Field Day Festival Brings London To Life Once Again (Part 2)
Published
The Sunday of Field Day attracted altogether different breed of music fan to the sunny fields of Victoria Park, with many of the DJ style sets and the tents they graced disappearing from the line-up. Headliners, Ride, Patti Smith and Mac DeMarco dictated a more rock/punk/folk driven vibe, which worked nicely in contrast the previous day’s line up. Here’s my highlights from Day 2 of Field Day 2015…
Allah-Las
At first I was almost bemused at the 2:20pm slot this band were given, but it seemed to be a pretty intelligent decision in the end. They certainly drew a large crowd, almost filling the resident advisor tent, one of the bigger at the festival. It also attracted many fans to come into the festival early, and shaded from the early afternoon sun, the band played a solid set, that might not have been the most energetic of the weekend, but certainly one of the more entertaining.
The highlight: Their stuff from the old album was executed brilliantly.
The lowlight: Difficult to pick one, could have been more engaging at points.
3 word conclusion: Retro summery fun.
Mac DeMarco
Along with his hugely successful debut and sophomore albums, Mac DeMarco has an infectiously funny personality which he once again demonstrated throughout his set, engaging in some of the best crowd banter I’ve ever seen. Away from the chat, his music had a slightly heavier feel to it live, but it only complimented the rich instrumentals and his folky vocals. Deservedly, DeMarco had one of the biggest crowds of the day, and rewarded them with one of the better sets of the day.
The highlight: His strong stage banter. Musically – Salad Days.
The lowlight: Some of the songs were a little lost on me, probably as a result of such a vast crowd. Not his fault though.
3 word conclusion: Good music + humour.
Patti Smith
An outstanding addition to the otherwise very strong line up. As Patti Smith and her band came out to perform Horses, 20 somethings with long hair and “Save Tibet” headbands started popping up out of nowhere, a vibe she seemed to reciprocate throughout her set with raw emotion, chanting “People have got the power… Don’t forget it… Don’t let them take it away… use your voice”. She bought energy to her set, strong enough to rival any of the aforementioned acts (Run The Jewels and Sylvan Esso) or any of the twenty year olds bouncing around in front of her, as she smashed out ‘Our Generation’. I was expecting a rock and roll finish, and she gave us one, albeit a somewhat mature one, lifting her guitar to the air and proclaiming “this is the greatest weapon you will ever have, this is the greatest weapon of our generation”.
The highlight: Maybe the big finish?
The lowlight: I’m struggling here!
3 word summary: Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant.
The festival as a whole delivered just as well as the individual acts. The atmosphere was fantastic, the food outlets varied and fairly reasonably priced, the whole package of Field Day is one nearly any music fan could experience, enjoy and come away from being enriched. I’ll be going back.
To find out more about Field Day festival click here.
Words by Thomas Schofield
