T In The Park 2006: NME/R1 Stage Sunday

United Kingdom | | 09 July 2006

After inviting the crowd to click their fingers with taunts of “come on, you can manage a little click”, the heavens open and rain drops you can hold in your hand take over. As a sea of people pull bright yellow ponchos over their heads, the band plead with the crowd to stay for just one last song…oh go on then, it’s only rain after all.

In comparison, Morning Runner’s slot is a bit of a disappointment. Maybe the rain has dampened spirits, or maybe it’s just not the right time for Coldplay wannabes. Whatever the reason, memories of this set will pass through the system as swiftly as a festival burger. 

We Are Scientists arrive on stage as the sun begins to shine. The band themselves are in sunny spirits, cracking jokes and even throwing a magic Frisbee that makes one lucky man pregnant – you had to be there. Singer Keith Murray has some guitar trouble, but makes up for it with Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner, who plays guitar on 'This Scene Is Dead'. 

Dirty Pretty Things are perhaps one of the most eagerly anticipated bands on this stage as we all gear up to see what ex-Libertine Carl Barat has to offer with his new band of merry men. As good as their debut album is, all we really want is to hear 'Bang Bang You’re Dead' and a Libertines track, any Libertines track. They don’t disappoint and after 'Death On The Stairs' the hunger has been satisfied.

If ever a band has the power to start a mass bounce fest, it’s Feeder. Every song is an anthem in its own right, and Grant and co have us eating out the palm of their hands. From 'Buck Rogers' and 'Lost and Found' to 'Seven Days In The Sun', it’s all there. Fresh from the success of their newly-released greatest hits album, they aim to please and to ensure no-one leaves without their favourite. The highlight has to come from the audience though – a grey haired man in his late 50s bobbing around amid the kids for the whole gig, putting the youngsters to shame with his energy and impressive air punching. It just goes to show Feeder still have it. Bowing out with 'Just A Day' they will be remembered by many as the best of the fest.

It’s a real skill for a band to exceed the quality of their studio sound through a live performance, but Editors not only do this, they set the standard. The Birmingham-based four-piece are definitely performing like true rock Gods and are one of the best bands of the weekend. It’s truly amazing that they can transform a relatively average song like 'Munich' into a united anthem for thousands of strangers-turned-best-friends. Dressed completely in black, singer Tom Smith has true rock star appeal – passionate, crazed, possessed and lost in his own words. Embracing his mic, keyboard and himself as if the world would end without his intensity, he stumbles across the stage looking like someone who would be best placed in an asylum. His on-stage antics with Brian Molko-lookalike, guitarist Chris Urbanowicz, and their combined guitar gymnastics are even close to topping the blinding hits 'All Sparks' and 'Blood'. For those who are just here to get a good spot to watch Richard Ashcroft, they really came up trumps.

There’s only one thing that stops all the hardcore Ashcroft fans from singing along to his every word, and that’s the constant shoutings of “You’re a fucking legend”. And for once, the mass football-style chants are speaking the truth – this guy is a legend. Opening with 'Keys To The World', he instantly assumes his God-like status. He then delights the crowd with the news that Italy are the winners of the World Cup, bringing happy news to his Italian keyboardist. As if the doting fans need any more excitement, he then launches into The Verve territory with 'Lucky Man' followed by 'The Drugs Don’t Work' and, as the crowds wait with baited breath, 'Sonnet'. Dedicating 'New York' to the September 11th atrocities, Ashcroft proves his solo work is more than a match for those he penned while in his old band. With his arms spread open and his eyes closed, his genuine passion is hard to escape. Even when he rips his guitar strings off, it’s plain to see it’s more for musical effect than arrogance. As the unmistakable intro of 'Bittersweet Symphony' kicks in, you know this has to be his last song – you just couldn’t get any better than this.