Glass reviews Field Day 2017

LONDON’S Victoria Park hosted its 11th Field Day this year, and it was filled with nothing but beaming rays of sunshine and great music. With a reputation of putting on the coolest new bands and DJs, the lineup offered an such an eclectic mix over the eight stages that it left some people in a sticky situation with tough clashes throughout the day and headline spots.

FIELDThe Field Day site – enjoyed good weather this year (for once)

Talk of the town band HMLTD kicked off the day playing a chaotic set on the Crack stage, causing both confusion and enjoyment among new and returning audience members. Frontman Henry Spychalski drew similarity to a pop art cartoon as his expressive eyes burst through bright pink eyeshadow as he tried to keep up with the band’s pace delivering his fast lyrics, all while sporadically patrolling the stage in order to introduce the half stunned audience to his wild persona. Although extremely entertaining to watch – perhaps they better suit a smaller venue, as the performance struggled to translate into music at times.

Guitar bands Methyl Ethel and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard remind us that in fact guitar music is not dead as mosh pits start to loosen up the dry hot soil just in time for the Shacklewell Arms stage headliner The Oh Sees, who’s two drummers played a high voltage set in unison from start to finish.

Famous faces such as the Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis and various other bands were spotted enjoying the festival along with many of East London’s music scene who often pass their time at Moth Club or the Shacklewell Arms – stages both named after local East London music venues. Walking around the site it’s evident that Field Day has attracted a crowd of like-minded people as almost everyone proudly sports a fluorescent “Fuck Brexit” sticker on their colourful clothing. Arab Strap’s Aidan Moffat reaffirmed mutual feelings of political anger by chanting “Fuck Brexit” during his downbeat set of minimalistic slowcore.

EATThe Eat Your Own Ears stage

In the heat of recent sad events it’s bands like Slowdive that made us momentarily forget our worries with their famous dreamy shoegaze soundtrack. Chicago’s Whitney also lifted spirits with their upbeat indie on the Eat Your Own Ears stage, whilst Sacramento’s Death Grips encouraged havoc with their industrial hip-hop.

APHEXVisuals at the Aphex Twin set

As the day went by, a feeling of excitement bubbled as Aphex Twin’s set at the new stage The Barn drew closer. Aphex Twin t-shirts filled the park and some lucky fans were able to purchase an anonymous Aphex Twin vinyl which was exclusively available on the day. By 9pm Aphex Twin promptly started, immediately clearing any doubts from people debating whether his live comeback would be as good as the old days. After a five-year hiatus from playing in the UK, he took the eager audience on a spacey journey with his carefully layered soundscape beats. The cosmic visuals and intensity of the sound at The Barn resulted in festival goers leaving Field Day stunned with something special to remember.

by Katrina Mirpuri

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