Every year, despite dwelling in Wales on and off for a decade, I forget that the reason Brecon is so damn green and lush is because it rains a lot. Hello Green Man, Hello Mud.
However despite slopping about/ sticking / falling over in the brown stuff, the family-friendly and folktastic Green Man festival managed to paint a big rainbow smile across my face from the get go.
I get all fired up warm and sweaty against the elements thanks to the likes of Irish trio of trouble FIGHT LIKE APES and noise-makers FUCK BUTTONS – who the toddler staying in the tent by me described as scary ("I didn't like the smoke") but I thought were awesome.
Later it was time to slow it down with LOU RHODES (Lamb singer goes folk) and BEN OTTEWELL (him of the sexy bluesy voice from Gomez) all civilised and sat at tables drinking pints at the Green Man Café. Ben reminded me I'm getting older – 10 years has passed since 'Get Miles' was released… but it still sounds ace, as did the new material. Then we watched SPIRITUALISED who lived up to their name and sent us off to tumble around to the DJs of the Rumpus Room late into the night.
Oh surprise – It's raining! But 9BACH (whose sublime singer Lisa also features in Candylion) still had us as an audience awaiting their soothing Welsh tones, then we had a bit of a drift around, catching some of writer Travis Elborough in the Literature Tent talking about the history of the vinyl record and promoting his book The Long-Player Goodbye.
The usually laughably long Pieminister queue had shrunk in the rain, deeming that it must be time for some pie and mash and peas and gravy action in the shelter of a comfy yurt, yum. The young daughter of Jason from Spiritualised was sat next to me; she was making a wormery in discarded pint-size paper cups, and confided that she was: "going to get some mud from backstage." See, it's not just the loos that are better there. She was looking forward to seeing "her friends" the SUPER FURRY ANIMALS later… and frankly, so was I.
They didn't disappoint, mixing up music from across their albums, munching celery and playing favourites like 'Hello Sunshine,' 'The Man Don't Give A Fuck' and 'Rings Around The World' to an appreciative, dancing, screaming crowd. Happiness.
* * SUNDAY* * *
RADIO LUXEMBOURG brighten my day immediately, and not just because of their smiles and good taste in festival shirts. Even the sun comes out to see them. The Euros Childs produced psychedelic popsicles get better and better. Watch them.
In contrast BOWERBIRDS offer some low-fi harmonic Americana rural charm before we are won over by 18-year-old one to watch, BETH JEANS HOUGHTON. The slacker pop of this sailor-girl Lolita is too cute for words and Badly Drawn Boy, Richard James, Guto Pryce (SFA), Dion (The Peth) are all there to watch her. Verdict = Good.
Energised, we go and jump around in the mud to hot-band-of-the-moment LOS CAMPESINOS! then stupidly forget that Laura Marling is on next (Gutted) and instead go up to Scrabble Sunday in the campfire field bar and have a few drinks for it is raining a lot again.
Beer coats on, we go along, with all the other SFA fans and those intrigued by whether filmstar Rhys Ifans can sing or not (verdict = not really), to see THE PETH, but the big space of Folkey Dokey doesn't do the 10-strong act any favours, and they don't entertain us as much as they did on their more intimate valleys tour. Half the audience leave.
Similarly New York singer songwriter NINA NATASIA is not as nice as her name suggests. Instead we follow the crowds to some sixties folk nostalgia with PENTANGLE, who are a bit dotty between acts "Get on with it" but still pretty special. No naked revellers dancing in the mud for them this decade though, mores the pity.
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