L.E.D. Festival, Victoria Park, London
L.E.D. Festival
August 28, 2010
Competing with established gurnfests SW4 and Creamfields, not to mention the might of Reading and Leeds tempting tens of thousands out of the capital, it is somewhat of a bold move for L.E.D. Festival organisers to launch a new two-day dance event on the August Bank Holiday weekend. Reports from Friday were ominous; an extremely patchy bill topped by the horrifically turgid David Guetta was matched by a low turnout, mud and a barely audible soundsystem. Boasting the likes of Aphex Twin, Friendly Fires, Leftfield and everyone’s favourite comedy South African rappers Die Antwoord, surely the Saturday would fare better?
After negotiating the obligatory Victoria Park police sniffer dogs – and witnessing some poor chap being led off in handcuffs – first port of call of the day is zef-as-fokk Die Antwoord over on the minuscule main stage. Despite a humble crowd, chav-on acid Ninja, strangely alluring pixie Yo-Landi Vi$$er and masked decks maestro DJ Hi-Tek treat the show like it’s their Wembley Stadium. Entering in their trademark white hoodies, the unlikely-looking trio quickly launch into their biggest tune ‘Enter The Ninja’ complete with Yo-Landi’s naggingly catchy, high-pitched “I am your butterfly” chorus. Fears that they’ve peaked too early are soon quashed thanks to their gloriously cheesy stage antics. Highlights amidst the “zef” shouting include YoLandi in gold bling waving her ass at the crowd singing “I got what you want boy but you’re never gonna get it”, Ninja dancing like a knobhead in ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ boxer shorts and the pair’s simulated fight in animal costumes during the encore. True, their rap-trance tunes are naff, but Die Antwoord more than make up for it in outright weirdness.
A short visit to the Annie Mac curated tent is cut short when grime MCs Boys Better Know astonishingly start chanting “oggy oggy oggy, oi oi oi” and beckon “we need more girls down here!” Even a brief outburst of pissing rain doesn’t halt my quick exit. Now, alongside death, brilliant Friendly Fires shows are surely one of the few certainties in life? – or so I thought. Unfortunately, the band are the first victim of the day of the shoddy soundsystem. Despite Ed MacFarlane clearly giving his all, his vocals are barely audible while the bass reverberates out of the speakers like a wet fart. The sad result is that usually shimmering tracks like ‘Jump In The Pool’, ‘Paris’ and ‘Lovesick’ are flat and fail to get the pulse racing.
Bizarrely, the sound recovers from its lurgy just in time for Goldfrapp. Dressed in basically a shredded binbag, Alison Goldfrapp still manages to look resplendent as the band dispatch a fuzzy electro set dominated by their current album ‘Head First’ alongside the likes of ‘Strict Machine’, ‘Number 1′ and ‘White Horse’.
The summery vibes are all a stark juxtaposition to the fucked-up techno carnage of Aphex Twin in the dance tent. Flanked by a impressive strobe setup, Chris Cunningham is unrelenting in his warped aural onslaught of crunching bass lines, bleeps and almost alien sounds. Die Antwoord’s much rumoured guest spot doesn’t quite materialise but they do bound on stage briefly in their animal suits during a bowel-shakingly dark number. Nice. Cunningham duly saves the weirdest to last, coaxing the paranoia of the wide-eyed capacity tent with 15 minutes of screams and shrieks.
With the dance tent now finished, it ensures the crowd over on the main stage for headliners Leftfield is the largest of the day. Despite Paul Daley no longer touring, guest vocalists and a full band performing alongside Neil Barnes ensure the set is far removed from the knob-twiddlery of kindred spirits Orbital and The Chemical Brothers. With darkness now set in, ‘Leftism’ classics like ‘Release The Pressure’, ‘Song Of Life’ and ‘Open Up’ sounds as voluminous and ground-breaking as they did 15 years. Never wavering, the set is epic throughout and comes to a suitably crushing climax with “that song of the Guiness advert” ‘Phat Planet’.
So, despite the odd sound hitch, the second day of L.E.D. Festival is saved by the strong bill. Whether organisers will be able to propel the festival to new heights in 2011 remains to be seen.
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