Much to the delight of the Ice cream man, Ra decided to let the sun shine on day three of Forbidden Fruit. Picnic blankets were unfurled as revellers took the opportunity to relax and sunbath on the hill, whilst taking in the folk wares of the likes of Beirut, and James Vincent McMorrow.
Field Music delivered an impressive set of sun kissed folk-pop in a quintessentially happy-sad British style on The Original Stage. For the most part the music lies somewhere between the guitar led musings of The Shins and Belle and Sebastian. However, they are not afraid to get a bit funky or set sail for outer space with wonderful results. The Brewis brothers’ comedic self loathing lyrics and playful harmonies made for the perfect afternoon listening experience. Field Music are a band who deserve to be much bigger than they are.
A rescheduled performance of Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ by The Trinity Orchestra was a sight to behold. An unfeasible amount of people and instruments crammed onto The Lighthouse Stage delivered an exquisite and loving rendition of the classic album. The Great Gig In The Sky was one of many spine tingling moments throughout the performance thanks to some wonderful vamping female vocals. While Time and Us and Them proved the male members of The Trinity Orchestra also have considerable vocal chops. An extended set delivered some of Pink Floyd’s other greatest hits as well as many of Stevie Wonder’s. Proving beyond all doubt that every member of this ensemble is an accomplished musician in their own right. Awesome.
Chairlift delivered a solid and engaging set of electro goodness with singer Caroline Polachek captivating the crowd with her impressive vocals on and stage presence. The strains of ’80s radio friendly pop drew passers by into the tent and Chairlift finished up with a pretty sizable crowd for a little known band in this territory.
It was about this time that the Forbidden Fruit crowd split in two with one set of punters glued to the hill at the main stage basking in the sunshine and somewhat oblivious to the music floating towards them. And a second group who ran between the two stages excited about the music on offer. Group one enjoyed the easy listening folk breeze of Andrew Bird and the laid back grooves of Beirut whilst missing fine performances by Liars and Real Estate on the other stage.
When James Vincent McMorrow took to the stage grown men could be seen running towards the front, with their man bags flapping in the light breeze behind them. McMorrow’s brand of loved up folk certainly proved a hit with the ladies and many a first kiss was shared during his cover of Higher Love. His set was a bit slow paced for such a festival time slot, but he managed to pull it off comfortably thanks to songs such as Breaking Hearts and This Old Dark Machine. The fact that his voice kept flipping between an Irish and American accent mid sentence whilst introducing songs was troubling to say the least.
Wilco closed the festival with the full brunt of their weighty back catalogue.“We brought the gloom” announced singer Jeff Tweedy referring to the suns sudden vanishing act. The physical dexterity of guitarist Nels Cline is astonishing and his solo during Impossible Germany was perhaps the highlight of the entire festival. Of course Wilco are folk-rock’s answer to Steely Dan, you either love them or loath them. But there is no denying the incredible level of musicianship on display from all six members.
And so the second annual Forbidden Fruit festival ended on a resounding high. The lineup was as varied as the weather and not everything went according to plan, but no doubt we’ll all be back next year to do it all again.
Forbidden Fruit – Monday – Photo Gallery
Photos: Owen Humphreys
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