London’s east end, where the geezer meets the scenester; not you’re traditional love story but with Groove Armada playing fairy godmother and ‘Vicky’ park as a backdrop, Lovebox is certainly breaking from the norm. Doing away with the tribal boundaries of music genres and defying broader social conventions, Lovebox is now a swelling and unifying three day hedonistic wonderland that contains just as much as lust as it does love.
As the doors are thrown open on Victoria Park, there is an initial lull in activity. Now expanded to three days, Friday is notably sparse in areas, particularly with the benefit of hindsight as Saturday and Sunday were sardine tight. Tinashe and Chew Lips were the first acts of notoriety. The former playing soon to be single ‘Saved’, offered a rasping chorus and an ‘oh oh oh’ singalong hook that set the early tone for jaunty indie-pop. The Rizla Arena punctuated the indie bubble of the Gaymers stage, as Toddla T spun a barrage of drum and bass. Equally NYC Downlow and the Relentless Stage were darkened corners of seduction which were intriguing, both in terms of the artists they hosted (Joy Orbison, Sinden, and Crookers) and their setup (NYC Downlow being a rundown Bronx warehouse and Relentless a simple yet effective black box).
Unfortunately the main stage offered little other than Chase & Status who by all accounts (I wasn’t actually fortunate enough to catch them) rattled the bones and brains of all who had set their stall out in anticipation of Dizzee Rascal. Meanwhile the trio of Bombay Bicycle Club, Mystery Jets and The Maccabees continued the chart indie theme. BBC swerved their new, lighter, folk flecked album, ‘Flaws’ and remained upbeat, sticking to established tracks from ‘I had the Blues but I Shook Them Loose’. Mystery Jets were familiar friends with a swag bag of new tales to tell.Title track from their new album, ‘Serotonin’ being a particular highlight of their ever expanding live repertoire.
The defining decision of the day, if not the weekend was where to be come headlining time. Indulge in Dizzee or remain loyal to the Gaymers Stage and the Maccabees. Or, of course have it all and fleet foot between the two. Well, shame on me because this is a mistake I have made at least twice. The festival sin du jour - greed - got the better of me and while the Maccabees were loud and proud, and all the better live, Dizzee was as expected. A seasoned headliner and crowd pleaser he left me nothing to tell you that you can not now be imagine and the lack of surprise resulted in a distinct sense of apathy.
As apathy subsided and the sun rose, Saturday emerged its fuzzy head forthright into the mysterious and intelligent rap of Jay Electronica. Replacing Codine Velvet Club, Jay’s smooth wordsmith skills were stark in comparison to the renegade east end MC who filled the final five minutes of the set as Electronica offered the mic out to the crowd with cries of, ‘who got something to say?’. Similarly smooth were the velvet tones of Rox who filled the stage with her heartening album ‘Memoirs’. Paloma Faith joined in and stretched her lungs with an Alice in Wonderland meets showbiz flavour, dressed in glittering green heels and ball gown with lizard frills flailing from her under arms. The local gal was on good form bantering between tracks and her demeanour was as rousing as her tunes.
Trying to avoid the showbiz tag (and anything with horns on it) was Mark Ronson. Only recent single ‘Bang Bang Bang’ and ‘Circuit Breaker’ suggested his career should not be limited to DJ appearances and celebrity networking. On the other hand, few acts could count on Duran Duran turning up and this was an unexpected star turn which was superficial compensation for a lack of spark. Over on the steadfast Gaymers Stage, Yeasayer and Empire of the Sun took in musical horizons of this world and others in order to transport a fanatical audience. Roxy music were graceful headliners, and with a suave Bryan ferry at the helm they eased gently through the night on the breeze of ‘Love is the Drug’, ‘Jealous Guy’ and ‘A Song For Europe’ without ever breaking a sweat. Neither did the audience break sweat and while some romanticised there was yearning for something more vigorous which was only mildly satisfied by a chant along to ‘Let’s Stick Together’.
Sunday was a tri-sexual feast with self-indulgent overtones gleaming throughout. Whether it be the numerous oiled up muscle men who paraded around in the glorious summer sun, Grace Jones’ numerous wardrobe changes, the leggy keyboard stands used by Chromeo or the brazen and naked transsexual wheeling Peaches and her broken leg about the main stage; sex was undoubtedly the order of the day, and this was an orgy.
In the home straight of the third and final day, the sun illuminated the glitterati. Fenech-Soler added their own beam of light that shone brightest on ‘Stop and Stare’; a classy and euphoric neon ray of a tune which effortlessly shimmered in the clear blue sky. Followed by Hurts, who were obtusely juxtaposed in their attire to the weather, they nonetheless won the crowd over on ‘Happiness’ and ‘Wonderful Life’ which hark back to credible boy bands of the 80’s. Meanwhile, We Have Band and Holy Ghost! furrowed their beats through the partial woodland and throng of gathers at the Gaymers Stage. The Gaymers Stage quickly took centre stage on Sunday (as it had much of the weekend). New Young Pony Club wetted the appetite for accessible electro-pop and Cut Copy proceeded to quench said appetite. Transporting the revellers to Cut Copy’s home continent of Australia as the evening sun lowered over head however lost no heat, the synth-pop threesome sent the carousing mob in to raptures as ‘Heart’s on Fire’ dropped. In comparison, on the main stage Hercules & Love Affair were oversubscribed yet nonetheless pleasing. Likewise, Hot Chip played to a mass audience however they disappointed, and their only saving grace was an earlier DJ set in the Rizla Arena – the Rizla Arena being a consistently thumping and reliable party-starting feature throughout the festival.
As Grace Jones readied herself behind the scenes, Chromeo headlined the Gaymers Stage. Dave One and Pee-Thug stood with an aura of superior continental class behind the lit stiletto heels and stripper legs that held their keyboards front and centre. Offering ‘Night by Night’ as a sample of their upcoming album, ‘Business Casual’, they suggested their best is yet to come. ‘Needy Girl’, ‘Momma’s Boy’ and ‘Bonafide Lovin’ all put the fun in funk whilst steering well clear of any suggestions they are a comedy act. In fact, as they finished on ‘100%’ there was an undisputable realisation that Chromeo were the epitome of free spirited love and fun – exactly what any festival should have at heart – whilst maintaining just enough of lineage to please Loveboxsters of past and present. Such could also be said for Grace Jones, who stalked the main stage as she united genres and punters with her heady blend of disco, dance, and reggae. However for more than a small section of the audience she was an act to behold and simply view rather than be immersed in as the commonly held opinion held true – ‘she puts on a good show’ – even if there is a need to caveat that statement with the fact that many, myself included, were not au fait with her repertoire of influential tracks.
Chris Mitchell
http://www.lovebox.net
