. I drifted over to see what all the hype surrounding Glasvegas was all about. Having jammed into a tent at T to catch this band it was great to see them in the more spacious surroundings of a large outdoor stage. While I can see the emotion stirred up in a Scottish crowd by 'Daddy's Gone' and 'Geraldine' I think the jury is still out as to whether this band can reach the potential that some in the music industry are predicting. At times the sound seemed slightly muffled and failed to meet the same impact of a few month's earlier in the tent at T.
Next came one of the highlights in the form of Nick Caves' new band Grinderman. Dressing like they had come straight out of a 1970's nightclub Nick Cave wasted no time in getting right into the audience with 'Get It On'. Like a blast back to an age when the macho male image ruled the sound waves some of the band members look and sound like they are still living in that age of pure male masculinity. Nothing against them, as a live act they were pure brilliant, and songs like 'No Pussy Blues' and 'Love Bomb' really injected some soul into Saturday's early evening.
Only staying long enough at the main stage to catch a few songs from Paolo Nutini I took the chance to hear a rare set in Scotland from Roots From Philadelphia. Another gem and great catch to lure to Connect, with a rare blend of hip hop, soul and funk, these guys set the Unknown Pleasures tent crazy, rocking with hits such as 'Get Busy' and '75 Bars'.
The evening's headliners Bloc Party entered the stage wearing kilts and Kele hitting the ground running with crowd pleaser in 'Mercury'. Although they put on a reasonable set there is something about this band that just does not pull off a headline slot for me at any festival. In saying that I do have a soft spot for the energy created by 'Trojan Horse'.
Talking of energy, Beth Ditto and Gossip entered her headline slot on the Guitar and other Machines stage at high pace, even if her choice of red light and darkness meant all we could see was darting in the dark. With early tracks such as 'Listen up' and 'Fire Sign' getting the crowd going she ended on a high with 'Standing in the way of Control' wrapping up a set of crazy energy from this alternative American icon. Love them or hate them it was something different yet again to wrap up Saturday night.
After the bands, and the evening not yet over, it was back to the Unknown Pleasures tent for some late night Burlesque show in the form of the legendary 'Club Noir'. Again, not something that you would really experience at a mainstream festival, Club Noir adds to the bill with a blend of song dance and strip to add a bit of alternative club culture to the proceedings.
review by Greg Forbes photos by Greg & Rachel Forbes
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