Stirring end to a fabulous festival

Jul 22 2008 by Andrew Welsh, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

EVENTS on T’s final day kicked off with a mix of chuckles and cringes.

Responsible were the members of skater punk combo BOWLING FOR SOUP, whose gags pitched to the midday assembly in front of the Main Stage made for an entertaining opening to proceedings, even if musically, the US band proved more functional than original.

By contrast, a brief glimpse of comedy-free GET CAPE, WEAR CAPE, FLY was enough to confirm the promise of Essex-based indie/emo crossover Sam Duckworth, whose set was enjoyed by surely one of the youngest turnouts of the weekend.

Returning to the Main Stage, Britpop survivors SHED SEVEN turned the clock back with a greatest hits showcase that featured the likes of Getting Better, Chasing Rainbows, Dolphin and She Left Me On Friday.

In their prime, wailing Rick Witter and co were at best challengers for a play-off place in the pop hierarchy’s ‘B’ division in the last decade, but their mediocre outpourings proved worth putting up with for the still rousing pomp of Going For Gold, the band’s biggest hit.

By the time next-up AMY MACDONALD appeared, T’s super-efficient organisers had ensured the giant platform was running five minutes ahead of schedule, though whether staff can also take credit for the glorious sunshine is doubtful.

Macdonald’s Celtic-style jiggery-pokery, which I’ve already documented elsewhere, was followed by an all-out aural assault from punk firebrands THE ENEMY, prompting a stream of non-injurous missiles including full yoghurt pots and the ubiquitous plastic pints to rain down.

Best from the blistering Coventry trio was We'll Live And Die, the latest T generation’s own That’s Entertainment.

Hard on the heels of the fresh-faced power rockers came Californian veterans COUNTING CROWS, whose countrified efforts seemed a mite tame in comparison with The Enemy’s raw energy, even with three guitarists in tow.

However, bouncing across the stage with the help of a walking stick, injured frontman Adam Duritz gave it his all and impressed with some gravely vocals.

The sophisticated seven-piece create a big sound live, but smash single Mr Jones excluded, most of their layered offerings seemed to pass by the large proportion of those present who were seeking familiar singalongs.

On the conclusion of another ‘best of’ type set from ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN in King Tut’s (see last Tuesday’s PA), it was a quick dash back to the Main Stage for the second half of AMY WINEHOUSE’s much-anticipated appearance.

Claims that have arisen in the wake of her performance that she was miming throughout are ridiculous.

Yes, there were a smattering of minor glitches in her delivery, but overall Ms W yielded a competent and generally sober performance that highlighted both her vocal talent and strong material.

Resisting the temptation to check out The Zutons at R1/NME, it was THE CHARLATANS who got the nod for the evening’s penultimate show.

A heaving King Tut’s greeted Tim Burgess and his bandmates like conquering heroes on their arrival, and given the band’s near 20-year contribution to UK guitar rock, it was deserved.

Sporting his trademark jet-black bowl cut and dark shades, the still youthful looking Burgess cut a wired figure as he gestured and punched along to his colleagues’ pounding, post-baggy beats.

While the set list was heavy on tracks from the new album You Cross My Path, including the singles Mis-Takes and The Misbegotten - dedicated to The Brian Jonestown Massacre - there was predictably still room for some Charlatans classics.

Weirdo, One To Another and the song that started the band on the road to success back in 1990, The Only One I Know, were all greeted rapturously by diehard and casual fans alike revelling in the return to form of one of Britain’s best live acts.

That left a choice between King Tut’s headliners Primal Scream, who last did the needful on the same platform in 2006, The Prodigy and REM.

Having missed their previous Main Stage show five years ago it was Michael Stipe’s alternative US rockers who won out.

After opening with a buzzing What’s The Frequency, the early part of the Athens (Georgia) combo’s set featured a clutch of tracks from new album Accelerate, including the frontman’s current “favourites” Man-Sized Wreath, Hollow Man and I'm Gonna DJ.

However, played out in front of a spectacular multi-media backdrop tailor-made for festival/stadium arenas, it was inevitably the familiar classics that lifted REM’s performance into higher echelons and sated the hungry crowd.

A monumental Drive was followed by Bad Day, Ignoreland, The Great Beyond and a euphoric Imitation Of Life, before bassist Mike Mills donned a Stetson and, looking more than ever like an overgrown Milky Bar Kid, took the lead on a superbly measured Rockville.

With Stipe racing and rolling back and forth across the stage with abandon, big hitters Electrolyte, One I Love, Losing My Religion and Orange Crush - though like Rockville, not apparently recognised by many casual observers - saw affairs hurtle towards a heady conclusion.

The answer to the big screen’s rhetorical question “Encore?” was provided in emphatic and joyous fashion with Supernatural Superserious, End Of The World and Man On The Moon.