An early morning wake up call from some drunken West Coasters must mean that day two of the Hydro Connect festival has arrived.
After a quick rummage around for an all-important pair of wellington boots, I joined the stream of people heading towards the main stage. Surrounded by day-glo hype, Late Of The Pier decided to be late for the gig, eventually emerging to an impatient crowd. Just as well their bonkers 80s pop is so enjoyable then – moving from bulging synth riffs to frenetic guitar spasms, the performance is like Gary Numan with a split personality.
Conor Oberst followed, with his low-key country folk finding favour with an audience no doubt expecting some big name thrills. There is little ego on show, however, with the Saddle Creek veteran eschewing his Bright Eyes material in favour of his new solo album. An assured performance, if skewed slightly by the Omaha resident’s frequently bizarre on stage pronouncements.
A wander round the site found a packed to the gills Silent Disco tent. Is there anything more entertaining than hundreds of perfect strangers grinding away to the sound of silence? Friendly Fires try their best, and their art-pop marks them out as definite ones to watch. Early single “Paris” is a highlight, the band jerking like Thunderbirds on amphetamines. The unsigned tent contained some unexpected treasures, as Zoey Van Goey’s twee songwriting mingling with the ferocious post-rock of Galchen. Imagine Mogwai if someone had nicked their Celtic tops and you’d be close.
Every festival has moments that lead people to ask wide eyed “were you there? What was it like?” Glasvegas at Hydro Connect was one of those moments, though to be fair my answer would be “yes I was there along with a million other people”. How the Glaswegian quartet have become this huge so soon is a mystery but with a series of glorious anthems perhaps it’s best to get lost in the crowd.
In contrast, Errors hail from the same city but a radically different place. Mind expanding electronic music, the kind of abrasive, machine bending nonsense that really makes you want to swing those hips. If only they’d had a social worker named Geraldine they’d be sorted.
The progression of J Spaceman from druggy drone rock merchant to a musical genius on a par with Mozart playing Bach’s greatest hits is one of the more inspiring stories in modern music. Of course, the music of Spiritualized is even more inspiring, the coupling of “Come Together” and “Walking With Jesus” taking the audience close to breakin’ on through to the other side.
In contrast, Paolo Nutini isn’t quite as mouth-watering. However, with the young wastrel on good form and the audience squealing to his every word it was actually quite good. Honest. Have I lost any cool points for that? Damn.
Headliners Bloc Party bound onstage resplendent in kilts carrying with them the sort of confidence that can only come from a band who have just released their best album. Opening with controversial single “Mercury”, the new material really comes into its own in a live setting. A marked progression, it remains in the vein of past material – easily commanding the audience’s attention alongside early hits such as “Banquet”. Disappearing from the stage after a pulsating encore, the crowd dissipated into the country twilight delirious from a fantastic show.
