Beach Break Live - Pembrey Country Park, Carmarthenshire - 14th June-18th June 2012 (Live Review)
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
Written by Ryan Crittenden
Now in its sixth year, what started as 1,000 people singing in a field in 2007 has transformed into a festival that has attracted a 20,000 strong student crowd ready to revel in the multitude of activities that the four-day festival has to offer.
The weekend does not get off to the greatest start as Wales unleashes its finest weather on the country park venue. Hurricane like winds and heavy rain leave many sorry looking students seeking comfort in tents on the Thursday night and with the conditions not improving overnight more than 3,000 people left on the Friday before the festival ever really got going.
Those who stuck it out were treated to a well-organised, very reasonably priced festival that had a whole lot to offer.
Friday 15th June 2012
Battling through the rain on Friday afternoon to see Cut Ribbons did not seem such a great idea as thirty-five minutes after their scheduled start time there was still no sign of the band. With a depleted looking stage left disappointed, it was time to head off and regroup before tackling the swirling winds and torrential rain once again. Early Friday evening proceedings were dominated by England fans heading to Chai Wallahs for the screening of the Euro 2012 game against Sweden. Unfortunately for those in the tent, the weather had claimed another victim – the satellite signal, it really wasn’t going that well. When the signal was regained it seemed to coincide with Maverick Sabre arriving on stage, meaning the Irish artist performed to a modest crowd but one which would have been significantly larger at another time. The set was impressive as Mr. Sabre controlled the pace brilliantly, starting off with more soulful numbers including 'Used To Have It All' before upping the pace with a heavy rendition of 'Let Me Go.' The Irish-born singer/songwriter then mixed things up with a dubstep remix of 'No-One' which paved the way brilliantly for the Friday night headliners before closing with fan favourite and former single 'I Need'.
Dubstep-loving students were getting in position at the main stage for the night’s headliners, Chase and Status. This was an obvious but very good booking by BBL to secure the dance duo that have gone from strength to strength since the release of their debut album 'More Than Alot' in 2008. With MC Rage at the helm barking orders at the vast crowd, Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status) powered their way through a hit filled set full of the energy and enthusiasm that helped them win over the Download crowd over a week earlier. Highlights include an angst-filled ‘Hypest Hype’, hit single ‘Let This Go’ and the truly fantastic ‘Blind Faith’, which is likely to please festival crowds for many years to come. With the atmosphere at fever pitch, an encore which features ‘Killing in the Name’ is just what was needed and despite a relatively short headline slot lasting just under an hour the frenzied crowd had lapped it all up.
To continue the party, the majority of the crowd gathered themselves together before heading to Merlin’s Forest. David Rodigan’s timeless set was in full swing as people made their way into the tent to witness a truly extraordinary show from the old timer. Rodigan delivered a fine mix of drum and bass that fitted brilliantly alongside his native reggae tunes to delight everyone in the tent. No MC required as Rodigan’s soft West Indian accent is enthusiastically directing proceedings and surprisingly a large portion of the audience who embrace everything the old master has to offer. The night in the Merlins’s Forest tent was presented by Mistajam, who followed on from Rodigan with an equally brilliant set, again mixing old with new and prompting sing-a-longs and skanking. Notable moment of the set came from Mistajam following through with his threat that if people wanted to start a circle pit he would play Dolly Parton. Sure enough after a final warning ‘Nine to Five’ was blared out mid song to the delight of many and the embarrassment of the few who wanted to get the pit going in the first place. Closing the night was Nero who put on a real show from behind their elevated platform on stage. Dressed all in black and sporting blacked out sunglasses; the duo ran through a number of tracks from their album ‘Welcome Reality’ leaving fan favourites ‘Promises’ and ‘Me & You’ to the end for a pent up crowd to explode with excitement. A good end to a day that started quite badly.
Saturday 16th June 2012
Unfortunately the weather did not let up on Saturday, so what sort of act is going to drag cold, wet and tired students to the main stage at midday? The man who created the now infamous Reggae Reggae Sauce that is who! That’s right Mr Levi Roots managed to draw in a relatively decent crowd for a bizarre set which featured a lot of talk surrounding his Caribbean Sauce and a song from his daughter. In-between the plugging of his brand, his army of band members performed some average reggae music; nevertheless, the set was enjoyable and seemed to put a smile on faces. Ghostpoet performed to a drenched crowd as the rain really started to hammer down, despite this, the Mercury Prize nominee’s laid back hip-hop style was a hit and it has to be seen as a triumphant set.
The highlight of the Saturday came in the form of a fantastic set from Scroobius Pip. Along with his Distraction Pieces band (a guitarist and a drummer), the modern day wordsmith put on a real show for a well turned out afternoon crowd. Walking on stage with a bottle of rosé the student crowd are urging him to see the bottle off; not succumbing to peer pressure Pip explains, "I'm not a student, I'm not going to down it!" Showcasing tracks from his debut solo album 'Distraction Pieces,' heavier numbers like ‘Let ‘Em Come’ and ‘Soldier Boy (Kill Them)’ go down a storm as the crowd is worked into a rowdy bunch. ‘The Struggle’ tells the fictional story of Johnny Depp as a serial killer, the lyrics are beyond clever and the sing-a-long chorus demonstrates exactly how to win a crowd over. The real high point of the set saw Pip call upon his spoken word work, as the truly beautiful ‘Broken Promise’ is enough to provoke all kinds of emotions. The feeling and emotion that ooze from Pip is a joy to behold and the song acts a reminder for the serious nature of Scroobius Pip’s life. Closing the set with a top crowd surf, the Essex man disappears backstage to a great ovation. What a set.
For me the day went downhill at this point, walking on stage in a cricket jumper Labrinth went about his set full of energy and apparently crowd pleasing songs but in all honestly his set was padded out with some quite poor songs. His attempt to play the guitar was a nice touch but it really did not add much to a rather disappointing show. Lucky for him he had a good slot where the students who continued to turn up were reaching optimum level of drunkenness, meaning that when his smash hit ‘Earthquake’ was given an airing it very nearly caused one. With the prospect of Wretch 32 arriving to entertain the crowds, it was one that was not the most appealing so with very little else on I had a break and returned to the main stage for DJ Fresh. Along with his hand-picked band, DJ Fresh was joined by a very irritating MC, Messy MC and a female singer who added something quite nice alongside the annoyance of the apparent rising MC star. After the high-octane set the previous night from Chase and Status, this performance was just missing the extra burst of bass and with some questionable mixes, including ‘Paradise’ by Coldplay the set felt a little flat until he pulled out the big hits. ‘Louder’ and ‘Hot Right Now’ caused a frenzied crowd to throw themselves around aimlessly meaning that the show ended on a high.
After some time out of the spotlight it appears that grime star turned pop star Dizzee Rascal is well and truly back on the radar and tonight he was entrusted to headline the main stage. With really very little to rival the London born artist, the main stage was packed so when he emerged on stage just after 10pm the crowd went mad. His set started strongly as he harked back to his grimier days calling on 'Boy In Da Corner' trio of ‘I Luv U’, 'Fix Up, Look Sharp’ and ‘Jus’ A Rascal.’ At this point the set was firing on all cylinders with an impeccable stage presence fully supported by a good stage show, however, about 25 minutes in Dizzee seamlessly walked off stage without anyone really noticing. He left his DJ to spin a few records including a bassier airing of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ which is all well and good but when you have a headline slot at any show it doesn’t seem right to just walk off for a break. Reappearing as if he had never left the stage, Mr Rascal then pulled on his more recent chart toppers to entertain the crowd and put on a real example of how to do things. Leaving the stage for a second time to huge ovation upon his return an extended intro to ‘Bonkers’ was met by pumped up students clambering onto each other’s shoulders, the track went so well for Dizzee he actually played it again straight after. The decision to play the same song back to back was both bizarre and ridiculous; two moments of annoyance put a downer on his otherwise great set. All routes led to Merlin’s Forest to close the night as both Skream and Benga pulled two great sets out the locker.
Sunday 17th June 2012
The sun has come out! After 3 days of mostly rain with very few sunny spells, those who have lasted are treated to a veritable feast of Welsh sun. The scorching sunshine makes a real difference to the festival as happy campers emerge earlier than usual to make their way through to the main arena and towards the beach. A novel idea and something I have never experienced at a festival but a welcome break all the same. With a small stage assembled and water sports to watch, the whole atmosphere is better and in fact sets the day up nicely to greet arguably the best artists to the country park.
It is all about the main stage and with the sun still shining down into the early evening Dry The River arrive to entertain a very well turned out crowd. Their blend of easy listening, indie-folk is lapped up by all as they play a variety of tracks from their debut album 'Shallow Bed'. Following relentless touring since the release of the album, tracks like ‘New Ceremony’ and ‘No Rest’ get a fantastic response and the band seem to feed off this to deliver one of the sets of the weekend. In truth their show leads perfectly into a set from the man of the moment, Ben Howard. The young man has really found his feet this year, getting some favourable airtime on Radio 1 and releasing his critically acclaimed album 'Every Kingdom'. The singer-songwriter is like a cool James Morrison, like the Scottish singer before your mum discovered him. The passion and soul that fills Howard’s song is there for all to see, supported by a very tight band he races through a number of album tracks mixing in his well know numbers to the crowds delight. ‘Only Love’ and ‘The Fear’ are tender, tranquil tracks that ooze quality and the sizable audience gives them the credit they deserve. Howard’s interaction with the crowd is limited but he does explain that there has been some sort of mix up that means he cannot play his hugely popular cover of ‘Call Me Maybe,’ and despite the initial disappointment a rousing rendition of ‘The Wolves’ is enough to please everywhere.
Billed as ‘Special Guests’ on the initial posters, The Maccabees are fast becoming one of the most recognised British bands around today. Since the 'Colour It In' days, these boys have delivered some of the best indie music you are likely to hear and their Beach Break set is a career spanning one of the highest quality. Full of sing-alongs and ferocious energy, the five piece rattle through the hits from all three studio albums with an unexpected ‘Latchmere/About Your Dress’ medley thrown in for good measure. The progression of the band is there for all to see and although the scratchy guitars on the first album have been replaced by thunderous guitar riffs on their most recent album 'Given To The Wild', the variety makes the set one to remember. Most recent anthem ‘Pelican’ is an absolute belter, the way the tracks builds on so many different levels is nothing short of fantastic and the reaction it receives from any crowd represents the brilliance of the song. Even a more fragile number like ‘Forever I’ve Known’ gets the crowd pumped up enough for them to explode during older tracks like ‘X-Ray.’ It is far and beyond the show of the weekend and with festival appearances lined up all summer; many more people are in for a musical treat.
Although The Maccabees set felt like one of headline status, those still in the mood to dance were treated to a headline set from an almost forgotten outfit, Friendly Fires. It is safe to say that the St Albans band have fallen off the radar recently. Following the success of their self-titled debut album it is safe to say that the follow up album 'Pala' did not go down quite as well. Anyway they are the last act to play on the main stage at this year’s Beach Break Live and they are determined to showcase their talent and prove that they are still a band to be reckoned with. Tracks from the debut album like ‘Jump in the Pool,’ ‘Paris’ and ‘Skeleton Boy’ getting the biggest reactions lead singer Ed Macfarlane’s finest dance moves gives the show some great theatrics. The set is largely successful, with crowd interaction kept at an absolute minimum the three-piece go about their business in an energetic and enthusiastic manner. It might seem like an odd move to have Friendly Fires over The Maccabees but it is safe to say that the dance-indie group have done enough to justify their position at the top of the bill. With proceedings brought to a close at the main stage, it was over to Merlin’s Forest once again to finish the night. Sets from Danny Byrd, Netsky and Camo and Crooked are fast paced, sweaty shows that have been seen at Hospitality events across the country over the last few years. With just about enough fuel left in the tank it was left to dance the night and the festival away and when all is said and done the rain returns for one final hurrah!
Overall the festival was very well run, a good laugh and despite the adverse weather conditions everyone seemed to walk away having had a great time.
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The highlight of the Saturday came in the form of a fantastic set from Scroobius Pip. Along with his Distraction Pieces band (a guitarist and a drummer), the modern day wordsmith put on a real show for a well turned out afternoon crowd. Walking on stage with a bottle of rosé the student crowd are urging him to see the bottle off; not succumbing to peer pressure Pip explains, "I'm not a student, I'm not going to down it!" Showcasing tracks from his debut solo album 'Distraction Pieces,' heavier numbers like ‘Let ‘Em Come’ and ‘Soldier Boy (Kill Them)’ go down a storm as the crowd is worked into a rowdy bunch. ‘The Struggle’ tells the fictional story of Johnny Depp as a serial killer, the lyrics are beyond clever and the sing-a-long chorus demonstrates exactly how to win a crowd over. The real high point of the set saw Pip call upon his spoken word work, as the truly beautiful ‘Broken Promise’ is enough to provoke all kinds of emotions. The feeling and emotion that ooze from Pip is a joy to behold and the song acts a reminder for the serious nature of Scroobius Pip’s life. Closing the set with a top crowd surf, the Essex man disappears backstage to a great ovation. What a set.
