Rufus Wainwright @Late Night Prom, Royal Albert Hall

Ooooooooh Soooooo Teeeediousssssss
The other half, working close to the RAH, was offered a pair of tickets earlier in the week, Curious I agreed although I had issues with his voice. I had been to what was possibly the first prom that featured a rock group, that being Soft Machine and some forty odd years earlier. Soft Machine, and the associated music was considered as avant garde at the time. That 'bill' also included music by Terry Riley, John Cage and Tim Souster. Modern indeed and challenging. This a generation later was anything but.
His singing is monotonal and dreary with just odd occasions of depth and power. The orchestration had it moments, the harpist providing odd highlights of rare sharp attacks as she plucked the strings. The huge percussion section was totally banal spitting out clacks and ticks, three flicks of the castanets and that was that. The drumming sounded like a grade four school boy, limp and middle of the road. And then there was a duet of some Rogers and Hammerstein song from Carousel that was frankly embarrassing.
After seventy five minutes of this we left.   After the second song the other half said he sounded like Barry Manilow, He didnt, but I know what she meant.
It was all emperor's new clothes, strip the orchestra down to a string quartet, keep the piano, throw in a double bassist, and a drummer who knows what he is doing. And yes an artistic director/producer. Then Mr Wainwright you will be able to elevate yourself out of your dirge of MOR banality.
And take a leaf out of John Grant's book.
Very very disappointing. Totally overated.

End of the Road Festival 2014 @ Larmer Tree Gardens

EOTR for a fourth time in five years, and for the first time ever, earlybird tickets purchased already for the 10th anniversary festival next year. Sold out already I notice. Another first for me was that I camped, and it was an experience that may be repeated next year.
Friday and Saturday were distinctly autumnal, but Sunday after the initial low clouds cleared was wall to wall sunshine. It appeared that everyone more than welcomed this as for the early afternoon attitude was one of sun bathing rather than going to see the bands.
Yet again it was the performers that I had never heard of that gave great pleasure, and two bands instantly spring to mind. A tip off in a Blandford Forum cafe whilst having breakfast with other EOTR's doing exactly what I was doing led to the first, St Paul and the Broken Bones whilst a wander down to the Woods Stage on Sunday afternoon led to the other, Lucius.

So here are my awards....

Best Performance by a Solo Artist: 
Richard Thompson.
Never seen him before, and was mildly disappointed when walking in through the gates to the Garden Stage, it was obvious that this was to be a solo performance. Made my way down to the front, stage right, and was totally blown away by the power of his acoustic guitar playing and the humour of the man and his songs. Great final number with his daughter Kami Thompson and James Walbourne of The Rails, and oh, could we have done with an encore. Acoustic Classics soon purchased on return to Oxford.

Best Performance by a Group
The Felice Brothers
Well who else could it have been? A packed Big Tent. One mass sing-a-long after the opener Cumberland Gap was out of the way and they went straight into What a wonderful World. Chanting at the end changing from 'One more song' to 'Two more songs', we only got Frankie's Gun, bugger this keep to the schedule especially when you are last on!
The band really appreciated the crowds reaction, James Felice whilst a big man, looking as if he has lost some weight, Ian Felice still looking a little ill with his voice appearing to be suffering. Greg Farley was as always, Greg Farley, Christmas now introduced by Ian as 'my brother Christmas Felice'
They were just totally loved by the audience, a garage band at its best!

Second Best Performance by a Group
St Paul and the Broken Bones
Not much in this between them and the Felices, the only difference being that the Felices are originals. However that should not take away how good this band was. No need to coax the audience into reacting, and with the audience getting bigger after every number as the vibe must have spread up the hill to those eating and drinking in the village area.And a huge number dancing.
Tight band with two horn players and one stunning singer in an Alan Carr lookalike Paul Janeway. Yes this man can sing. Another Vintage Trouble of a band. Superb!

Best Singing Performance
Paul Janeway
See St Paul and the Broken Bones above.

Best Visual Performance
The Flaming Lips
Huge backdrop of a LED screen, LED ropes hanging down from the roof pulsating in colour, large compressed air driven coloured ticker tape machine and then to cap it off, to a stunned reaction by the audience appears three inflatable characters, (the sun was good although unsure about the others) and then Wayne Coyne produced an inflatible message, 10ft high and which appears to say 'FUCK YEAH END OF THE ROAD'. Images on the screen colourful and artful, I recall someone runing on an endless tUnE-yArDs type loop, and then something that was probably soft porn but could have been harder but for the careful editing. Sigur Ros last year was quite something, this though was amazing and took your mind off the rubbish music they were pushing out.


Best Purveyor of Children's Music
The Flaming Lips
This was no better than children's music, if it was not for the glorious visuals would have left earlier for John Grant. Two songs from Grant and I was back again only to find Coyne up on a high dias, which covered in the same LED screens as the backdrop made him appear to float in mid air. Totally preposterous and I though punk had driven this level of absurbity away. Obviously not, and those British prog rockers of the 70's knew how to conjure up a melody or two. (probably more melodies in one song than the Flaming Lips managed to play in the whole of their set). I trudged away to my tent with the rather flat rendition of the Beatles 'Lucy in the Sky' in my ears.

Best Female Performance
Lucius
Matching dresses, matching hair, drum colour matching the dresses, somebody has being thinking about this, Even think their shoes were the same colour. And then great songs, well sung, and driven on by an infectious drumming rhythm where the girls are joined by their percussionist and lead guitarist. A couple of quiet songs thrown in and a reminder that they will be playing Islington's Assembly Rooms in October. A gig to go to.

Second Best Female Performance
Cate Le Bon
Walked over from St Paul's stupendous set and managed to order a coffee at the top of Garden Stage as she came on. From up there I was thinking that she reminded me of Grace Slick from Jefferson Airplane, Not an actual voice copy but general overall ambiance. But as I made my way down to the front, that view had changed to a modern day Patti Smith with the songs, four numbers in, had got much harder and was the better for it. This was the first time (again) that I had heard her at all and loved the Welsh inflection in her voice.Another to follow!

Best Charming Performance
Gruff Rhys
Last year on the Woods Stage, I was singularly unimpressed, what happened in the meantime I am not sure, maybe it was that he had a concept to pursue in the form of the Welsh explorer John Evans. Rhys with the aid of a screen and simple projector linked to a tablet by his mike recounted the tale of John Evans (or when supported by the Spanish, Don Juan Evans) and his expedition up the River Missouri. This was all told with humour and the crowd loved it. Simple props, a four foot high manikin, and the use of zooming in and out on the tablet and we all knew about Evans by the end. Was it all a hoax was totally dispelled on Sunday night when driving home after the festival, Rhys was interviewed for Radio 4's film programme about the release on dvd, of his project, American Interior.
Musically, no great shakes, but taken as a whole, totally charming and rather English Welsh. What followed over on the Woods Stage, would be the brash American way of achieving the same end. That end being entertainment.

Best Rock Performance
British Sea Power
A much enlarged band since I saw them probably some five years ago. These guys had great control of the power of their music. Don't you just love the additions of vegetation to their set and the little LEDs twinkling in their midst. But then, some two thirds through, emerging near the front was a huge Polar Bear followed by a Brown Bear, dancing along the barrier to begin with and then into the audience, I should not have moved towards the rear, damn!

Best National Treasure
'Dr' John Cooper Clarke
Only saw two 'numbers' so to speak but we should have more of him, a national treasure indeed. A welcome addition to the weekend's bill.

Best Collective Performance
Gene Clark No Other Band
A mass group, I think I counted 16 for the encore consisting of lead singers Beach House, Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear, Matthews Southern Comfort and members of Wye Oak and Celebration performing so I am told as never heard it, Gene Clark's solo project No Other recorded in 1974. A notable project which culminated in a smile bringing encore of Eight Miles High.

Biggest Disappointing Performance
tUnE-yArDs
Opening number with the multi percussive rhythm  was excellent but after that her playing around with all the looping just did not come together. When I saw her here three years ago on the Garden Stage, with a 2/3 horn players I was quite taken with Merrill. Went off and secured a place at the front for Richard Thompson.

Biggest Pretentious Performance
St Vincent 
So good last year with David Bryne but this for me whilst sounding good in parts, as a whole came over as extremely pretentious.

Notable other Performances (which I must follow)
The Barr Brothers, Jenny Lewis, Benjamin Booker,


Less Notable performances
Deer Tick: 
Yes the guys can play but otherwise nothing special or original, reminded me of Richmond Fontaine, but lyrically not as interesting by a long chalk of the imagination.

The Horrors:
Horrible teenage music.

Yo La Tengo:
Lovely little question and answer set on the Singing Stage (to the right of the Garden Stage) two hours before their Woods set. However the Woods set was dreadful what I heard as I gave up after three numbers and went to get a decent position for the Felices and was duly rewarded by a place on the barrier. So at least I have something to thank them for. Can someone show their guitarist how to use all that discordant stuff properly. Can easily point him to Nels Cline of Wilco who graced the Garden Stage a few years back.

The Big Top: 
Can EOTR please do something about the stage lighting. It puts me off going  in there because you can see bugger all with hardly any light coming from the front onto the performers. Just look at the three Felice photos above.
Also it can get remarkably hot in there and John Cooper Clarke on Sunday was far worse than the 45 minute sauna I had in the morning elsewhere. I lasted through 'Guest List' and 'Hire Car' and had to leave, passing one unfortunate woman in one of the entrance vomitorys who had passed out.

Steven Malkmus and the Jicks:
Now I thought the guy could play guitar ok but he just could not sing. heard it all before.

Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit
Had the odd good moment, but generally rather dreary. Needs a decent producer.