Indian Summer (Sunday) @ Victoria Park
The Skinny's not adverse to a spot of prima-donna-esque pampering
| 13 Oct 2006
Wide awake and raring to go, The Skinny is adequately refuelled for another hard-working afternoon at Indian Summer. Sauntering towards the entrance with a song in our heart, we merrily dash between the raindrops in anticipation of today's eclectic ensemble of melody makers.
But before even a sip of lukewarm beer passes our lips, the weekend's first murmuring of discontent is busy blustering its way through the site. Apparently, a certain Mercury prize winning American is on the verge of pulling out. And not for any illness related shenanigans, no sir. It seems our wig adorning friend just isn't content with his luxurious five star accommodation.
Now, The Skinny's not adverse to a spot of prima-donna-esque pampering but we do object to popstars playing the diva card whilst the rest of us trundle through the mud. Luckily, with Tilly & The Wall there's no such overblown delusions of grandeur - just beautifully textured pop melodies. Led by the tap dancing prowess of Jamie Williams, it's a rousing performance that fills the heart and sky with glorious sunshine. Bouncing through scrumptious new album 'Bottom Of Barrels', this Nebraskan quintet wash away the rain with folk-strewn tales of love and loss.
As we catch the end of Errors, their brutal set quickly wrenches Tilly's gushing harmonies from the pit of our stomach. Chaotic and pulsating, the Glaswegian elctro-rockers ravage the ABC Tent with robotic punk palpitations. Alas, it ends all too soon and we trek off to find Camera Obscura whimsically tip-toeing onto the Main Stage. As twee as a Belle & Sebastian coffee morning, their poetic poignancy strikes a tender chord with the brimming Sunday masses.
But we're in the mood for something a little more indecipherable, so we trudge over to find Dananananakroyd geeing up the crowd, before launching into a riotous sulphuric attack. With guitars that scream like At The Drive-In over the caustic yells of an incessant vocalist, it's a performance that borders on the realms of insanity. Yeah, it's a great name but, hell, Dananananakroyd deserve to be heard too.
And then we're off to seek solace in the contagious freak out of Tapes 'n' Tapes. The last gig of their UK tour, it's a tub-thumping, raucous show that threatens to upstage any of tonight's headliners. Ripping through Cowbell and Insistor, they show why 'The Loon' is one of 2006's most essential albums. Finishing with the crazed goofiness of Jackov's Suite this could pass as the festival's climax without the fervid crowd blinking an eye.
Yet a vast chalice of musical greatness is still to be consumed. And in Broken Social Scene Indian Summer serves up the best 'non-band' to come out of Canada's voluptuous musical landscape. Combining members of New Pornographers, Stars and, for today only, Tapes 'n' Tapes, they're an enriching early evening appetiser of Herculean horns and ravishing riffs. Striving for the sky with elegiac dreaminess, BSS play a blissful set that puts the urgency back into stargazing pop.
Unwittingly searching for the next alphabetically adjacent acronym, we stumble into the ABC tent to find CSS plastering the stage with their seismic post-punk filth. Combing the grooved out ferocity of !!! and the scintillating power pop of Le Tigre, the Brazlian ensemble has the crowd vibrating like an aging spinster's Rampant Rabbit.
Once CSS's engrossing set ends, Gang Of Four arrive on the Main Stage with all the grace of your Dad dancing to a Status Quo tribute band. Fearing the worst we stand back, anticipating a quick getaway to Mr Scruff in the Fat Tuesday tent. But what unfolds is the most adrenaline fuelled performance of the weekend so far. Screeching through a classic hour of hits that includes I Love a Man in Uniform and At Home He's a Tourist, it's a pummelling reminder of just how important this band was and perhaps still is.
Having seen John King kick several shades of shit out of a microwave, we're cunningly reeled BACK in to the ABC Tent by Arab Strap's Aiden Moffatt. Disturbingly twisted, his spoken word set is a dark chasmal affair that fits perfectly with the rapidly fading light. As his twenty minutes of self-deprecating stanzas come to an end My Latest Novel quickly soften the mood with their heartfelt symphonies. The gorgeous Sister Sneaker Sister Soul is the stand out track in a sweepingly simplistic performance by a band who are currently one of Scotland's most treasured possessions.
Making one final dash to the Main Stage, we discover Antony & The Johnsons have managed to set aside any accommodation grievances to actually do what they're paid for. And god, how well they do it. Illuminated by a protruding skyline polka-dotted with stars, Anthony's escalating vocal sprinkles tender emotion over a gawping crowd. Soaring into the night sky with the spine-tingling Fistful Of Love, it's a grandiose finale to a wonderful weekend. And as The Skinny exits the gates of idyllic Victoria Park for a final time, we're left hoping Antony's hotel room is just as palatial. [Billy Hamilton & Ali Brown]
But before even a sip of lukewarm beer passes our lips, the weekend's first murmuring of discontent is busy blustering its way through the site. Apparently, a certain Mercury prize winning American is on the verge of pulling out. And not for any illness related shenanigans, no sir. It seems our wig adorning friend just isn't content with his luxurious five star accommodation.
Now, The Skinny's not adverse to a spot of prima-donna-esque pampering but we do object to popstars playing the diva card whilst the rest of us trundle through the mud. Luckily, with Tilly & The Wall there's no such overblown delusions of grandeur - just beautifully textured pop melodies. Led by the tap dancing prowess of Jamie Williams, it's a rousing performance that fills the heart and sky with glorious sunshine. Bouncing through scrumptious new album 'Bottom Of Barrels', this Nebraskan quintet wash away the rain with folk-strewn tales of love and loss.
As we catch the end of Errors, their brutal set quickly wrenches Tilly's gushing harmonies from the pit of our stomach. Chaotic and pulsating, the Glaswegian elctro-rockers ravage the ABC Tent with robotic punk palpitations. Alas, it ends all too soon and we trek off to find Camera Obscura whimsically tip-toeing onto the Main Stage. As twee as a Belle & Sebastian coffee morning, their poetic poignancy strikes a tender chord with the brimming Sunday masses.
But we're in the mood for something a little more indecipherable, so we trudge over to find Dananananakroyd geeing up the crowd, before launching into a riotous sulphuric attack. With guitars that scream like At The Drive-In over the caustic yells of an incessant vocalist, it's a performance that borders on the realms of insanity. Yeah, it's a great name but, hell, Dananananakroyd deserve to be heard too.
And then we're off to seek solace in the contagious freak out of Tapes 'n' Tapes. The last gig of their UK tour, it's a tub-thumping, raucous show that threatens to upstage any of tonight's headliners. Ripping through Cowbell and Insistor, they show why 'The Loon' is one of 2006's most essential albums. Finishing with the crazed goofiness of Jackov's Suite this could pass as the festival's climax without the fervid crowd blinking an eye.
Yet a vast chalice of musical greatness is still to be consumed. And in Broken Social Scene Indian Summer serves up the best 'non-band' to come out of Canada's voluptuous musical landscape. Combining members of New Pornographers, Stars and, for today only, Tapes 'n' Tapes, they're an enriching early evening appetiser of Herculean horns and ravishing riffs. Striving for the sky with elegiac dreaminess, BSS play a blissful set that puts the urgency back into stargazing pop.
Unwittingly searching for the next alphabetically adjacent acronym, we stumble into the ABC tent to find CSS plastering the stage with their seismic post-punk filth. Combing the grooved out ferocity of !!! and the scintillating power pop of Le Tigre, the Brazlian ensemble has the crowd vibrating like an aging spinster's Rampant Rabbit.
Once CSS's engrossing set ends, Gang Of Four arrive on the Main Stage with all the grace of your Dad dancing to a Status Quo tribute band. Fearing the worst we stand back, anticipating a quick getaway to Mr Scruff in the Fat Tuesday tent. But what unfolds is the most adrenaline fuelled performance of the weekend so far. Screeching through a classic hour of hits that includes I Love a Man in Uniform and At Home He's a Tourist, it's a pummelling reminder of just how important this band was and perhaps still is.
Having seen John King kick several shades of shit out of a microwave, we're cunningly reeled BACK in to the ABC Tent by Arab Strap's Aiden Moffatt. Disturbingly twisted, his spoken word set is a dark chasmal affair that fits perfectly with the rapidly fading light. As his twenty minutes of self-deprecating stanzas come to an end My Latest Novel quickly soften the mood with their heartfelt symphonies. The gorgeous Sister Sneaker Sister Soul is the stand out track in a sweepingly simplistic performance by a band who are currently one of Scotland's most treasured possessions.
Making one final dash to the Main Stage, we discover Antony & The Johnsons have managed to set aside any accommodation grievances to actually do what they're paid for. And god, how well they do it. Illuminated by a protruding skyline polka-dotted with stars, Anthony's escalating vocal sprinkles tender emotion over a gawping crowd. Soaring into the night sky with the spine-tingling Fistful Of Love, it's a grandiose finale to a wonderful weekend. And as The Skinny exits the gates of idyllic Victoria Park for a final time, we're left hoping Antony's hotel room is just as palatial. [Billy Hamilton & Ali Brown]