T in the Park 2009 - Saturday: Part III

Blog by Thomas Meek | 12 Jul 2009

There was plenty of choice for the evening's penultimate performance, with Bronto Skylift, Jane's Addiction and Glasvegas all playing some stage or other.

And though the first fifteen minutes of Jane's Addiction's set on the Radio One/NME stage did look spectacular, I felt an uncontrollable urge for people dressed up as animals, and with no Flaming Lips this year, my only choice was Of Montreal at the Red Bull Bedroom Jam Futures Stage – winner of the 'catchiest stage name award 2009'.

From the off it appeared I had made the right choice, as what appeared to be King from Tekken showed up, with the body of a man and the head of a lion. And the dancing skills of Stephen Hawking.

The band soon entered though, each with their own unique style - the public schoolboy drummer; the pink, hairy angel; the coy ballerina. And then of course there was the mediaeval pimp of them all – Kevin Barnes.

He's a man obsessed with identity and deception, with the animal heads the mere tipping point of an infatuation that spreads to even their name – they're from Georgia. The dancers return too, first in pyjamas, then be-masked and in black lycra, to turn a rock show into performance art.

It's a wonderful visual spectacle too, and the first time I saw a band on one of the smaller stages put that much effort into creating a genuine show.

I was so enthralled by it all, and comfortable in this cosy wee tent, I thought about waiting the half hour for Florence and her Machine to turn heads like at Glastonbury.

I knew what I'd be missing out on though, and made my to the very back of the masses gathered to see The Killers headlining the main stage.

And though it may have been nice to lay back in the sun and let that Vegas pop wash over me, I wanted something more. Something manic. Something street. Something preachery.

What luck! I found such a band headlining King Tut's, with walking into 'Tsunami' bringing the full force of the Manic Street Preachers into perspective.

It was a festival set too – forsaking many songs from the (really rather good) new album, to indulge in hits like 'Everything Must Go' and 'You Love Us'. Ten years since their last T in the Park venture has been too long, and this was a welcome, assured and poignant performance.

'Faster' was played for Richey Edwards, with cheers in his memory, before 'If You Tolerate This' assured the Manic's worth as a viable headliner.

Then ended another great T in the Park day. There were old hands showing the kids how it should be done, and kids just doing it for themselves anyway. A pleasant mixture, and one bound to succeed in a setting such as this.

Roll on Blur and Twilight Sad then.