Ben & Jerry's Sundae festival
- Jul 27, 2011
The Ben & Jerry's festival is probably the most middle-class, and thoroughly civilised festival in London, but then again what else would you expect to find on Clapham Common? From a petting zoo to a bandstand stage and double-decker bus serving Pimms, every quaint English cliche was in evidence, but far from being kitsch, it fitted the bill just perfectly.
That didn't stop the Fun Lovin' Criminals doing their level best to inject a bit of badass NYC cool to proceedings though, with plenty of casual swearing and copious drug references thrown in for good measure. The visibly ageing trio may have relied on a backing tracks a bit too heavily in some places, but front man Huey Morgan still exuded stage presence, strutting on in a black suit, black shirt and black sunglasses (rendered useless, due to the grey sludge of an afternoon that they were performing in). Old school rap-rock tunes such as 'Scooby Snacks', 'Bear Hug' and 'King of New York' provoked a strong response from the crowd, who had reacted limply to the lacklustre Steve Craddock Band earlier on.
The choice to put Ash second on the bill instead of headlining may have raised eyebrows among many, given that the Northern Irish trio have released two number one albums and 11 top 20 singles in their 17-year career, but at a festival that finishes at 8pm, rather than 11pm, it mattered little. Kicking off with 'Girl from Mars', Ash delivered a set that equally balanced classic tracks ('Goldfinger', 'Oh Yeah', 'A Life Less Ordinary'), with more recent cuts from their A-Z singles collection ('Arcadia', 'Joy Kicks Darkness', 'Return of White Rabbit').
Phantom keyboard tracks had to be used to fill in on some of the newer cuts, due to the absence of their recently departed adopted fourth member Russell Lissack (of Bloc Party fame). Nonetheless, lead singer Tim Wheeler still delivered more than enough boyish charm and punk-rock enthusiasm to make this set the highlight of the day, despite one embarrassing technical hitch on finale 'Burn Baby Burn'.
Ocean Colour Scene closed the day with a nostalgia-drenched set that burst into life with the noodling Led Zeppelin tribute of 'Riverboat Song'. With Simon Fowler's voice sounding as strong as ever, the band went down a treat amongst the thousands of 90s music lovers in attendance. Fowler also took a moment to speak of how strange it felt to be singing live on the day that Amy Winehouse died, dedicating 'One For The Road' to the sadly deceased 27-year-old chanteuse.
The joyous sing-along of 'The Day We Caught The Train' wrapped things up nicely, and the sun even gleamed through the clouds briefly, bringing Day One of this most English of festivals to a highly satisfying end. Cynics would say that this is less of a music festival and more of a corporate marketing exercise, but at £20 a ticket and with all the ice-cream you can eat thrown into the bargain, who cares?
Chris Jefferies
