Yesterday I went to another music festival, Optimus Alive, to see Lisa Hannigan, Noah and the Whale, Mumford and Sons, Florence and the Machine (originally - it was cancelled), and The Cure. I thought the line-up was brilliant and I felt like partying, so I decided to go just a few days ago.
I have been partying/going out a lot for my usual standards. I seem to go by periods of almost complete lack of activity, during which I feel like being alone all the time, and then there are other times (like now) when I feel like there are so many possibilities in the outside world that I want to take every chance to be out and about with people I like. I enjoy everything about going out, mostly the sense of diffuse, fuzzy freedom and how lazily relaxed I get to feel. I like anticipating and preparing things before going, feeling the music on my whole being, being in the middle of a huge crowd, feeling connected to so many people, looking at all the different faces around and wondering about them, doing and saying silly things just for the sake of it, wandering around from a place to another, jumping and singing and dancing, getting tired and having to sit down for a while talking to a friend, and then going home and finally getting some warmth and rest. Sleep feels so satisfying - gloriously so - after nights out, like a complete turning-off of my system; and I like waking up at lunch-time feeling dizzy and apathetically peaceful (funny how I used to hate it, it made me feel sick), and spending the afternoon in a hazy laze. The summer is the right time for this (moderate) destruction of my usual structure: this will allow me to perceive and think in a clearer way when I need to because it increases my sample of experiences, sensations, and emotions.
As for the music: I have to admit I was disappointed, though probably my expectations were too high. The first disappointment was when Florence+the Machine cancelled their gig: I am not a huge fan, but I like their songs and, having seen them live two years ago, I know that their concerts are truly electrifying. Their replacement by Morcheeba definitely weakened the line-up. Morcheeba did a good show - their music is nice and the singer has an attractive and joyful stage presence - but the audience was (understandably) cold, and it wasn't a very interesting gig.
Lisa Hannigan (who you might know, as I did, as the woman who sings with Damien Rice) was the opener. Her soft, mellow folk, though at this point quite unoriginal, is still very cute and her sweetness charmed the audience, leaving everyone in a good mood.
Noah and the Whale delivered their variety of joyful hipster pop-folk with gusto. The frontman Charlie Fink is also a joy to look at, and their classy attitude - mannered and genuine at the same time - on stage made them very interesting to watch and easy to connect with. The fun tonality of their songs makes them perfect Summer music, and they contain just the right amount of melancholy for my taste.
Much in the same note, only on a deeper emotional current, Mumford and Sons played afterwards. I was surprised by the audience's enthusiastic reaction - I hadn't realized that they were so popular -, which certainly contributed to the high quality of their concert. Everyone jumped, danced, and sang he lyrics, so one felt really connected to the crowd, which is one of the best things about concerts. Marcus Mumford has an excellent voice, dripping with emotion, and the strong instrumentation increased the emotional punch of the experience, which was made even more beautiful by the sun setting and the whimsical stage lights.
Aftewards, it just all went downhill. As I've said, Morcheeba was all right; the bit I saw of Awolnation was very stale rock; Katy B looked like a Barbie and her musical style - danceable and empty - really doesn't appeal to me.
As for The Cure: what a sad concert. I don't know many of their songs (though the ones I do know I like, and I want to start listening to their discography), so probably I wasn't the target audience. The music sounded good, but the concert was absolutely dead: there was no interaction with the public, no movement on stage, and so the songs quickly became monotonous and the audience seemed to lose interest. Personally, it was like listening to an album, only instead of being comfortably at home, while being squashed by a mass of people - not the best experience. They seemed to be a cover band of themselves.
All in all, it was worth going to, though I do wish that the first three shows had been later on (after sunset: music at night sounds so much more thrilling).
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