After Sophia Bonner brought you her guide to Citadel earlier this week, she joins Alex West for our lowdown on the Festival as a whole.
We had been looking forward to Citadel 2018 for weeks. The prospect of Tame Impala playing in the UK was too good to turn down, and flanking them on the bill were an array of suitably intriguing and talented artists. Here’s what me and Sophia made of the day.
Her’s
We kicked off our day with this Liverpool-based duo, who played the DIY at Kopparberg Outsider: in essence a cute little beer garden set right by the entrance to the festival. The tropical decor and chilled out vibes immaculately suited the early doors hours, and meant the stage area was packed by 1:30pm for their set. Their groovy bass got the crowd bopping and set the mood of the day brilliantly. Frequently addressing the crowd, they showcased the weird and wacky side of their personality with their ad-libs, and left the stage with the parting statement “Thank you, we are the tomato brothers”. A highlight of the set was ‘What Once Was’ which with its beautiful guitar accompaniment and sing-along vocals allowed the pair to make it clear why they are an act to keep an ear out for.
The Howl and the Hum
This York-based band have really come alive recently. With support from Fender Music and BBC 6Music’s Tom Robinson, the four-piece have been compared to the likes of Massive Attack, but this isn’t an entirely accurate equivalence. Their work might be similar to the Bristolians in mood and rhythm, but Sam Griffiths’ intense vocals bring another dimension to this group’s work, and their use of guitars for direction is more typical of their numerous indie contemporaries.
Simultaneously, they pack a hell of a punch live. Taking to the Communion stage, they had a deservedly constantly growing crowd, and left us wanting to hear more — definitely worth checking out. You better do so soon though, because at their current rate of growth they’ll be playing larger venues very quickly.
Shame
Shame have exploded since I last saw them at Reading Festival, and it’s not hard to see why. The London band put on a heated show at the Main Stage and despite the sun the crowd were raging and shouting along to every word. Charlie Steen’s crowd surfing put a personal touch on the performance and certainly excited fans.
Probably a band best in smaller venues, but they’re also very decent at festivals and in that respect are similar to some of the acts later on.
The Horrors
After a recent resurgence in terms of their studio work, The Horrors were expected to put on a good show on the main stage.
However, playing early they had a tough task on their hands, and they failed to fulfil their promise. Lacking in charisma and dynamism, and failing to engage with an audience that desperately needed warming up, they left the stage to muted cheers after a set that had done little to impress.
Sam Fender
Here’s another artist with huge potential. Sam has really burst onto the scene since his debut single in 2017, with sold out gigs contrasting just six commercially released songs. Despite the lack of discography, the Geordie has already demonstrated incredible range with his studio work. Slow, melancholy ‘Leave Fast’ is a Sunday evening serenade, ‘Play God’ a look ahead to a possibly dystopian future, meanwhile ‘Start Again’ is a guitar-driven banger.
This versatility was on show, along with Sam’s great voice, when he took to the Clash and Last FM Stage. Live, Sam has improved vastly since we last saw him in concert, evidence that he is sure to continue growing in stature and recognition over the months and years to come.
With other UK Festival appearances continuing throughout the year, this might have been the last chance to hop on the bandwagon before this rising star’s career really takes off.
La Femme
With a clear focus on their image, La Femme are as much of a spectacle as they are a brilliant act to listen to. Sporting a wide range of outfits, the Parisians also unusually feature two lead singers: the enigmatic Clémence Quélennec, and rampant Sacha Got, who danced around the Main Stage in stockings during his occasional keyboard solos.
A natural fit to the bill, these psychedelic bluesy rockers were the first act to get the Main Stage crowd really moving. The curious style of their performance left me with more questions than answers, so I look forward to seeing them in the UK again.
Isaac Gracie
Fast-becoming a household name, Isaac Gracie was yet another star in the making on show here. His debut LP won URY’s Album Of The Week, and his chat with Michael Parr gave us a clear insight to the wonderful mind of this up-and-coming singer songwriter.
Live, this quiet and unassuming character comes to life, as he sings emotionally about his troubles in a poetic fashion. It was no surprise to us when his beautiful voice lit up the Communion Stage and attracted the largest gathering of the day.
Fat White Family
Fat White Family performed to a growing crowd at the Main Stage in the mid-afternoon. The Peckham group have not toured for a while and we hadn’t seen them in London since their Brixton headline date in 2016, so getting to see them on British turf was great.
As always, they put on an energetic set featuring hits such as ‘Touch the Leather’ and ‘Whitest Boy on The Beach’. The crowd seemed to have an older feel to it with a conspicuous handful of parents with their children. Regardless of this, everyone was singing along relentlessly; one could tell they had waited a long time to see Lias Kaci Saoudi and co.
The band drank and danced throughout but what some may consider great music, others would consider eery and discordant, and this is why the Fat Whites will always be such a controversial group. But for me, they pulled it out the bag with a powerful set as they always do.
Chvrches
Let me begin by saying that I’m a huge Chvrches fan. Having seen the Scots twice before, at Reading Festival 2017 and Sziget 2016, where they were the highlight of the week, I had high hopes for this set.
Unfortunately, they seemed missing something this time out. Live, they’ve added a drummer to their set-up, which had the effect of diluting the talent of synth-players Iain Cook and Martin Doherty, who previously added the percussion themselves, making for an impressive feat. This in turn meant that lead singer Lauren Mayberry was the most active by far of all the members. Whilst this is no inherently bad thing as she has great stage presence, it did reduce the overall energy of the performance and made it feel more like a solo show than a band.
Having said all this, this was by no means a bad set, and set the tone for Tame Impala nicely with a series of tracks the masses were sure to know.
Tame Impala
After a day packed with talent, Tame Impala took to the stage at sunset to conclude proceedings. Lead singer and songwriter Kevin Parker emerged last to a standing ovation, and was accompanied as usual by the other four multi-talented members, who include Cameron Avery, the support for Arctic Monkeys on their recent tour.
The exclusivity of this set meant that turnout was high as all attendees flocked for this most prestigious of closing acts; nevertheless Parker confessed his fears in the build-up of playing to an empty park, having not released an album in 3 years. New or not, the people here were loving the music, having had a chance to forge memories with these spacy, bass-filled classics.
As expected, the Aussies put on an unforgettable show full of strobes and colourful visuals — it was close to perfect. Highlights of the set included an explosive performance of ‘Let it Happen’ and ‘It Feels Like I Only Go Backwards’ featuring blasts of confetti that left the onlookers in a state of ecstasy — an out of this world experience. The band closed with ‘New Person, Same Old Mistakes’, a personal favourite of mine which sent the crowd into meltdown.
After being gutted that we missed out on last year’s Citadel Festival and headliner Foals, this year confirmed the hype. A wonderful day filled with action and some of the most exciting talent in alternative rock.
