British Sea Power: music? a movie? why not both?!

Many people will tell you how the Big Chill Festival has changed from a small gathering of a couple of thousand people fifteen years ago, to a 30,000 strong festival where food stalls and clothes stands cover the loping stretch of land at Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire. But you can argue that with growth comes knowledge and this year, the organisers put on an array of activities, yet always maintained that laid-back vibe. Art installations, a 24-hour Film4 cinema tent, a comedy tent, Bollywood dance classes, various talks from the likes of British author Lemn Sissay and astrologer Jonathan Cainer, as well as the usual splice of eclectic music, were available for our pleasure.

British Sea Power kicked the festival off with an inspired 90 minute set as they soundtracked a silent black and white film, which played simultaneous to their performance. A bit of a headrush, we had to lie down after half an hour of watching and listening; it was all a bit too much.

After the downpour on Thursday, where comedian Noel Fielding helped the festival break the world record for the most amount of people dressed as zombies for a film, the rest of the weekend gave way to brilliant blue skies and warming sunshine. People lay along the banks of the lake, bopping their heads to the soulful, funky tunes from Mr Scruff’s Bar on Friday, and Friendly Fires played an energetic electronic samba set, building up to favourite ‘Jump In The Pool.’ Ashley Beadle’s mix of drum and bass, reggae and dub step got the crowd warmed up for Basement Jaxx, but the sheer number of performer’s on stage and a lack of atmosphere provoked a mixed reaction within the crowd. The party vibe resided over The Frisky Bison Cocktail bar instead, one of the most consistently pumping little stages on site, as old UK garage producer MJ Cole took the decks, followed by Toddla T.

Some zombies at Big Chill 2009

Meanwhile in the Big Chill Presents.. tent Tim Minchin warmed muddy festival goers’ hearts with his Russell Brand hairdo and ridiculous piano ensembles (“only a ginger can call another ginger ginger…”). Later, the evening’s most anticipated comedian, Mitch Benn, proved he’s no longer the viking he used to be (the facial hair is long gone) and is now much more of a grumpy old dad. A lot of his songs were dated, his set was the same as last year and it still included that song about Coldplay.. which he wrote when the band were just beginning to get big.

On Saturday, Suns of Arqa’s heady mix of Indian Raga with dub reggae went down well, and American jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble got rave reviews. The moody beats and double bass of Lamb’s ambient music reached out to all listening, the vibrating light show that accompanied ‘Gorecki’ sent your mind warping with the sunset. Horse Meat Disco took hold in The Coop tent, Bonobo and Quantic held up the chilled Castle Stage, and Spiritualized and Orbital rounded things off at the main stage. Born from the rave scene, groundbreaking-for-their-time Orbital held credit in the hearts of their fans but newcomers weren’t so keen. Once again the tunes were being churned from The Frisky Bison Bar – The Nextmen played uplifting jungle, and diverse Krafty Kutz & A Skillz showed everyone what DJing is all about.

Lamb – Gorecki (live at Big Chill 2009)

Pockets of calmness nestled around the site; psychedelic chill out music played under large trees in the Enchanted Garden, and great panoramic views of this pretty old deer park were on hand if you could muster the energy to clamber up the hills. But scorching Sunday turned out to be the best day for music. Norman Jay MBE knows exactly what he’s doing; he played tunes full of ‘peace, love and sunshine,’ old soul, reggae, a Michael Jackson tribute and drum and bass, starting off slowly then snaring all so by the end everyone was dancing. Tom Middleton, Big Chill’s resident electronica DJ, continued the party vibe in the evening and the ‘blind couple from Mali,’ Amadou & Mariam set their funky afro-beat on fire, playing out long guitar solos and vocal wails. Over in the always-partying Rizla Area, Jazzie B (Soul 2 Soul) and The Unambombers got everyone bouncing with their mixture of breaks, soul and hip hop after an uninspiring slot from Talking Heads front man, David Byrne, his best track undoubtedly being ‘Once In A Lifetime.’ To round things off nicely, ‘junglist massive’ Congo Natty DJ’d an incredible set and East London darling Lewis Floyd Henry, a talented one-man-band-busker skilled on the electric guitar and mini-drums, would simply not stop playing all day and night!

Noel Fielding.. we were closer than this looks. Honest!

Meanwhile, over in the Comedy tent things were really coming to a head with sets from three huge comedians on the bill. Kicking things off was Russell Howard, who kept the jokes coming so thick and fast that there was no time to breathe. He mixed just the right level of biting social commentary with sardonic self-depreciation, ensuring the audience was in stitches throughout. The same could not be said for Noel Fielding however, who clearly did not prepare at all and, after muttering repeatedly about how big the gig was / how much everyone smelled / what the crowd looked like etc, the ‘highlight’ of his hour on stage was when he invited some children up to pose for photographs with him. They then stole his cape, which was probably the funniest part of the whole thing. He ended by saying “Can I go yet?�, not knowing we were all wishing he’d fucked off half an hour before. Headliner Dylan Moran was certainly my most anticipated guest and he didn’t disappoint. Fear and loathing personified, he swaggered about the stage drinking wine and eating chocolate (he wasn’t allowed cigarettes and said he needed some kind of addictive substance). It’s only when you see him on stage that you realise just how like his Black Books character he really is; he tells us not to clap and cheer but we do anyway, because he deserves it.

Extras from a Panic at the Disco video or Big Chill 2009 attendees? You decide

In spite of the influx of punters this year, even more so because the festival took on board some of the features and ticket holders of the Big Green Gathering who had to cancel their annual event, Big Chill didn’t feel too crowded. Most dedicated Big Chillers go back year after year simply because it’s a whole lot of fun and there are so many happy people; your neighbours become your best chums. The audience ranges from dance/trance-heavy fans to families with six kids, to people with grey hair (the horror!!!) and everything in between. Whether you’re there for the music, movies, comedy, workshops or, well, just to get high – there’s enough variety for anyone and everyone, you’ve just got to throw yourself in and hope you make it out alive with other side.

By Kristina Georgiou & Cathy Reay