Half business trip, half pleasure weekend, Gary and I hopped over to North London over the weekend to attend one in a series of All Tomorrow's Parties' events called I'll Be Your Mirror. They are one-day festivals curated by a chosen artist - in this case the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Although ATP have been rumoured to discontinue the series due to poor ticket sales, the events themselves stand out like no others. If the artist has good taste - YYYs: good taste they have - the line-up is unmatchable and in typical ATP fashion, the setting rather special.
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| 'Ally Pally' balcony view |
Alexandra Palace is an old exhibition / recreational hall the way they were concepted and built in London during the 19th century. I lived in Crystal Palace for over six years and of course there is no Crystal Palace in Crystal Palace, since the original structure fell victim to a fire many years ago. But when you walk on the palace foundations in Crystal Palace Park, you always imagine the grandeur and splendour that took place there once. Alexandra Palace, still being fully intact, gives you a glimpse of past public recreation. Some features distinctly remind you of church elements (colourful glass panelled round windows, an organ) but at the same time you feel like you are in a palace in a park setting, which you are. To stage a music and film fest here is a magical concept.
Business called us to arrive early at the venue and we immediately started to panic. Half an hour before the first band, Anika, was to go on the smaller of the two stages, the halls of Alexandra Palace were deserted and we would have not been surprised to see tumble weed roll by. However, all was well when I finally made it to Anika's set half way through her stage time and found the room being well filled and people appreciative of Anika's music. I was positively surprised by how well her new band managed to fill the gap left by the absence of Beak>, who have parted ways with Anika recently. Another great performance. I only had time for a few songs but those truly convinced.
Back in the main hall, K-Holes were the poor chosen ones to fill the first slot on the big stage. I was not farmiliar with this band previously and I seriously wonder why. Punky wavey music with a charismatic front woman, a saxophone player and a kick ass band, these young ones are right up my street. The sound in the big, more or less, empty hall was unflattering to the band but I could tell this was a good rock'n'roll group up on that stage. Cannot wait to see them in a small sweaty venue in future!
The two stages were staggered in a way that you could catch at least some of every band you wanted to see - with this line-up that was a godsent. A culture shock awaited us back on the small stage: Big Freedia had his New Orleans bounce hip hop and some ass shaking to go with it in store for the audience, who were up for it. Fantastic stage costumes and an in-your-face attitude worked well for a festival warm up act, though my attention span is clearly too short for 45 minutes of the same beat. Shame on me. Thumbs up for Big Freedia.
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| Prince Rama's grand entrance |
Passing through the main hall, we caught the first couple of Prince Rama's songs. They were walking through the audience with a big veil on and a host of photographers following them around. An entrance if I ever saw one! Musically however, their psychedelic dream dance couldn't match some of the other amazing artists on the bill for me. Or the setting just didn't work for them. Time for some soul gospel rock'n'roll.
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