We're festival lovers here at Murdock and the sad thing is that we are currently here at Murdock rather than enjoying the love of Glastonbury festival. So in attempt to make us feel better we had a think about our favourite festival performances. It's only made us feel worse.
James at Murdock Head Office
Beach House - Glastonbury 2010
The perfect band to play a breezy 4pm festival slot. That limbo period when you're caught between daytime exhaustion and evening anticipation. A truly mesmerising performance from this band affirmed that Glastonbury's Park Stage is my favourite place to see live music. As the sun began to drop for the day, the mellow vibes of Beach House encapsulated the entire audience into a glorious collective haze. I don't think anybody spoke throughout the entire set. Reading back on the performance apparently half of the PA system broke half way through as well. I didn't even notice.
Haim - Great Escape 2012
Just two years ago, I saw the much lesser-known Haim play a basement in Brighton to an audience of about 40 people at The Great Escape. This was my first taste of their music and from the very first song it was clear that this trio was going to explode very quickly with their fusion of sunny pop and ridiculously catchy melodies. A performance as passionate and captivating as their Glastonbury appearance will be this afternoon.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Leeds Festival 2009
As a band who soundtracked my teenhood, this main stage performance brought me full circle. A back catalogue of some of my favourite songs, giant eyeball balloons, Karen O screaming every word, a glorious sunset during Maps - every aspect of this performance was perfect. I didn't need to see anything else all weekend.
Chris, Murdock Head Office
Bonobo's band - Garden Party
Seeing Bonobo's band show up in the end, after we thought they'd been cancelled due to his involvement in a car accident. The band played spectacularly with a perfect view of the sun setting on the Croatian peninsula!
Will, Murdock Head Office
Mystery Jets - Glastonbury 2008
'I think this is the best place in the world' announced the then Mystery Jets bassist Kai from the Park stage. The cheery audience enjoying the splendour of the Park area in its first year clearly agreed. Sometimes everything just comes together at a festival. The sun is out but it's not too strong, everyone's level of tipsiness starts to outweigh their hangovers, and the band are beaming with happiness at their situation in that moment. This set was one of those. It was just after their second album had been released so full of good time tracks like Two Doors Down and Young Love. The latter of which the band were joined on stage by Laura Marling for. At one point Kai and guitarist Will sat playing on the edge of the stage with their legs hanging into the photographers pit. It was the feeling that everyone was just extremely happy and wanted to soak it all up. Quite simply, it was just really good fun.
Prince - Hop Farm 2011
Normally I don't like going to see once amazing and brilliant musicians in the latter stages of their career/lives as they rarely sound or look as good as they did back in their prime. There's always the sound of collective wincing from the crowd as the ageing voice strains to hit the notes they used to decades previously. Obviously there are exceptions to this: Leonard Cohen's deep voice and dark love songs of longing and loss fit him even better in his old age, as his Glastonbury 2008 set proved. Some artists though just don't age, as Prince proved at Hop Farm. He looks the same as he has for the past twenty or thirty years, his voice is just as strong as ever, his guitar playing is incomparable, and his dancing, my oh my, can that little man move his tiny waist. He is quite simply the best performer I have seen and that set was the best I've ever been fortunate enough to experience. The 'Ooooh oooh oooh oooohhhs' section in Purple Rain alone, which seemed to go on for 9 minutes, would've been worth being covered in all the mud in Kent for. The fact that it was warm and sunny made it all the more perfect.
Blur - Glastonbury 2009
There's nothing like a good crowd sing-a-long at a festival and on the Pyramid Stage it's extra special. The above video is the greatest sing-a-long I've ever been part of.