Sunday, August 02, 2009

some wonky shots from the Field Day '09

I'm not that great at photographing bands, it's quite hard, but what interested me visually was the whole scene, the crowds, the lights, especially as things got a little messy, mostly in a good way, from about 5-6 pm onwards, with the rain and the drinks and whatever taking over etc. it looked good. I love the way this one day festival that is firmly an East London fest mixes up edgy indie with mellow alt country and dubstep and electro and improv jazz and burlesque/alt.cabaret in the "Do you come Here often" tent and all sorts of other grooves, it's quite open ended and attracts an interesting crowd, both nerdy and hedonistic, and very East London, again, mostly in a good way. While the very happening dance tents (mainly Bugged Out and Bloggers Delight) and the general clubby atmosphere might make it come across as some sort of eccentric rave party with an indie festival tacked on, it was perfectly possible to immerse yourself in pretty dark and moody soundscapes all day long, from the Sian Alice Group to SCUM to The Horrors to Fennesz to The Big Pink and finally on to Mogwai who were truly magnificent, one of the better festival headline sets I've seen, best enjoyed with your eyes closed... but open your eyes now:


Wet Paint (they were really good, US alt indie influenced - I'm sure, and wouldn't be surprised if they own a few GBV records - and very energetic and fun, shame everyone was sitting down but I think they turned a few heads):

S.C.U.M. slightly overblown and murky neo-goth sounds, does that do it justice? Not sure... :


The Horrors, in the rain, I guess they didn't quite make the impact they should have, but it was entertaining enough to me, if not a little lightweight:


The Big Pink:




Four Tet, dancers with Hula Hoops that had little lights attached:



Bloggers Delight, a smallish tent that seemed to be rammed the whole time:


Mogwai, both the main course and the comedown:





3 comments:

Unknown said...

Love the pics - I am still waiting for my friend to get ours up on facebook. I had a great time, despite the questionable weather. For me skream on the main stage was a definite highlight, I was really near the front and the whole crowd were really loving it. Also enjoyed little boots and indeed the fairground ride (before the cider drinking began!) - However, the prices, not very pleasing for the those of a thrifty nature (myself included, and considering the large student population i doubt we were alone) - you might be interested in a competition to win a case of magners pear cider/mini-fridge full of magners. You need to become a fan of the Magners facebook fan page http://bit.ly/MagnersUK - Winners are selected on Thursday - winners will be drawn every week (must be over 18 and UK based!)

thomas said...

Hi there "Magners", thanks for your comment! yes, the prizes at festivals/venues these days are not good, though Magner's ain't really all that cheap either ;) I was drinking the Otter Ale from the Amersham Arms tent all afternoon! I think that was the best deal, at least for me... but a bit more choice and a pint closer to the three pound mark would have been good, yes

Gavin said...

Would someone from Brothers care to comment on Field Day? :)