Cardiacs

Glastonbury Festival 2000

Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th June 2000
Worthy Farm, Pilton, nr Glastonbury, Somerset, England
£89 including booking fee and postage

Daily capacity: 80,000

Cardiacs
Greenpeace Stage
21:00 23rd June 2000

setlist:	A Horses Tail. Inner City Lining. Silvery. Anything I Can't Eat. Cry Wet Smile Dry. Dog Like Sparky. Fiery Gun Hand.
encore:	Is This The Life.

Veterans of many a festival with a career spanning twenty-three years, twelve or so albums and a reputation as one of the most inspiring live bands in the country, it seems only fitting to find Cardiacs playing the Greenpeace stage at Glastonbury 2000.

In the moments before they take to the stage, a glance about the crowd confirms the diversity of the audience. Some are hardcore fans who have been there since the early days, yet others are clearly fresh-faced new recruits enticed along by the enthusiastic word-of-mouth vibe that the band has always generated. Cries of encouragement and cat-calls of ritualised, good natured abuse ensue.

When Cardiacs finally appear a little later than billed, it becomes apparent that tonight we are to be presented with a somewhat condensed version of the band. Yet despite the temporary absence of bass player Jim Smith, the remaining trio proceed to transmit the high-octane joy of their unique take on psychedelic pop to an enraptured audience.

If the sound is a little thin in parts, this is perhaps due more to problems with the P.A and amps than anything else. Jon Poole performs his duties on bass guitar with ease, and lends songs such as 'Dog Like Sparky' an added edge with his fluid style. On other tracks however, such as 'Fiery Gun Hand' his lead guitar antics and lunatic soloing are sorely missed. Despite this, their on stage enthusiasm is scarcely dented and they are a far cry from certain bands one could name who appear almost bored during their performances.

Any description of Cardiacs sound inevitably falls short of the mark, mainly because they display more of a diversity of influences and ideas within a single song than most bands do during the course of their careers. Certainly, namechecking the likes of Frank Zappa, Devo, XTC and The White Noise, is to point in the right direction, but a fact that is often overlooked in emphasising their cult status is that Cardiacs are predominantly a pop band. Their songs are driven by an overpowering sense of melody, infused with an infectious call for laughter and celebration.

Watching the audience's reaction, it's not difficult to understand why Cardiacs continue to captivate the hearts of the faithful whilst simultaneously winning over new fans at every opportunity. That new songs such as 'Silvery' (whom no one but Devo at their most demented could ever hope to touch for sheer attitude,) sit so well next to such classics as 'Inner City Lining' and 'Is This The Life,' just goes to show that despite their slimmed down line-up, Cardiacs continue to deliver the goods long after many of their contemporaries have become parodies of their former selves.

Indeed, when it looked as though there would be no encore, the crowd changed the reluctant stage-manager's mind by cheering wildly and refusing to budge from the tent. Tim Smith, Bob Leith and Jon Poole returned for an encore of 'Is This The Life', clearly enjoying it as much as the audience were... then we all wandered out into the night our hearts significantly lighter even if secretly, every last one of us wished Jim Smith had been there too...

review by Sean