Main content

Review: Tanglewood Music & Arts Festival 2014

Across The Line

Tagged with:

Comments

Tanglewood Music & Arts Festival

Narrow Water Castle, Warrenpoint, Co. Down

Friday 4th & Saturday 5th July 2014

With a long, winding gravel driveway leading you up through acres of an historic aristocratic residence, your ascent to Tanglewood Festival feels like being smuggled into a big party, hidden within the lavish grounds of Downton Abbey estate, rather than a weekend’s muck around in a field. As festival sites go Narrow Water Castle is a sumptuous location, with ivy hanging from huge medieval walls and mammoth oaks towering over stages, all in the shadow of the mighty castle itself.

Tanglewood 2014

With the campsite still filling up with eager revellers the thunderous echoes of Abandcalledboy were an early grungy incentive to construct your weekend home in a jiffy and dash to the Main Stage. In what was their final runout as a three piece (and subsequently a band with a singing drummer), stickman Ryan Burrows snarls coarse, Cobain-tingled vocals during a set featuring potent rumbler ‘Serotonin’. After such a brazen start Co. Armagh’s Silences swiftly stepped in to ease the ringing in our ears. In the mould of fellow Irish soul-bearer Damien Rice, Conchúr White’s tender and heartfelt musing raise spirits during a damp mid-evening drizzle.

An audience was slow to muster for dependable skirmish starters The Emerald Armada at the Gramophone Tent . But with each foot stomping caper, the patch in front of them swelled with more and more people. Bouncy Trad-infused tracks such as ‘Now Go’ and ‘I Don’t Mind’ went down a treat, with one fan so enthused that he proudly declared to the band, “I take my hat off to you!”, promptly placing his fedora on the stage and going on his way. Well worth a song dedication in anyone’s book.

Booka Brass Band at Tanglewood 2014

Back on the Main Stage Dublin brass-troupe Booka Brass Band followed on in a similar vein with Friday’s joyous closing performance. Blasting out instrumental funk-driven renditions of chart friendly party starters such as ‘Crazy In Love’ and ‘Talk Dirty To Me’, the whole crowd got involved dancing and getting down to a mash up of classic hip-hop. They were a whole heap of fun and proved exactly why they’re fast becoming one of Ireland top festival acts.

The sun emerges from the trees and shines bright throughout the day as temperatures soar during Saturday. Once again noise was at the top the menu as What’s Wrong Barry? made their presence known with a ferocious racket of wretched vocals and pounding double kicks. Their Nirvana cover was so aggressively heavy, it made the original sound like it came from Katy Perry’s locker of cotton candy pop.

Aside from the two live music tents there was also a marquee called The Rabbit Hole set up exclusively for DJs. Hidden down a woodland path it thundered out deep bass alongside techno and trance all hours of the daytime and long into the night. But bringing the rave to the Main Stage was box-fresh electronica collective Skymas. Recent single ‘Build’ is an uncompromisingly brassy song, shaking the earth as it boomed out of the speakers.

Gascan Ruckus at Tanglewood 2014

It was Gascan Ruckus however who crunched and swooned their way to the crown of outstanding band of the afternoon. The Middletown men bounded across the stage looking and sounding like the closest thing anybody has come to a fresh faced Fighting With Wire. It was proper no nonsense rock, but that’s not to say there wasn’t thrills to be had. Frontman Michael Woods put in an almost flawless shift, nailing the breath-taking ‘Monkey Wrench’-esque vocal break down of the explosive ‘Bang Bang Bye Bye’.

As the light faded Simon & Oscar from Birmingham’s classic britpop act Ocean Colour Scene take to the stage to acoustically play through a string of their old favourites. The biggest crowd of the day gathers for a group sing-a-long of 90’s hits like ‘The Riverboat Song’ and ‘The Day We Caught the Train’. It’s more about nostalgia rather than anything forthright or interesting.

Darkness soon lurks over the Cooley Mountains and a half moon sits proudly in the sky. A stiff chill creeps upon the site as the looming figures of Mojo Fury appear on the Main Stage. Opening with a varied combination of aural strikes, ‘Safe In The Arms’ escalates to heights of dizzying wonder only for ‘Origami Bird’ to sweep in from the wings with a pelting uppercut of scuzzy riffs and a jerky bassline. ‘We Should Just Run Away’ is still the synthy rock blitz which can whip up any crowd into state of delirium while ‘The Mann’ is a lesson in adrenaline pumping ferocity. They celebrated a decade as a band this year and based on this showing business is still good!

PØRTS at Tanglewood 2014

After all that bedlam and two days of action, festivalgoers begin to look weary. By the time Derry’s PØRTS make their debut festival headline bow the temperature has plummeted once again, which unfortunately dwindles their crowd even further. Disappointment continues for the outfit as numerous technical hiccups lead to a bumpy start, with bass issues creeping up throughout the performance. But they don’t let it faze them. As a collective they intertwine into a sublime whole, eventually finding their stride during a procession of sweet, warm-hearted fan favourites which have brought them tremendous critical acclaim. Steven McCool is an engrossing focal point, during new track ‘Distances’ he shows off his wide vocal range with a delivery of genuine emotive honesty. You can feel every splinter of his heartbreak during the sorrowful ‘I’d Let You Win’ and ‘Devil Is A Songbird’. They close on a high note with the sombre jolly jaunt ‘Second In Line’, Mark O’Doherty once again showing his precision and skill behind the kit, mixing up beats and tempo with moments of real flash.

The final rowdy hoe-down is a fitting end from a stridently accomplished live act that is destined for massive stages in the future. The curtain soon falls on a rousing fourth Tanglewood Festival, kicking off what looks set to be another bumper Northern Irish festival season.

Peter Cinnamond

Tagged with:

Comments

More Posts

Previous

The Making of - The Vals

Next

New Tune Disco - Rigsy & Niall Byrne - July 2014