Field Day 2012 In Review
With the weather in London being as unpredictable as ever, Last.fm made it’s way over to Field Day with that slight sense of trepidation that more often than not greets the morning of a UK festival. With that said, news of an expanded site for Field Day had spirits high – not to mention the incredibly strong lineup on show (you can see our lineup above)
We kicked the day off by getting straight over to the Laneway Festival/Last.fm stage (you can see our lineup above) to catch largely-instrumental Scottish experimental quartet Errors. For a relatively early slot of 3pm (and with queues outside showing no signs of easing up) the tent is almost full to the brim and the crowd respond dutifully to the upbeat and often epic sounds that Errors create. Warped vocal textures add a more accessible side to the band’s music, as do the dance rhythms of tracks such as ‘Pleasure Palaces’. At times Errors place themselves as something of a steady middle ground between the dancefloor inspired bass-lines of Cut Copy and the synth noise of Crystal Castles and when it all clicks into place you get that wonderful feeling when watching a live band that tells you – this works.
Next up we hot-footed over to the Village Mentality tent to catch East London locals Django Django. Word of recent hype couldn’t be any more evident, with queues long stretching out of the tent with punters trying to catch a glimpse (1,000,000+ scrobbles on Last.fm can also point to that fact). With the sun now beaming, many didn’t seem to mind, but we pushed through as we knew their set was one not to be missed. The classic-British sound of the self-titled debut album comes through quite brilliantly in the live setting and, with much bigger stages surely awaiting them, this was certainly one of those ‘I was there’ moments.
Heaps, and we mean heaps, of people then made their way over to the Red Bull Music Academy stage to take in the dub-pop sounds of Jessie Ware. With alcohol intake now in full flow, dance moves from one side of the tent to the other followed suit, with tracks such as “Running” leading the way. Soon enough the tent was emptying as people re-entered the sun with smiles firmly plastered across faces. With energy levels low it was time for a sit down and a re-group before lacing on our dancing shoes for Metronomy over on the Main Stage.
Mercury-nominated album The English Riviera has helped take the English new wave electro group to 12,993,772 scrobbles and it is easy to see why. Whilst some of their songs cry out for the thumping bass that is somewhat lost on the Main Stage, the enthusiasm they give to their performance is enough to get energy levels flowing alone. Gbenga Adelekan’s basslines prove to be the driving force behind many of their melodies – no bad thing when the riffs are as catchy as they are.
With the crowds being suitably huge for SBTRKT over on the Bugged Out! Stage, we hopped back to the Laneway/Last.fm stage to catch a glimpse of Sleigh Bells. The duo’s electro/indie is LOUD and with the promises of sweet folk musings from Beirut on the Main Stage, that’s where we went. Perhaps suited to a slot a bit earlier in the day, Zach Condon and co. induce mass dancing throughout the field to songs such as “Nantes” and the bittersweet “A Sunday Smile” and the look on many people’s faces suggest that there’s not a place they would rather be.
A quick glimpse of Laneway Festival/Last.fm Stage headliners The Vaccines shows the party is in full, immovable swing and when that party ends, a new one starts on the Main Stage with festival headliners Franz Ferdinand. Not many bands can close a festival just as well as they do, with the incessant rain almost adding to, rather than taking away from, the festival atmosphere. All the hits are rolled out, with “Do You Want To” single-handedly turning Victoria Park into an ocean of mass sing-along hysteria.
I'm gonna make somebody love me
I'm gonna make somebody love me
And now I know, now I know, now I know
I know that it's you
Tracks from 2009′s Tonight are aired but the majority of the set highlights come from 2004′s self-titled debut, with the lead guitar in “Take Me Out” barely audible for all the crowd’s singing. Without doubt, those that braved the rain were duly rewarded.
The Vaccines appearing at:
The Vaccines 
