National and Florence & the Machine at Hyde Park

As part of the British Summertime series of gigs in Hyde Park, there was this one with apparently joint headliners, the National and Florence & the Machine. "Joint headliners" as neither act is quite big enough to sell out Hyde Park - and indeed even combined they didn't. But in practice it was Florence that actually headlined - she was on last and the audience, as I queued up at the opening, was obviously a Florence one predominantly - lots of young girls in flowing summer dresses out with their best gay male friends.

As I say, I arrived in time to queue for the opening and bag a spot at the front. So a good 10 hours ahead of me and an array of acts I had not heard of, or had barely heard of, before he two headliners.

First up were an American three piece grungey outfit, Cherry Glazerr, led by a girl who has also been a model. Good looking, one can see why. Indeed I think basically this band is her and whoever she gets in. Utterly undistinguished in my view, just as one would expect for an opening act. On the bill to give them exposure.

 

Second act up was Nadine Shah, a Geordie singer. I have seen her before, she has the elegance of a trainee young professional and the voice of lounge singer on cruise ship. All of which doesn't really transfer to a festival.

However, in a theme which was carried on by Florence at the end of the evening, so I think it worth airing at this juncture, she made a great play for the gender equality of this whole festival. 70% of the acts were female and this showed you could have equal gender representation and still have a great festival with all these amazing women. Hmm. Well let us ignore a moment the arrogance of this "aren't we amazing" declaration about themselves. This mostly women festival had not sold out (unlike say the more male one of Robbie Williams and Keane coming up). It actually was not very good apart from the last two acts. And the main reason there were so many women artists is that they were all singers. Traditionally festivals were performed by bands - solo artists did indoor shows as they generally suit a more intimate audience. And frankly you struggle to fill a bill with girl bands - they are few and far between and not often very good. Female singers are not exactly a new phenomenon - it is the festival that has had to be adapted to get the "women artists".

And Nadine's feminist declaration was made without recognising the irony that 100% of her band was white male. Indeed if acts on stage were recorded by number of men or women on stage, this was an overwhelmingly male festival. All but a handful of the women artists were just singers. either backing or up front. Equality hasn't spread to learning to play an instrument by and large, just to singing in glamorous costumes, which frankly is just as it has long been.

Nadine's all male band

Blood Orange looks and sounds like a band, but it is actually a bloke called Devonte Hynes. Not really a typical festival act either, more R&B, but fairly interesting to listen to. Added an element of diversity not only in that he is black but the secondary vocalist is black transvestite. He was quite a sight, you don't normally see a big black bearded guy covered in tattoos and wearing ripped denim jeans deciding to top it off with a little black cocktail dress.  Not sure he carried it off. But not sure who would.

I had heard some stuff from Swedish singer Lykke Li before as she has done vocals on some Mark Ronson tracks. Again I would remark a female singer with a female backing singer (who was rather better) and men doing all the playing. And very much going for the sexy look. Let me just assure you this was not a day where you needed a leather/PVC jacket to keep warm.

Finally early evening and the class act on the show, the brilliant American band, the National. This is a proper American rock band. Proper band in that it isn't just a singer/songwriter and whoever he gets to play from time to time, but a band that is basically the same line up as when formed 20 years ago. They have 8 albums behind them. They are an albums band, not a singles band. You aren't waiting for one or two anthems - if you like the National you will just like their songs. Like Radiohead they do develop. This performance was very heavy on their new album, I Am Easy To Find, which suited me just fine. 

And I like their understated stage presence. They don't need all this "How amazing are we" stuff just because they are so good, and anyone who had come to see them doesn't need convincing. You don't need hype if you can produce the goods.

One of the features of the most recent albums are some superb backing vocals (well not sure backing is the right word - more fronting!) and these artists popped on and off stage during the show. Wonderfully elegant and the best voices of the day by a long chalk.

Now, a brief diversion. The way the stage is set up there is a boundary on the right hand side. Beyond that is the VIP enclosure where you pay extra for the privilege of not such a good view, but fewer people and better bars and loos. And in front of that something I had never seen before, a screen with someone signing the lyrics for the deaf. Not sure if this is aiming for diversity points or just a joke. After all if you cannot hear the music why would you come to a music festival? Honestly, the words are rarely the best bits...Nor the loos or the crowd. And if you are watching the signing you are by definition not seeing the acts.

Ok so much for the National. Yes my favourite performance of the day. But that does not detract from Florence and the Machine. They are sort of a band, in that they are Florence Welch and keyboardist Isabella Summers, plus other odds and sods from time to time. But they do sound like a band, and not just a singer with session musicians. But no mistaking this is Florence Welch's band. And she is a superb performer - wonderful wistful vocals and a distinctive whirling dancing style. Long flowing red hair and loose dresses add to the image, She was on top form. Magnificent to behold. The crowd got what they wanted.

A view of the VIP section opposite me. I happen to know the grey haired bloke behind the chap in the baseball hat second from the right - a retired government scientist.