Richard Hawley, Tindersticks provide a perfect festival close
End Of The Road 2008 review
Thursday 18th September 2008
The Pyramids are two-thirds of blues-rock band Archie Bronson Outfit, and on Sunday we were treated to their first ever live performance. A gigantic noise with some catchy, yet simple, guitar riffs was core to the sound, but it was the frankly phenomenal drumming from Mark Cleveland that stood out, often changing drum patterns within the songs creating an almost drum loop feel but with some real power.
Kimywa Dawson, also known for her work with Adam Green in the Moldy Peaches, recently gained a great deal of attention from her songs providing a good deal of the Juno soundtrack and she has just released a children's album Alphabutt which centres around repetition,kid-friendly toilet humour, animals and monsters. She played quite a few songs from the album and although very cutesy they went down well, song titles such as I Like Bears and We're All Animals should give you some idea. At times it felt like a playschool for grown-ups with the audience invited (and accepting) to sing-along with added actions. Good clean(ish) fun.
Over the Wall, from Glasgow, performed in The Bimble Inn and had a sound that was a mixture of New Order, King Creosote and Beirut. They were certainly good fun, and they seemed to be enjoying themselves too. An electronic sound with simplistic lyrics from the very likeable lads, however, the song Keyboard Heaven crossed the line into Europop.
Woodpigeon had a good billing in the mid-afternoon on The Garden Stage, presumably because they are on the End of the Road record label, but they did provide a nice Sunday afternoon sound. Comparisons to the sound of Sufjan Stevens and as Canada's answer to Belle & Sebastian are not completely out of place.
Richard Hawley, a genuine national treasure, was the main draw for Sunday. His usual witty banter and comical comebacks were present, as were his young family to the side of the stage. He praised the organisers for providing such a friendly festival, saying it was the only one he takes his kids to, before thanking (on more than one occasion!) the girls over at the Somerset Cider Bus for their wonderful cider with a smile. He was right on both accounts. There's not a great deal that I can say about Sir Hawley that hasn't already been said. Valentine, Just Like The Rain, and The Ocean were all perfectly executed with young and old alike swaying gently in the musical breeze, providing another perfect festival moment.
Tindersticks were our last band of the weekend and the lush symphonies on their achingly tender songs were hard to resist. Songs played from their extensive back catalogue left me with the feeling that they are a band that I need to discover more of.
After a whole week worth of rain in the days before the festival it was inevitable that it was going to be muddy, but a dry Saturday and Sunday meant there was some drying and hardening of mud which made the festival even more pleasurable. So, it may have been the last festival of what was a rather wet summer for me, but it was the best, by some distance.
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