The latest incarnation of CONNECT Festival is really finding its feet by day three, the sun again shining over Ingliston and the chilled atmosphere in no way threatened by the larger crowd. With too many acts to mention, here’s a wee look at some we caught a glimpse of.
BLACK COUNTRY, NEW ROAD
South London’s Black County, New Road create the perfect start to a sunny Sunday afternoon on the Grand Parade as their soothing sax gives way to a frenzied rush of violin, flute, drums and the rest of it. With their lead singer out of the picture it’s down to six of them to make some pretty music, and that they do, calling on various genres from folk to post-rock to klezmer. Extremely talented, classically trained musicians, at times it sounds like the clatter of an amateur music class, but that’s just part of their experimental charm. Second number The Boy, performed in chapters, feels like a wander though the pages of one of Hans Christian Anderson’s darker works, discordant melody creating tension between softer, meandering interludes. Quirky!
SELF-ESTEEM
Rebecca Lucy Taylor aka Self Esteem is one of the big hits of today’s CONNECT line up on the Grand Parade, the crowd wowed by every second of her exuberant set. Backed by two singers, she prowls about the stage likes she owns it, peering into the audience under extravagant shades for the first couple of numbers. The choreography is polished to perfection with self-assurance in abundance, reinforcing the message she’s trying to get across. This isn’t a soundtrack of heartache and failure but rather self-validation and independence, kicking misogyny’s sorry ass. Her Mercury-nominated second album Prioritise Pleasure features heavily in the set, opening with the burly beats of I’m Fine, Taylor empowering the audience from the outset before the primal cries of F***ing Wizardry casts her magic far and wide. Unapologetic pop!
LITTLE SIMZ
London rapper Little Simz is another artist taking no crap and captivating the CONNECT audience on the Grand Parade in a powerful set tackling political turbulence, corruption and prejudice. Her poetic prowess is unquestionable while her backing band is phenomenal as she struts around stage, a role model to so many. The majestic Introvert, from Mercury nominated Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, kicks off the set with its lush orchestrals. The sound is uplifting, the message overwhelming, in particular for black women, with a punch in the face to external and internal conflicts, all articulated under the wings of introversion. ‘Angel said, “Don’t let you ego be a disturbance” / Inner demon said, “Motherf***er, you earned this”’. Simz is both ebullient and introspective throughout the flawless set, so much of which resonates with so many who feel she’s singing just to them. The unsettling torment of Venom, from 2019’s Grey Area, ends a performance that lays bare her soul. As she said at the outset ‘I bottle up and then spill it in verses’. Outstanding!
DEHD
Late afternoon sees Chicago’s DIY trio DEHD blast through a quirky indie-rock set on the Guitars & Other Instruments stage. Opening with the feel-good Lucky, from 2019’s Water, vocalist/bassist Emily Kempf, guitarist Jason Balla and drummer Eric McGrady deliver a raw, stripped back sound allowing the cool waves of surf-rock to surface. Bolstered by Kempf’s robust, husky vocals, their sound is rich and at times mesmerising. Kempf admires the festival site, saying “I want to get some sheep now… Does anyone here have sheep?” Hmm. She then wonders “is that like a weird thing to say?” I guess it depends on what part of the country you’re from but yeah, sort of Emily! The opening bars of Bad Love from latest release Blue Skies has echoes of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s Just Like Honey, while Nobody from 2020’s Flowers Of Destruction is more uptempo and full-bodied live. On this number, Balla’s on tambourine before taking his deranged dance moves to the next level, reminding me a bit of Sam Willmett’s stage antics with The Bug Club. They might be called DEHD but these guys are true live wires!
MOGWAI
Mogwai drenches the Grand Parade in a savage surge of innovative post-rock grandeur as the sun sets on the last night of CONNECT Festival. With a song title almost as lengthy as the tune itself, they open with the undulating waves of To The Bin My Friend, Tonight We Vacate Earth from last year’s Mercury-nominated As the Love Continues, sweeping us into a melodic, hypnotic dreamscape. It’s truly spellbinding, their expansive sound bearing down on the audience’s senses as the fading light gives way to illuminating projections. Most of Mogwai’s numbers are free of vocals, with many authors quoting them as one of the few bands they will listen to while working, free from the distraction of nasty words. That said, the crowd are jubilant as Stuart Braithwaite’s soothing vocals weave through Ritchie Sacramento’s searing layers of unhinged feedback.
It’s Braithwaite’s second day at CONNECT, the previous day in full chat mode in the Speakeasy tent with The Twilight Sad’s James Graham. Unfortunately the response to this was so high, the tent was stowed out and the beats from the Unknown Pleasures stage drowned out the conversation for the large group of hopefuls who gathered round the tent.
They close with 2006’s We’re No Here, continuing the intense, immersive journey, a wall of distorted glory enveloping the enthralled crowd. No surprise then that like many of their numbers, it’s been used on several TV shows. For more atmospheric mesmerics, check out their new release, the soundtrack to Apple TV’s psychological thriller, Black Bird. Apocalyptic!
IDLEWILD
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Idlewild’s The Remote Part, the band play the album in full, plus a few older classics, closing the Guitars & Other Machines Stage in the best possible way. There’s just one problem… the set overlaps with The National’s headline set on the Grand Parade, causing a bit of a dilemma for fans, both acts drawing a similar audience. The band’s enigmatic singer Roddy Woomble is well aware of the clash and sounds a bit relieved when he realises the swift departure after the third number is down to The National’s pending stage arrival rather than Idlewild’s performance. For many it’s a case of running back and forth, me included, but I manage to catch most of the set and it’s beltin!
Luminous opening number You Held the World In Your Arms soars to its full glory, Woomble lurking on the sidelines between vocals, nodding, contemplating and just drinking in the moment. The Remote Part is Idlewild’s most commercially successful album, spawning a number of hits including the anthemic American English, the crowd singing along in awe. Next up, guitarist Rod Jones’ energy is unleashed on the exhilarating Modern Way of Letting Go, darting about before taking centre stage on top of the monitor for one of the most explosive riffs of the festival. Just brilliant! The tempo is finally lowered with the introspective In the Remote Part/Scottish Fiction, complete with spine-tingling, stoic musings of Edwin Morgan.
With The Remote Part complete, they illuminate the Guitars stage with a different take on fan favourite Roseability, from 2000’s 100 Broken Windows, backed by the crowd’s chants of ‘I know that that’s not enough now’ and melodic, angst-ridden When I Argue I See Shapes from 1998’s indie-punk delight, Hope Is Important.
Woomble reminisces about the very wet first CONNECT Festival on the banks of Loch Fyne in 2007, and with a glint in his eye, says “thanks for watching us and choosing us over The National, we appreciate that” before heading straight back to their beginnings for last track of the night, a ferocious attack of A Film For The Future, a choir of disembodied guitars and frenzied feedback blazing through the crowd. I’m glad I chose to hang about the Idlewild camp for most of the set, with time to catch more of The National still in the bag. And if you missed the full set, they’re touring The Remote Part with dates in Aberdeen and Glasgow in December. Awesome stuff!
THE NATIONAL
The last secret set of the weekend causes a wave of rumours and crowds flock to the Tiny Changes X Gardener’s Cottage in anticipation. When The National’s Matt Berninger, Aaron and Bryce Dessner step out onto the compact stage, the applause is deafening, guitarist Aaron Dessner telling us “It’s a pleasure to support Tiny Changes (the charity set up in memory of Frightened Rabbit’s singer Scott Hutchison with the aim of supporting young people’s mental health). Scott was a really close friend of ours, and like you guys, we were huge fans of Frightened Rabbit. We were devastated when he left. This charity is amazing, and any awareness we can raise for mental health, we want to do that because we all struggle with it.”
They play emotionally-charged acoustic renditions of Sorrow and About Today, Berninger saying “Whenever we play this one we think of Scott”. He has the lyrics written down just in case… Tiny Changes had at this point raised over £4500 during the festival. You can donate here
The National return for their headline slot on the Grand Parade later, opening with Don’t Swallow The Cap from 2013’s Trouble Will Find Me, Bryan Devendorf’s frenetic drums and Berninger’s raw baritone juxtaposed beautifully against the uplifting melody. Fan favourite Bloodbuzz Ohio, from the same album, sees Berninger’s vocals dig deeper, louder in one of the biggest singalongs of the set. The crowd appear to be cherishing every second of the 90 minute performance, and although it’s on the biggest stage of CONNECT, there’s an intimacy in Berninger’s performance, like he’s singing just to you, which for some lucky punters he really is, going walkabout into the crowd a couple of times. With a sincerity that has him almost tear his hair out, the mood is dreamy and joyous, and to be honest I’m just not feeling that miserable vibe so often associated with Ohio’s finest.
The luminous riff and bruising drums of 2017’s Day I Die prove to be even more potent in the flesh, and Light Years immerses us in heart-heavy emotion, Berninger clasping his head, face and mic-stand for dear life. Yep he’s feeling it too! New single, Weird Goodbyes (with Bon Iver) gets one of its first airings tonight, its soulful, soft groove causing heads to sway. Apparently this was at one time named Bathwater, and as it’s about “letting go of the past and moving on, then later being overwhelmed by second thoughts”, perhaps that’s why they changed the name…
Aaron says a few words about Tiny Changes and how The National toured Trouble Will Find Me with Frightened Rabbit in the US. He speaks of the sadness they felt when Scott Hutchison passed away before launching into the dark, searing reverb of Graceless. As set and festival closer About Today, which they earlier dedicated to Scott, flickers from hope to despondency and back, a wave of elation washes over the Grand Parade…with Berninger’s cup in tow. Euphoric!
Read the review of Friday and Saturday at Connect Festival ››
Words: Shirley Mack @musingsbymarie
Pictures: Calum Mackintosh @ayecandyphotography