More on: Belle And Sebastian

Date: 11-13 August 2006
Rating:

It's often difficult to avoid labels in modern music. Too many influences exist now to prevent comparisons. Yet what the Summer Sundae festival proves, is that the best situation is when there is variety. With the various pop, rock, folk and dance acts, it's impossible to pigeon-hole this event. All that can be said is that it provides entertainment for everyone - ravers to rockers, infants to indie kids. This is a weekend to see the best local and national rising talent, and it puts on one hell of a show...

Friday
Waiting for the main stage to kick off, a visit to the Musician Stage takes you to the acoustic presence of David Wyatt. Resembling Neil from The Young Ones, his songs are hauntingly beautiful and his good-humoured manner get the festival off to a good start.

Opening the main stage James Morrison starts with a mixture of funk and summer soul that's perfect for those sharing the festival with a loved one - and sickening for the bitter. A Number One album however suggests that we're in a minority, and the crowd reaction only reinforces this.

The new wave of British indie marches on with Liam Frost and The Slowdown Family. Dressed in 1960s office regalia, they offer yet another interpretation of the style of songs The Libertines and Razorlight have worn out like old shoes. However, the introduction of keyboards to this formula adds a folky twinge on 'Paint In Pictures', and the early R.E.M. influence on 'Shall We Dance' keeps the toddlers entertained.

The influence of Ian Dury manifests itself several times at the festival. His son Baxter playing the Indoor Stage is a less obvious reference to his music; with a definite London swagger, the younger Dury mixes the grime-style lyrics of Mike Skinner with the musical backing of an atmospheric Blur. The mix is beautiful and aggressively beastly, and a refreshingly modern urban poetry of sorts.

Another theme of the weekend is excellence. Seth Lakeman is the first of the weekend's acts with a Mercury Prize nomination. And it's not surprising why; his style of Gaelic-edged folk music places the Indoor Stage in to a trance of ethereal quality. The man himself looks as if he'd come directly from a mountain (or at least a Millets catalogue). Needless to say, fantastic violin skills, the use of traditional instruments and the marching beat of the drums lead the crowd to rapturous applause for a truly eye-opening show. It's too easy to forget Britain's own musical roots, yet Lakeman shows it has much to offer.

Outside to the Main Stage, and the skies open for the first but certainly not last time this weekend. It's OK however, as everyone dances in the mud to the sound of Delays. Singer Greg Gilbert is a man blessed with the voice of an angel; and uses it to staggering effect on their spacey indie-rock tracks. Their show is enchanting, and 'Nearer Than Heaven' provides a fantastic finish.

Headliners Elbow can be heard half a mile away from the festival. But loud volume doesn't cover the fact that their music is merely substandard of what others are doing; Radiohead do twinkling licks and obscure rhythms better, Bono is more adept at political activism. Sleeping tablets may get you a good night's sleep quicker than Elbow's performance, but only just. Considering how much raw talent is at this festival, some originality really wouldn't have gone amiss.

Saturday
Fresh as a daisy, the second morning kicks off with local band El Mahico. Heavy label attention to the band is unsurprising as their mix of latino guitar riffs, samba rhythms fused with hip-hop beats from the bass, and decks is fresh and invigorating. Leicester has never felt so much like Rio!

The Inside Stage packs out for the arrival of Howling Bells. This antipodean band has long been a music press favourite, and many have come to see their worth. And quite a great deal is the answer. Sultry vocals reminiscent of PJ Harvey coupled with bluesy atmospheric rock with just a hint of the 60s in the vocal harmonies spin the audience in to a daze, wrapping them up in lyrical soul-bearing. Truly the audience is theirs for the keeping.

Tunng are the first band labelled 'beard-music'. Using a mix of acoustic guitars and childrens' instruments their delicate vocals whisper the influence of Simon and Garfunkel and provide steadfast family entertainment for all. Brakes, in contrast, are definitely for the tastes of a few. Their jagged post-punk rock is exhilarating and cathartic in its nature, while abrupt ends and 20-second songs refreshingly question why a good song has to be around four minutes. It's a blow to the senses that is secretly very enjoyable.

The Young Knives appear to have both staying power and good material. Highly entertaining, it's 'Loughborough Suicide' that amuses most locals in their knowledge that the town is just a field. The trio are also able to draw out the sun from behind the rain, for which the whole crowd were eternally grateful.

Isobel Campbell provides a beauty-and-the-beast vocal match of songs from her new album. But while delicate and broody, it's just not the same without the rough edge of Mark Lanegan to be the devil to her good angel.

This leaves Vashti Bunyan open to steal the show with her sensitive songs and painfully shy stage manner. If the name doesn't ring a bell, a recent phone commercial on which her music is used will, and she's another Mercury Prize nominee. The beauty of her music is the fact it appears never to have become cynical with time, for which she has to be praised. Despite occasional rudeness from the crowd, the set is something magical and her songs about motherhood are particularly powerful.

You've got to be both Scottish and of a certain age to get The Proclaimers. Many younger members of the crowd stand in puzzlement as they're shown how to party by people twice their age dancing to the folk-rock tones. They go down a storm, and classic 'I'm Gonna Be 500 Miles' leaves everyone with no voices.

Which is a terrible shame, as for the second time this weekend, the crowd is wowed by the antics of Phil Jupitus performing alongside Ian Dury's former band The Blockheads (a massive misjudgement in interest had left many unable to pack in to the small Musician Stage on Friday). The sight is truly entertaining; Jupitus could never replace Dury, but his own comic manner is an excellent substitute, with his coarse vocal tones. The Blockheads are astounding in their musical dexterity, even if their image now shares more in common with Steptoe And Son than the original London scene. Still, their blues-funk mix is highly entertaining, and seeing a performance of 'Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick' is something you can tell the kids about and they won't understand.

Sunday
The festival spirit is running high on the last day. Sadly so is the alcohol, and much of the day passes by in a blur. Thus what's recorded may prove to be the most memorable and talented. The Long Blondes, for example, could be the ones to steal the Pixies shoes rather than step in to them. Their minimalist garage rock approach leaves room for their main weapon, singer Kate Jackson to enthral the crowd with her Gwen Stefani-esque vocals, indie chic and alluring hip movements. 'Separated By Motorways' is a modern classic, and the future, unlike the weather, seems very bright for this band.

M.Craft's performance is a tender acoustic touch, and gives the feeling of being led on a musical journey. Delicious vocal harmonies and sparkling guitar that if not surrounded by so many bands attempting the same, would have shone like a beacon.

The influence of Keane can rarely be said to be a good thing, but Morning Runner pull it off by fusing it with the guitar parts of Coldplay's heavier times. Potential is definitely a word to associate with the band, and time and experience will see them flourish, and pose a very tough talent challenge for others.

The hero of the weekend is Jose Gonzalez. He may look like a trainspotter dressed in a yellow knitted jumper, and sporting a beard, but once he opens his mouth the whole crowd are in his control. Although accused sometimes of doing too many covers, his one-man, one-guitar approach brings new life to a variety of songs ranging from Kylie's 'Hand On Your Heart' to Massive Attack's 'Teardrop'. It's 'Heartbeats', however, that gets the crowd going, and Gonzalez' voice warms all, despite the rain.

It's packed indoors for Buzzcocks. Every seat is full and the floor space is crammed. They don't disappoint. Songs over twenty years old still have as much power now as they always did, and it's easily the most whipped-up crowd of the weekend. 'Orgasm Addict' is delivered with original venom, and for most in the audience their voices are finally finished off by 'Ever Fallen In Love'. The final delivery of 'What Do I Get?' proves that even if their hair is thinning, Buzzcocks' importance to punk has not.

And finally, a feel-good band to finish the weekend. Belle and Sebastian may look like the Scottish Scissor Sisters, but their indie credibility and influence reaches much further and wider beyond. Now with over ten albums (it's hard to keep track), they bring a hand-picked selection of their best material along to a crowd going. Recent decent 'Blues Are Still Blue' is a personal favourite, with 'Funny Little Frog' also proving popular. This band truly are a British delicacy, and have the potential to be this generation's Velvet Underground.

That such a talented and established band brings the festival to a close is a symbol of hope for all other fantastic bands that played the weekend. Nearly all have started from humble roots. Some have already reached the top of their talent ladders, some are on the way back down, and others are still on the first rungs. To see such bands all together at such an intimate festival as this proves that regardless of what manufactured rubbish is released, bands with real talent are not few. To see them all in one place is thus a pleasure.

Jon Bye

Belle And Sebastian Official Site