dcdeb Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 http://living.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1071532007 Camp climax a hit as crowd finally enter the festive spirit PAUL WHITELAW scotsman.com SUNDAY: Like the weather, the music improved towards the end of T in the Park, writes PAUL WHITELAW, in our second festival round-up. T In The Park 2007 got off to an abysmal start on its inaugural Friday, with foul weather of apocalyptic proportions blighting the experience for many of those who turned up early. Saturday was kinder, both in terms of weather and talent, but it was on Sunday that the festival found its dancing feet, as the sun truly shone on Balado for the first time this year. I moaned about the conditions on Friday, but I was reminded on Sunday how enjoyable T In The Park can be when you're not trudging through a quagmire of filth with only dreary boys with guitars as scant reward for your troubles. When my first encounter of the day was Beth Ditto of The Gossip merrily baring her pants to the masses, then I immediately had less cause for complaint. Overweight and unabashed, Ditto has become an icon for female size-empowerment, and hats off to her for that. But the fact remains that, Ditto's undeniable stage presence aside, The Gossip have few memorable songs. Their signature tune, Standing In The Way Of Control, was the obvious highlight, but the rest of their set consisted of pale variations on the same disco-punk theme. Ditto was back on stage during Mika's set, when she duetted with him on a cover of Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams - just the sort of unlikely novelty that festivals were surely invented for. Mika is perplexing in that he's both annoying and annoyingly talented. His ear-shredding falsetto often grates, and yet at his best he's often as melodically impressive as The Monkees or early Billy Joel. A one man wedding disco, he also managed to pull off a cover of the Jacksons' I Want You Back. Paulo Nutini was just plain dismal, however, a bland faux-soul balladeer who I'm convinced was cooked up in a lab in Paisley solely for the purpose of playing a mid-afternoon slot at T In The Park. His George Formby-esque ode to marijuana, Funky Cigarette, was an embarrassment, but it was on his cover of King Of The Swingers from Disney's Jungle Book, complete with unfunny monkey impressions, that this spaced-out dullard really made a fool of himself. By this point, however, the mixture of ultraviolet rays and all-pervading bonhomie had clearly taken hold of the crowd, and quite honestly, an aggressively political Serbian mime troupe could've taken to the main stage and stormed it. Indeed, I can only blame festival fever for my surprising tolerance of Scottish scruffs The Fratellis, whose simple busker charms had previously eluded me. True, all of their songs still sounded like an attempt to rewrite Oasis' Digsy's Dinner, but I had to admit that they do have a way with a cheerful milkman's tune. This was sing-a-long-a-Fratellis from the off, with the bouncy melancholia of Lonely and the terrace-chant explosion of the inescapable Chelsea Dagger proving the most obvious highlights. But considering that this was, in essence, a triumphant homecoming gig for one of Scotland's fastest-rising bands, The Fratellis seemed strangely muted, almost as if this were all a bit too much for them. Or maybe they're just dreadful at communicating with large crowds. Which is perhaps unsurprising, as if you've ever seen or read an interview with them, they're barely capable of communicating at all. Incidentally, their set left me with no choice but to proffer an essential query in the general public interest: people who hurl pints of beer into the crowd at gigs - you do realise that everybody hates you, don't you? Okay, good. Elsewhere, Tori Amos's decision to make a five-minute costume change halfway through her hour-long set was seriously misjudged. She treated us to two of her Bowie-esque "characters", namely Pauline Fowler and Cyndi Lauper if appearances were anything to go by. The appearance of a Confederate flag in the audience signalled the arrival of Kings Of Leon, a decent yet not terribly exciting guitar band who mostly sound like The Strokes doing Dire Straits' Walk Of Life. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but their lack of stage presence was in marked contrast to the unassailable enthusiasm of the crowds. At this point we really needed someone who could ram a firecracker up the collective rectum of the gathering thousands, so thank the Lord of the Dance for Scissor Sisters, who were my highlight of the weekend. Officially the campest band on the planet, SS were a Tartan riot, with singer Jake Shears dressed in his ludicrous off-the-shoulder "Scottish beekeeper" outfit, while their guitarist opted for a pair of ass-hugging shorts which would certainly have him banned from Gleneagles for life. Their performance was a masterclass in how to pull off a festival set: dress daft, engage with the crowd, pump out the hits, and whip thousands of strangers into a euphoric tizzy. Shears scampered gaily across the stage throughout, at one point attempting to scale the rigging in an amusingly half-cocked fashion, as formidable chanteuse Ana Matronic staked her claim as the greatest ham in rock with some evangelically inspired overtures towards the crowd. And I couldn't help but giggle at the sight of thousands of heterosexual men losing their inhibitions to this unashamedly gay powerhouse. After such a show-stopping performance, the humble Snow Patrol could only be a letdown. And yet they managed to cap the weekend in an unexpectedly disarming fashion. Completely uncharismatic though they are, there is something about the group's unaffected drivetime anthems that strikes a chord, especially with adoring festival crowds. It was really quite touching to witness singer Gary Lightbody's barely concealed delight as the crowd sang along to every word of Run and Chasing Cars. Normally I wouldn't abide this sort of thing, but perhaps a mixture of tiredness and blessed relief that it wasn't raining managed to break down my resolve. T In The Park pulled it off again, the jammy swines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FREDDIESDOUBLE Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 They are so blind when they call him a "one man wedding disco" , they will never have heard his deeper songs like happy ending etc , I sooo look forward to more albums and Mika to grow and these comments to be looked at again We all know the truth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamette Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Yeah Freddie! We all know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherry_baby Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Thanks for posting! It's a shame that they are idiots... x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queenie Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 They are so blind when they call him a "one man wedding disco" , they wil never have heard his deeper sonds like happy ending etc , I sooo look forward to more albums and Mika to grow and these comments to be looked at again We all know the truth And we enjoy it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertina Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 oh great lord! no pity for our boy! maybe this was not his best performance of sweet dreams (....yep! ), and beth's voice was not to be heard.... not an amazing duetto, but... it's our mika, in the end! keep off your nasty comments form the beloved one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CartoonKellyGreen Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Oh Dear...well...could have been worse...I have read much worse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mika_forever Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 One man wedding disco:roftl: How wrong can they be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Oh Dear...well...could have been worse...I have read much worse Yeah this guy went pretty easy on Mika. He totally trashed Paolo Nutini and not too kind to the Fratellis either. You'd think the Scots would get a free pass on this one even if they sucked...and I doubt that they did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaMango Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 They are so blind when they call him a "one man wedding disco" , they will never have heard his deeper songs like happy ending etc , I sooo look forward to more albums and Mika to grow and these comments to be looked at again We all know the truth Exactly! This is why I am hoping and praying that he releases his outtakes. The world NEEDS to see the thoughtful and serious side of Mika! Immediately! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sity Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Am I the only one who thought "a one man wedding disco" was a compliment? (and btw made me giggle) And the rest of the review positive as well. Or maybe Im just imaginative talented, haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Am I the only one who thought "a one man wedding disco" was a compliment? I thought so too. I think the fencesitters and haters are going to be even harsher on Mika's ballads. At least most rational people have to admit that Mika's up tempo tunes are crowd pleasers whether it's their own personal cup of tea or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackViolet Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I agree, I don't think it was bad at all! Snarky, yes, and with a dollop of criticism, yes, but this review was faaaar more positive to Mika than to anyone else mentioned! Even Beth Ditto. I mean, to break it down, this is what the review said: The Gossip: We love Beth Ditto because she's awesome, but her band only has one good song. Mika: We really want to write him off, but we can't deny that he's really talented. Paolo Nutini: He's just boring and mediocre. The Fratellis: They are stupid and dull, but they're good for a fun listen on some days. "Annoyingly talented" is a huge compliment, considering. --Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canderson Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 wedding discos exist? that's how i want to get married. Mika's talent is undeniable no matter what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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