Summer Sundae Weekender 2010: Rated!

De Montfort Hall, Leicester - 13-15 August

United Kingdom | by Jamie Barker | 17 August 2010

Overall  - 9/10
Summer Sundae 2010 marks the tenth anniversary of the festival and, fittingly, weekend tickets are sold out several days before the gates are finally flung open. With a line-up which has evolved throughout its decade of existence, you’d be hard pressed not to find a handful of new discoveries sitting snugly alongside chart-topping acts like Tinchy Stryder. Regardless of patchy weather conditions Summer Sundae 2010 is undoubtedly a huge success.

Getting There and Back – 10/10
Being based in De Montfort Hall and Victoria Park, the site of the festival is easy to reach on foot from Leicester train station. If your bags are too heavy to attempt the walk there are a host of taxi drivers outside the station willing to ferry you over without too much grumbling about the small fare. The festival has also been pioneering an unusual initiative for the past few years by providing a Cycle Park and encouraging attendees to cycle to and from the event; promoting healthy living while also protecting the environment. Commendable.

The Site – 8/10
Despite this year being a sell-out the provision of amenities doesn’t really seem to have increased from last year, as a result toilet visits need to be planned sufficiently in advance to ensure queuing doesn’t result in being caught short. The narrow walkway through The Village also causes problems at busy times, especially as it becomes increasingly lined with mud throughout the weekend. As well as the stages and numerous bars and eateries there are also numerous art installations tucked away with highlights being a banjo-toting sand sculpture and a recycled Summer Sundae logo courtesy of Dean ‘The Art Wizard’.

Atmosphere – 9/10
It’s rare that people of such a varied age range can spend a muddy weekend standing shoulder to shoulder without even a hint of tension or disagreement. Somehow the magic of the Summer Sundae Weekender binds the older generation, college students and colourful ear-protection toting toddlers into a single unit for the duration. That’s not to say the atmosphere for the younger generation is at all lacking, but the entirely separate family camping area ensures that there is peace and quiet for those who would rather have an early night.

Music – 9/10
With the exception of any particularly heavy music, Summer Sundae does cater for a wide spectrum of differing musical tastes. Seasick Steve is an engrossing act and a fantastic choice to close the opening night. Los Campesinos! return to their full eight-man size after a few acoustic shows in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust and prove that there’s still plenty of life in them yet. Tinchy Stryder manages to get every arm in the air, regardless of age, and prompts a mass sing along with his ‘Number One’ encore. Mumford and Sons close the festival successfully with ‘Little Lion Man’ among the most breathtaking moments of the festival.

Uppers

The Low Anthem – 9/10
Totally engrossing and true credit to the festival organisers for placing them in such a prominent place on the bill, despite their relatively small reputation. The only real criticism is that they would have worked much better on any stage but the Main. While it may be spell-binding for the front few rows when the band opts to step away from their microphones to perform acapella at the front of the stage, it’s impossible for the vast majority of the field to hear anything.

Los Campesinos! – 9/10
After performing their last few shows acoustically, recently losing their (founding member) drummer and releasing an EP titled ‘All’s Well That Ends’, the next few months could prove vital to the future of Los Campesinos!. Luckily they get off to a flying start at Summer Sundae, providing a perfect blend of their bouncy early antics like ‘You. Me. Dancing’ and their matured epics like ‘The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future’.

The Whip – 8/10
After undergoing a slight personnel switch Manchester’s The Whip are back with a clutch of new material that manages to overshadow the more familiar aspects of their set. Playing just after Tinchey Stryder’s set finishes outside ensures that the Indoor Hall is packed for the entirety of their late-night show. They close with a thrilling run through of ‘Trash’ but it’s the new material, which really steals the show.

The Sunshine Underground – 8/10
Despite maintaining their annoying insistence on switching around older tracks live and drawing many of them out into indulgent over-extended jams, it’s still confusing how The Sunshine Underground aren’t held in higher regard by mainstream music media and the record buying public as a whole. Their set is an almost perfect split between their two albums and the only time it loses momentum is during slower moments. ‘Put You In Your Place’ closes the set and provokes one of the best Main Stage reactions of the weekend.

Liam Frost – 7/10
Unfortunately Liam Frost has recently announced that he’s stepping away from the ‘Liam Frost’ moniker and material for a considerable length of time to work with a new band from September. Having lost the ‘Slowdown Family’ upon release of his second album many of the tracks work much better in the stripped-back style he offers up at Summer Sundae. Engrossing throughout, set closer ‘The Mourners of St. Pauls’ remains as devastatingly beautiful as ever.

Downers

The Go! Team - 4/10
Live appearances from The Go! Team have been few and far between since they released their second album, so it was surprising to see them added to the Summer Sundae line-up at all, let alone as a sub-headliner. Unfortunately, despite their riotous live reputation, tonight’s performance fails to deliver and showcased tracks from the forthcoming third album do little to excite.

Diana Vickers – 4/10
It speaks volumes when the compère takes the stage after your performance and makes much more reference to your see-through dress than any music you presented during your set. Diana Vickers’ clutch of disco-pop numbers lack any of the endearing charm she radiated during X Factor and even a closing run-through of hit single ‘Once’ can’t save her today.

Eliza Doolittle – 3/10
Having been moved from The Musician Stage to the much larger Last.FM Rising Stage due to the unfortunate pull-out of The Wave Pictures, Eliza Doolite is given a chance to impress a much larger audience than she’d previously have had access too. Unfortunately the opportunity is wasted on her when so many more talented bands remain limited to a brief set on the smaller stage. She provides nothing unique and is just another artist in an already over-saturated ‘niche’.

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