Green Man Festival - Glanusk Park, Wales - 19th-21st August (Live Review)
Wednesday, 31 August 2011
Written by Rhys Morgan
Another year and another visit to what has surely become on of the best all-round festivals in the country. This year The Green Man Festival saw world class music, comedy and cinema alongside science and nature all crowned with glorious sunshine! Our first review of the festival gave an expanded look back at the music of Green Man, but you could spend a your whole weekend without seeing a single band and still lapse into a state of euphoria.
For everybody lucky enough to have arrived early on Thursday there was a special treat in the form of ginger Aussie Tim Minchin (9/10). Sadly unaccompanied by his orchestra, Minchin took to the stage in front of the biggest crowd The Far Out tent saw all weekend.
Friday began with some Welsh folk courtesy of The Gentle Good (8/10). Even though for the majority of the crowd the lyrics were unintelligible to most there was something truly soothing and beautiful in its delivery. Lia Ices (7/10) was the next stop. Touring through her debut album, the set seemed to be lacking in some unknown quality. The best moment of her set was an incredible cover of Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here. Holy Fuck (7/10) were the headliners in The Far Out tent. Sadly comparison to last years headliners Fuck Buttons was inevitable and they couldn’t quite live up to that, sound problems and defunct rigs were unforeseeable problems which could only leave you feeling sorry for the four piece. The Main Stage headliners were introduced as the most intense band in the world and I, for one, was in total agreement. While all around people complained that Explosions in the Sky (9/10) were ‘fucking shit’, I couldn't help but be totally captivated by their immense musicianship. It can be hard for instrumental bands to hold the audiences attention without the presence of a front man, but Explosions captivated imaginations on Friday night.
Dry The River (9/10) were many peoples surprise of the weekend (I’d just like to point out Stereoboard tipped them a few months back), they brought so much passion to the Main Stage early Saturday afternoon. And for a group of guys who look like they should be making thrash metal, the sound they create is really something quite inspiring. Green Man is a festival that tends to attract a lot of ‘a man and his guitar’ acts and this years best was Josh T. Pearson (9/10). He may look a bit rough and ready but his music is a million miles from that. Polar Bear (7/10) supplied this years jazz fusion, but were sadly let down by the stages temperamental sound. Then a whole lot of chatter started building. Everywhere you went you could here the murmurs and whispers of people discussing staying far, far away from the Main Stage while Noah and the Whale (8/10) played. I decided to bight the bullet and hoped they wouldn’t play 5 Years Time. Sadly they did. They also opened their set with somewhat of a cheap shot, an instrumental cover of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. I would now like to hold my hands up and admit I gave Fleet Foxes a wide load. If I wanted to hear Fleet Foxes I’d go to Starbucks.
Sunday was the most exciting day for music this year, but it didn’t start off as planned. One of the surprises of the weekend was meant to be The Bleeding Heart Narrative (4/10), that was not the case. For a band that sound so tight on record, they couldn’t have sounded more amateur and loose in reality. Then it happened, the most obliterating one-two punch of the weekend. The left hook being delivered by James Blake (9/10) on the Main Stage. Here’s one guy who sounds better live than on record. The set’s highlight, nay, the festival’s highlight was I Never Learnt To Share. ‘My brother and my sister, don’t speak to me’ being layered and layered, oscillating from stage left to stage right was simply stunning. He even threw in CMYK for good measure. Then it was the right hand upper cut dealt by The Antlers (9.5/10) at the Far Out Stage. It was so almost a perfect set, musically perfect and the crowd were captivated. The only thing lacking was anything from their album Hospice. The set was entirely made up of Burst Apart material with the highlight being Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out. A truly breath taking performance. Suuns (7/10) provided Sunday night with some sludgy guitar riffs to moving to and the audience seemed to lap up every minute of it. The final performance of my weekend was probably the most heart felt. Benjamin Francis Leftwich (8/10) drew to the Pub Stage the largest crowd of the weekend and what made it even more special was that every was sitting, captivated by Leftwich’s tenderness.
Yes, this is a music festival but there is one thing that everyone at Green Man looks foward to, Sunday night. Not because it is the end of the festival but because the Green Man goes up in flames (bonfire, not festival) to the back drop of a simplistic yet stunning firework display. It’s a closing ceremony that only aids in getting every excited for what is sure to be another fantastic Green Man Festival in 2012.
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Sunday was the most exciting day for music this year, but it didn’t start off as planned. One of the surprises of the weekend was meant to be The Bleeding Heart Narrative (4/10), that was not the case. For a band that sound so tight on record, they couldn’t have sounded more amateur and loose in reality. Then it happened, the most obliterating one-two punch of the weekend. The left hook being delivered by James Blake (9/10) on the Main Stage. Here’s one guy who sounds better live than on record. The set’s highlight, nay, the festival’s highlight was I Never Learnt To Share. ‘My brother and my sister, don’t speak to me’ being layered and layered, oscillating from stage left to stage right was simply stunning. He even threw in CMYK for good measure. Then it was the right hand upper cut dealt by The Antlers (9.5/10) at the Far Out Stage. It was so almost a perfect set, musically perfect and the crowd were captivated. The only thing lacking was anything from their album Hospice. The set was entirely made up of Burst Apart material with the highlight being Every Night My Teeth Are Falling Out. A truly breath taking performance. Suuns (7/10) provided Sunday night with some sludgy guitar riffs to moving to and the audience seemed to lap up every minute of it. The final performance of my weekend was probably the most heart felt. Benjamin Francis Leftwich (8/10) drew to the Pub Stage the largest crowd of the weekend and what made it even more special was that every was sitting, captivated by Leftwich’s tenderness.
