Birdwatching

Published on Tue 19 Oct 2010

I did a short notice gig on Friday night at the Cornerhouse to general indifference from all concerned. There were a couple of decent moments, but the lack of response got to me a bit so I didn't especially get going. Anyway, I played: The Ghost of Paddy's Night Past, Muscle Memory, Watertight, The Temptation of Adam (Josh Ritter cover, just to see if I could - I could but it'll be better if I do it again. So many words!), Magnetic or Rhetorical, Soaked to the Skin.

Not much else has happened this week other than a ridiculous quiz last night (world record for eating 2lb of strawberries anyone?), so I can clear some of the backlog. Jumping back to day 2 of Way Out West. When they make this into a book the editor can put it all in the right order...

I slept in quite late, paid another visit to the hot tub/sauna then wandered to the festival site just in time to watch Mumford & Sons who I enjoyed a great deal. I don't much like the album (as Richard Herring memorably said on Radio 6 the one time I've accidentally listened to it in the last 5 years, "that was Mumford & Sons with their new single, a cover version of their last single") - but live they really are excellent. The banjo guy seems to have managed to grow a proper beard since the End of the Road last year too - I'm proud of him. The keyboard player should sit down though - it's undignified.

We listened to Anna Ternheim from the safety of the beer area, and pleasant enough background music it was, then, having got some popcorn, watched Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek. I don't know what it is about live hip hop, because I'd never normally listen to that kind of thing, but I seem to always love it when it's put in front of me. I'd not heard of him, but I'm told Talib Kweli is one of the best. I can believe it. Also, the popcorn was nice. 

After another lightning raid on the beer area we took up a position for Pavement, who I enjoyed again. They seemed a bit less up for it than they'd been in Barcelona, but were still obviously quality.

We watched some of Marina and the Diamonds on the smaller stage, and I was pleasantly surprised. They're like the anti-Florence and the Machine, in that she could sing and the band could play. I'm not going to listen to them ever again obviously, but I enjoyed it at the time. She had some weird props too.

The second problem with the way the festival is run (following on from the first part, all those weeks ago) is that the capacity of the club gigs after the music ends at the main site isn't that high, so you're in danger of not getting in if you don't sacrifice some of the headline acts. Shearwater were playing at a particularly tiny place in the city, and, determined not to miss it, I left halfway through Lykke Li, a good couple of hours earlier than necessary it turned out. I only missed La Roux and the Chemical Brothers though, who I couldn't care less about. Being there early meant that I got to stand in the front row for both Shearwater and impressively coordinated (he was playing guitar with his hands, harmonica with his mouth and drums with his feet) but unfortunately bluesy support act Daniel Norgren. He looked the part at least.

Seeing a "real" band at the kind of proximity as I did that night is a massive treat for someone like me who can't (usually) be bothered to turn up really early to things and forego beer to keep my spot. It was lovely. I could've stolen the glockenspiel hammers. Shearwater were as good as I've seen them too, despite not having the element of surprise they had the first time. Dynamic, bombastic, a bit weird. I love it. Here's a video I took.

The whole weekend was excellent fun, especially once I'd caught up on my sleep. Though the music didn't often hit the heights (to be fair I don't think I was in the mood on the Saturday), the company was good and the hot tub and sauna were outstanding. Good times.