Loop Festival Victoria Gardens, Brighton 19/7/09
4/5
By: Hayley Leaver
A brilliant example of Sod’s Law, Loop Festival 2009 fell foul of the unpredictable British summer and an unnecessary venue change from Victoria Gardens to the Dome/Corn Exchange complex. However, the move out of the sunshine and into the depths of some of Brighton’s most loved venues did nothing to lessen the laidback enjoyment of the festival’s ‘folky’ Sunday.
Kicking off with Portico Quartet in the Corn Exchange, the London four piece exhibited some of the best in the arty backdrops of the day: pulsating, magnified cells and slow-mo Piccadilly Circus. Each song drew thunderous rounds of applause from the audience, who had no apparent difficulty ignoring the glorious sunshine outside in the dark - albeit beanbag-filled - Corn Exchange. The delicate, ‘harpy’, sound of the Hang – a not-so-distant relative of the steel drum – and endless lung capacity of saxophonist Jack Wylie create a ghostly beautiful resonance. Following swiftly, Richard Fenwick’s humorous User Guides parody public service announcements, showing what can so easily happen despite every care in – dare I say it – South Park-esque animated shorts.
A short dash to the conveniently close pubs provide a welcome bask in the sun before heading back in to catch the marching band climaxes and bow-tie sweetness of Fanfarlo. The Clap Your Hands Say Yeah/Arcade Fire similarities are so striking they could pull off a name change to Fanfarcade Fire, but who’s complaining? Uplifting and vibrant, an a cappella finish provided the perfect finale to their drum-smacking, arm-waving set.
A spot of ‘Doodle Earth’ ensued, on which everyone had managed to refrain from adding any crude anatomical sketches on a large projection of the city; a sign of the festival’s mentality, maybe? The relaxed atmosphere of the festival engulfed the bustling centre of the city, swelling with the smooth, harmonious folktronica of Tunng. Setting off with ‘Take’ and powering through to the epic metal of ‘Soup’, the smiley Mike Lindsay successfully livened up the mid-afternoon lull and probably disturbed a few naps in the increasingly hot Corn Exchange.
Unavoidable at Loop is the exciting world of digital art, visual innovation and ‘physical manifestations of sound’ – often difficult to comprehend but always massively engulfing, it is what sets this festival apart from the rest. So very Brighton, and so very arty: even the logo is “a physical representation of the Loop logo, interpreted as sound”.
A difficult decision provided much deliberation at the end of the day: Emiliana Torrini or Fujiya & Miyagi? In the end, the Brighton-based, not-Japanese-at-all, four-piece, succeeded. Having staggered slightly over to the Pavilion Theatre, David Best’s whispery vocals were almost outshone by the utterly hypnotic eighties Pac-Man backdrop. F & M have stayed shy of the limelight in their nine years, but the barely audible chanting of their own name oozed the confidence and wry humour of an established and well-respected band. Whether they provided the finale we were all waiting for remains to be said: word on the street was that the Nordic songster over in the Corn Exchange blew a fair few minds.
Left feeling a little annoyed at having missed the ethereal beauty of Emiliana Torrini, and the lack of available running times were just about the only negative comments I can muster. Definitely one of the better ‘small’ festivals, in what is definitely one of the better ‘small’ cities, it’s difficult to decide whether Loop should get bigger, as maybe then we’ll miss out on this little gem of a weekend.
All photography copyright Ro Cemm
Artists in this article: Fujiya & Miyagi, Fanfarlo, Tunng
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