Forbidden Fruit 2012 – Sunday
Review: Stephen Byrne
Photos: Kieran Frost
Day two of Forbidden Fruit started with somewhat of a whimper as some miscommunication by the event organisers left punters stranded outside with security guards refusing admittance to the venue while the first round of acts geared up to take the stage. This meant that some bands played to little or no people at all, while other bands stage times were pushed back to accommodate the gaffe. However, this would not be the only annoyance of the day. The larger day two crowd put serious pressure on the venues toilet facilities, with wait times for the ladies being angrily tweeted at 45mins. However every festival has it’s negatives, let’s talk music.
Meteor Music Prize nominees We Cut Corners soon raised the spirits of revelers during a memerable performance including a wonderful cover version of Mandinka by Sinead O’Connor (from their JD Roots gig). The duo comprised of Conall Ó Breacháin drums/vocals and John Duignan guitar/vocals create a heady mix of impossibly high-notes and big crunchy guitars. The real surprise is how good of a drummer Ó Breacháin is live. The band treated the crowd to two new song including Overture. The quality of the new material indicates that We Cut Corners won’t be a one album wonder. Dumb Blonde showed off their lighter side and the band finished off a great show with single Leopard.
By now the cold had really set in and the acts in the tents were the big winners of day two. Grimes was well attended but her style of live looping quickly became very samey and disappointing despite the hype people seamed more interested in the shelter than the music. Meanwhile Kool Thing put on a more engaging performance at The Lighthouse Stage. Its great to see such quality guitar riffs wrapped around clever beats and synth pop riffs. Dubliners Little Green Cars proved to be the surprise hit of the day with people struggling to get into the tent to see them. The quintet put on an incredible energetic show with fantastic five part harmonies. Their brand of folk-rock is uptempo and infectious and the crowd genuinely responded to them.. Expect big things from Little Green Cars in the next twelve months.
By now things had started to rev up on The Original Stage as The Rapture brought their viral brand of indie dance to Dublin. The Rapture are the perfect kind of act to warm up a main stage crowd and they duly did so with singles like House of Jealous Lovers and Get Myself Into It. At last Forbidden Fruit was starting to feel like a festival.
By the time Death Cab For Cutie took to the stage the cold had taken hold of revellers and subdued the atmosphere. The sound and technical difficulties at the start of their set didn’t add positively to the festivities either. However the band performed well with a set drawn mainly from albums such as “Narrow Stairs” and “Plans” rather than the bands last lacklustre album “Codes and Keys”, though the title track was well received. Ben Gibbard’s voice was in good form especially on a solo rendition of I Will Follow You Into The Dark. Overall it was a solid performance but lacked the wow factor you would expect from such a high profile band.
New Order delivered a set list of their greatest hits with a helping of Joy Division for desert. An opening gambit of Crystal, Regret and Ceremony finally seemed to wake up the sleepy crowd. Of course the big question on every ones lips was how would things pan out without the onstage presence of Peter Hook. But New Order deflated that giant elephant fairly quickly with a good rendition of Regret. Bernard Sumner was in good spirits and poked fun at the local media for their story about the amount of fine wine on the bands rider. An updated trance version of True Faith went down well with the crowd as did Bizarre Love Triangle. But it was Blue Monday that provided the bucket list moment for many in the crowd. New Order rounded of a fine set with Temptation but the best was yet to come. The band returned to the stage to play two classics from their original band Joy Division. Tribute to Ian Curtis was paid in the form of Transmission and Love will Tear Us Apart. Is there a better song to end an evening of live music than Love Will Tear Us Apart?
Forbidden Fruit – Sunday Photo Gallery
Photos: Kieran Frost
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