Sat 11 Aug – Field Day 2007

We had high hopes for Field Day and I think they were mostly fulfilled. Sure there were ridiculous queues for drink/loos/food, but in the end I didn't really want to drink too much and managed to see all that I wanted to - mostly from very close up.

First came a lot of sitting around enjoying Tea & Tarts, beer and sunshine. Then was a bit of Chromeo, who got us quite jazzed up and ready for more dancing. Some VIP beer smuggling by ywain meant we were well stocked for Erol Alkan. He played Phantom Pt. II which was a taster of things to come later.

We had to quit early (sadly) to go and see (much happier) Matthew Dear. Getting centre-front, we had the opportunity to watch the man who is, quite frankly, God set up alongside bassist and drummer. We did some none-too-subtle worshipping and danced and sang our hearts out. Several songs from Asa Breed (including the almost indecently funky Neighborhoods) were interspersed with a couple of greatest hits from his previous albums - Tide and Dog Days. The latter sounded strange at first being played by a three-piece band, and to tell the truth the speakers weren't that great, but I still nearly died. Now all that's left is to witness both False and Audion DJ sets...

After regaining our composure (and some amazing free-noodle acquisition by gwenan) we headed over to see Gruff Rhys. His show was similar to when we saw him with The Flaming Lips - and just as captivating. We quit early though to get good spots for Justice. Unfortunately this meant missing Liars who, i've heard, rocked. It did mean however that we were front-centre for the crucifix-weilding moustachioed lunatics behind hits like D.A.N.C.E and We are your friends. They were a lot tighter than when they DJed at Renaissance and even threw in some cheeky Wildchild and Klaxons. Shame they were chucked off stage before they could play Waters of Nazareth but there's no arguing when the lights go up.
(Bastard rules...)

We went on a crazy mission to get to the afterparty - a mission which took in far more of London than it needed to - but we finally arrived to the sounds of Claude VonStroke's awesome remix of W.A.Y.U.H.. Kieran Hebden aka Four Tet played a brilliant extended set, fitting in Carl Craig remixes of both Don't Give It Up and Falling Up before finishing with James Holden's classic remix of The Sky Was Pink. After that it was a bit downhill - far too much 'filthy electro' that verged on unforgivable happy hardcore - although there was an inspired blast of Out Of Control towards the end.

A quick 6.30am nap in McDonalds, a visit to the St. James' pelicans, a laugh at the Buckingham Palace guards, a wild Spoons'-chase and a Pizza Hut later I decided it was time for a sleepy train home. Field Day was pretty good for a first year. Even if you could complain about the lack of welly-wanging, there could be no complaints about the first-class line-up. Deserter was worth the price of admission alone.