Melt! Festival 2011 review

'A kick ass line-up in a spectacular setting'

18 July 2011

Made famous for it's sweltering temperatures and lakeside lounging, Melt! Festival 2011 starts a little disappointing with a mild cloudy Friday rendering the attractive swimming spots empty.

However with such a kick ass line-up on the first night, the gloomy weather does nothing to suppress the electric atmosphere. Is Tropical (6/10) warm up the crowd for Noah and the Whale (9/10), their cheerful melodies elevating spirits while encompassing the intimate Intro Zeit tent.

The highlight of the night, however, is most definitely Robyn (9/10). Her Euro-centric hit list perfectly suits a headline slot at such an unpretentious event. She builds the audience up slowly and when she finally launching into ‘Dancing On My Own’, glow sticks start flying around the crowd and a glittering burst of confetti fills the sky while an impressive light show illuminating the stage.

The setting of the festival is spectacular, based in Ferropolis at an old industrial crane museum, it is surrounded by a vast fresh water lake. While the weather on Friday keeps swimmers away from the beach, Saturday's souring temperatures bring them together in their hoards.

In the late afternoon, the Beach Stage comes alive with Sizarr Soundsystem (6/10) and Benjamin Damage vs Doc Daneeka (7/10) playing pop trance and house remixes. The abundance of bars across the festival is staggering too, the most memorable being the swim up bar in the beach area which is packed to the brim all day on Saturday.

The music later on in the night is made up of an eclectic mix of indie music such as These New Puritans (7/10) and an abundance of electronic dance music from the likes of Metronomy (9/10), Crystal Castles (8/10) and Digitalism (6/10).

The Streets headline, with Mike Skinner confirming to the crowd that this is the last time they will ever play in Germany. The second song, 'Don't Mug Yourself' gets everyone going while the slower hit 'Would You Be There' lulls the audience into a false sense of security as something explosive is about to come. Suddenly Skinner takes to the mic to announce that he wants to see one of Germany's famous circle pits. The crowd split and an eruption of sporadic moshing breaks out, so unexpected that the floor is aghast with a magnitude of flip flop's and plimsolls in the aftermath.

Sunday's line up see the most commercial bands hit the stage with Katy B (7/10) kicking things off to a distinctly female crowd, Calvin Harris (5/10), White Lies (9/10) and of course Pulp (9/10). Jarvis Cocker failing to disappoint, the group’s amazing song reel reminding us just how important Pulp has been for the British music scene and how much their music influences indie bands today.

By Celeste Adamson

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