The Big Chill 2010 (Festival Review)

Eastnor Castle, Great Malvern.

With Festival Republic now in charge of our summer festivities there was apprehension before anyone hits the site as to how this years Big Chill is going to change with new rulers.

To be honest on the whole the festival has improved slightly but it’s at an important junction and needs to listen to all its customers. If the festival wants to stay as The Big Chill and not become another generic festival it needs to try and keep hold of some of those things that made The Big Chill so special in the first place, as well as keeping bringing the kids in, the Chill need to retain all the thirty-something’s and families that keep turning up, it’s the cross section that makes the festival work.

The big shame is that there is no Chill Out stage this year, whatever happened to The Sanctuary and all the really mellow music we got treated too. I really hope The Chill return to promoting quality chill out as well as promoting new guitar based bands, and not having one on at the expense of another. A big screen by the main stage, bigger dance tents and better sound systems on all but the main two stages need improving.

The artwork trail as ever was fantastic as the dark descends and a new children’s area saw a hold load of activities going on that made you wish you where a child again. The greatest improvement this year has to go to the toilets; only late on Sunday did they start to become a little oppressive, long may it continue.

It’s warm, the rain holds off for all but ten minutes and there is a fantastic atmosphere on site for this years Big Chill. This year sees a lot less messy people and a lot less lunacy as a result, but the desire for everyone to smile, dance and have a good time is as great as the previous ten Big Chills I have attended.

At times there are too many big gaps with no music on the stages, it does not take 30 minutes to change around a band to a DJ and if an act pulls out. Standard procedure is they are replaced to fill the slot, never leave a great big stage with one of the only decent sound systems on site be left silent for 90 minutes.

The biggest sin though is to have no other stages playing music whilst Thom Yorke was on the main stage, that was very naughty as not every Big Chiller thinks he is worth watching. His miserable and depressing set at a peek time on a Friday night proves it. Thom may be part of Radiohead but its not Radiohead here today. Thom’s set is self indulgent and to be honest boring as hell.

The Big Chill radio once again is absolutely fantastic, Chris Coco, Mikey B and Crazy P put in some of the finest moments for a station that was nothing but quality from beginning to end.

The music:

Friday – After the only decent offering of music on Thursday being DJ, Adrian Sherwood, Friday look like a real treat and it does not fail to impress. Headliners Massive Attack are like a giant brooding monster with a hell of a lot to say, dark, mysterious and with a succession of special guest vocalists, tonight’s show is special and its long overdue that the greatest chill out band ever has taken this long to get to The Big Chill.

Every song is a classic, even the new ones and the visuals are perfect for a band permanently draped in dry ice and animosity. Earlier in the day Mike Patton’s, Mondo-Cane team up with The Heritage Orchestra for the most bizarre mix of jazz, Cuban singing thrash you could imagine, funny and musical in equal parts. Hope Sandoval’s set is beautiful, swirling guitars and lush vocals, it’s just a shame we did not get the treats of any Mazzy Star songs along the way.

Tinarawen as ever are brilliant and a treat for all those who have missed the tribe before, think Jimi Hendrix chilling in the desert and you get the vibe. The Black Seeds are the find of the day, this new band from New Zealand play a cracking mix of funk, soul and reggae, very much like Fat Freddy’s Drop with more guitars.

Into the night and the Scruff Tea tent is swinging with Trevor on the decks and Manchester’s finest MC Kwasi on the mic. Hospital records are decamped in the so called Paradiso tent, it’s so hot and busy in her it’s dangerous but well worth it for those who stick with it through the night.

Saturday- I think it is a fair assumption that MIA will not be getting booked to play The Big Chill, her set is hardcore dancehall madness from start to finish and culminates with her getting her set pulled halfway in to Paper Planes as she has invited about a thousand people on stage, absolutely fantastic musically and visually. Roots Manuva, a Chill legend and all round good guy.

Tonight see’s him teamed up with a seven piece band and singers. It’s good but a bit sloppy and Rodney seems just a little bit too stoned tonight. Craig Charles’s Fantasy Funk Band started out as we all have putting together a classic bands from the acts you most admire, well tonight sees the amazing Fantasy Funk Band take to stage. Incorporating some of the best funk, jazz and soul artists in the country, its not often you see the likes of Smooth and Tyrell playing next to the legend that is James Taylor.

Classic after classic soul tune is pumped out and not one disappoints and stops a massive crowd swinging its hips. Easy Star All-Stars are one of those bands who can make you laugh and smile at the same time as amazing you with what they can do to a tune.

Pink Floyd, Radiohead and The Beatles, Time, Rita Meter Maid and Karma Police are stunning and has everyone smiling and singing along, a band that need to be brought back to the Big Chill year after year. Bass Clef seems to be one of the real quality dub-step artists out there at the moment along with Shackleton who is putting out real quality live dub-step which actually sounds like it has been created by a human rather than a khetamine induced robot.

After 10 years of waiting I have finally seen the Funky Porcini and it was beautiful. Playing high up on hill in Lazyland and having the fantastic Chris Coco djing before their set, tonight’s show is a mix of Funky Porcini’s amazing twisted ambience and some of his amazing digital video creations is nothing less than a treat and a treat only a few hundred of us saw.

Lord Andrew Wetherall has decamped to the dance tent for tonight’s late night excursions into some of the best house and techno you will ever here. Like Massive Attack it’s confusing as to why someone who has done so much for UK dance and chill out music has taken so many years to arrive at Eastnor, let’s hope his return is soon and hopefully as The Two Lone Swordsmen.

The real treat for today though has to be the packed to the rafters, Solid Steel Party in the Igloo. Bringing together the some of the best musicians and AV artists in the world, this is Ninja Tune gone visual. What we have here is a 360 degree cinema with Hextatic, DJ Food and DK, Woody, JFB and new boy on the block Sampology absolutely destroying the crowd with perfect visuals and every style of music under the sun getting played.

It’s bouncing in The Igloo from the start to the early morning finish and is one of the big talking points come Sunday breakfast. The amount of time, effort and skill that has gone in to tonight’s special is amazing; my only criticism would be such a special show with such amazing artists really deserves to be on one of the main stages with an amazing sound system. This is the future of DJ culture and clubbing as we know it and not the appalling silent disco outside.

Sunday – There are few finer ways to end a festival than having the amazing Bonobo play his beautiful music and in the process pulling the biggest crowd of the weekend at The Clash stage and the best excuse not to watch Lily Allen in the world, not that excuses are needed. King Porter Stomp earlier on the same stage are fantastic and treat us to some wicked ska, its very surprising then that such a quality band would only be given twenty minutes to play.

Natty up in The Revellers stage has what seems like every teenage girl in the festival singing along to him, I have never taken much notice of Natty before but he has nice tunes and he can certainly play them live. Roy Ayres however I have always taken notice of and for good reason, he is a living funk and soul legend and this afternoon’s show proves it, has there ever been a better festival tune that, Sunshine, I think not.

Norman Jay is boring and plays pretty much the same set he did last year, its time that The Big Chill realised there are other people who could play the Sunday afternoon slot and do much better.

Morcheeba are given 35 minutes to play some of the greatest chill out tunes a UK band has ever made at the expense of Norman Jay having 90 minutes, band-30 minutes, DJ-90 minutes, something is wrong, let’s listen to a band and not someone playing other people’s tunes, Norman’s time has been and hope gone.

Alan, who ever and where ever you are a lot of people are looking for you please answer our calls.

Here is to the best Big Chill in 2011.

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