Lovebox 2008

United Kingdom | by Nick Bruce | 22 July 2008

Saturday, July 19th, Victoria Park

Lovebox is doing a very good job at establishing itself as one of London’s hottest summer festival tickets, will both the Saturday and Sunday selling out faster than you can say “Victoria Park”, which is incidentally where the festival is set: a gorgeous green landscape in the centre of east London, primed and ready to be thumped into submission by dance and rock acts alike, ranging from indie-flecked The Young Knives, to festival curators and legends of the dance anthem, Groove Armada.

What better way to start off the festivities on the first day than by checking out the swirling electro madness that is the Stockade arena, this year hosted by Secretsundaze. A giant circle of hewn-down trees envelope the thousands of revellers who are already well into the party spirit, as they jump to Secretsundaze mainstay James Priestley. The vast majority of the punters will probably stay there for the entire day by the looks of it, which would be a shame because right now, over on the main stage, past the hundreds of delicious smelling food stalls and promotional tents advertising everything from fruit smoothies to rucksacks, The Young Knives are putting on a hell of a show. The Leicestershire trio, known for their energetic live performances and their taste in tweed outfits, are punching through numbers like 'Up All Night', 'Turn Tail' and 'Terra Firma'. From pumping electro one minute to geek-indie rock in the next? That has to be Lovebox.

A stroll across the festival site and we're confronted by New York in the 1970s – a steam shrouded, grimy, throbbing back street flanked on all sides by transvestites, pimps and prostitutes. No, Hackney has not taken a giant swan-dive into sordid dilapidation, but rather this is Horsemeat Disco, which for the last few years has transformed a corner of Lovebox into a no-holds barred fetish party. The queue inside the rather intimidating set is a tad long, with revellers leaving the ghost-house-esque exit blinking and drenched in sweat, so I decide to give it a try later on, and head over to the main stage for The Human League, who after a decade dwelling in obscurity are kicking off their comeback tour as precursors to Groove Armada.

And the band don’t disappoint. Admittedly, there are only a few tracks the majority of the crowd recognise, mainly 'Don’t you Want Me' and 'Electric Dreams', but what they do they do well. A shaven-headed Phil Oakley, looking less New Romantic and more Phil Mitchell, still has a great voice and the two ladies of the group – Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley – still look and sound like they could have one foot in the 80s. And the crowd respond well to the League’s set, with a very high metrosexual body count, it’s all tops off and day-glo paint on faces as the sun shines down on the thousands of thankful revelers. 

As soon as the League finish, the crowd numbers steadily swell as everybody anticipates Groove Armada’s set which, strangely enough, this year is not closing the show. With almost 12 years being at the top, Andy Cato and Tom Findlay know how to put on a party. Having graduated from basement raves to the heady heights of festival organisation, Groove Armada as a global dance brand is unstoppable and the tens of thousands of fans rushing to the main stage are testament to this.

Andy Cato comes on holding that trombone and the crowd go ballistic. Straight away the band, with both Cato and Tom Findlay sharing mixing duties alongside live percussion and brass – sheer bliss – launch into classics such as 'My Friend', 'I See You Baby', and new-ish single 'Song 4 Mutya'. Fireworks are let off into the evening sky as 'Super Stylin’ turns Victoria Park into a seething, throbbing mass of elated fans, and Groove Armada reaffirm their place as live act supreme with yet another stellar show under their belts.

Sunday, July 20th, Victoria Park

French artist Sebastian Tellier is first onto the main stage for Lovebox’s second, less frenetic – but by no means less exciting – second day. A failed Eurovision entry this year has done nothing to dampen Tellier’s spirits as he sings in English, French and Italian songs from albums, L’Incroyable Verite, and his latest, Sexuality. Tellier’s music is a synthesis of lo-fi electronica, cabaret and rock, which makes for interesting listening as sobriety begins to wane and the day truly warms up.

Roni Size Reprazent are up on the main stage next, and quite simply blow the crowd away, as though the thousands watching are thin bits of paper, and not the raucous Drum n’ Bass heads they clearly are. An extremely powerful set, Size’s band are insatiable on stage, confirming that it’s not just the name on the cover which deserves recognition, but rather the outfit as a whole – double bass, drums, MC, backing vocals, rhythm guitar, and Size himself – who keep the crowd pumped up for an hour’s worth of wicked tunes.

South East London boy Jack Penate has had a string of catchy hits since his album Matinee was released last October, to mixed criticism but consistent commercial success, and it's not hard to see why. His brand of likeable, jumpy-pop is like a cross between The Pigeon Detectives and The Cure, very uplifting and with a certain London swagger which makes both the artist and his music appealing. Biggest hit to date, 'Never Been a Fool' is a real crowd-pleaser, and perfect for a summer Sunday afternoon. The now famous stage invasions – which normally take place during 'Tom On The Platform' – don’t occur, possibly due to the burly security team flanking either side of the stage, but nevertheless Penate’s set is extremely enjoyable.

Again, Lovebox’s eclecticism – that thing which sets it apart from other London summer festivals – is emphasised as Jack Penate leaves, and Goldfrapp enter the stage. Alison Goldfrapp – dressed in what looks like a dress made from those strips of  coloured plastic shopkeepers hang down from doorframes – is every bit the nu-boho, chic chick as she floats about onstage, performing tracks from most recent album, Seventh Tree, an album which moves away from the pop and electronic-dance music featured on previous album, Supernature. Seventh Tree features more ambient and downtempo music, and this is reflected in the set. Where the likes of Jack Penate and Roni Size shook the crowd up in their own individual way, Goldfrapp turn the revellers into swaying willow tress, arms in the air, eyes closed, very much more sedate than the previous day. Perhaps two days’ worth of partying is finally taking its toll, nevertheless Goldfrapp certainly represent an interesting and unique addition to the Lovebox line-up.

Now, when writing reviews, I don’t normally like to employ the first person perspective but the next few hours proved to be a very personal experience after being invited to be one of the dancers onstage with The Flaming Lips, the headliners of Sunday and the act who close the show. Obviously such an opportunity cannot be passed up, so I accepted, and was promptly whisked backstage and to a portakabin where I was provided with a rather splendid Iron Man costume whilst my sister and her friends dressed up as Ninjas in purple all-in-one catsuits. We were then guided – en masse – to the stariwell leading up to the back of the main stage, and it was there where we were led, with hearts thumping like buggered clocks, up the stairwell and to the back of the stage. The sound of 20,000 screaming fans in our ears, we were then told to run onstage and jump around like madmen which – and believe me when I say this – is not hard when you are on the mainstage at Lovebox. Surreal isn’t the word. Running onto the stage, I was enveloped by adrenaline, and fear, and excitement, and star-struck awe as I was met by an endless sea of people all with their arms in the air. This is what life is about, I was thinking, as suddenly orchestral music blares out of the speakers and The Flaming Lips enter the stage, without their lead singer, Wayne Coyne, who instead enters in a giant transparent ball, of the sort within which New Zealanders hurtle themselves down  hills. The crowd went wild, as Wayne Coyne proceeded to traverse on top of them in his transparent balloon, before rolling back onto the stage and getting on with the show.

The Flaming Lips have been criticised for being too niche, too quirky, too out-there, too unknown in the UK. Well there were enough fans singing along to make sure this gig was awesome. Streamers flew across the stage as giant balloons were launched into the crowd. The gaggle of Iron Men and Ninjas jumped up and down as though on trampolines and giant aliens invaded the stage. This was the British festival on LSD, and it was fan-bloody-tastic. Songs like 'The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song', 'Race for the Prize' (the set opener and one of the happiest songs of all time) and 'She don’t use Jelly' ignited the crowd, and Wayne Coyne is one of the most charismatic front-men around, throwing his love out to the crowd, deriding George Bush, and ensuring Lovebox closed in ecstatic rapture. Thanks for letting me be a part of that onstage magic Wayne, and thanks to Andy Cato and Tom Findlay for another incredible Lovebox.