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home » festivals » Glastonbury Festival » Glastonbury Festival 2009
The Rakes' lead singer tries to alienate his audienceGlastonbury 2009 reviewWednesday 1st July 2009 The Rakes set on the Friday was one of ups and downs, with lead singer, Alan Donohoe, alienating much of his audience, half way through a very tight set. Donohoe, not looking in his right frame of mind, from what vice was not clear, quipped to fans, "Heard the good news about Michael Jackson?" With this, a sour note was left on the audience, with even diehard fans struggling to ignore that tasteless comment. Faces of much of the audience turned into cringes, some laughing in despair at the tastelessness, and some boos even began to ring out, but this didn't detract from what, musically, was a good display from the band. No strangers to Glastonbury, having played on several occasions, the band played a set which dipped in each of the band's three albums including their most recent, 'Klang', released in March this year. '22 Grand Job', 'Retreat', and 'We Danced Together' are all receieved warmly, and new songs '1989', as well as new single 'That's the Reason' slide into the band's set with relative ease. Having supported Franz Ferdinand on their arena tour in 2005, high profile festival slots followed in the following year, and with the release of their second album, 'Ten New Messages', in 2007, the band seemed to be making quite a name for themselves, and although, there was quite a sizeable crowd for the band's set, the band's popularity seems to be dwindling. After 3 albums of very similar music, it's not difficult to see why many have disregarded this band, but for me personally, on their latest full-length, I thought the band had matured, unfortunately Donohoe wasn't able to convince me with his performance that they actually have. But with songs like '22 Grand Job' and 'Strasbourg' able to cause mass sing-alongs and a frenzy of dancing, the band continue to be a staple of festival line-ups, and despite their years and popularity, with a very early afternoon slot on the Other Stage, for a band of this pedigree to be that low on the bill, just showed how strong this year's line-up actually is. For me personally however, I feel that the band work much better later into the day, when everyone's had a few drinks and a ready for a dance; this band do that well. This aside, watching the band did prove to be a good starting point to the festival for me and several other later arrivals, and despite the fact that Donohoe almost completely took away the atmosphere of what was shaping up to be an excellent performance, the band's catalogue can get them through any sticky situation it seems. review by Anthony Hetherington 
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