Oh what a busy day. If the crowds had seemed hefty on Friday night, Saturday afternoon is bringing a whole lot more. The Xfm tent is heaving. It’s full. People are listening to Simian Mobile Disco 20 metres outside the tent without seemingly having any intention of getting any nearer the stage.
CSS are playing L7's 'Pretend We're Dead' on the main stage. Lovefoxxx (Cansei De Ser Sexy’s wonderfully charismatic front-girl) is bounding around in a chequered harlequin unitard and she wears it well. This band have total attitude. Amusingly their name translates as "Tired Of Being Sexy" and if that's their attitude then it's also their appeal.
The whole day has a pretty punk attitude. It’s a bit younger and fresher and cheeky. Even LCD Soundsystem (old-hands that they are) have come back to the fore with a punchier sound. I remember a time when I couldn't listen to them. I seem to remember thinking it was just noise. Now suddenly they've taken a different turn. The new album is vastly different to their past stuff, channelling Talking Heads above all others. The crowds are shouting along to the songs at the top of their voices.
I would quite like to have caught the end of The Klaxons, but they’re playing the Xfm tent and you need the frame of Nicole Richie and the strength of Arnold Schwarzenegger to get through that throng. And I have neither attributes.
Nevermind though. Daft Punk are on the main stage. They open with the doo-doo-doo-doo-doo music from Close Encounters. Just as we didn’t mind being converts to Faithlessness yesterday, we’re all quite happy to be abducted by the Daft Punk aliens tonight. With the most fabulous light show, a giant pyramid to DJ from, the two chaps with shiny gold helmets are wowing the crowd. That is if they are in fact Thomas and Guy-Manuel hiding behind there (rumour has it that they’ve sent others out to play their sets before). The crowd speculate. Is it really them? What do they actually look like? Are they really playing or do they just have a great big on/off switch? Or are they reading the paper? The only conclusions that are reached are that (a) they’re flipping marvellous, (b) we all want to dress like robots with gold spray painted motorcycle helmets on and (c) everyone should DJ from a giant black pyramid.
The crowd’s adulation is clear. The euphoria is contagious. The usual mosh pit reserved for the first 10 metres goes back halfway across the field. People are getting seriously crushed throughout but no one seems to mind. We’re all laughing dancing and falling over together. There are no serious faces, nodding of heads, or focus on the stage. Everyone is in wild-abandonment-party mode and people are starting to talk about stripping off and dancing naked, and no one seems to mind that either. Utterly wonderful bonkers French electronic wonderment. And boof! Back down to earth with a bump and a dreary tube ride home.
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