Day two of Best Kept Secret 2015 started with a bang thanks to a band that embodied the name of the festival perfectly. Fickle Friends originate from Brighton and play the type of perfectly polished addictive synth-pop that you would expect to find being played by one of the innumerable recently reformed bands established in the 1980s. If there’s any justice and with hits-to-be such as the superlative Say No More it’s unlikely that this band will remain under the radar for much longer. You are advised to check them out if you have not done so already.
Temples may not put on the most spectacular of live shows (much to the chagrin of our photographer), opting instead for the age old approach of letting their music do the talking but the Kettering quartet were to be found in fine fettle on Stage One. Two new songs, 'Volcano' and 'Henry’s Cak'e, feature in the set, both of which suggest that album number two will continue in a similar vein as the breakthrough Sun Structures. Frontman James Bagshaw (who, for the record still appears to be more hair than human) at one point tells the crowd to “put your hands up if you don’t give a fuck”. A rather prosaic plea perhaps but Temples were having a good time and it is always reassuring to see a set from young British guitar band being received so positively away from home.
For the purposes of objectivity it was then time to check out was going on at Stage Two where, upon arrival, it at first appeared that we’d stumbled across a mass hall of worship. The artist was St Paul and the Broken Bones (who had “come all the way from Birmingham Alabama, USA”) and it was singer Paul Janeway who was leading a unison call and response chant of “Amen” between himself and the crowd. It was a slightly bizarre, and perhaps incongruous, event to witness at a music festival but this should not detract from what was full-blooded performance of soul and Motown that demonstrated the hellfire and brimstone intensity of Janeway’s pseudo-sermons.
It may have been that they were simply unlucky to have been the band Gigwise caught immediately after the bizarre brilliance of St Paul and the Broken Bones, but Of Monsters and Men’s set back on the main stage appeared to fall flat. Sure there were plenty of people looking on and seemingly loving it and credit must go to squeezing quite so many people onto one stage (we lost count at 8), but apart from when the band played their biggest hit Little Talks, there was the unmistakable air of the insipid about this performance.
Thankfully Death Cab for Cutie raised the atmosphere once again and proved why they have been held up as poster boys for the alternative American indie rock movement for well over a decade now.Ben Gibbard effortlessly switched between guitar and keys as the band tore through their hour long set that, such was its hypnotic nature, seemed to pass in the blink of an eye.
The previous evening it had been The Jesus and Mary Chain who had filled the schedule berth assumed for Creation record cult heroes. On Saturday night it was the turn of (relatively) recently reformed Oxford originals Ride. Unsurprisingly the clientele who frequented Stage Two for this were of the more “experienced” age group- you got the impression that this wasn’t the first time they had seen Ride live. Mark Gardener may be the main when it came to providing the majority of vocals for most of the set but the highlight was Andy Bell take over lead vocal for 'Vapour Trai'l, still arguably the bands more effective four minutes and which allowed Bell to stretch out and demonstrate his ability as a lead vocalist and guitarist in a way that had been denied to him since Ride originally folded back in 1996.
It was then time for some food as the Vaccines finished their set on Stage One in preparation for Noel Gallagher, with 'If You Wanna' the catalyst for crowd surfing of epic proportion from the kids crammed in immediately to the front of the main stage.
The chief Noel Gallagher closed day, two arriving on stage just after his 22:45 allocated timeslot. It was a rather fleeting performance (for a headline show) with just an hour played. Consequently it was very much business as usual for Gallagher who has spent the best part of 2015 on tour and who played a shortened version of the set that he has been parading across the world this year.
Choosing to open with 'Everybody’s on the Ru'n from his debut solo record, followed by the mighty 'Lock All the Door's from Chasing Yesterday, a personal highlight was 'You Know We Can’t Go Back' and it remains a mystery why this wasn’t the album’s lead single given it’s breezy melody and effortless sing along chorus.
Gallagher of course also threw a number of Oasis numbers in the mix; 'Champagne Supernova', 'Digsy’s Dinner', 'The Masterplan', 'Don’t Look Back in Anger' and 'Fade Away' were all included, which, given the abridged nature of the set list, lead to what felt like a more of a nostalgia show than artist (in theory) still promoting a new record. There were no complaints from the huge crowd though who lapped up songs old and new, even if it was in manner far more reserved (and civilised) than their British counterparts. The curtain was done on day two, no to wait for further delights on day three.
