Sunday at Connect, and things get started (for BM at least) with Ross from Fatherson on the tiny Tiny Changes stage doing several acoustic numbers to a rapt crowd – titles something like ‘Just At The Point of Breaking’, ‘Landscape’, ‘Honest To God’ and ‘Love for Air’. Once again the laid back nature of the garden beside the Gardener’s Cottage, with people seated on the ground in the sun, is a winning vibe, although at one point a bee flies around Ross’ beard and for a minute it looks like the set could be cut short… (BM)
Black Country, New Road have had an odd year after their lead vocalist Isaac Wood abruptly left the band just days before the release of their critically acclaimed second album, ‘Ants From Up There’. So what should have been a breakout year has led to a quick reconfiguring with the band having to write a whole bunch of new songs in order to be able to honour their busy summer schedule. An early afternoon slot in an expansive field is not really the best place to appreciate the intricate subtleties of their sound, but it’s a nice set to ease in the day, with the final song, ‘Dancers’, showing off May Kershaw’s fabulous voice and skills on the keys. (LW)
Another artist causing quite a “buzz” (oh dear me) is Lizzie Reid, appearing today with full band – BM has only seen here in acoustic mode before so it’s quite the surprise when she gets up to full throttle, starting on piano and then guitar, with Liam on drums, Jo on bass and Catriona on keyboards. Songs such as ‘Warpaint’ and ‘Cubicle’ sound great on a big stage, and with DF’s support behind her it looks as if a move up to the next league is not far off. (BM)
An artist who really is having a breakout year is Self Esteem who has been drowning in plaudits since last year’s ‘Prioritise Pleasure’. Most of the album is played today, complete with choreographed moves from two dancers, and occasionally Rebecca Lucy Taylor herself. Bangers like ‘Fucking Wizardry’, ‘The Best’ and the title track hit with such force and energy that you almost forget the alternately withering and empowering lyrics. The drums pound, the synths sparkle while everyone but the “Radio Six boys” dances and sings along. The words “I’M TIRED NOW” cascade down the backdrop, which Taylor fittingly nods to when explaining that she’d been out until 7am enjoying the Fringe. If this is Self Esteem on a hangover, full strength must be something to behold. (LW)
Clash of the weekend (for this reviewer at least) was between Dehd and Little Simz, but with the Americans returning to Glasgow in November it was the London rapper who won out. Simz and her band are on fiery form, going from bombastic (‘Speed’), to funky (‘I Love You, I Hate You’ and ‘Protect My Energy’), to soulful (‘Woman’) with perfect ease. All the while Simz is cool as anything, showing off her dexterous flow (Introvert especially) and getting the crowd to sing Obongjayar’s earworm hook on ‘Point and Kill.’ (LW)
There had been rumours all afternoon about a previously unadvertised 7.45pm “secret” gig at the Tiny Changes stage, i.e. during Mogwai’s set, so it couldn’t be an acoustic version of ‘Fear Satan’… a tip-off allowed BM to get in place early to see Tiny Changes CEO Kara Brown introduce the Ohio main stage headliners, The National‘s Matt Beringer and the Dessner brothers take the stage for a two song set, start with a new one ‘This Isn’t Helping’ and an oldie which was introduced as a song which always reminded Matt of Scott Hutchison (The National and the Frabbits toured together in the US) – ‘About Today’ – there were a few tears shed, it is fair to say, and again it is a tribute to the work of DF, the TC organisation and volunteers that this complete one-off event took place at all – if someone had suggested before this weekend that BM would be seeing The National at such close quarters she’d have been more than sceptical. (BM)
Over on the second stage, Sudan Archives shows heaps of potential with her original take on R&B, frequently looping her violin to provide the beats while still playing the diva (complete with Britney mic) to great effect. She’s followed by Scottish indie-folk stalwarts Admiral Fallow who show just how to utilise a woodwind section – Kevin Brolly’s clarinet floating on the wind that’s just starting to pick up. Half an hour in and the opening notes of Mogwai can be heard – it seems clear Louis Abbott and co. are in trouble… (LW)
Mogwai follow their usual pattern of constructing carefully layered soundscapes, only to later explode them in deafening crescendos. Despite the set list taking cues from all over their 25+ year career, the performance coheres perfectly, ebbing and flowing between intricate noodling and sheer power. ‘Mogwai Fear Satan’ performs its usual trick of terrifying any first-timers when it drops unexpectedly for the second time. ‘Ritchie Sacramento’ is the only song with vocals tonight, Stuart Braithwaite poignantly reflecting on those gone too soon. (LW)
Safe to say Mogwai were immense, BM then catching the first few tracks of Idlewild’s ‘Remote Part’ set, also played in front of a packed and very excitable audience, before heading over to the main stage once again for The National.
And their full 18-track set, at nearer 90 minutes in total, is a masterclass in songwriting and performance. Pacing the stage, Berenger goes down to the barrier several times, shaking hands with the masses, always timing the forays to perfection and never losing the vocal while getting pulled into the crowd… Drawing from what is now an extensive back catalogue, the band major on most recent album but one (‘Trouble Will Find Me’) along with the older ‘Boxer’ and ‘High Violet’ – with several new songs aired including most recent release ‘Weird Goodbyes’.
Accompanied at times by a three-piece horn section, the core band of five members and at least one other keyboardist, sounds for BM like a combination of the classier American bands over the past 30 or 40 years (REM, Lambchop, The Band even), combining melodic guitars with some darker musical tendencies, along with soul and gospel influences on some tracks. The lyrical musings of Berenger, in that lugubrious baritone of his (interesting choice of Leonard Cohen as intro music…) touch on personal trauma, soul searching angst but all laced with a contextual sense of space and the environment around him. Universal themes in other words, with a cinematic backdrop of imagery behind them, and moderate helping of black humour should you choose to look for it.
The set draws to a close with ‘Fake Empire’ (dedicated as usual to their native USA) and after paying tribute to Scott Hutchison, deliver ‘About Today’, previously introduced as being a reminder of the Frightened Rabbit frontman. An emotional end to quite some weekend of music. (BM)
Will Connect be back? Well, tickets for next year have already gone on sale, and if the same kind of innovative and sensitive booking policies are deployed it could be a far bigger success than this initial event. (BM)
Connect seems to have built in strength over the course of the weekend (though partly at least due to star power/weather). With dates for next year already announced, here’s hoping they can get over the tricky “sophomore” edition that seemed to doom them back in 2008… (LW)