Photo: Splash
The BBK festival kicked off on an unseasonably cool day in the Spanish Basque countryside overlooking Bilbao BBK Live yesterday (Thursday 10 July) - with Franz Ferdinand, White Lies and many more performing.
Future of the Left opened the three-day event. The Cardiff four-piece suffering slightly from an early slot that saw them play to a sparse but appreciative audience. Frontman Andy Falkous was never going to let that put him off his stride though. He led his cohorts through a set of organised chaos so powerful the onlooking Pyrenees trembled under the weight of Julia Ruzicka’s mammoth bass sound.
First on at the main stage were Parquet Courts. The preppy New Yorkers treating the crowd to history lesson in East Coast cool – from The Velvet Underground right through to The Strokes, via The Ramones and Television. Their show is tremendously good fun without being ground-breaking. They run out of steam a little towards the end, the victims of the festival’s economical booking policy meaning they have to play for about 15 minutes longer than an opening act would normally.
White Lies brought their brand of synth-laden indie to a rapidly growing crowd in the early evening. Mainland Europe still lap them up. Harry McVeigh’s every whim is gladly indulged by the youthful Basque audience, leading to some of the most dutiful clap-alongs you’re likely to see.
Franz Ferdinand headlined the first day to a sea of glowstick wielding and fairly well lubricated fans. They are everything you’d want Franz Ferdinand to be – lively and accomplished with a string of sing-along choruses that most bands would sell their souls for. Live there is little of the art-rock tendencies that brought them to the world’s attention, just a whole lot of fun. Their show is certainly none the worse for it.
Watch Franz Ferdinand perform at Bilbao BBK below
But the night truly belongs to Hercules and Love affair. Anyone who is tempted to dismiss them as a camp curiosity who just sit around and wait for Antony Hegarty’s next guest vocal needs to see them live.
Playing to a tent bursting at the seams, they unleash a set of house-tinged disco that brings new meaning to the word euphoric. Dancing is not only mandatory but physically impossible to resist – the ground shaking at times under the weight of pounding feet.
A quasi-religious experience for all who saw it, it’s difficult to imagine an act bring more joy to a festival without doing something illegal - or at least morally questionable.
Bilbao BBK continues today with sets from The Prodigy, Bastille, Chet Faker, The 1975 and many more. Check back at Gigwise for the latest news, reviews and more from the festival.
