Features

Mogwai, The Horrors, Final Fantasy, The Big Pink, Micachu & The Shapes - Festival preview: Field Day

Ian Simpson 25/06/2009

East London's Psychedelic Summer Fete returns for a third year. Which is nice.

Festival Schmestival - The Summer is here and its getting to that time where you have to commit to which events you're gonna attend and which ones you're gonna spurn. Your tent needs an airing (unless you enjoy the smell of feet, fart and fanny), if you're lucky enough to have a job in the current climate, you've gotta book some leave for recovery time and if you're a sprightly young thing, you probably have to ask your mam for a lift.

A Blur reunion makes Glastonbury interesting but a shamelessly well-timed greatest hits cheapens it a little... then you have to stomach 'The Boss'. Nah.

Hyde Park is always busy this time of year as well... I don't care who's playing it to be honest but I won't attend the O2 Wireless Festival on a matter of principal. The Hard Rock Calling events are there too. Fleet Foxes are putting in an appearance but Springsteen is there ruining it for everyone again.

Seemingly catering only to zeitgeist and fads, The Carling Weekender has Radiohead, Arctic Monkeys and a whole host of token emo/metal bands. Kings of Leon though, above Placebo? That's a bit rude isn't it?
Latitude is a cutesy middle-class affair with a wonderful relaxed tone to it. A rare solo set from Thom Yorke sells that one to me instantly, then there's Cave and The Seeds, Mew are a favourite and I have a hankering for Marnie Stern too. I think I'll probably wing my way down there actually.

This doesn't even scratch the surface does it? There are loads of them. Depending on what type of person you are, there is a festival of some description to cater to your every desire.
If you find yourself always discovering fresh new bands, buying your outfits in retro boutiques, doing the Artrocker crossword in under ten minutes and getting your hair cut by your friend from Goldsmith's then you should really be buying yourself a ticket to the third annual Field Day Festival in Victoria Park.

In its first year, Field Day faced derision from within the blogosphere (oh dear) for poor organisation. Queues for everything, too few places to relieve oneself and a none-too-well designed layout that meant from certain key areas you could hear music from all the stages at once. It was a bit ramshackle but all involved nevertheless had a laugh I'm sure.

Year one saw performances from Foals who were of course the hottest things around, Battles who had yet to mark their status within the UK and Bat for Lashes who only had one single under her belt. It was about the new and the now and it still is. Admin quirks have been ironed out and now we can forget them and focus on the music.

Mogwai are the crowd-puller this year, performing their one and only UK Festival date, there's a few mid-level touring acts like The Horrors or the brilliant Final Fantasy. Beyond that, the focus is on the genuinely alternative and the burgeoning new blood. Field Day gives you the chance in one day to catch up on seeing all the bright new things you somehow have missed in and around London in recent months.

Spend your Twenny-five quid, get on site, get involved in some tug-of-war or welly throwing nonsense and once you have it out of your system, grab a beer, have a mooch around catch some genuinely exciting and innovative new music.


FIELD DAY- SATURDAY 1st AUGUST 2009
VICTORIA PARK, GROVE ROAD, TOWER HAMLETS, LONDON, E3
TICKET PRICE: £29.50 + BF
TIME: 11.30 - 10.30PM
www.fielddayfestivals.com , www.seetickets.com