Lounge on the Farm 2012: A Festival Review, Day III
By Alex Ward
July 8, 2012
It’s the third and final day of lounging about on the farm. Unlike the first few days, things were rather slow when midday came around. Have been woken up by a horrendous rain shower, my hopes of a dry day were ruined. However, my spirits were picked up by the first band of the day: Zoo For You, a local band from the Canterbury area. Their music sounds like a jazzy, funky Ian Dury with the punk taken out. They played songs such as ‘Polystyrene Man,’ ‘Leaf’ and ‘My Moth.’
– Zoo For You
Apart from the three stages at the festival, there is a lot to down around the site. Stumbling into the Kopparberg Cube I saw the ‘Positive Vibe Crew.’ The DJ group played amazing mixes of reggae and hip-hop, which was fantastic to have a dance around to. They also played some hits such as Jimmy Cliff’s ‘Shanty Town.’ After all that fun it was time to head back to the Main Stage to check out Various Cruelties. The Rough Trade-signed band sound like a darker version of The Cure mixed with The Smiths. They played songs such as ‘F.E.A.R.,’ with its ghostly guitar in the background, and ‘Great Unknown’. Their set was lively and a great afternoon surprise.
– Various Cruelties
After seeing King Charles on TV I knew from the start that I should catch him at Lounge on the Farm. There is no mistaking Charles Costa, with his sixteenth century hair and dandy attire. They played hits such as ‘Mississippi Isabel,’ ‘Bam Bam,’ ‘Love Lust’ and others. They brought out the crowd despite the bad weather.
After what has been an amazing three days, Lounge on the Farm really pulled out the stops for the last main stage headliners. 70s disco legends Chic really got the crowd going. Arriving a bit late from King Charles I was able to catch the set from the middle onwards, catching hits such as ‘We Are Family,’ ‘Le Freak,’ ‘Good Times,’ ‘Everybody Dance’ and more. But to really pull out the stops the band organized for a stage invasion to occur. Twenty festival punters ran and jumped onstage. The band–that loved the attention–allowed some to even sing alongside them. To come on after this really takes a special type of band.
– Chic + Stage Invasion
The Charlatans are a band whose live show I have read mixed reports about. After being told that they were to be flying in from the Isle of Man, I felt their chance of putting on a better show than Chic might not be all that possible. However, from the moment they got on stage they played great songs like ‘North Country Boy,’ ‘Indian Rope,’ ‘Weirdo’ among others. Tim Burgess, with his bright blonde hair, created a great atmosphere and was playing along with the press, posing with his microphone. They were great, and a perfect close to what has been an amazing weekend.
– The Charlatans
Lounge on the Farm has been through a lot in the last seven years. Despite some past festivals having issues, this year, everything came together perfectly.
