Sunday review

Unfortunately, the sunshine of yesterday is gone, and the clouds hang dark and heavy. The showers through the afternoon do though ensure better crowds for the bands playing indoors. Both new to me, Jim Moray was particularly good, and Blue States were enjoyable too.



Dipping into the Rising Stage tent, I caught a bit of Headway who were well worth seeing - I’ll make sure I catch the whole set at V this weekend, and a little of Solar Flare. In the Musician Acoustic Tent later on, Nick Harper is playing his folk-based songs in a style remarkably similar to his father Roy (I bet he hates that comparison). Afterwards comes Ezio, to close this stage.



On the main outdoor stage, the earlier bands bring a very Sunday feel. Magnet – whose front man has been voted the “third most handsome man in Norway” he tells us – give an entertaining show, and he isn’t scared to talk to the rather scattered crowd. The audience is proven attentive by the reaction he (eventually) gets from us, even tho no one is rushing the stage barrier. Songs include a cheesed-up version of Dylan’s ‘Lay Lady Lay’ – which works surprisingly well – and at the end the crowd show their appreciation.



Having missed some of Tom Robinson, I was pleased to not have missed ‘Glad To Be Gay’, ‘War Baby’, and the classic ‘2-4-6-8 Motorway’. A dodgy memory had me thinking that was the limit of my knowledge of his songs, but then he played ‘Power In The Darkness’, just as relevant now as back in the 70’s. Tom proved he’s not mellowed with age either, having updated the lyrics to include mention of Iraq. I thought this set might have come across as an old past-it geezer on stage, but instead this proved to be one of the highlights.



Even though Amy Winehouse has been seen at quite a few festivals this summer, I’d not previously caught a whole set. So I decided to skip Ed Harcourt indoors and catch the full Amy experience, and was very glad I did. Not the most instantly accessible music you’ll hear - it was perhaps a bit too jazzy for some - I was completely lost in the sound by the end.



Finally, Air take the stage, as the last act of a great and varied mix of music at this festival. It turns out that as well as closing this festival, this performance closes their tour. The early part of the set was more downbeat, and almost Floyd-ish at times, but then they tell us it’s time to dance, and things get faster. They leave the stage after only around 50 minutes ... this can’t be it, surely? Nope, they return for more, seemingly pleased with the enthusiasm of the audience, play a few more songs and disappear again. But we haven’t had enough as yet, and chants from the crowd bring them back for two final songs, and send us all home exceedingly happy.



What a great festival – I’ll be back!

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