Patti Smith shines in the sun at Field Day

Field Day 2015

Saturday 6th to Sunday 7th June 2015
Victoria Park, Tower Hamlets, Greater London, E9 7BT, England MAP
Sunday only available £38.50

Daily capacity: 25,000

Mac DeMarco on the main stage is the perfect way to kick off Sunday. The sound issues seem to have been sorted and the sun kissed afternoon is the perfect time for DeMarco and Co's sun-dappled songs. There is something about DeMarco and his band that makes it very easy to warm too. Aside from the music being particularly great they all seem like the goofballs everyone had a soft spot for in school. 'Rock N Roll Nightclub' is a highlight of a pretty faultless set while closer 'Together' sees De Marco do one of the most ill-conceived stage dives of recent times whereby he hits the dirt about half a dozen times before he's hoisted properly.

around the festival site: Field Day 2015

There is just time to get a stroll around the site before settling down for Patti Smith & her band. The legend that is performing her 'Horses' album in its entirety. An album so near and dear that there is always some trepidation leading up to it. Can this possibly be done justice? It does exactly that with Smith's voice sounding as resonant and visceral as it ever has ably backed up by a super tight backing band that hit all the right notes. 'Gloria' as expected gets the crowd behind the set from the get go and provides the sing a long of the weekend. She veers through the album with as much political bite now as she had then. There is a slight mess up of 'Break It Up' but it's dealt with in good humour and she has time towards the end of the Horses section to namecheck those musical forces that have fallen in the 40 years since the album's release. MC5, Joe Strummer and The Ramones are amongst those namechecked and it's a nice touch to what is a class act.

Savages have a knack of stealing the show wherever I go and Field Day is no exception. As much great stuff as there has been this weekend, the female punk outfit are an unstoppable force of nature. Front woman Jehnny Beth prowls the stage and commands respect. They have the majority of the tent in a mosh pit by the half way point of the set while she dedicates 'Fuckers' to anyone dismayed by the general election result before proceeding to show DeMarco how to do a proper stage dive near the end. You can only imagine that Patti Smith would look upon approvingly.

Reunited indie darlings Ride headline the Sunday night and the sound is immaculate in comparison to Saturday's headliners. A shame, but at least they fixed it. They are well received and their fairly palatable 90s shimmering indie rock works well on the big stage. Savages have just about beat me out and I retreat near the back and soak up the last few minutes of Field Day 2015. It wasn't perfect but it wasn't a bad show at all.

review by: Paul Mullin

photos by: Federica Pacifico