Good Weekend 2011

Introducing a brand new festival into a growing marketplace is always going to be a risky move. To create one after being dared to - as Good Weekend’s project director Gavin Davis did - now that is just incredibly ballsy.

Set in the tiny village of Woodmancott, Hampshire and with the nearest cash machine just over 5 miles away in Basingstoke, the promotional leaflet handed out onsite claimed it was “possibly the least corporate festival ever”. This really was all about the music. Shrugging off all pretense and getting down to the simplest equation possible - a wide range of music + people + alcohol = fun.

Of course, there will always be teething problems: the amount of times that performers had to ask for more volume from their instruments became almost comical, and extremely late running performances created a small logistical nightmare. Once the beer started flowing however, these criticisms seemed trivial, and did nothing to spoil the general good-time atmosphere.

As everybody surely now knows, you gotta get down on Friday, and after a couple of false starts, the glassy synths and buzzing bass-lines of Lighthouses proved to be just what the small crowd gathered at the Den were craving. Set closer, and best track by far, ‘Control’ was greeted by cheers when it mutated into a huge dubstep breakdown, inspiring some truly awful dancing from a middle-aged couple at the front of the stage. Swedish dance-pop act Pippa Marias provided one of the standout sets of the weekend for both the stage-diving antics of lead singer Henrik Nyblom, and their instantly catchy Phoenix-overdosing-on-ProPlus tunes.

A trip to the main stage was like going back in time to a 90’s rave, with drugged-up teens stumbling around asking anyone they could find for a Rizla. Female DJ Monki set the scene, her set highlight being a filthy remix of Dizzee Rascal which made more than a few people lose it completely. Brighton electro man Hint switched up the tempo from his signature ‘ruralbeat’ style for his live show, and got the swelling crowd nicely warmed up for Parker. The set played like a journey through the history of dance music, taking in funky house, drum & bass and dubstep, with Parker acting as a true master of the audience, anticipating their every move and satisfying at every step.

After the debauchery of the night before, the traditional early Saturday afternoon comedown sets were kicked off by 21st century family band, Flight Brigade, although technical problems meant they were on almost two hours after the advertised time. Their mellow folk stylings looked to be the perfect hangover cure and those who had managed to crawl out of their tents sat in warm appreciation. Over on the second stage, the acts were not as impressive, especially Libertines rip-off merchants Den of Thieves and nu-metal revivalists Nylon Sky. Please, just let it die.

Heading back to the main stage, Charlie & the Martyrs produced a refreshingly fun performance, sounding like Marina & The Diamands, if she were backed up by a full band with matching suits and fringes, but unfortunately for local band Winterhours, their attempt at getting the crowd on their feet with their atmospheric stadium-rock fell largely on deaf ears, as the mood of apathy lingered on and the few who were in the tent seemed more interested in piling litter on a sleeping man.

Something needed to give to jolt everyone from their haze, and that jolt came in the form of the raw sexual energy generated by Arp Attack’s Frankie Murdoch. Being moved from the main stage to a later slot at the Den was a blessing in disguise for the Southampton band, whose edgy, hyperactive synth pop breathed new life into the tired legs of those who saw them. Similarly, the offbeat and unconventional rhythms blasted out by both Hot Club de Paris and Hold Your Horse Is ensured that by the time Eddie Argos and Art Brut arrived on the stage, the festival was jumping again.

Giving a masters in how to work a crowd, the enigmatic frontman takes requests, looks directly into the eyes of the front row and even gave a lengthy monologue on Van Gogh from the middle of the crowd halfway through ‘Modern Art’, while excited followers scrambled to touch him. It was almost biblical. Tracks from their excellent debut, ‘Bang Bang Rock & Roll’ such as ‘18,000 Lira’ and especially, ‘Good Weekend’ had the crowd in rapturous applause. “They always say play the hits, but we don’t have any!” shouts Argos. On tonight’s evidence, he may be wrong. The crowd’s chant says it all, “Art Brut, top of the pops!”.