I'd like to talk about contrast and the ways different acts at a single event can throw each other into sharp relief. But first a few notes on the Splendour festival.
Yesterday marked the third anniversary of Nottingham City Council's pop party, held in the grounds of the glorious Wollaton Hall Park. It's a one day festival with four stages, a small fun fair and the usual smorgasboard of burger stalls, clothing traders and ice cream vans. It's a smashing occasion and the quality of the acts is way above the level one would normally expect from a modest, urban festival. Well organised, friendly and comfortable, it's a credit to the city and long may it continue.
Towards, the end of the bill, however, one has to choose which act to watch as several big names perform at the same time. The Cornbury bash stagger the appearance of bands and it's great - you can see every outfit on the bill by walking the short distance between two stages. Splendour, it's worth considering.
Metal aside, most of music's favourite genre's were represented here. Athlete and Shed Seven were the indie delegates, Fyfe Dangerfield put up for the singer songwriters, Calvin Harris gave it large for the ravers and Noisettes had modern pop covered. So I'm not sure why they were all a little subdued.
Athlete tried hard, but their brand of Brit guitar tunes never really catches light until their best known number 'Wires'. Perhaps the rain shower was to blame. And I love the Fyfe Dangerfield album, but his stripped down 'band' (two violinists and himself on guitar and vocals) didn't do the material justice. He even did his own soundcheck, which isn't the norm, and nevertheless suffered from a bad mix throughout. His slot clashing with the Noisettes (see my comment above) meant a tiny crowd, so he was poorly served by Splendour, sad to say.
Dashing over to the main stage, I caught a fair chunk of the Noisettes set and they lifted things somewhat. They really work hard on stage and singer Shoniwa is a bit of a star. If they can pull a few more soul pop corkers like 'Never Forget You' out the hat, they could be an M-People for the new decade (in a good way).
At the moment Calvin Harris is a bit of a star too. Tunes like 'Born In The 80s' and 'Ready For The Weekend' have been filling club dancefloors for a couple of years, but that was the problem. Listening to his set in a park was like sitting on the grass outside a nightclub. The compere (who was beyond annoying) even announced him as the 'UK's top producer'. I don't recall Steve Lillywhite ever being second on the bill at a festival, do you? Maybe it's all for the young folks.
Shed Seven? They can definitely belt out their hits (more than you remember) with energy and a tight skill, but what are they for? Ten years ago they were Brit pop also-rans and there seems no reason for their continued rocking and rolling. Particularly as they never depart from their wannabe Oasis song format. Though I should point out there was no shortage of people at the festival for this act alone, so I could well be missing something. After all these years, I probably won't find it.
And then. And then. The headline act on the main stage: Pet Shop Boys. I could easily catagorise the other performers at Splendour - but I cannot categorise Neil and Chris. As English as the Bonzos and exotic as Kraftwerk, as wry as Ian Dury and stylish as Roxy Music, anyone under the impression they are a synth pop act who should have disappeared years ago simply hasn't taken the time to examine their unique place in British music history. You'll note that Erasure never had a South Bank Show special.
Pet Shop Boys' current show (and crikey, it is a show), is exceptional. Every song has its own setting, but uses the same white cubes which adorn the stage. Indeed, at first, both band and dancers have their heads obscured by boxes. In other hands this could be wildly pretentious or just a bit boring, but PSB are incapable of being either. Because for all their arch artiness and inspired irony, they can't help being utterly joyful. If anyone laughs at the PSB, you can be sure it's never as hard as they're laughing at themselves.
Everything Neil and Chris touch is instantly drawn into their cinematic and impossibly glamorous world. This doesn't just extend to the impeccable covers of 'Always On My Mind' and 'Vive La Vida' but us, the audience. Watching Shed Seven in their jeans and t-shirts is mildly diverting, watching PSB is akin to being picked up in a vintage sports car and whisked through
Paris, New York, London and Vegas, stopping to revel in brief, intense love affairs, lounge in Broadway dressing rooms and wander the bars of the most exclusive nightclubs. Athlete wouldn't and couldn't dream of taking you on such a journey.
It's not so much the duo do things never before attempted - costume changes, back projections and dancers are no strangers to pop music - it's more that they do it faultlessly every time. Their four dancers are as impressive as Neil and Chris themselves, in fact they're the best dancers you can remember seeing work with a band. The staging for each number (and there's a new, complete concept for every one) is the best staging you can recall.
All this, of course, would be pointless and silly if the music was below par. But this isn't an issue for PSB. Their ability to conjure effortlessly brilliant songs, with moving, glittering and clever lyrics - and to do that almost every year since 1984 - is simply staggering. This material is so timeless, so strong, you rather suspect that anyone claiming to dislike their music is either too utterly stupid to know outstanding songwriting when they hear it or are simply lying to appear cool and misunderstanding what 'cool' actually is. Last night I tweeted that I thought this could be one of the best shows I have ever seen. I have changed my mind not one iota.
I have never heard Pet Shop Boys mentioned in the same breath as The Beatles, The Clash or Joy Division when the great British bands are discussed. But I have no idea why. They have some of the best pop music of the last 20 years in their portfolio. They have longevity and continued creative success to their name. And they produce some of the most incredibly exciting live shows I will ever enjoy. It's high time this injustice was corrected without delay.
Magnus Shaw, July 2010
