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Chapter 2

DINNER IS SERVED “HEAVEN UP THERE”

Scheduling a festival line-up is a lot like cooking a very special meal. First of all, it is essential to choose the right ingredients and weigh the qualities and quantities of the courses in order to surprise and delight one’s guests. But it’s equally as important to know what should be served with what – you can’t just throw it all together in a lump without letting the flavours stand out. You have to give serious thought to a well-planned menu to ensure the taste sensations accentuate each other and thrill the senses of those gathered around the table. For precisely these reasons, scheduling a festival line-up is a true labour of love – you have to mix ingredients, test textures, create new taste sensations… and then wait to see what each guest likes the best.

This year’s Festival is an exquisite and scrumptious smorgasbord with something for everyone. It could be conceived of as formal four-course dinner, but it could just as easily be thought of as a more laid-back buffet – that is, help yourself to whatever you want whenever the urge strikes. And the great thing about it is each course features samplings of all the major flavours – rock, pop, folk and electronic music – so you can pick and choose what most whets your appetite at any given time.

Thursday: Appetizers
“On My Mind”

To start with – to have a little bite here and another there – there’s nothing like kick-off Thursday and its selection of appetizers, gathering and offering the best of all the taste sensations: from the bittersweet and burlesque flavour of Scissor Sisters, who will get you partying with your mum (“Take Your Mama Out”) or ask you to give them time to be “the man I know I am”, to the aged and perfect taste of a classic-turned-legend like Tom Verlaine (Television’s “Marquee Moon” is no doubt one of the most perfect songs ever). And then throw in some guitar and organ flavourings with a touch of Spanish indie and you’ll get The Sunday Drivers. The gourmet tapas will be served by Erol Alkan (who has worked with the likes of The Chemical Brothers and Bloc Party), and the more home-grown and intense folk flavours will be represented by Howe Gelb + ‘Sno Angel. And if you’re looking for something really substantial and filling to share with your friends, there’s nothing more satisfying than Aldo Linares’s kick-off session – all the hits and more will be served there.

Friday: Surprise Salad
“Alone, Together”

Friday is more like a big salad – one of those great salads that has everything but the kitchen sink in it, and you never know how it’s going to taste exactly until you get the fork to your mouth, each forkful offering different taste sensations. There’s the New York cool and hype of The Strokes mixed with the more earthy New York flavours of The Walkmen. There’s the wine to go with the salad, aged just right, and a very good year indeed, represented by Echo & The Bunnymen (“The Killing Moon” is another one of the perfect songs of all time). There’s the minimalism of Isolée, the catchy and new-wave melodies of The Futureheads, the thrilling and driving sobriety of Dominique A, the lo-fi punk of White House Movement, the electronic duo of Ellen Allien and Apparat, the resounding pop of Garzón, the foot-tapping and dance-inspiring Tiga, the incomparable Pixies and some people known as Babyshambles, poised to carry the baton of Pete Doherty. Mixed in with all these flavours there are still more, such as Chris Brokaw and Manta Ray, both of whom represent the wide-ranging traditions linking folk and rock music.

Saturday: The Main Course
“Do You Want to See the World?”

The names are different on Saturday, but the basic ingredients are much the same. Saturday proves that it is possible to serve the greatest extremes of our musical tastes and season them just right with perfect songs and long hours of dancing and partying. As far as perfect songs go, there’s Morrissey whose genius, in accordance with his strict vegetarianism, will be showcased on the Green Stage. On the other end of the taste spectrum, RadioSoulwax (2 Many Dj’s + Justice) and their army of talent will be cooking things up as well. Speaking of high-calorie meals, there will also be Franz Ferdinand performing their driving melodies and surely tapping their feet to keep the beat. Along the same line, but somewhat more mellow, there will be The Kooks, who will be opening for the Rolling Stones next August in Cardiff. The softer and more aromatic touches will be provided by the interior landscapes of Mojave 3, the low-key electronic sounds of Ms. John Soda and the pop adventures of Nadadora. 

But, as the day is long, there’s still room as well for a crooner like Jay-Jay Johanson, who has run the electronic gamut back and forth several times, the unique flambé that is El Columpio Asesino, the elegant and sleazy electronic vibes of Hell, and the naked and honest sounds of Lou Barlow. 

Sunday: Dessert
“The Movers and the Shakers”

The word dessert immediately leads us to think of something sweet or the end of a meal, but it doesn’t have to be that way. A dessert does not necessarily have to be sweet, nor does it have to come at the end of a meal. There are people who skip over the other courses and go straight to dessert, indulging their own particular palates.

Depeche Mode makes for a mighty fine dessert along the lines of pure dark chocolate – a taste sensation we all know, yet one that never ceases to surprise. In this same vein, there’s also Editors, who sound like a dark cross between Bloc Party and Echo & The Bunnymen. And, with dessert comes coffee – Madness will provide the caffeine, and Placebo the darkness and a slight touch of glam. Other tones of the dark side will be served up by Grupo Salvaje, rich in premonitions of the other side of destiny with their song “Aquí Hay Dragones”.

As if this were not enough, dEUS has been carrying out its own revolution slowly but surely with their latest album, and live manifestations of this are not to be missed. Less revolutionary but more hedonistic, there’s We Are Scientists, who leave us, like Mayra in 1, 2, 3, a phrase (“up to here I can read”) to tie in with the desperation of “Nobody Moves, Nobody Gets Hurt” – “My body is your body / I won’t tell anybody/ If you wanna use my body/ go for it”.

But there’s also time for other surprising desserts with the rare and syncopated hothouse-flower beauty of the songs of  Matthew Herbert and Valerie Etienne, the revelation of “Sad Boys Dance When No One’s Watching” by The Secret Society, and the eclecticism of Yann Tiersen (much more so than on the soundtrack of “Amelie”).

After all this, we will surely be able to find the energy to top off such a filling meal with coffee, an after-dinner drink and a cigar – Miss Kitten and Queens of Noize at the Beach Party. While we have made mention to many of the ingredients of the feast about to be served at the Festival, we haven’t mentioned them all. And there is so much to be enjoyed. You’ll have to pick and choose. Like Echo & The Bunnymen say in “Heaven Up Hear”, “Watch the guitar (…) We’re all groovy people”.

Text: Silvia Terrón