Venue:
Butlins, Minehead
Date: 06/11/2015
I’ve just returned from three days of debauched baggy madness at the Shiiine On Weekender held at Butlins Minehead. It was my fourth time festivalising at Minehead, (a trio of ATPs before this), but Shiiine was by far the best.
In fact, with a friendly and up-for-it but well-behaved crowd, a truly brilliant line-up and a lovely chalet that was so close to the action I could easily nip back for a wee, I might even say it was my favouritest festival ever.
This was not a weekend for checking out the new. I’d seen the majority of bands many times before, but in far less well-appointed venues than those on offer in Butlins. Anyone who’s attended an ATP will know that the sound on the Skyline stage has always been middling at best, but for Shiiine it sounded brilliant. The most successful acts took advantage of that, playing their hits and allowing for the fact that a nostalgia-buzzed crowd and a heavy-duty sound system would give them an extra sparkle. So it is that you (and by you I mean me) find yourself singing along to ‘Altogether Now’ by The Farm and, you know, really enjoying it.
Other highlights? The Inspiral Carpets, playing a rousing greatest hits sets and keeping the standard high, and The Orb, who built slowly to some old favourites, including yes, ‘Little Fluffy Clouds’. By the time I retired at 2am I was aching from dancing and my mouth hurt from grinning so much.
Then, Saturday. Oh, Saturday at Shiiine, I will remember you for the rest of my life. For a start, it brings the festival’s best set, Peter Hook & The Light. I’d seen them before, when I was pleasantly surprised by a run-though of ‘Unknown Pleasures’, in an ‘at least he didn’t make a mess of it’ sort of way.
But this – this was staggering. Sixty minutes of prime New Order and Joy Division, Hook on boisterous, belligerent form. His voice has loosened since I last saw them, and he’s extending the material in brilliant, revelatory ways; the version of ‘The Perfect Kiss’ he plays is similar to the Jonathan Demme version. It has a jammy feel to it, the riffs sounding more weighty than I’ve heard before. ‘Blue Monday’ lifts the roof, ‘Temptation’ prompts a ‘woo woo’ singalong that then continues with an extraordinary ‘Love With Tear Us Apart’. I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it.
Stereo MCs follow, and they’re ace. I always had them down as stoner under-achievers but they turn out to be a supreme party band. Happy Mondays headline. They play ‘Pills & Thrills’ in its entirety, followed by highlights ‘Hallelujah’ (the Weatherall ‘Hi Ya!’ version) and ‘Wrote For Luck’ (the Oakenfold ‘WFL’ version). Even so they’re a bit workmanlike compared to what has come before.
Later, I see MC Tunes and a superb 808 State. I do the grinning and dancing thing again, and at some point I think about Hooky playing extended workouts of New Order songs, and how the Happy Mondays’ best material is actually remixes, and I wonder if there’s a point to be made about interpretation. But it’s lost.
Sunday is more of a guitar / indie day and besides which, I’m jaded. However, I really dig Eat. They’re a band I always felt had something to say and despite being first on a day of collective hangover they win over a sparse crowd. I love Cud and they play a great set, but by the time of Wedding Present and Wonder Stuff I’m flagging. Despite really wanting to see Lo Fidelity Allstars, I’m forced to retire.
The audience:
Lovely, approachable, not too many fuckwits.
It made me think..
That I am now officially spoiled for festivals. The peak has been reached.
Hooky’s band are fantastic – I’m not bothered about seeing New Order play the enormodomes but I’d definitely go and see him again, there’s something visceral about seeing The Light and you get to hear B-sides and things that “New Order” would never play live.
That line up is worryingly similar to the Heaton Park festival I went to in 1990 -which featured the Mondays, Wonderstuff, Hooky’s Revenge, 808 State…I feel old!
Probably showing my age here but I like the idea of a festival being close to a lovely chalet so you can pop back for a wee – or even perhaps have a peaceful lie down for a bit if you want.
This was it. I expect it was the same for a lot of people. And a combination of this, the relative older age of the participants and I guess a sort of reverse ‘broken-window’ effect meant that the festival fostered an atmosphere where everyone was pleasantly wasted without any of the usual problems that go with it. There weren’t people lying around drunk, no puddles of sick, girls crying, lads looking for a fight, and no massive groups of sixth-formers bumping into people. It was just a bunch of old cheesy quavers enjoying themselves.
did you get to hear Pat Nevin’s set? Friend of mine saw him a few months ago and apparently he put in a storming set.
No, missed him. I did read that he began his set with Perfume by the Paris Angels, though, and that is a TUUUUNE!
Oh wow.. thanks so much I haven’t heard this in years and yes it was my anthem back in the day!
Here be Hooky doing ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’.
Love the t-shirt Hooky’s wearing!
Yes. Hm. I’m going to disagree. For those who can’t see, it was a t-shirt bearing the artwork from the new New Order album, only instead of ‘Music Incomplete’ it said ‘Hooky Incomplete’.
If you’re going to deliver an hour of music *that* good — and I’ve been reading his Twitter and the Shiiine Twitter, and there are a lot of people saying it’s the best festival set they’ve ever seen and I’m tempted to agree — then you don’t need to be referring to your previous group in that way. It looks bitter, and bitter is never a good look.
Mind you, he could have come out wearing a t-shirt criticising my choice of hat and I’d still be in love with him. It was transcendent.
Must be my sad sense of humour, then… 🙂
Have you got The Light’s 6 disc set live at Hebden Bridge from last year? All the sets over 3 days, from Unknown Pleasures to Brotherhood. Magnificent!
Weirdly (?!?) was also thinking of you whist working earlier – put on a found 6 hour Cabaret Voltaire playlist to help me along.
No. In fact, I think that for me it was the short festival set that made it so great.
Excellent Cabs work!
Been to the Alternative Weekend – bloody good it was too. Good line-up, good people, and good chips & curry sauce.
Got upgraded top Gold Accommodation on arrival (oh how decadent), and the concept of having somewhere comfy to stay really is a bonus, especially as Mrs D was not interested in half the bands I was (not even Sham 69).
Only downside was it was in Skegness.
Now I am constantly receiving e-mails and letters informing me of upcoming events.
Would definitely go again (maybe not to Skegness though) – this one was a consideration, but sadly clashed with other stuff.
Jealous now, as it seems I missed a top weekend
Giants of Rock in February looks good – Ian Hunter headlining.
As does Rockaway Beach in October – this years had Johnny Marr, Echo & The Bunnymen, Public Service Broadcasting and The Fall.
Did I mention there were no children? Three days with no children. Practically no one under the age of 30. It was like Logan’s Run in reverse.
I’m so glad Eat were good. When I saw the roster of bands, I looked for their name and was not surprised to see them on the Wonder Stuff day. Back when they were touring their first album, I thought they were insanely great – double drummers, a real warehouse feel, Ange Doolittle channeling Michael Hutchence and Jim Morrison. Later and, particularly after the disappointing second album, they were a bit flat. I’ve heard heroin can do that to you. Mr and Mrs Smack, indeed.
If they managed to resurrect anything of their earlier excellence, that would be kind of reassuring, as they really had something great.