Filed under: reviews
Big Chill Main Stage
This year’s Big Chill signalled a significant shift away from past years, with the departure of Pete Lawrence from the intimate circle of planners leading to many changes. Firstly, the attendance was greatly increased, with both day tickets on sale for the Sunday, and the Sunrise Celebration festival taking up what was previously the North camp site, the Eastnor surroundings were noticeably busier. Secondly, the ‘leave no trace’ campaign which was such a success previously, was accepted by all to have failed this year, with the newly out-sourced litter pickers pulling a no show, an unfortunate event that lead to the festival site looking more like one of its bigger, more mainstream cousins.
But these concessions can be considered to be a small side note on what was otherwise another year of exceptional music and an atmosphere which other events could only wish for. Regardless of Roots Manuva’s predictably unfortunate appearance, stumbling and drunk, all swagger and backing MCs, the decision to let high profile London promoters bill each night was a successful one. On Friday, it was Soundcrash’s turn, known for their infamous electronica nights taking in the Warp and Ninja Tune labels, and DJ Vadim and Krush initiated this trend. Luke Vibert pounded early 90’s acid relentlessly for an hour, seldom looking up from his laptop, giving Daedelus no choice but to continue the bombardment, whose mash-up sound ranged from Daft Punk, Portishead, and Nirvana, all blended into his own unforgettable Californian sound.
Saturday’s blue skies made the perfect backdrop for Fujiya and Miyagi’s kraut rock guitar noodlings, complete with breathtaking stop motion based visuals. The Hot 8 Brass Band start off very lively with the majority of the crowd enjoying an afternoon dance before the sound becomes rigid and hard. The climax of the weekend is reached with Trentemoller, the live band set up reminiscent of Nine Inch Nail’s live shows, albeit with a much harder techno sound. Sunday’s firework and bonfire spectacle happens simultaneously with Benga’s DJ slot, the London dubstep prodigy running through many a song from this year’s ‘Diary Of An Afro Warrior’, yet the day really belongs to Flying Lotus, his Hyperdub-inspired performance taking in Kode9, Glasgow’s Rustie, and Michigan’s Samiyam, before reverting to an all-out bass assault of drill n bass. Leonard Cohen’s sunset performance is everything expected of him and more, the highlight being ‘First we take Manhattan’, the opening track to 1988’s ‘I’m Your Man’. Finally, Lee Scratch Perry provides a suitable come-down sound in the Media Mix tent, the dub rig and his psychedelic ramblings a welcome addition to the stage previously assigned for cinema.
