Mystery Jets play it cool as the festival hots up

Blissfields Festival 2013

Friday 5th to Sunday 7th July 2013
Vicarage Farm, Woodmancott, Winchester, Hants, SO21 3BL, England MAP
£80 for weekend - sold out, only Friday available

Daily capacity: 3,500

Friday morning saw the sun still shining and the campsite seemed fairly lively early on, this is one of the benefits of such a small site, the food merchants are able to cover breakfast as well and the breakfast smoothies and full cooked breakfasts available seemed to be in favour for many.

The main stage was gearing up slightly later this year so while many people were getting comfy under underneath the shade of the trees near the main stage we had time to catch some of the early acts in the Bradley Bubble. Of particular note were Kassassin Street, this young psychedelic rock band have the whole package, with joss sticks and a Jesus effigy, infectious even in the early heat in the tent, the blend of rock and psychedelic riffs drew in a growing crowd. Blissfield has a reputation for finding acts of the future, could this be one of them. If you live in Portsmouth you may want to check them out.

Opening the festival proper on main stage were Thumpers, an Indie pop duo who are often joined on stage by friends to add to their collective sound. They were welcomed by the small crowd that had gathered, although pleasant they were not blow us away, so we wandered back to the second stage to catch Disco's Out, (Murder's In), who had it been a bigger site I would have been disappointed to have made the effort. So it was with without guilt that we headed back to the Main Stage for Marika Hackman, who standing alone on stage with an acoustic guitar, performed pop folk with a dark edge that bought to mind PJ Harvey.

Taking shelter under the trees from the mid day sun, we remained at main stage, with a pint or two from the Beer Festival, for the photographer this was a welcome addition, so we know what to blame any blurred shots on.

Next out into the glaring heat of Main Stage was Rainy Milo, this jazz-soul singer put on a good show in the heat and there are many people raving about how big she will be with a MOBO nomination this year, and although you can’t fault what she does there is nothing that really makes it stand out.

Following lasts year's sports day theme Blissfields this year was keen to keep the crowd involved with a Film Themed sports afternoon that won participants tickets to an exclusive Premiere Party being held in the Acoustic Café at the end of the evening. While sampling the ice creams and sorbets from Sorbitium to keep cool while watching the fun we caught the end of a James bond themed assault course, which although not exactly energetic, had all the excitement of martinis and cola rockets. From here it was a quick diversion into the Bubble - a good excuse to get out of the sun and catch Flight Brigade. A band that's first impression makes you question whether it needs so many members, as some instruments are featured so little, but trying to imagine them not there just doesn't work. The seven piece indie-folk band grow on you without you realising and are worth seeing for fiddle player Dorry Hughes' angst-ridden performance alone.

Meanwhile The Staves were taking to the main stage, the acoustic folk rock trio couldn’t fail to go down well with the Blissfields crowd who have been frequently visited by the likes of Mumford and Sons before they broke big. The three sisters have a connection that can only stem from family, and they certainly extended that out to the crowd, this could be another Blissfield highlight.

For such a small festival there is always so much you want to see and often you still end up missing acts that you intended to see, this was almost the case with Floella Grace who took us away from the main stages to sample the acoustic stage. Although this stage does tend to get disrupted by the sound from the main arena there were some strong acts here, and with a little tweaking could turn into a future festival favourite retreat. Our interest in Floella was that, like us, she also comes from the Isle of Wight and we didn't think that we had seen her before. We had but now with the support of her partner on guitar allowing her to play the ukulele, although struggling with the louder music and nerves which left her gabbling at times, her music has improved greatly from when we had previously seen her, and she will hopefully be seen much more in the future.

Even though the sun was relentless the next act really got the crowd out into the heat and dancing, they were The Other Tribe. With hints of Friendly Fires this electro-indie band make you want to dance and that is just what they did, with more face paint than a makeup artist, they certainly made you shake of the sun's relaxing vibes and get into the real festival spirit. This act are a lot more inspiring than their name suggests.

It was from one mad packed act to another when we again passed the Bradley Bubble, at first glance we thought that MT must be a DJ set as although you could hear the vocals there was no sign of who was singing, then suddenly in the middle of the crowd, you came face to face with the frontman dressed in ladies clothes and interacting with the crowd, he certainly made people join in, Musically they were a ringer for the sound of The Killers, but for the performance alone the experience is one that will stay for the remainder of the summer.

London Grammar are a band that were making waves after their recent Glastonbury shows, and having been intrigued by what I'd seen on the TV coverage, was looking forward to seeing them in the flesh. Whether it was the heat, but they seemed to lack some of the energy and power of their Glastonbury set, so the jury is still out on them here.

Next up were Fenech-Soler playing at their third Blissfields festival, seeing them play in 2010, I was half expecting them to take off then, but when one of the members was diagnosed with testicular cancer they took a hiatus. Now that they are all fit and well it was pleasing to see that they have lost nothing from their performance in the two years of absence and if anything have come back stronger still. A electro-pop band is not something that would usually appeal to me, but this band hold a mysterious attraction I cant explain, I think they are a band that will either grab you or not, I hope that they can now move on from this and experience the success they so rightly deserve.

Fenech-Soler could so easily have been the headline set this evening so as always with the quality of music it seems that you are treated to a double headliner. The closing act tonight were Mystery Jets. Another band with a long history with the festival, having played back in the early days when the festival had a capacity measured in hundreds and the stage was little more than a tent covering a grass bank. Clearly happy to be back here after this time, the band gave a polished performance and hits such as 'Two Doors Down' were lapped up by the audience, winning new fans and old one alike.

For all the big pop acts that make up a lot of the line-up, Blissfields aren't afraid to welcome in the oddities of the music industry as well, and like Man like Me on the previous night, Public Service Broadcasting are another band that take an eccentric path through life. On the surface they are a electro-pop outfit, however rather than lyrics they perform to old public service films. Live they appear on stage in tweed suits and bow ties, either side of a giant TV set showing the films these narratives come from. Initially I don’t think the crowd knew what to make of a band that you couldn't sing along to, but as the set wore on they clearly warmed to this eccentric performance where even the band’s communication with the audience came via recorded sound clips. How long the novelty factor of this group will sustain them remain to be seen, but while it’s with us it’s certainly a lot of fun.

review by: Steve Collins

photos by: Steve Collins / Marie Magowan