Venue: Larmer Tree Gardens, Dorset
Date: 1st September – 4th September 2022
As the nights draw in and thoughts turn to log fires and terrifying heating bills, there is one last hurrah available to the discerning music-lover. The first weekend of September has, for many years now, been my favourite of the year, being the weekend of the magical End Of The Road Festival. So off I head southwards to enjoy four days of age-inappropriate frolics with my compadres.
The first music for me, on Thursday evening, is Khruangbin. Their brand of space-age lounge music has become a hot favourite with taste-makers and hipsters over the last few years so their headline appearance on The Woods Stage is hotly anticipated. There is some initial disappointment as the first half of their set drifts by a little, tunes merging into each other with little to differentiate them. A medley of pop and hip-hop covers, including Spandau Ballet’s True, Dick Dale’s Misirlou and, spectacularly, Tom Tom Club’s Genius Of Love takes things up a gear and the crowd starts to move and engage. The latin flavours of Pelota and the funky People Everywhere (Still Alive) see the set close strongly. A qualified success to start the weekend.
There can be no more beautiful festival setting than the End Of The Road Garden Stage, bordered by woods and inhabited by the resident peacocks and macaws. It is here that I choose to spend the early part of Friday enjoying pleasant and inoffensive sets from Rosali and Naima Bock. It is the early evening appearance of Nilufer Yanya that I am really looking forward to though. Her album “Painless” has been on heavy rotation at home throughout the summer and I anticipate the blossoming of a real-deal superstar. In this context her performance is slightly disappointing. Some of the intricacy of the record’s instrumentation seems to be lost in the live environment, and it is only on a pulsating “Stabilise” that she really seems to break the shackles and fulfil my (perhaps unrealistic) expectations.
I can’t get near to Snapped Ankles on the newly minted Boat Stage in the woods, but their tribal rhythms sound very interesting from a distance and I make a mental note to check them out at some point I the near future. So it is straight to The Woods Stage for headliners, Fleet Foxes. Any fears that their intricate harmonies and pastoral shades might not translate to a large, outdoor arena are quelled almost instantly. Theirs is a note-perfect performance of subtle beauty, accompanied by films of pastoral idylls and slides of blocks of colour, with a setlist leaning most heavily on their recent “Shore” album with large slices of their debut to please those who bailed out in 2010. The rendition of “White Winter Hymnal” followed by a cover of Big Red Machine’s “Phoenix” (which features Fleet Foxes’ Robin Peckinold on guest vocals) is a highlight of the day and, perhaps, the whole weekend. They finish with an ecstatic “Helplessness Blues”, sending us to stumble round the woods with the chorus’s glorious chord change still ringing in our ears.
The unpromising weather forecast led to many nervous skyward glances during Friday but no rain materialised, and by Saturday lunchtime the site was bathed in late-summer sunshine. Jealous Of The Birds in the Tipi were sufficiently entertaining to keep us out of the sun, belting out rousing, poppy tunes with vigour and verve. Margot Cilker then provided balmy, lunchtime, country gentleness for sore-heads. But it was the unpromisingly named Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan who provided the high point of my Saturday daytime. Less a music show than an art installation, downbeat electronica is matched with grainy, 70s and 80s film taken, presumably, from promotional materials supporting development of the aforementioned towns. The juxtaposition is unsettling and spooky, feeling a little like watching an old “Play For Today” whilst listening to The Apex Twin or Boards Of Canada. Excellent if you like that sort of thing (I do).
Los Bitchos describe their sound as “instrumental, psychedelic, sunshine cumbia” and, frankly, I can’t do any better than that. They are fantastic, imbuing the audience with a burst of late-afternoon energy and putting a smile on the face of any right-thinking reveller. Their sound is a combination of surf guitar, latin rhythms and post-punk energy and they are having a ball, at one stage dedicating a song to Lindsay Lohan and offering her a tequila.
As I head towards The Garden Stage to see Kevin Morby I am asked if he “will be miserable the whole way through”. Not a bit of it. He has transformed himself into a bona fide rock god, all Michael Hutchence hair and gold, fringed cowboy jacket. The demented reel of opener This Is A Photograph precedes an hour of many differing styles, from the 70’s glam of Rock Bottom to the punchy gospel of I Have Been To The Mountain. He closes with a brooding version of Harlem River that confirms his elevation from promising Dylan-a-like to festival showstopper. His was my favourite performance of the weekend.
The remaining acts of the night push it close though. The Magnetic Fields appearance is much-anticipated, being a rare festival performance for them. They render their subtle, witty chamber-pop vignettes with beauty. Songs are dedicated to Alice Cooper and a woman who apparently has the largest chest in the world, and are received with quiet rapture by a knowledgeable crowd. The fact that my favourites were all from 69 Love Songs probably reflects ignorance of their other work, but the Luckiest Guy On The Lower East Side, The Book Of Love and All My Living Words are still drifting round my mind late into the evening. However, it is a mark of the variety available that I can then catch the last half hour of a blistering turn by The Pixies, Here Comes The Man being at least as catchy and tuneful as anything The Magnetic Field could manage, and bounce my way through an hour of day-go rave and techno by Ross From Friends (dreadful name, excellent tunes). My party is delighted to be joined for this part of the evening by a fancy-dress jellyfish. “Is this ok?” asks a grave-faced Captain Haddock. “I can tell the jellyfish to back off.”
Sunday morning breaks, with three nights of excess causing a mild fuzziness of head looking keenly for a cure. Jake Xerxes Fussell’s gentle country offers a temporary salve, but a more-lasting remedy is provided by Ural Thomas And The Pain. They provide classic soul and blues as the perfect accompaniment to early Sunday afternoon relaxation. I am accused of sleeping whilst lying on my back at the main stage. Nonsense. Just resting noisily.
Having recharged my batteries it is time to investigate what Willie J Healey has to offer in The Big Top. His Twin Heavy album was a lockdown favourite in our household, offering uncomplicated, bouncy, tuneful indie-pop for all (well, both) the family. Appearing to have come directly from a cartoon-strip in The Beano in the late 70s, sporting a Minnie The Minx hat and bovver boy jeans, he blasts his way through 45 minutes of pure joy and fun. There are Pete Townsend kick-jumps and windmills and a performance exuding excitement at being able to play for us. Closing with Subterraneans from his debut album People and Their Dogs, followed by a brilliant Fashun from Twin Heavy, his life-enhancing enthusiasm is another weekend highlight. This is unfortunate for Hurray For The Riff Raff, whose much anticipated appearance on The Woods Stage then rather drags in comparison.
And so, sadly, to the final evening of entertainment. I have never been fully convinced by Kurt Vile And The Violators’ brand of slacker country-rock, but their evening performance at The Woods is impressive, with a greater degree of variety and subtlety than I previously gave them credit for. Kurt’s mannered drawl fits the intricate guitar figures, and the set drifts by enjoyably. I pop for a quick look at Lucy Dacus’s performance. She is an act of whom I know nothing other than a passing recognition of her name, but it turns out that this unassuming figure can sing the macaws and the parrots from the Larmer Tree Gardens’ trees. A moving, apparently brand-new acoustic number finishes her set and I resolve to investigate further.
Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst might well have spent Saturday night in a Shaftesbury bus shelter judging by his dishevelled, trench-coated appearance, and he reels around the stage during the band’s bawdy, bar-room opener Dance & Sing like a man drinking at the real Last Chance Saloon. His apparent fragility adds a pathos and depth to his cracked vocals, delivering songs of despair and redemption. Behind him the band are magnificent, soaring on a euphoric Marianas Trench and rollocking like a sailor on shore leave on Another Travellin’ Song. At times there are concerns that Oberst might not make it to the end of the set, or even his current sentence, but this is a glorious racket to put a full stop at the end of a glorious weekend. Even the biblical downpour five minutes after they finish cannot fully dampen spirits.
Early Bird ticket for next year secured then. See you at the red bus.
The audience:
The whole age range. Plenty of families and older folk too. All seem to be bound by a love for music and a refreshing open-mindedness.
It made me think:
But, thankfully, not too much….
the ” Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan” sound essential. Gonna look them up for sure.
Sounds like fest to bear in mind.
Top review sir !
Good wasn’t it ?
Saw much of what you describe and as you say, it’s a lovely setting – not quite the Green Man – but decent enough.
Foxes, Morby, Fields were all highlights for me, along with Aldous Harding and her many faces.She seems to be continuing her quest to be the Queen of weirdo rock! Anais Mitchell and Kathleen Priddy each provided 45 minutes well spent.
Guitar virtuosity was provided by Yasmin Williams and then very differently, Ryley Walker, who also took time out of his thrill-packed set to extol the virues of Tesco coleslaw..
Didn’t get into the blue tent much, as it all seemed to be a bit shouty..Not sure if that was deliberate scheduling or just coincidence..
My fave new act, however, was Grace Cummings..Giving it some flying-V style welly and introducing one touching ballad as being dedicated to ” Some c**t from home ! ”
Catch her when she plays your local hop.
Another GOOD THING was the indian veggie food stall which did something called a bhaji bowl, comprising a plate of rugby ball sized onion bhajis and a pint of what my youngest used to refer to as mangled chutney
The only downside was packing up a squelchingly wet tent.
Good mix of folk, from dancing youts throught to we elderly and infirm.
Put it on your to-do list.
Thanks very much. Funnily enough a friend has just contacted me to chide me for not mentioning the Grace Cummings outburst….
After the End of the Road Festival, Yasmin Williams travelled to Stockholm, where Kaisfatdad and I caught her performance at the Fasching jazz club.
She was indeed very good.
Her “Urban Driftwood” album is highly recommended.
What a cracking review! I used to drive past the Larmer Tree Gardens on my way to-and-fro work for a few years, and I once even went into the car-park during the festival in order to buy a pair of Spendors off a bloke who worked for Radio 4, but sadly I’ve never been to the festival itself, despite having heard nothing but great reports about the atmos and the vibe. The setting I know well, obviously, from my perambulations over the years. I really must make the effort to turn up and spend time there. Thanks for the intriguing and tempting reminder!
Thanks! It would definitely be worth you giving it a try.
Nice! I’m very jealous of anyone who has seen Kevin Morby live, I own and adore all of the albums but have yet to catch a gig.
And I miss going to festivals…since my annual favourite shut down for good, none of the available ones have tempted me.
Great weekend EOTR as ever. I think it was my 12th.
Best band of the weekend for me, surprisingly, were Magnetic Fields. A band I had never even heard of before the bill was announced, only heard half a track before the set and only went to see as i don’t think much of the Pixies. A fabulous discovery.
Special mention to The Rain. Much heralded by all the forecasts, but left it until I was walking back from Aldous Hardings delightfully wonky set to piss down in biblical fashion.
Some dark and unsettling stuff happens in the woods at night.
Im not ready to talk about it yet.
Not sure I ever will be.
@paul-hewston : can we call you Bonto for short?
Sure – fine by me! I nearly mentioned that in the “famous people who share your name” thread a while ago but figured that he doesn’t actually share my name.
Great review and tempted but next year I have already booked Black Deer and I am running out of surplus funds and available holidays.
That Kevin Morby album is my favourite this year so far.
I didn’t get on with Black Deer.
Paucity of the kind of acts I liked was a factor, but many daft rules means I am unlikely to go back.
Hopefully Wilco won’t make BD their only UK gig next year and play EOTR again instead.
Daft rules? Expand, as they have just the sort of acts I like. Pray tell, @redlemon
No food, beer or even water* to be taken into the arena. Or chairs, flags, umbrellas or fancy dress. Everywhere we looked there was there seemed to be some rule that pissed us off. I on’t want a flag or, heaven forbid, fancy dress but i don’t want rules banning them either.
I don’t like the idea of VIP areas either. I want to pay for a ticket, and that’s it. Not be coerced into paying more for another bar with better toilets.
It’s a great place for a festival, and all the staff were really friendly, even the security searching everybody’s bags, it just rubs me up the wrong way.
I only went as it was Wilco’s only UK date, and there wasn’t much interesting further down the bill for me. Not that interested in 3 or more large stalls selling BBQs.
*TBF the water ban was lifted this year as there was a heatwave on. Also, most people seemed very happy with the event and have gone in for early birds.
I have early birds for EOTR next year and will probably try and get a couple with the scarce camper pass for Green Man.
That’s pretty standard festival conditions where they have catering vans inside and camping outside the arena.
Years ago I went to Reading and my chum was searched at the gate. Secreted around his cargo trousers were 6 cans of lager. It was either hand it over, or drink it. So he drank it all on an empty stomach, staggered through the gate, made about 20 paces, collapsed, and spent the afternoon asleep on the grass.
Nowadays I have to get a disabled pass to allow my food in, as the catering vans don’t cater for a LOFFLEX diet.
You’re right, most do.
Green Man does have the alcohol conditions, but doesn’t even pretend to enforce them.
EOTR and Glastonbury expressly permit it.
Great review. I was there and agree with a lot.
I too was looking forward to Nilufer Yanya and was really disappointed. She seemed obsessed with her pedals and retuning for minutes after every song. Killed any momentum.
Loved a lot of what I saw overall with special mentions for Porridge Radio, Wave Pictures, Fleet Foxes and, of course, Magnetic Fields.
Special mention for Fruit Bats in the Tipi tent where about 150 of the devoted sang along with every word. “When You Love Somebody” was a great moment.
Ah I would have loved to be there for that Fruit Bats moment. I’m not sure why I missed them.
I still can’t get my head round anybody wanting to call themselves Fruit Bats. It’s not that it’s a bad name, but Boo Hewerdine’s first signed band (in which he played keyboards and wore a yellow tartan suit) before The Bible was called The Fruit Bats and… well, they made one-hit-wonders King look like The Beatles.
I would post a YT clip but, if you’ve never heard them it’s better to stay that way and, if you have, you’d really rather forget.
Great review Paul.
For the record I saw Bright Eyes in Brum on Monday and Conor was smashed off his face there too.; stumbling and incoherent by the end. Odd as both times I’ve seen him before he was stunning. The band were very good; it was just him that was a mess.