T In The Park Festival - Balado, Kinross-shire, Scotland - 8th-10th July 2011 (Live Review)
Tuesday, 12 July 2011
Written by Jonny Rimmer
T in the Park isn’t just Scotland’s very own Glastonbury; it has a distinct and undeniable vibe of its own. Perhaps it is the attendees’ virulent enthusiasm for any type of act on show, generally summed up best by the signature chant of “Here we f*cking go” cropping up every time there’s a hint of a break down. Like a Scottish fiesta, the 80,000 folk who’d trekked to Balado were here to have a good time, and to of course soak up that unique festival atmosphere of alcohol, sweat, urine and lots and lots of mud.
Being, to my knowledge, Stereoboard’s sole representative this year, I can give but a fan’s perspective on the bands that I saw, which is why I have used the overused ‘rate as I go’ method of reviewing. A few things to note: unfortunately, I didn’t manage to attend the King Tuts Wah Wah Tent even once, despite living there for a brief period at last year’s event. Hurts and Primal Scream were attractive propositions, but 2011 was the year of the clash. Because of this I also missed The Xcerts, Bronto Skylift, The LaFontaines (who apparently broke records due to the popularity of their T Break performance), and Crystal Castles, Eels, Bright Eyes, Carnivores, Leftfield and several others that I wished to see. I thoroughly advise you to check out all the aforementioned bands, but despite all that, most bases were covered, if somewhat hastily.
Day One: Friday
One hour’s sleep was not the ideal set-up for the first afternoon. Dunfermline veterans Big Country [5/10] opened up proceedings on the main stage but struggled to make an impact on the mostly youthful crowd, as tuneful as their upbeat new wave-tinged rock was. It’s a funny old world; perhaps 20 years back they’d have been considered as trendy as The View [4/10] who followed them. Despite the obvious rationale being that their Scottish, I’m perpetually baffled at why this band receive the reception that they do – their performance wasn’t terrible, but the lazy posturing did not add much glitter to a dull set list that just came across as samey.
Infinitely more exciting were Twin Atlantic (8/10) on the Radio 1/NME stage, a band who seemed to impress lookers on as much as their army of fans, and there was a sea of spectators by the end of the set. Whilst their Vivarium tunes were the more melodically exciting, more varied singles like ‘Free’ and ‘Edit Me’ worked wonderfully in a festival setting. The highlight was undoubtedly ‘Crash Land’ though, a spine-tingling ballad with strong vocal delivery from Sam MacTrusty, who seemed genuinely touched by the reaction of the T crowd.
Plan B (7/10) has crept up the charts in recent months thanks to his newer soul-based approach, but sub-headlining the main stage seemed a huge task (even with the help of beatboxer Faith SFX). He wears his influences on his sleeve well, but with more a-grade songs under his belt, he may be a more attractive proposition in years to come. My first visit to the T Break Stage came in the form of Sucioperro (9/10), best known as that other Ayrshire band that isn’t Biffy Clyro (frontman JP Reid also performs in Marmaduke Duke alongside Biffy’s Simon Neil). An extra bassist and drummer energetically thickened the band’s already accomplished sound for the show, and by the end of their varied set, the augmented trio had a surprisingly riotous mosh pit on their hands that even had ‘second drummer’ Hooligan Sadikson launching himself over the not-so-bemused security. They were a personal triumph for fans like me, but a startling one for the unaware or unconverted.
Being the stubborn so-and-so that I am, I decided to run between the two main headline acts. Pendulum (8/10) were as formulaic and predictable as I expect them to be, with medleys of some of their heavy-hitting drum ’n bass tunes thrilling the crowd from front to back. And it was brilliant fun, for what it’s worth. To call them a rock act is highly misleading, and the pumping salvo of ‘The Island’ and ‘Witchcraft’ suggested that their most recent effort, Immersion, really was their strongest yet. Arctic Monkeys (6/10) were, by contrast, nothing to write home about. Their fierce determination to veer from the norm meant that a meandering set featured both thrilling bursts from 'Whatever People Say I Am…' as well as the most frustratingly sombre numbers that anyone in the crowd who was not a devotee, struggled to appreciate. A good example was ‘505’, an excellent song no doubt, but a poor choice for encore considering the party atmosphere. Or maybe that was their point.
Day Two: Saturday
As adrenaline began to push in, I opened Saturday with about as experimental a band you’ll hear at T in the Park. And I’m not talking about Clanadonia (6/10) who will be familiar to those who frequent Buchanan Street, Glasgow regularly. PAWS (8/10) were dynamic, exciting and they certainly didn’t help any hangovers with their noise-driven punk occasionally desisting in favour of more melodic fields. Meanwhile at the Red Bull Jam Tent, MakethisRelate (6/10) were on more emo-rock terrain; think Blackened Sky-era Biffy, except not quite as enticing (yet). Admittedly, my score for them also factors in the poor sound quality, with the thumping bass practically drowning out the potentially attractive vocals.
Despite not being a fan of his newer material, Patrick Wolf (7/10) showed flashes of brilliance on the NME stage, with violin, harp and synths all playing their part next to Wolf’s charming lyrics. Meanwhile, at the behest of certain of individuals (perhaps they found it funny), I had the pleasure of seeing N-Dubz (3/10) in action. They were not cringeworthy, just dull as dishwater musically and hilariously bad lyrically. My first visit to the Slam Tent came in the form of trippy DJ James Holden (7/10), a talent who stood out amongst the sea of house/rave acts on the bill. On the same stage, I didn’t appreciate the overrated The Streets (5/10) quite as much. Though this was one of Mike Skinner’s last shows, there was nothing unexpected about his straight forward set that featured too many songs from his recent, less interesting albums.
On the NME stage, House of Pain (7/10) and Friendly Fires (8/10) were both genuine surprises for me. The former are most fondly remembered for their admittedly excellent hit ‘Jump Around’, but the fun jams and contrast between tunes made them a highlight. The latter had only one song that I’d heard before, the slightly bland ‘Kiss of Life’. Instead, I was treated to a Foals-esque set full of horns, thrilling pop songs and Ed Macfarlane’s superb stage presence. The likes of ‘Skeleton Boy’ were impressive; however it was the songs off the new record that seemed to channel elements of Shoegaze and Funk in equally good measure.
Despite missing the Manics, I spent the remainder of the evening at the main stage in the ‘golden circle’. No, that’s not a special VIP area, just the ‘front bit’. The Script (7/10) delivered well as they played the main stage for the second time. Detractors of the band should really catch them live – their pop prowess is even more obvious as O’Donoghue delivered his strong voice next to a striking bond with the crowd (downing his beer perhaps helped a wee bit…). As for Beyoncé (8/10), she killed it. Yes, her set was cheesy; about as American as you can get actually. Yes, it was over-the-top and theatrical. And yes, she looked ridiculously hot. Despite all that, her songs were fun and sassy, her banter playful and her vocal performance astounding. I wasn’t quite in tears like the lass they showed during ‘Halo’, but the likes of ‘Crazy in Love’ were enough to entertain me.
As for Coldplay (8/10), the fireworks that accompanied their set were luckily outdone by a strong, if slightly erratic set. Songs off their forthcoming album took perhaps too much air time, even though the likes of ‘Charlie’ and ‘Major Minus’ were solid. As I expected, it was the older songs like ‘Shiver’, ‘Clocks’ and ‘Yellow’ that most impressed me. Sing-along ‘Everything Not Lost’ was a bit of a damp squib, partly due to its lengthy nature, but the lack of X&Y hits was not lamented. Despite closing with the uninteresting ‘Every Teardrop is a Waterfall’ (see my review here), the likes of ‘Viva la Vida’ were echoed all the way back to the campsite; unlike Swedish House Mafia, an utter contrast to Chris Martin’s clan – seriously, I’ve still no idea how they headlined the second biggest stage!
Day three: Sunday
I saw fewer bands on the Sunday, partly as I decided to check out other areas of the festival. This year’s T in the Park featured a giant water ride, a rave tent, a ceilidh tent, a ‘boom bus’ and even cabaret. Professor Green (6/10) was a bit uninteresting, even whilst sunbathing, as he thumped through his newer, more pop-orientated songs.
Then the clouds burst. After two days of sunshine, Kids in Glass Houses (6/10) powered on regardless despite the torrential, and I mean torrential, downpour that suddenly flooded the arena. Kids played a much more enjoyable set last year in terms of performance, but their song writing still leaves a bit to be desired. Idlewild’s Roddy Woomble (8/10) on the other hand was, thank the heavens (the sunny part), playing in the Red Bull tent. His newer folk material was a highlight, and his baritone murmur was a delight alongside the purposeful violin. Weezer (8/10) were also on form, with a varied set that included covers of Wheatus and Radiohead. Both were brilliant in equal measure, whilst Rivers Cumo drifted down through the now soaking crowd to spread some cheer, not to mention bemusement as he struggled to put on his yellow poncho. ‘Say It Aint So’, still Weezer’s best song, was the clear highlight and a reminder of how good the power-pop rockers used to be.
Diplo (7/10) was perhaps the best slam tent performer that I saw, with a strong DJ set that was expansive and left the muddy masses glowing. This hypnotic set was slightly predictable in its dirty house vibes, but enjoyable nonetheless. Over on the main stage, Pulp (8/10) were thoroughly entertaining, and Jarvis Cocker’s hilarious jibe at the News of the World only enhanced a thorough run-through of their hits, both sardonic and upbeat.
Foo Fighters (9/10) were quite simply superb. For all they’re considered a mainstream group, they remain one of the best Singles rock band that there is, as evidenced by their rabid run-through of ‘Rope’, ‘All My Life’, ‘Monkey Wrench’ and ‘Breakout’. Extensive solo sections through the likes of ‘Stacked Actors’ didn’t drag the show whatsoever, despite Grohl’s assertions that they would play until made to stop. Whilst ‘Cold Day in the Sun’ or ‘Long Road to Ruin’ could have been replaced, the rest was stellar – even ‘Wheels’ sounded appealing on solo acoustic. Closing with ‘Everlong’, Grohl pined “If everything could ever feel this real forever”. Indeed, there was an atmosphere at T in the Park that had not been quite there before. There was a friendliness and camaraderie to the event; indeed, only 35 people were arrested this year. So kudos to Scotland and to those that went. If only the rest of the year could feel this vibrant, this real.
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Being, to my knowledge, Stereoboard’s sole representative this year, I can give but a fan’s perspective on the bands that I saw, which is why I have used the overused ‘rate as I go’ method of reviewing. A few things to note: unfortunately, I didn’t manage to attend the King Tuts Wah Wah Tent even once, despite living there for a brief period at last year’s event. Hurts and Primal Scream were attractive propositions, but 2011 was the year of the clash. Because of this I also missed The Xcerts, Bronto Skylift, The LaFontaines (who apparently broke records due to the popularity of their T Break performance), and Crystal Castles, Eels, Bright Eyes, Carnivores, Leftfield and several others that I wished to see. I thoroughly advise you to check out all the aforementioned bands, but despite all that, most bases were covered, if somewhat hastily.
