Metro Weekender - Cardiff Calling
Coopers Field, Cardiff
Saturday, 25th August 2007
By Jay Cockayne
Well, it took a while, but finally we came to a festival this summer where you didn't need to wade in your wellies or dish out your pounds for a tent that is sturdy enough to withstand torrential rain and inebriated folk. Returning after last year's introductory sell-out with a lot to live up to, Cardiff Calling was back.
With three stages offering the best in live music for near-on twelve hours non-stop, there was plenty on offer to satisfy the most diverse of tastes. New for 2007 was the Xfm New Music Stage. Arguably the best indie music station to come out of London in the last ten years, you'll be glad to know that November will herald the launch of Xfm South Wales 106.8-107.3. And they certainly made a good impact with the acts that had been chosen to perform there. Highlights from that stage were, in particular, The New 1920, a four-piece hailing from Cardiff and epitomising the essence of live music. The energy and enthusiasm oozed out of them, smothering the crowd who were happy to drown in it and rock out. From the moment lead-singer Col leapt into the crowd to join in with the fun that was being had off-stage as well as on, the tent filled up and the crowd stuck with them.
Also worthy of a mention are Cardiff-born The Jan Watkins Band, not so much for their shout-out-loud, head-banging influence, but conversely for their mature, melancholic melodies, complemented by husky, ear-pleasing vocals. Although these lads played their set four hours before The New 1920, they still attracted a noticeable crowd, which would only have grown if they'd had the chance to perform later.
A further addition for 2007 was the MySpace Stage, which should certainly remain part of the festival in years to come. There was strong competition for The Jan Watkins Band when The Guns stepped onto the MySpace Stage at the same time. Having already supported the Lostprophets, they more than lived up to the critical acclaim of being one of the best live bands around, as revellers found themselves involuntarily jumping around with unbelievable delight. They saved the best in the set 'till last with Gordons And Lemonade, a song which got the majority trying to match the powerful vocals, and getting a standing ovation even from those who had resigned themselves to lying on the floor in the suffocating heat.
But if The Guns set the bar, then MySpace headliners The Rumble Strips raised it. Not surprisingly, the tent was full of Rumblers and non-Rumblers who wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Compared to the set they did at the Cardiff Barfly a few months ago, they were a tighter band with perfect harmonies, and despite having officially 'made-it', by having three songs now aired, still insisted on setting up on stage personally. Speaking to lead-singer Charlie after the set, he was pleased with the performance and the crowd's reaction, and despite this being far from his first festival appearance this year, insisted he loved festivals and was looking forward to his next one just as much.
As festivals go though, there wasn't much else to do when a gap appeared between the acts, besides eating, drinking, sunbathing and catapulting yourself into the sky in a cage, but mention must briefly be made of the WKD girls and dancers, who were attracting people over in wide-eyed delight not only with their corporal offerings, but also with the promise of a free sun-hat if you bought one of their alcopops. It's no coincidence that those who hadn't come prepared for the scorcher of a day were chugging down the drink.
Not that there were many gaps between acts on the Main Stage, apart from when Dizzee Rascal turned up on stage twenty minutes late, sauntering out to Carmina Burana. But all was forgiven when he immediately broke into the goose-bump inspiring Jus' A Rascal, and gave the fans the edge that they were looking for. From then on it was a faultless set, the crowd obeying his every command to bounce, stand up and flex. Even though the crowd shouted to him 'don't make me get old school', he, thankfully, ignored them and treated them to the pulsing baseline and mellifluous rhyming of Old Skool, the second single to come from his recent album Maths + English, and, from the same album, Sirens also got lashings of love from the fans. The same goes for Temptation, a collaboration with Arctic Monkeys, with Alex's haunting melodies balancing out Dizzee's guttural raps, although sad to say he didn't deal the delight of a guest appearance by Arctic Monkeys themselves. Nevertheless, Dizzee Rascal gave us a taste of his diverse talents, leaving us licking our lips for more.
After such a crowd-pleasing set, followed by Welsh heroes The Automatic on the Main Stage, you could be forgiven for thinking Super Furry Animals were somewhat nervous about walking on stage to appear in front of their home crowd, especially after their long absence from the Welsh capital. But you'd be wrong. The Furries proved that they are the founders of Welsh experimental indie music, re-establishing their fan base and converting many into Furry-followers in the process. The band musically stretch the boundaries with their psychedelic, unique style, and it's comforting to know that with their new (eighth!) album, Hey Venus!, you can rely on them to continue doing so. Their set included a wonderful mixture of new tracks and old favourites, in particular Rings Around The World (although disappointingly some weren't feeling the love enough to make the rings), Juxtaposed With U (that suited them better), and God! Show Me Magic, which prompted all to officially go wild and lose their heads. Recent release Show Your Hand did exactly what it said on the tin, albeit, sadly, with a minor sound failure half-way through, but the band showed they've been around long enough to cope with such hiccups. A comeback? By the time they walked off stage it felt like they'd never been away in the first place.
For The Streets, however, it was their very first performance in Wales. That, coupled with the fact that they were headlining the entire festival, meant that their set was always going to be a highly anticipated event, something that Mike Skinner appreciated. Throughout the whole performance he engaged the crowd in a way that could only be compared to a Jackanory reader - children, teenagers, parents and grandparents hung off his every word, even satisfying his request to turn to the nearest stranger and declare love for them! When the killer pulsing baseline to Don't Mug Yourself blasted out, a wave of excitement rippled across Coopers Field, the revellers riding its repercussions throughout the set. Like Dizzee Rascal and Super Furry Animals, The Streets played out new material, as well as a menagerie of hits from their track record, including When You Wasn't Famous, Could Well Be In and, of course, their biggest hit to date, Dry Your Eyes, which had the strange effect of drawing out smiles which were saddened at the same time. That's the beauty of Skinner's songs - with down-to-earth, human themes and lyrics, it's hard not to be captured by his life-stories put to music. Never Went To Church is the perfect example of this, a beautiful song about Skinner's experiences after the loss of his father, and which he himself confesses is the one of which he is most proud. When the opening chords played out, it was hard not to be moved too. The good news is, he's in the process of writing his fourth album, and there's no doubt he'll continue to push things forward as he has done throughout his successful career so far.
Here's to Cardiff Calling having a successful career as well, and, judging from the last two years, that's a cert. A word of advice though - don't be caught short, make sure your August 2008 weekends are free, as when the time comes you certainly won't want to miss out.
The Metro Weekender's Cardiff Calling was held at Cooper's Field in Cardiff on Saturday 25th August 2007. For more details, see www.metroweekender.com.
