Asian Dub Foundation

Sunday sunshine & a relatively early start for the ADF boys, & on a Sunday too. Some of us were beginning to feel a little jaded by the time they came on: 4 days of relentless partying were beginning to take their toll. Still, the weather was nice & the arena not too crowded, so we were able to make our way to the mixing desk for a bit of leg shuffling & perhaps some gentle head nodding.

ADF, however, would have none of this. They want you to party. They want you to BOUNCE BOUNCE BOUNCE. They want you to make some NOOOIIIIIIZZZZZEEEE. This doesn't particularly enthuse you.

Until they start playing that is.

ADF make a habit of playing a high energy rock/rap/reggae/bhangra hybrid & once they begin to kick in it's damned infectious stuff. It doesn't take long for the continuous crowd hyping & big bad beats to have an effect, & the gentle head nodding & leg shuffling gives way to full on jumpy up & downy behaviour, complete with vigorous arm waving. Even the occasional a-whoopin' & a hollerin'. Within a few songs the aching legs, slightly furry head & general world-weary malaise has gone & ADF have managed to wake up Glastonbury's final day crowd good & proper.



So absorbing are they that the parent of a small child was more than happy to let her build fires out of paper cups, even lending her a lighter to help. So infectious is the groove that one extremely well tanned person totally forgot to wear any clothes. Thankfully he wasn't so keen to BOUNCE BOUNCE BOUNCE, but he certainly shook his (rather pert) butt.

All in all a great gig & well received by the Pyramid field. The political pronouncements & general radical reactionary hectoring of all things Bush & Blair & Blah blah blah I personally can live without, but they're an excellent band with some great tunes and a unique style that are always worth a look. By the time they went off we were ready for more more more, and medical science may wish to investigate their powers of resuscitation.

review by "mighty upsetter"

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