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home » festivals » T in the Park » T in the Park 2009
sound problems hamper Bloc Party and The Streets unite the crowd in songT in the Park 2009 reviewWednesday 15th July 2009 Bloc Party arrive on the main stage with a modest "Hello T in the Park, how're you doing?" and kick things off with the slow-burning, angular frustrated sounds of 'Here We Are'. Again, as during Seasick Steve, the sound is picked up and tossed about by the wind, meaning if you're more than a third of the way back in the crowd things are bit quiet and disjointed and Kele Okereke's vocals difficult to pick out, taking turns at being muffled and low in the mix and suddenly piercingly clear and loud as the wind swirls around. 'Positive Tension' is interspersed with fizzing, electronic, laser noises and features phased, trebly fender guitars, but the sound problems continue to result in indifference from most of those further back than the front pit, so it's time for a quick dash across the site, past T in the Park's skyline-dominating big wheel and back to The Slam Tent for The Streets. Nestled away in an almost entirely dance-filled line-up Mike Skinner and friends' audience demonstrates their wide-ranging appeal. Indie boys, garage-heads, geezers and couples cram in, resulting in a swaying, sweaty mass. It's clear from the moment Skinner arrives on stage that this set is going to go down very well with a baying, well-watered audience and a dubby 'Push Things Forward' delivers ample confirmation. An uproarious 'Fit But You Know It' is briefly blended into a snatch of 'Sharp Darts', Skinner pacing the small stage, climbing onto his monitors and stripping from his yellow body warmer. 'The Escapist', from this year's album 'Everything Is Borrowed', sparks a sea of waving arms and swaying bodies, Skinner delivering his sermon still atop a monitor and repeatedly assuring the crowd "Everything is going to be OK". The title track from that album follows and the crowd join in the singing to a man, resulting in a communal, almost gospel experience. Skinner gushes "This is the only festival that still has it on the last day", and he isn't far from the truth, judging by the seething atmosphere he's confronted with. As the haunting strings opening to 'Turn The Page', the first track on Original Pirate Material, glide in the atmosphere is charged up yet another level, with Skinner's urgent delivery piercing through the hot, sweaty air. The tongue-twisting new song 'Where My Heart Has Been' ushers in a spell of simmering sentiment in the midst of a set packed with meaty anthems, with the celebratory 'Weak Become Heroes', 'Never Went To Church', Skinner's poignant tribute written following the death of his father, and the beautifully optimistic 'On The Edge Of A Cliff'. Calvin then takes over for a wistful, sad cover of Bill Withers' 'Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone' as Skinner leaves the stage. Before the glorious, defeated-relationship parting shot of 'Dry Your Eyes', Skinner says his final goodbyes to T in the Park in the guise of The Streets. He's already announced that next year will be the project's last before he takes a new direction and he announces that he won't be back at the festival next year as "booking agents don't like you playing two years in a row". It's a memorable, stirring moment. A slowed down, introspective opening to 'It's Too Late' follows in the encore before the band join in and transform it into something, hopeful, powerful and brilliant before neatly changing direction into 'Blinded By The Lights', Skinner commanding the crowd to crouch down on their knees throughout an extended breakdown before ushering them up into a wanton, final mosh, departing with a Scottish flag wrapped proudly round his bare shoulders. review by Gary Walker
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